Majors will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the
universe of meaning internal to a particular religious tradition including its
primary texts, liturgy, theology, soteriology, ethics, hermeneutics, conceptual
framework, and epistemology; the essential vocabulary of a religious tradition
and relevant languages; the influence of and the influence on the greater
intellectual, political, social, and cultural contexts from within which a
religion develops; the historical forces that have influenced the synchronic and
diachronic trajectories of religious traditions, and thus identify different
priorities given to specific topics or areas of discourse internal to a
continuing tradition over geographical areas and spans of time; and the primary
interpretative models that have developed in the western study of religion
since the enlightenment, including social, psychological, and scientific
perspectives on the phenomenon of religion.
Majors will be able to think critically about
religious traditions including their own and compare similar topics from
different religious traditions, either contemporary or from some other time
period, empathetically entering into traditions other than their own and
engaging with cross-cultural perspectives. Majors will be able to make oral presentations, actively and
critically engage with materials through discussion, and in written work
conceptualize, research, structure, articulate, and defend an original thesis.
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