PHR 2150 - ANCIENT RELIGIONS

credits: 3.0
Crosslisted/Same As: ANT 2150
ANT 2150-PHR 2150, undertakes a historical approach to understanding ancient religious traditions of numerous ancient civilizations existing in the world prior to the advent of modern history. Ancient traditions such as those of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Mesopotamians, Indo-Europeans, Aboriginal Australians, Hittites, Canaanites, Israelites, Persians, and Greeks are analyzed. Of particular interest in this course is the way in which ancient religious traditions created and disseminated rich mythical narratives, structured a society around religious ideals, and performed intricate rituals to maintain the primordial worldview. Objectives: A) Explain the role of religion in the lives of ancient civilizations around the globe; B) Relate the various dimensions of beliefs and practices by religious people in the ancient world including important myths and rituals; C) Analyze the shared roles of myth, magic, and ritual across diverse cultures throughout history; D) Articulate ancient conceptions of knowledge, community, nature, and existence; E) Research ancient religions using interdisciplinary, objective approaches; F) Evaluate scholarly interpretations of ancient religious traditions; G) Develop cogent arguments of ancient religious topics through individual research. Method of Instruction: Lectures, videos, and readings. Method of Evaluation: Syllabus Quiz, Weekly assignments (task varies): find an ancient myth online and share with class, chart differences between two ancient religions, tell a mythical narrative to another person and report on their interpretation of meaning, research symbols, create own myth-ritual-symbol; two exams: mid-term and final; two research papers. Meets *NWP Distribution Requirement.