Science and Religion

This course provides a survey of issues at the interface of science and religion. These include questions of knowledge, belief, and truth about the beginnings of the cosmos, the origins of human beings, and the roles of science and religion in society. This course can be used to satisfy the core requirement for the Sciene and Religion Thread. Credit may not be earned for more than one of the Science and Religion Seminar courses of IDS 1050FYW, IDS 1060, or IDS 1070.

This course provides a survey of issues at the interface of science and religion. These include questions of knowledge, belief, and truth about the beginnings of the cosmos, the origins of human beings, and the roles of science and religion in society. This course can be used to satisfy the core requirement for the Sciene and Religion Thread. Credit may not be earned for more than one of the Science and Religion Seminar courses of IDS 1050FYW, IDS 1060, or IDS 1070.

This course provides a survey of issues at the interface of science and religion. These include questions of knowledge, belief, and truth about the beginnings of the cosmos, the origins of human beings, and the roles of science and religion in society. This course can be used to satisfy the core requirement for the Sciene and Religion Thread. Credit may not be earned for more than one of the Science and Religion Seminar courses of IDS 1050FYW, IDS 1060, or IDS 1070.

Each course in the Topics in World Literature group will study a selection of literary works that engage the chosen topic--texts of different genres, from historical eras, and from different cultural traditions. The selected readings will present both abstract principles involved in the topic and its immediate, lived realities.
Prerequisite(s): Any First Year Writing course.

One of the distinctive features of Western culture involves the interaction of religion and reason as a basis for understanding. From the Ancient World up to modern times, systems of understanding have rooted themselves in both divine revelation and rational inquiry. This course will explore the origins of such perspectives, and trace their development and interaction from antiquity to the present. The course will focus on reading and evaluating texts which exemplify these modes of thinking from mythologies of the Ancient Near East, to Greek and Roman philosophical writings up to modern debates concerning the sufficiency of religion or science as a basis for understanding. This course may be counted toward fulfillment of the Science and Religion thread, and as a Writing Instructive course. No P/F.

(Normally offered each fall semester.)

See Thread Coordinator.

This course examines issues about God, faith, reason, knowledge, causation, whether the world is eternal or has a beginning, and science among other issues as found in the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic philosophical traditions from about 400 CE to about 1400 CE.

This course examines issues about God, faith, reason, certainty, doubt, causation, immortality of the soul, and science among other issues as discussed in mostly European philosophical traditions from 1600-1899.

In this course we study and assess a variety of mythologies from around the world, paying attention to the cultural circumstances from which these myths emerge, and the different types of belief systems the myths answer to and inspire. The instructor of the course will determine which mythologies are studied. These may include, but are not limited to: Greek, African, Celtic, Egyptian, Buddhist, and Hindu mythologies. Students may repeat the course with departmental permission when the study of different mythologies is offered.

This is a survey of issues in the philosophy of religion.  The main focus will be on issues found in western religious traditions, especially Christianity, with brief excursions into non-western traditions. These issues may include: arguments for the existence of God, the problem of evil, understanding the divine attributes, miracles, mysticism, religious pluralism, and life after death.

An examination of selected topics in philosophy of science.  Topics may include theories of explanation, confirmation, reduction, laws, the status of theoretical entities, and the epistemological foundations of scientific theories.  This course may be taken more than once with department approval.

An introductory course on the solar system, stars and galaxies.
Three lectures per week.
One laboratory/observation per week.
Prerequisite(s): One year of high school algebra or permission of instructor.
(Normally offered alternate spring semesters.)

This course examines the beginnings of modern theological reflection, following the Reformation, and moves forward, following historical developments in Christian theology, into the first half of the twentieth century. The impact of the Enlightenment on theology characterizes the first third of the course. The rise of nineteenth century liberal theology and varied responses to it characterize the second, while the last third of the course takes up neo-orthodoxy, process, and secular theologies.