Disciplines and areas of study
Religion and spirituality studies
Program Coordinator: Dr Anne Gardner (History)
Religion and spirituality studies offer an academic study of various religions from two different perspectives. The first provides an understanding of some of the great religious traditions. The second perspective is the study of religions and/or spirituality in the context of various disciplinary approaches: historical, philosophical, sociological, anthropological, literary and linguistic.
The staff who teach the area belong to various programs and their offerings are listed accordingly: i.e., as anthropology, Asian studies, English, history, philosophy or sociology.
Languages
Students wishing to study Christianity may consider taking Ancient Greek. Those wishing to study Indian traditions should consider taking Sanskrit. See the entries under Greek studies and Sanskrit in this Handbook. For those wishing to study Judaism or the Tanak/Old Testament in the original language, a complementary course in classical Hebrew can be arranged at another institution. Hebrew units can be counted towards a Religion and Spirituality Studies major.
Programs of study
Students intending to qualify for the degree with a major in Religion and Spirituality Studies are normally required to take 130 credit points from the list below, 60 credit points of which must be taken at third year level. Those intending to proceed to honours level are encouraged to take additional units from the lists below.
Important notice: Not all of the units listed below will be available every year. See the unit lists for the specific disciplines, where units unavailable in 2008 will be noted.
| Unit title | Unit code |
|---|---|
| First year units (15 credit points) | |
| Ancient Civilisations | HIS1ACA |
| Sanskrit Beginners 1A | SAN1BEA |
| Sanskrit Beginners 1B | SAN1BEB |
| Spirituality and Rites of Passage | ENG1SRP |
| Thought, Action and Society | PHI1TAS |
| Second or third year units (20 credit points) | Unit code |
| Ancient Israel Part A | HIS2AIA/HIS3AIA |
| Antiquity, Gender and Religion | HIS2AGR/HIS3AGR |
| Body, Mind and Culture | ANT2BMC/ANT3BMC |
| Goddesses, Sexuality and Liberation: India and beyond | AST2GSL/AST3GSL |
| Introduction to Buddhism | AST2INB/AST3INB |
| Introduction to Hinduism | AST2INH/AST3INH |
| Israel, Jews and the Nations | HIS2IJN/HIS3IJN |
| Jesus: fact or fiction? | HIS2JFF/HIS3JFF |
| Jung’s Cultural Psychology | ENG2JCP/ENG3JCP |
| Sanskrit Beginners 2A | SAN2BEA |
| Sanskrit Beginners 2B | SAN2BEB |
| Sociology of Culture | SOC2SOC/SOC3SOC |
| Symbol, Psyche and Society | ANT2SPS/ANT3SPS |
| Third year units (20 credit points) | Unit code |
| Reading Course A | RST3RCA |
| Reading Course B | RST3RCB |
| Sanskrit Beginners 3A | SAN3BEA |
| Sanskrit Beginners 3B | SAN3BEB |
Other units approved for a religion and spirituality studies major
Without permission from the Program Coordinator, no more than 60 credit points of units from this category may be credited towards the 130-credit point major.
Important notice: Not all of the units listed below will be available every year. See the unit lists for the specific disciplines, where units unavailable in 2008 will be noted.
| Unit title | Unit code |
|---|---|
| First year units (15 credit points) | |
| Introduction to Pastoral Care | PHE1IPC |
| Myth, Legend and History | HIS1MLH |
| Second or third year units (10 credit points) | Unit code |
| Death, Dying and Grief A | PHE3DDA |
| Death, Dying and Grief B | PHE3DDB |
| Second or third year units (15 credit points) | Unit code |
| Illness and Spirituality | PHE3ISB |
| Second or third year units (20 credit points) | Unit code |
| Aboriginal Australia | ANT2ABA/ANT3ABA |
| Being and World | PHI2BAW/PHI3BAW |
| Disintegration and Dread in Modern Society | SOC2DDM/SOC3DDM |
| Freud | PHI2FRD/PHI3FRD |
| Peace and Change | POL2PAC/POL3PAC |
| Psychological Anthropology | ANT2PSA/ANT3PSA |
Honours
The honours program in religion and spirituality studies requires intensive study in the third and fourth years of the degree. Students intending to do honours should consult the Honours Coordinator about their choice of units. A major in religion and spirituality studies is required of prospective honours students who must demonstrate their ability to cope with the honours program.
Fourth year students are required to write a minor thesis of between 12000 and 15000 words, undertake a special study normally related to the thesis topic and a methodology unit, and attend the honours seminar in the department of their thesis supervisor.
A full description of these units (including the unit name, unit code, credit points, campus/location, unit coordinator, class requirements, assessment, prerequisites and readings) appears at the end of each discipline entry. A full description of RST units appears below. For the most recent descriptions of all units, please access the unit database at www.latrobe.edu.au/udb_public.