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Program Requirements
Students wishing to study at the Honours level in two disciplines can combine Joint Honours program components in any two Arts disciplines. For a list of available Joint Honours programs, see "Overview of Programs Offered" and "Joint Honours Programs".Â
Joint Honours students should consult an adviser in each department to discuss their course selection and their interdisciplinary research project (if applicable).
Students in Joint Honours must maintain a program GPA and a CGPA of 3.00 (3.50 for First Class Honours) and attain a B- or higher in each program course. No overlap is allowed between the courses forming each segment of the Joint Honours program.
Students in Joint Honours Component Religious Studies choose either the Western Religions or Asian Religions option.
It is possible for students following either the Western Religions or the Asian Religions option of the Joint Honours Component Religious Studies to combine their program with the Joint Honours Component Philosophy and Western Religions as the Religious Studies program broadens the material included in the Philosophy and Western Religions program.
The requirements set out below pertain to the Western Religions option.
Complementary Courses (36 credits)
36 credits selected with the following specifications:
3 credits from Introductory Courses
3 credits from Advanced Courses
9 credits from Two Groups (Sources of Western Religious Traditions, History and Theology of the Christian Tradition) with at least 3 credits from each group
6 credits in Religion and Culture courses
15 credits, selected in consultation with an adviser, from Religious Studies (RELG) courses (or Approved Related Courses in Other Departments) at the 300-level or above, of which 9 credits must be at the 400-level or above
Introductory Courses
3 credits from:
-
RELG 252 Hinduism and Buddhism (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : The interaction of Hinduism and Buddhism in India with special reference to the law of Karma, caste, women, ritual, death, yoga, and liberation. Determination of interpretative principles for understanding the religious psychology of Hindus and Buddhists.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Braitstein, Lara E; Sharma, Shital (Fall)
- Fall
-
RELG 253 Religions of East Asia (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : Harmony with nature, society, and cosmos to be explored through the religions of the Far East (Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Shinto).
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Hori, G (Winter)
- Winter
Advanced Courses
3 credits from:
-
RELG 456 Theories of Religion (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : The history of the academic study of religion from its beginnings in the 19th century until the present. Key texts by figures such as Max Muller, Sigmund Freud, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Mircea Eliade, Claude Levi-Strauss and Clifford Geertz will be studied.
Terms: Fall 2010, Winter 2011
Instructors: Kanaris, Jim (Fall) Kanaris, Jim (Winter)
- Fall and Winter
- Restriction: For Religious Studies Majors and Honours students or with permission of the Chair of the Religious Studies B.A. Committee
-
RELG 555 Honours Seminar (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : Current trends in the study of religion, including the approaches of critical theory, feminism, post-modernism, and post-colonialism.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Kanaris, Jim (Winter)
- Winter
- Restriction: For Religious Studies Honours students or with permission of the Chair of the Religious Studies B.A. Committee
Two Groups
9 credits selected from two groups with at least 3 credits from each group:
Sources of Western Religious Traditions
-
RELG 201 Religions of the Ancient Near East (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : Introduction to the religions of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Syria-Palestine (excluding Israelite religion) from the fourth to first millennium B.C.E. Themes that will be discussed include: gods and goddesses, divine kingship, deification of kings, temple cult, death and afterlife, magic, piety, oracles, prayer, lament, myth and epic.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Bellavance, Éric (Fall)
- Fall
-
RELG 202 Religion of Ancient Israel (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : An examination of the religion of Ancient Israel by a study of selected texts (narratives, laws, prophetic sayings, wisdom traditions, and psalms) from the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament in translation.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Oegema, Gerbern (Winter)
- Winter
-
RELG 302 Literature of Ancient Israel 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : An introduction to the literature of Ancient Israel in English translation. Reading and interpreting representative selections.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Kirkpatrick, Patricia (Fall)
- Fall
-
RELG 303 Literature of Ancient Israel 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : Approaches to historical-critical scholarship and to the historical background of the Old Testament. Part of the course will be an examination of methods of biblical analysis through the use of learning cells.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Oegema, Gerbern (Winter)
- Winter
-
RELG 311 New Testament Studies 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : An introduction to the interpretation of the New Testament.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Udoh, Fabian (Fall)
- Fall
-
RELG 312 New Testament Studies 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : An introduction to the critical study of the Gospels.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Henderson, Ian H (Winter)
- Winter
History and Theology of the Christian Tradition
-
RELG 322 The Church in History 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : A survey of major developments in the history of Christianity from the end of the apostolic age to 1500. Selected readings from primary and secondary sources will be used.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Kirby, W J Torrance (Fall)
- Fall
-
RELG 323 The Church in History 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : Significant events and persons in the history of western Christianity from 1500 - 1948 will be studied. Attention is focused on mainline denominations in Britain and continental Europe.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Kirby, W J Torrance (Winter)
- Winter
-
RELG 326 Ancient Christian Church AD54 - AD604 (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : Significant persons and events from Nero's reign to the papacy of Gregory I. Attention to major Christian centres within the Roman Empire before Constantine, to the development of the Eastern Byzantine Church, and to the growth of the papacy in the West. Leading Christian theologians and thinkers will be studied.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
-
RELG 334 The Christian Faith (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : A study of core Christian ideas and their relation to doxology, morality, history and culture.
