Requirements
Religion Major
The major consists of nine courses.
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Required Courses | ||
REL 1101 | Introduction to the Study of Religion | 1 |
REL 3390 | Theories about Religion | 1 |
Select one course on texts and traditions in each of the following four geographic areas a,b | ||
Middle East and North Africa | 1 | |
REL 1150 | Introduction to the Religions of the Middle East | |
REL 2208 | Islam | |
REL 2232 | Approaches to the Qur'an | |
REL 2237 | Judaism Under Islam | |
REL 3333 Islam and Science | ||
South and Southeast Asia | 1 | |
REL 2219 Religion and Fiction in South Asia | ||
REL 2220 | Hindu Literatures | |
REL 2221 | Religious Cultures of India | |
REL 2222 | Early Buddhism | |
REL 2223 Mahayana Buddhism | ||
REL 2280 | Goddesses, Gurus, and Rulers: Gender and Power in Indian Religions | |
REL 2288 | Religion and Politics in South Asia | |
REL 2808 Islam in Asia | ||
REL 3209 | Religion on the Move: Migration, Globalization, and the Transformation of Tradition | |
Ancient Mediterranean | 1 | |
REL 2213 | Fictions, Fakes, and Forgeries: How Narratives Shaped the Religions of the Ancient | |
REL 2214 | A History of Anti-Semitism | |
REL 2215 | The Hebrew Bible in Its World | |
REL 2216 | The New Testament in Its World | |
REL 2230 | Human Sacrifice | |
REL 2235 | Gender and Sexuality in Early Christianity | |
REL 2239 | Judaism in the Age of Empires | |
REL 3325 | Deadly Words: Language and Power in the Religions of Antiquity | |
Modern Europe and North America | 1 | |
REL 2201 | Black Women, Politics, Music, and the Divine | |
REL 2250 Modern Christian Thought | ||
REL 2251 | Christianity | |
REL 2252 Marxism and Religion | ||
REL 2257 | Christian Sexual Ethics | |
REL 2253 Gender, Body, and Religion | ||
REL 2271 | Spirit Come Down: Religion, Race, and Gender in America | |
REL 2500 | New Religious Movements in the United States | |
REL 2520 | Popular Religion in the Americas | |
REL 2530 | Jesus in the Modern Imagination | |
REL 2540 | The History of American Christianity | |
REL 3310 Religious Toleration and Human Rights | ||
Select two courses on thematic approaches a,b | 2 | |
REL 2207 | Modern Jewish Identities | |
REL 2212 | Religion and Science: Couples Therapy | |
REL 2214 | A History of Anti-Semitism | |
REL 2219 Religion and Fiction in South Asia | ||
REL 2220 | Hindu Literatures | |
REL 2221 | Religious Cultures of India | |
REL 2230 | Human Sacrifice | |
REL 2235 | Gender and Sexuality in Early Christianity | |
REL 2236 | Religion, Nature, and the Environment | |
REL 2252 Marxism and Religion | ||
REL 2253 Gender, Body, and Religion | ||
REL 2257 | Christian Sexual Ethics | |
REL 2280 | Goddesses, Gurus, and Rulers: Gender and Power in Indian Religions | |
REL 2288 | Religion and Politics in South Asia | |
REL 2500 | New Religious Movements in the United States | |
REL 3209 | Religion on the Move: Migration, Globalization, and the Transformation of Tradition | |
REL 3310 Religious Toleration and Human Rights | ||
REL 3325 | Deadly Words: Language and Power in the Religions of Antiquity | |
REL 3333 Islam and Science | ||
Select an elective course in religion at any level c | 1 | |
REL 1013 | God and Money | |
REL 1014 | Heretics: Dissent and Debate in the History of Religion | |
REL 1027 Astral Religion | ||
REL 1142 | Philosophy of Religion |
a | One course, on either texts and traditions or thematic approaches must be at the 3000 level. |
b | A thematic course can, with the permission of the department chair, replace a course on a geographic area. |
c | Students may select from any of the courses listed above, except for REL 1101 Introduction to the Study of Religion and REL 3390 Theories about Religion, or one of the four courses listed below. |
Please consult the department for more information about additional courses that might satisfy these requirements. For a comprehensive list of all courses offered in the last four academic years, please consult the religion courses section of the Catalogue. |
Religion Minor
A minor consists of five courses.
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Required Courses | ||
REL 1101 | Introduction to the Study of Religion | 1 |
REL 3390 | Theories about Religion | 1 |
Select any three Religion courses | 3 |
Additional Information and Department Policies
- No more than one first-year writing seminar may be counted toward the major.
- Typically, up to three courses taken at another college or university may count toward the major with departmental approval. One credit taken at another college or university may count toward the minor with departmental approval.
- With departmental approval, an independent study (intermediate, advanced, or honors) can be used to satisfy the elective course requirement for the major.
- In order to enroll in REL 3390 Theories about Religion, a major normally is expected to have taken four of the nine required courses.
- Courses that count toward the major or minor must be taken for regular letter grades (not Credit/D/Fail).
- Each religion course required for the major or minor must be passed with a grade of C- or higher.
- Majors and minors may not double-count courses with another department or program.
Honors in Religion
Students contemplating honors candidacy should possess a record of distinction in departmental courses, including those that support the project, a clearly articulated and well-focused research proposal, and a high measure of motivation and scholarly maturity. At the start of the first semester of their senior year, honors candidates enroll in REL 4050 with a faculty member who has agreed to supervise the project. If the proposal, due toward the end of the first semester, is accepted, the student goes on to enroll in REL 4051 for the second semester in order to complete the project.
Information for Incoming Students
Because the Religion Department at Bowdoin does not require students to take REL 1101 Introduction to the Study of Religion in order to enroll in its intermediate or upper level courses, there is more than one entry point into the department's curriculum.
REL 1101 Introduction to the Study of Religion, is comparative in approach and lays out the theoretical contours of the field. Since it is an excellent preparation for intermediate and advanced level courses in the department, potential majors should enroll in it as early as possible. Students are introduced to a theme or topic in at least two religious traditions and to various methodologies and specialized vocabularies employed in the field.
The Religion Department has begun to offer an additional 1000-level course every year. This year, that course will be in the spring semester. Finally, first-year students are welcome to enroll in our 2000-level courses. The Religion Department at Bowdoin is one of the few departments that regularly offers courses at the 2000-level in which students closely examine a particular topic or area (e.g. Christianity, Buddhism, Bible, Islam) in any one semester, and many students do begin with a 2000-level course.
This is an excerpt from the official Bowdoin College Catalogue and Academic Handbook. View the Catalogue