Mar 28, 2024  
Academic Catalog 2014-2015 
    
Academic Catalog 2014-2015 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

LALW310 Religion and Literature 3 cr.


The class studies a selection of texts addressing
universal religious themes such as creation,
sacrifice, love, death and the problem of evil.
Several religious perspectives (including
polytheistic ones) are represented. The class uses
the texts as lenses through which to examine some
of humankind’s deepest concerns and questions.
More generally, the class examines the complicated
and often strained relationship between art and
ideology. Students are assigned three critical
papers and a final examination. The syllabus
will include texts from the Old and New Testaments, Sufi poems by Rumi, the Native American memoir Black Elk Speaks, Tolstoy’s story “The Death of Ivan Illych” and Ginsberg’s poem “Kaddish.”

Prerequisites: LALW200

Lecture/Seminar
Culturally Diverse Content
All College Elective