Terms: Summer 2011
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Winter
- Prerequisites: One of RELG 202, 204, 210, 302, 311, 312 or the equivalent.
-
RELG 532 History of Christian Thought 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : The development of Christian theology in the Patristic and Medieval periods. Focus on the controversial development of Christian doctrines and disciplines through intensive exposure to primary texts.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Prerequisite: At least six (6) credits at the 300 level in Christianity or the Christian Bible.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken RELG 320
-
RELG 533 History of Christian Thought 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : The development of Christian theology in the Reformation, Post Reformation and Modern periods through intensive exposure to primary texts.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Farrow, Douglas B (Fall)
- Fall
- Prerequisite: At least six (6) credits at the 300 level in Christianity or the Christian Bible.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken RELG 327
Religion and Culture
6 credits from:
-
RELG 256 Women in Judaism and Islam (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : The role of women in Judaism and Islam from the point of view of institutionalized religious traditions and of women's religious subjectivity; how women's spiritual and social roles within their religious traditions are shaped by Revealed Law, Holy Text and the Authority of Interpretation. Comparative sociology of religion approach.
Terms: Summer 2011
Instructors: Sheinfeld, Shayna; Seedat, Fatima (Summer)
-
RELG 271 Sexual Ethics (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : A study of the social construction of sexual identity and of selected issues regarding sexual behaviour.
Terms: Fall 2010, Winter 2011
Instructors: Cere, Daniel M (Fall) Cere, Daniel M (Winter)
- Fall and Winter
-
RELG 338 Women and the Christian Tradition (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : Survey of women's involvement in the Christian tradition. Topics include feminist interpretation of scripture, ideas of virginity, marriage and motherhood, mysticism, asceticisms, European witchhunts, contemporary women's liberation theories.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Marr, Lucille (Fall)
- Fall
- Core course for the Women's Studies Minor program
-
RELG 340 Religion and the Sciences (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : Philosophies of science and of religion have created a more positive dialogue on questions of method, symbolism and rationality. Examines key issues (e.g. creation and evolution; objectivity and involvement; determinism and freedom) raised by natural and social sciences, and various possible solutions.
Terms: Summer 2011
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Fall
-
RELG 341 Introduction: Philosophy of Religion (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : Introduction to the subject. Faith and reason, theistic arguments, values and destiny, the problem of evil, religious language.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Kanaris, Jim (Fall)
- Fall
-
RELG 347 Topics in Religion and the Arts (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
-
RELG 361 Religious Behaviour (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : A study of the psychological origins of religion, of some aspects of the religious life (e.g. prayer, conversion, mystical experiences), and of some contemporary religious phenomena (e.g. marginal religious groups, the charismatic movement, glossolalia). The views of Freud and Jung are also considered.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Winter
-
RELG 370 Religion and Human Rights (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : Social justice and human rights issues as key aspects of modem religious ethics. Topics include: the relationship of religion to the modem human rights movement; religious perspectives on the universality of human rights; the scope and limits of religious freedom; conflicts between religion and rights.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Waind, Jonathan (Winter)
- Winter
-
RELG 371 Ethics of Violence/Non-Violence (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : Forms of violence and the reaction of religious groups are assessed both for their effectiveness and for their fidelity to their professed beliefs. Different traditions, ranging from the wholesale adoption of violent methods (e.g., the Crusades) to repudiation (e.g., Gandhi; the Peace Churches).
