Mar 28, 2024  
Academic Catalog 2015-2016 
    
Academic Catalog 2015-2016 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

LALW310 Religion and Literature 3 cr.


The class treats 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 includes 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