Religious Studies at UMD: Approved Course List

 

Major in Religions and Cultures of the Ancient Middle East

The RAME major provides a more focused course of religious studies, while incorporating a course-structure specifically designed to help you complete your Gen Ed requirements. This 30-credit major is perfect as a stand-alone or part of a double major or double-degree program.

Foundation requirements:

One specially-designed Religious Studies I-series course (3 cr.)

Three lower-level courses in 2+ relevant traditions (9 cr.)

Electives (chosen with permission of RAME advisor):

One lower-level elective (3 cr.)

Four upper-level electives (12 cr.)

Capstone:

One specially-designed Religious Studies capstone seminar (3 cr.)

 

For more information on the major, specific courses, and advising, please contact rame-advise@umd.edu. We look forward to speaking with you!

Minor in Religious Studies

 

The classic Religious Studies minor provides an opportunity to “travel the world” through the study religious phenomena in wide-ranging historical, geographical, and conceptual contexts. While valuable to anyone with an interest in religion, the religious studies minor especially supports students in STEM, business, journalism, and other fields, where focused exposure to a course of humanities enhances and diversifies the focused educational experience.

Foundation requirements:

RELS 271: “What is Religion?” (I-series, Hum, CC)

 Both courses incorporate the study of world religions with introductions to the discipline of religious studies and specialized approaches to religion. 

Electives:

Two lower-level electives from a pre-approved list or by approval of RELS advisor.

Three courses at the 300-level or above (same) 

Breadth:

RELS students demonstrate exposure to the diversity of religious traditions, in cultural, geographic, and/or temporal breadth. Approved by the Religious Studies adviser.

 

For more information on the minor, specific courses, and advising, please contact rels-advise@umd.edu. We look forward to speaking with you, too!

Religious Studies at UMD

Approved Course List – Spring 2022

ALL courses count toward the RELS minor. 

Courses marked RAME also count toward the MAJOR in Religions and Cultures of the Ancient Middle East. 

Course Number	Course Title	Instructor	RAME	Gen Ed
ANTH 298B/MUSC 220	Selected Musical Cultures of the World	Lie		DSHU, DVUP
ARTH 200	Art and Society in Ancient and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean	Gensheimer	✓	DSHU, DVUP
ARTH 201	Western Art, Renaissance to Present	Shannon		DSHU, DVUP
ARTH 301	Aegean Art and Archaeology	Egan	✓	DSHU
ARTH 313	Medieval Art: Cultural Exchanges in the Byzantine World	Georgievska-Shine	✓	DSHU, DVUP
ARTH 376	Living Art of Africa	Tervala
ENGL 302	Medieval Literature in Translation	Moser
ENGL 402	Chaucer	Moser
HIST 110	The Ancient World	Conner	✓	DSHU
HIST 111	The Medieval World	Ho		DSHS, DVUP
HIST 219X	Modern Iran	Karamustafa		DSHS
HIST 235	Divorced, Beheaded, Deposed: Britain from 1485-1689	Baron		DSHS
HIST 319R	Genghis Khan and the Mongols	Ho
HIST 408Q	Heresy and Inquisition in the Middle Ages	Bianchini		DSSP
HIST 418F	Jewish Women in Modernity	Rozenblit
HIST 329O	Ideologies, Parties, and Social Movements in the Modern Middle East	Wien
HIST 429G/PERS 498W	Studying Islamic Cultures through Computational Textual Analysis	Allen
ISRL 249B	Storytelling in the Jewish Tradition	Inbar
JWST 219T/CINE 298	The Politics of Jews and Film	Mahalel
JWST 272/CMLT 242	Introduction to Jewish Literature	Mahalel		DSHU, DVUP
JWST 275/HIST 286	The Jew and the City	Cooperman		DSHS, DVUP
JWST 319P/ARHU 380	Special Topics in Jewish Studies; Social Innovation, Change, and Justice	Kotkin
JWST 324/HIST 321	Biblical History and Culture	Suriano	✓
JWST 331/HIST 320	Early Christianity: Jesus to Constantine	Conner	✓
JWST 429M	American Jewry and Public Policy	Lasensky
PERS 110/AMST 110	Rumi Rocks!: Persian Poets as Best Sellers and Spiritual Guides in America	Miller
PHIL 428C	Confucius and Socrates	Liu
RELS 170/ CLAS 170	Greek and Roman Mythology	Bravo	✓	DSHU
RELS 219K/HIST 245	Middle East in the 20th Century	Wien		DSHS
RELS 225/JWST 225/ HIST 219I	Religions of the Ancient Near East	Suriano	✓	DSHU
RELS 271	What is Religion?	Grossman	✓	DSHU, DVUP, SCIS
RELS 289C/HIST 289A	Jews, Christians, Muslims in Medieval Spain	Bianchini		DSHS, DVUP, SCIS
RELS 429M/HIST 429M	Constructing the Past in Early Islam	Borrut	✓
SLLC 286	Living the Good Life: Chinese Philosophy in the Modern World	Schonebaum		DSHU, SCIS
SOCY 480	Researching the Middle East	Moaddel
SPAN 332	Spanish Culture: Renaissance and Baroque (taught in Spanish)	Pinillos		DSHU
SPAN 408I	The Bright Middle Ages (taught in Spanish)	Benito-Vessels