Terms: Summer 2011
Instructors: Turenne, Philippe (Summer)
- Summer
-
RELG 375 Religion and Society (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : A study of the sociology of religion in the light of the contemporary debates regarding secularization, the relation of religion and politics, and the emergence of new religious movements.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Fall
- Restriction: U2 and U3 students
-
RELG 376 Religious Ethics (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : A discussion of ethical theory will provide the background for an analysis of the relationship between religious world views and moral reason. Attention will be given to the way in which the dominant religious traditions view the exemplars of religious virtue, and to how the virtues exemplified are related to and justified by the faith tradition in which they operate.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Summer
-
RELG 377 Religious Controversies (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : A comparative survey of types and topics of argumentation developed in the literature of controversy. Texts discussed include disputations, missionary sermons and polemical treatises.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Levy, B Barry (Winter)
- Winter
Religious Studies (RELG)
15 credits, selected in consultation with the program adviser, from Religious Studies (RELG) courses at the 300 level or above, of which 9 credits must be at the 400 level or above.
A maximum of 6 credits from other departments may be used toward this requirement (see list below).
Approved Related Courses in Other Departments
The list below is NOT comprehensive. Students may take approved related courses in other departments of the Faculty of Arts, such as Anthropology, Art History, Classics, English, History, Italian Studies, Philosophy, and Sociology selected in consultation with the Program Adviser.
-
EAST 354 Taoist and Buddhist Apocalypses (3 credits)
Overview
Asian Language & Literature : Visions of the end of the world in Medieval Chinese Buddhist and Taoist literature will be contrasted with Western apocalyptic materials. The course will trace the development of Buddhism and Taoism in China, focusing on millennarian movements, soteriology, public worship, and ritual.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
-
EAST 551 Technologies of Self in Early China (3 credits)
Overview
Asian Language & Literature : Readings on self-cultivation drawn from Confucian, Legalist, and Taoist philosophic texts of early China (5th-2nd centuries B.C.) in translation will be compared with historical and archaeological materials on the evolving construction of the "individual'' in Chinese social structure, military organization, political and ritual codes.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Prerequisite (Undergraduate): One advanced course in EAST or permission of the instructor
-
ISLA 410 History: Middle-East 1798-1918 (3 credits)
Overview
Islamic Studies : A study of the Middle East from Napoleon's invasion of Egypt to the end of WW I. Emphasis will be on the emergence of nationalisms in the context of European imperialism; political, social, and economic transformation; religion and ideology; and changing patterns of alliances.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Fall
- 3 hours
-
ISLA 411 History: Middle-East 1918-1945 (3 credits)
Overview
Islamic Studies : The impact of WW I on Middle Eastern society and politics; the British and French mandates; the growth of nationalisms, revolutions and the formation of national states; WW II and the clash of political interests within the region.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Fall
- 3 hours
-
ISLA 505 Islam: Origin and Early Development (3 credits)
Overview
Islamic Studies : The Qur'an, Hadith, the Shari'a and their major themes. The early development of law, theology and Sufism. The development and formation of an Islamic "orthodoxy", the development and nature of competing interpretations of Islam during the Classical Period. Topics: God, revelation, prophecy, the community and the individual and the meaning of history.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- 3 hours
-
ISLA 510D1 History: Islamic Civilization - Classical (3 credits)
Overview
Islamic Studies : The origins of the early Islamic state in Arabia and the Umawi Caliphate. The growth of an Islamic civilization, and the "Abbasi Empire" until the Seljuk period. The rise of the Fatimis. The Caliphate of Cordoba.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Fall and Winter
- 3 hours
- Students must register for both ISLA 510D1 and ISLA 510D2.
- No credit will be given for this course unless both ISLA 510D1 and ISLA 510D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
-
ISLA 510D2 History: Islamic Civilization - Classical (3 credits)
Overview
Islamic Studies : See ISLA 510D1 for course description.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Winter
- Prerequisite: ISLA 510D1
- No credit will be given for this course unless both ISLA 510D1 and ISLA 510D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
-
ISLA 511D1 History: Islamic Civilization - Mediaeval Era (3 credits)
Overview
Islamic Studies : The Seljuks, and the medieval synthesis. The Moors in Spain and North Africa. The Crusades. The Mongols and the destruction of the Baghdad Caliphate. The Mamluk, Persian, Turkish and Indian Empires until 1700.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Abisaab, Rula (Fall)
- Fall and Winter
- 3 hours
- Prerequisite: Either ISLA 200 or ISLA 350
- Students must register for both ISLA 511D1 and ISLA 511D2.
