USC RELIGION

REAL – RELEVANT – REVELATORY – RELIGION

Understanding religion is vital today in order to grasp key issues in global politics, as
well as to make sense of human life in its quest for truth, meaning and moral
direction. Religion – praised as a path to peace and blamed as the root of violence –
deals with ultimate concerns, yet these concerns are always embedded in history and
society. In the USC School of Religion, we explore religion on a global,
transhistorical scale, from the cultural world of ancient Christianity to the portrayal of
Buddhism in contemporary American cinema. We view religious studies not so much
as a discipline, but rather as a field of complex encounter, bringing multiple
perspectives – history, sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, and textual analysis
– to bear on a wide range of religious traditions and practices.

ADVANTAGES OF THE RELIGION MAJOR

 Small class sizes with teachers who have won numerous USC teaching awards.
 Range of classes. Religions are many things, but they are rarely boring. Study the smells of
India, mystical desire, religion in TV and film, bioethics, the life of Jesus, women in Islam,
violence and warfare, Buddhist monks, archaeological discoveries . . .
 Double major. The flexible requirements of the Religion major complement other majors
well, especially Political Science, Communications, or Philosophy for pre-law students. In
fact, most Religion majors are double majors.
 Research experience. Students can potentially draw on the department’s affiliation with the
USC Archaeology Research Center, the Center for Religion and Civic Culture and the Casden
Institute for the Jewish Rule in American Life.
 USC RELIGION
FALL 2010 CLASSES
REL 111g: The World of the Hebrew Bible
REL 121g: The World of the New Testament
REL 125g: Introduction to Christianity
REL 140g: Religion and Ethical Issues
REL 301: Introduction to the Study of Religion
REL 315: Thought and Life of Islam
REL 325: Religious Experience in the Greco-Roman World
REL 341: Technology, Culture, and Ethics
REL 360: Ethical Issues in the New Medical Revolution
REL 426: Religion, Media and Hollywood: Faith in TV
REL 462: Religion and Violence
REL 493: The Art and Archaeology of Religion: Beginnings

SPRING 2011 CLASSES

REL 140g: Religion and Ethical Issues
REL 311: The Bible in Western Literature
REL 336: Re-viewing Religion in Asian America
REL 364: Judeo-Christian Ethics
REL 401: Majors Seminar in Religious Studies
REL 460: Seminar in Medical Ethics
REL 499: How to See God: Images and Visuality in Christianity
REL 499: Religions of Ancient Egypt and the Near East

Students can also pursue an independent course of study with a faculty member by enrolling in REL
490: Directed Research.