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Bulletin Archive

This archived information is dated to the 2008-09 academic year only and may no longer be current.

For currently applicable policies and information, see the current Stanford Bulletin.

Religious Studies Introductory Courses

In this section:

RELIGST 2N. Theories of Ethics in Classical Islamic Thought

RELIGST 3N. Jesus the Jew and the Origins of Christianity

RELIGST 7N. The Divine Good: Secular Ethics and Its Discontents

RELIGST 9N. Transgression and Transcendence: Exploring Tantric Buddhism

Up one level:

Stanford Introductory Seminars (IDS, ISF, ISS) Courses

RELIGST 2N. Theories of Ethics in Classical Islamic Thought

(F,Sem) Stanford Introductory Seminar. Preference to freshmen. Premodern Islamic theories of ethics. Homegrown ethical theories and adaptations of Greek thought. How various groups molded their ethical theories to fit their respective theological outlooks, including dialectic theologians, the Greek-inspired philosophers, and the mystics.

4 units, Spr (Sadeghi, B)

RELIGST 3N. Jesus the Jew and the Origins of Christianity

(F,Sem) Stanford Introductory Seminar. Preference to freshmen. Contemporary historical-critical methods in investigating how one might study Jewish and Christian texts of the 1st century CE. Social contexts including economic realities and elite ideological views. What can be known historically about 1st-century Judaism and Jesus' part it in it. How Jewish apocalyptic messianism shaped the birth of Christianity and its trajectory through the 1st century.

4 units, Aut (Sheehan, T)

RELIGST 7N. The Divine Good: Secular Ethics and Its Discontents

(F,Sem) Stanford Introductory Seminar. Preference to freshmen. What is the good and how does it orient human choice and activity? Is it natural to human beings, or in some way transcendent? How do people come to know it? Why do people often fail to do the good they know? What human capacities and dispositions enable its enactment or attainment? What resources does religion offer for its reparation? Classical and modern readings in moral theory emphasizing the difference that religious aspiration makes for moral reflection. GER:DB-Hum, DB-Hum, EC-EthicReas

4 units, Win (Sockness, B)

RELIGST 9N. Transgression and Transcendence: Exploring Tantric Buddhism

(F,Sem) Stanford Introductory Seminar. Preference to freshmen. Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism, its historical development and primary doctrines, ritual practices, and iconography. Focus is on their transgressive aspects, broader Indian background, and contemporary representations.

4 units, Aut (Harrison, P)

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