- No credit will be given for this course unless both ISLA 511D1 and ISLA 511D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
-
ISLA 511D2 History: Islamic Civilization - Mediaeval Era (3 credits)
Overview
Islamic Studies : See ISLA 511D1 for course description.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Abisaab, Rula (Winter)
- Winter
- Prerequisite: ISLA 511D1
- No credit will be given for this course unless both ISLA 511D1 and ISLA 511D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
-
ISLA 531D1 Survey Development of Islamic Thought (3 credits)
Overview
Islamic Studies : A survey of the development of the major intellectual traditions of Islamic civilization in medieval and modern times.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- 3 hours
- Students must register for both ISLA 531D1 and ISLA 531D2.
- No credit will be given for this course unless both ISLA 531D1 and ISLA 531D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
-
ISLA 531D2 Survey Development of Islamic Thought (3 credits)
Overview
Islamic Studies : See ISLA 531D1 for course description.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Winter
- Prerequisite: ISLA 531D1
- No credit will be given for this course unless both ISLA 531D1 and ISLA 531D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
-
JWST 211 Jewish Studies 1: Biblical Period (3 credits)
Overview
Jewish Studies : The history, literature and beliefs of Judaism's formative period. Both Biblical and non-Biblical materials will be studied. The Bible in the context of cognate literatures of the Ancient Near East; non-Biblical documents will be analysed for their bearing on the Jewish tradition.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Levy, B Barry (Fall)
- All texts will be read in English
-
JWST 252 Interdisciplinary Lectures (3 credits)
Overview
Jewish Studies
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Alitowski, Liane (Fall)
-
JWST 316 Social and Ethical Issues Jewish Law 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Jewish Studies : A brief introduction to the nature and history of Jewish law. Topics include: redemption of hostages; abortion; death and dying.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
-
JWST 359 Topics in Jewish Philosophy 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Jewish Studies
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- All texts in English
The following approved courses offered by Jewish Studies require a reading knowledge of Hebrew:
-
JWST 330 A Book of the Bible (3 credits)
Overview
Jewish Studies : One book of the Bible will be studied in its entirety in Hebrew. Emphasis on the contributions of Ancient Near Eastern Studies (archaeology, comparative literature and Semitic linguistics) to understanding the text.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Winter
- Prerequisite: Knowledge of Hebrew
-
JWST 345 Introduction to Rabbinic Literature (3 credits)
Overview
Jewish Studies : An introduction to the study of Rabbinic texts.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Hundert, Daniel Leib (Winter)
- All readings in English
-
JWST 510 Jewish Bible Interpretation 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Jewish Studies : The issues, approaches, and texts of Jewish Bible interpretation between the Biblical and Talmudic eras: Bible interpretation in the Bible; in Greco-Roman Jewish literature; in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Targumim, and Talmudim; early Samaritan interpretation, Bible interpretation in ancient synagogue art, and in the massoretic literature.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Levy, B Barry (Fall)
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken JWST 512
-
JWST 511 Jewish Bible Interpretation 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Jewish Studies : The issues, problems, approaches, and texts of Jewish Bible interpretation in medieval, renaissance, early modern, and modern times. Interpretation in the Geonic, Ashkenazi, Sefardic, North African, Italian, European, Yemenite, North American and Israeli centres of Jewish Learning.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken JWST 512
-
JWST 535 Exegetic Midrash (3 credits)
Overview
Jewish Studies
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
-
JWST 543 Maimonides as Parshan (3 credits)
Overview
Jewish Studies : Biblical Interpretation in the Guide of the Perplexed and related writings.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Kaplan, Lawrence (Fall)
- Requires Departmental approval
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken JWST 540
-
JWST 550 The Bible in Hebrew Literature (3 credits)
Overview
Jewish Studies : Biblical themes, issues, and characters as they emerge from a comparison of Scripture and various Hebrew essays, poems, plays, short stories and novels of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Readings in Hebrew
-
JWST 556 Modern Parshanut 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Jewish Studies : A specialized study of one aspect of modern Jewish Bible interpretation.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken JWST 560
-
JWST 573 History of Hebrew Bible Text (3 credits)
Overview
Jewish Studies : The text of the Hebrew Bible as it evolved between antiquity and the most recent printed edition. Attention will be given to the accurate reconstruction of the Bible from primary and secondary witnesses: Greek and Aramic translations, Dead Sea Scrolls, and ancient quotations, and the Massoretic notes and lists.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Prerequisite (Undergraduate): permission of instructor
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken JWST 507
Faculty of Arts—2010-2011 (last updated Jan. 19, 2011) (disclaimer)