Undergraduate - Area of study Religious studies

Students who commenced study in 2015 should refer to this area of study entry for direction on the requirements; to check which units are currently available for enrolment, refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your area of study.

print version

This area of study entry applies to students commencing this course in 2015 and should be read in conjunction with the relevant course entry in the Handbook. Any units listed for this area of study relate only to the 'Requirements' outlined in the Faculty of Arts component of any bachelors double degrees.

Managing faculty	Faculty of Arts
Offered by	Centre for Religious Studies
Campus(es)	Clayton
Coordinator	Dr Tamara Prosic

Notes

Unit codes that are not linked to their entry in the Handbook are not available for study in the current year.

Description

All human cultures reflect on the meaning of life through myth, symbol and abstract reflection. Studying the religions and theologies of different cultures, within a variety of historical contexts, is both an important intellectual exercise and a fascinating process that provokes many questions about the past, the present and the future. The Centre for Religious studiesCentre for Religious studies (http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/religious-studies/) is devoted to the critical study of a wide range of religious traditions, as interpreted both in the past and in the contemporary world. It is also concerned with thinking about the ways in which specific religious traditions (in particular Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) engage in intellectual reflection on a wide range of specific issues, such as the nature of God, ethics, social issues, gender, the environment and the meaning of life.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the major, students will:

have an ability to formulate, conduct and produce an independent research project in a written, visual or oral form and in keeping with the methodological conventions (historical, sociological etc.) of religious studies
demonstrate the capacity to present a sustained argument based largely on primary sources
be aware of current philosophical, historical and cultural debates about the nature of religion as fields of study
be acquainted with the various public uses and applications of studies in religion, including digital and online applications
be acquainted with intellectual debates about the interpretation of religion
be able to think reflectively about different forms or genre in which religions are represented
be able to identify and reflect on the knowledge and skills they have developed in their study of religion
be familiar with at least three different religions, with particular expertise of at least one, with awareness of its theological or intellectual traditions.

Units

Minor in religious studies

Students completing a minorminor (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/undergrad/arts-07.html) in religious studies must complete four units (24 points), including:

(a.) two first-year gateway unitsgateway units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (12 points):

ATS1040 Religions and the modern world
ATS1041 World religions

(b.) additional elective units from the list below (12 points)

Note: Students can take the second-year cornerstone units from the major as electives.

Major in religious studies

Students completing a majormajor (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/undergrad/arts-07.html) in religious studies must complete eight units (48 points), including:

(a.) two first-year gateway unitsgateway units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (12 points):

ATS1040 Religions and the modern world
ATS1041 World religions

For the purposes of a minor or major in religious studies, the following first-year level units may be counted as alternative gateway units:

ATS1316 Medieval Europe
ATS1317 Renaissance Europe
ATS1322 Conflict and coexistence: Jews, Christians, Muslims
ATS1960 Jews in the modern world

Note: ATS1316 and ATS1317 can be counted as first-year gateway units towards either historyhistory (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/aos/history/ug-arts-history.html) or religious studies, but not to both. ATS1322 and ATS1960 can be counted as first-year gateway units towards either Jewish studiesJewish studies (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/aos/jewish-studies/), historyhistory (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/aos/history/ug-arts-history.html) or religious studies, but only to one of these areas.

(b.) at least one second-year cornerstone unitcornerstone unit (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (6 points), chosen from:

ATS2586 Islam: Principles, civilisations, influences
ATS2610 Ancient religions
ATS2724 Religion, spirituality and society

(c.) at least one third-year capstone unitcapstone unit (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (6 points), chosen from:

ATS3341 Interpreting the sources of Islam: The Qur'an and Hadith
ATS3611 Imagining God: The mystic quest in Judaism, Christianity and Islam
ATS3862 Thinking about religion

(d.) additional elective units from the list below (24 points).

At least three units (18 points) must be completed at third-year level.

Note: Students can take the remaining cornerstone and capstone units as electives.

Extended major in religious studies

Students completing an extended major in religious studies (60 points), must complete an additional 12 points of third-year level elective units.

Elective units

ATS2185 Biblical texts and contexts
ATS2359/ATS3359 Hearing the country: Studies in Indigenous Australian ethnoecology
ATS2371 Magic, science and religion
ATS2374 Witchcraft in the modern world
ATS2600 The Holocaust
ATS2603 The age of crusades: Cultures and societies
ATS2629 Religion and spirituality in a globalising world
ATS2860 After the death of God: Continental philosophy of religion from Nietzsche to today
ATS2861 God, freedom and evil
ATS2872/ATS3872 Topics in Indian philosophy
ATS2907 Islamic leadership in the 20th century
ATS2957/ATS3957 Dante's medieval world: Politics, religion and the city*
ATS3270 Islamic philosophy: From Medieval to modern times
ATS3573 The Renaissance codes: Art, magic and belief
ATS3599 Modern Israel: History, politics and society
ATS3608 Myth and meaning in ancient worlds
ATS3611 Imagining God: The mystic quest in Judaism, Christianity and Islam
ATS3636 Sacred and profane: Religion, the secular and the state
ATS3870 Philosophy of religion
ATS3884 Space, time and deity: Themes from Hume and Leibniz

* Taught in Prato, Italy. This unit will require payment of an additional fee that may cover items such as accommodation, entry fees, excursions, coaches, transfers, flights and university administration.

Relevant courses

Diplomas

2327 Diploma in Liberal Arts

Bachelors

Single degrees

0002 Bachelor of Arts
1638 Bachelor of Arts Scholars Program
0202 Bachelor of Letters

Double degrees

4640 Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
4098 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business
0550 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business (Accounting)
0553 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business (Banking and Finance)
0556 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business (Marketing)
0542 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Commerce
0170 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Economics
3054 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music
0530 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science
3426 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Work
3779 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Visual Arts
4097 Bachelor of Arts Scholars Program and Bachelor of Commerce Scholars Program
D3002 Bachelor of Education (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
4634 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
4644 Bachelor of Environmental Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
L3003 Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts