Topics such as religious phenomena, e.g., Millenialism, religious ethics and historical religious figures and movements. May be repeated for credit with different topics.
| Distribution Area | Prerequisites | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 1 course |
Fall Semester information
Leslie James290A: Topics:Second Chances: Religion and the Pursuit of Happiness
This course explores the theme of second chances drawing on a variety of sources such as religious traditions; biblical and other scriptures; writers such as Shakespeare, Viktor Frankl; mythology and other literary forms; thinkers like Aristotle, W.E.B. DuBois; and films like A Christmas Carol, The Wizard of Oz, Apocalypse Now, Forest Gump, The Color Purple, and Oppenheimer. It acknowledges that life is precarious, unpredictable, and out of human control. It hopes to show that happiness depends less on sorting everything out than accepting life's muddle, embracing its consequences, and negotiating pathways through uncertainty. The imaginative penetration of reality is relevant to embrace new possibilities. Without the possibility of a second chance, humans instinctively become subject to psychological and social confinement.