Spring 2025. For links to the readings (homework assignment before class), see the major syllabus.
Jan. 16: Introduction: What is the relevance of religion as a cultural-historical topic. For today, we examine one short statement recently published about the nature of Christianity as a hermeneutic religionRieger.hermeneutics
Jan. 21: Critical approaches to Religious Studies: Read the texts in the links above (1. Swarthmore, 2. Chapel Hill, 3. Harvard, 4. Why Study Religion – my letter to the editor). And read the first section of the Wikipedia article on religion in antiquity and the early Middle Ages: To simplify, let’s focus on the table of contents and discuss then what the major steps have been and where we will need to investigate it further.
Jan. 23: History of religion and German culture, from the high Middle Ages to the 20th c., Wikipedia. Same link as on Tue in the general syllabus. There are 9 sections (from late antiquity to the 20th c. Let’s divide them up into groups. I’ll assign those to each two of you. Thanks.
Here is our worksheet for today (ignore the wrong date for 2023)
Jan. 28: We outline the historical overview, going quickly from antiquity to the 20th century (use the same Wikipedia link as listed for Jan. 23). Let’s build a scaffold via google.docs. We also study: Rieger.hermeneutics
Jan. 30: What is anti-Semitism, and why does it exist until today? We watch this short video and discuss it in class. Time permitting: Let’s watch a short film: Maseltov Cocktail. trailer 2; German version in full length (no longer active, sorry). Now, here is the full version, in German, with English subtitles, posted on D2L. Please watch the movie at home and be ready to discuss it in class.Discussion of the movie.
Feb. 4: Max Mueller Max Müller, Introduction to the Science of Religion, 1870. I have also scanned the text and uploaded the first chapter to our D2L page.
Feb. 6: Karl Barth: let’s study his biography first, then we’ll look at a sample of his major statements (very brief quotes)
Feb. 6: Barth: his essay, see the link in the syllabus. Then: Friedrich Nietzsche: The Madman (see also link above in the syllabus)
Feb. 13: cont. with Nietzsche
Feb. 18: 1st exam, on top hat; then we discuss Karl Marx on religion
Feb. 20: We study the paintings by Caspar David Friedrich today: Biography, Romanticism, and his artworks. See images online.
Febr. 27: Lessing: Enlightenment. Biography. Lessing’s biography. Nathan the Wise, Act 1
March 4: Cont. with Act 1. 1st paper, due at 8 p.m.
March 6: Lessing Act 2
Spring break: March 8-15
March 18: Lessing Act 3
March 20: Lessing Act 4
March 25: Lessing Act 5.
March 27: Lessing Act 5 Then we turn to Baroque poetry. Let’s use this article, For the historical background, the religious conflicts, and then the 30 Years’ War, watch this excellent lecture by Peter Wilson and take some notes. I will ask you about the information provided there. but focus only on the images included. Then, please read this introductory article first. Angelus Silesius: Baroque, Pietism. We read the first epigrams up to 1.47: use these translations, A quick video
April 1: Baroque poetry, Silesius cont. 1.97-5,242. We continue with Silesius.
April 3: 2nd exam, on Tophat
April 08: Andreas Gryphius, esp. pp. 145, 147, 149 (both in German and in English).
April 10: Protestant Reformation. Basic Facts. Then: Martin Luther: Protestant Reformation: theses 1-15
April 15: Review of the Introduction to the Reformation. Then we consider Luther’s translation of the Bible. We continue with the theses by Luther: 16-30
April 17: Renaissance: Boccaccio: I/2 and 3
April 22: Boccaccio: X/9. Then: We read this short but most insightful recent article on Nicholas of Cusa and Saint Francis of Assisi as to ‘interreligious dialogue’. We will not get to this, but in case you have time: Please also study this Introduction. This is a good, brief summary. ght not quite get very far, but let’s work on the Intro. at least for 20 min.
April 24: Today, a radical change of pace. We’ll meet at the Museum of Art, Olive Street, across from the Architecture School, and study some medieval Gothic paintings to understand the religious framework in aesthetic terms.
April 29: 3rd exam (on tophat). Mysticism: Hildegard of Bingen: her hymns. . Please read just the beginning of this excellent study, on mysticism. Then turn to her own text, link above in the syllabus. The Stanford article might be too esoteric, so let’s focus instead on this online article, which is rather broadly conceived, global, but easier to understand. Please read first this entry on Wikipedia, esp. the chapter on Hildegard.
2nd paper is due: May 2, 8 p.m.
May 6: We finally switch to Abelard Video. Our text is an abbreviation, it begins on p. 19 and goes to 51.; please have read the entirety of the dialogue between the Jew and the Philosopher. The point here is to understand that the discourse on religion began already in the high Middle Ages, if not even before that. Final discussion.
Semester ends on May 7 (no class)
Extra credit: attend the conference on May 2-3 for some of the papers, and write an essay about one or more papers, ca. 200 words. Due: May 6: 8 p.m. Up to 50 points (4%).
Perhaps also: Rilke, Sonnets to Orpheus
For the background, please read the questions/assignments as posted on D2L.
Thanks.
Possible Changes: The information contained in the course syllabus, other than the grade and absence policies, may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.
Final Grade Review: If there might be a problem with your grade, you can ask me for a review until May 12, 2021. Beyond that, there will not be any opportunity to revisit your grade.