Description

Description:

The History Department's Undergraduate Certificate in the History of Religions allows students to demonstrate familiarity and skill in the academic study of religious peoples, practices, institutions, and beliefs. The Certificate is designed to provide students with a broad and deep understanding of religion as a field of human activity and inquiry. Courses in History and Religion emphasize the scholarly analysis and interpretation of the history, literature, beliefs, myths, symbols, rituals, and ethical and legal codes of the world´s religious communities, institutions, and traditions. Students investigate how religions address enduring human questions and influence responses to daily problems, and how religious traditions shape lives and societies, from the emergence of the earliest civilizations to twenty-first century global conflicts. Students completing this Certificate acquire the skills necessary to investigate specific religious traditions in historical depth and to understand the forms, expressions, and roles of religions in the world today.

The Certificate in the History of Religions includes a course of study within the History Department that emphasizes critical thinking, clear communication skills, methodological awareness, and an understanding of historical continuity and change in religious traditions. This Certificate prepares students for careers that require strong analytic and communication skills and the ability to understanding and discuss religious worldviews and practices in historical comparison, whether that be in education, health care, public service, religious institutions, social service organizations, the nonprofit sector, or elsewhere. Students also acquire the academic foundations needed for pursuing graduate degrees in religious studies and its cognate fields.

Requirements:

The History Department's undergraduate Certificate in the History of Religions consists of a total of 12 credits, distributed across the following requirements:

Core Classes – 6 (or 7) credits

Students must complete 2 of the following core classes:

HSTR 101H: Western Civilization I – 4cr

HSTR 210E,L: History of Bible – 3cr

HSTR 221H: God: Past, Puzzle Present – 3cr

Electives – 9 credits

Students may choose an additional nine credits of coursework from the following list:

HSTR 211E,L: Early Christianity – 3cr

HSTR 262: Islamic Civilizations: Classic Age – 3cr

HSTR 264: Islamic Civilizations: Modern Era – 3cr

HSTR 302: Ancient Greece – 3cr

HSTR 304H: Ancient Rome – 3cr

HSTR 313: Religion and Violence – 3 cr

HSTR 314: Origins of Western Religion – 3 cr

HSTR 315: The Reformation – 3cr

HSTR 319: Prophets and Prophecy – 3 cr

HSTR 321: Roman Empire - 3 cr

HSTA 347: Voodoo, Muslim, Church: Black Religion – 3 cr

HSTR 365: The Ancient Near East – 3 cr

HSTR 391: Special topics (by approval of the Director of Undergraduate studies) – 3 cr

HSTA 417: Prayer and Civil Rights – 3cr