Religious Quest in the Modern Age

3 credits · Undergraduate

(3 hrs Seminar/Discussion) Students in this course explore contemporary literature against the cultural and political background that produced these kinds of fiction. Students examine the ways in which these books rely on traditional explicitly religious themes as well as broader modern and post-modern concerns such as the question of selfhood, the search for freedom, the grappling with death, and the search for meaning. Authors may include Joseph Conrad, Franz Kafka, Dionne Brand, Arundhati Roy, Shauna Singh Baldwin, Albert Camus, Carol Shields, Rohinton Mistry, Umberto Eco, Yann Martel, Joy Kogawa, Jonathan Franzen, and Margaret Atwood. Cross-listed: REL-4512(3). Restrictions: Students may not hold credit for this course and REL-4512. Requisite Courses: 6 credit hours in Religion & Culture or permission of the instructor [prerequisite(s)].