Philosophy/Religious Studies

Whatever the vocational goal, students benefit from completing courses in philosophy and religious studies. Nearly everyone is concerned with the kinds of questions and experiences studied in philosophy and religion. Both fields of study are concerned with the nature of reality, truth and value, the human response to death and suffering, and those perennial human questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?

Philosophy and religious studies courses require critical analysis, clarity, and understanding. These skills are achieved through careful and close reading of texts, images, and symbols as well as through descriptive and analytic writing. These are invaluable skills transferable to most vocations. Philosophy and religion courses require the study of diverse and often competing belief systems. This challenging and exciting endeavor can help us make sense of the events taking place in the world around us.

Students planning to transfer to a baccalaureate institution and major in philosophy or religious studies should consult a counselor regarding the transfer process and lower division requirements.

PHIL 101 3 Units

Introduction to Philosophy

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This course is a general introduction to the major problems and questions as pondered by philosophy's great thinkers. Attention is directed to both classic and modern philosophy and will include various voices from the history of philosophy as a basis for discussion of issues such as epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

C-ID: PHIL 100

PHIL 101H 3 Units

Introduction to Philosophy - Honors

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

C-ID: PHIL 100

PHIL 102 3 Units

Critical Thinking and Writing

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Prerequisite: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This course is an introduction to critical thinking focusing on argument and evidence and the ability to write coherent argumentative essays. Topics include recognition of the structures of reasoning in natural language, the evaluation of such reasoning (including informal fallacies), the uses and abuses of language, and an investigation of the rhetorical devices common in our culture. Students practice critical thinking by writing substantive arguments and essays.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

PHIL 103 3 Units

Introduction to Logic: Argument and Evidence

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

Introduction to the techniques of critical thought, including language analysis, inductive and deductive logic, symbolic logic, and the development of the scientific method.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

C-ID: PHIL 110

PHIL 105 3 Units

Introduction to Ethics

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This course is an introduction to ethics focusing on the analysis of the basic ideas and principles underlying moral conduct. Theories such as utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, and many others will form the basis of the course. Specific ethical problems arising in disciplines such as business, health care, administration of justice, and politics, as well as specific ethical problems confronting individuals, will also be addressed in this course.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

C-ID: PHIL 120

PHIL 109 3 Units

Philosophy of Religion

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H and PHIL 101 or PHIL 101H

This course critically examines religion and religious belief from a rational and philosophical perspective. Central topics include the attributes and nature of God, arguments for theism and atheism, faith and reason, the problem of evil, religious pluralism, and the afterlife.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

PHIL 112 3 Units

Philosophy in Literature

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This course addresses ethical and metaphysical themes as presented in literature from the classical to the modern period. Philosophical problems such as freedom and determinism, the nature of virtue, the meaning of death, and the individual's relationship to the state and the structure of reality are explored through the encounter with novels, plays, short stories, and film.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

PHIL 180 3 Units

Death and Dying

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This course is a study of dying, death, and bereavement. Medical, ethical, legal, philosophical, and religious considerations will be explored. (This is also offered as RELIG 180)

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

RELIG 100 3 Units

Introduction to Religious Studies

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This course is an introductory study of religion, with emphasis on religious experience, the origins and function of religion, and the various modes of religious expression. Necessarily broad in scope, this course will draw on Eastern, Western, ancient, and modern religious phenomena to help students understand various religious components, such as myth, ritual, scripture, art, doctrine, and mysticism.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

RELIG 100H 3 Units

Introduction to Religious Studies - Honors

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

RELIG 101 3 Units

Introduction to World Religions

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This course is an introduction to the major religious traditions of the world with an emphasis on the beliefs, practices, and histories of Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

RELIG 115 3 Units

Magic, Witchcraft, Cults, and New Religious Movements

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

Through an examination of magic and witchcraft, the course introduces the study of the beliefs and practices, past and present, associated with new religious movements, sometimes referred to as cults. Topics examined include ritual, symbolism, altered states of consciousness and healing, as well as syncretism, change and the social roles of these beliefs and practices. The course also examines examples of various historical religious influences on new religious movements. (Formerly RELIG 110)

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

RELIG 135 3 Units

Religion in America

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This course is an introduction to the diverse expression of religion in the United States. Although limited by the history and geography of one country, the course necessarily draws from religions around the globe to help students understand how religion has grown and developed in the U.S. So, this course deals with a wide variety of expressions of religion, including the Puritans, slave religion, the religious reform movements, the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim communities, the African American religious experience, Eastern religions in America, and contemporary syncretistic religious movements.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

RELIG 150 3 Units

Introduction to Mythology

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This course is an introduction to myth and its function in culture through an examination of creation stories, end-of-the world stories, hero stories, and trickster stories. Although focusing on the narrative expression of religion, this course necessarily draws from many traditions, including Native American, Greek, Roman, European, Islamic, Chinese, Hindu, and Japanese traditions of myth. In addition, this class will examine modern American myths.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

RELIG 175 3 Units

The Literature and Religion of the Bible

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Prerequisite: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This course covers The English Bible as literature and as religion including an examination of the types of literature found in the Bible, the historical and religious context in which the literature was developed and an extensive reading of the two testaments. This course is also offered as ENGL 175. RELIG 175 is the transferable equivalent of ENGL 075. A student taking RELIG 175 may not earn credit for ENGL 075.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

RELIG 176 3 Units

Jesus and His Interpreters

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This course is a study of images and interpretations of Jesus with three principle divisions: Jesus and the gospels or biblical tradition; Jesus and the historians, including the quest of historians and theologians for the Jesus of history; and Jesus and the arts (Jesus in art, music, film, and the literary arts, such as novels, poems, and plays.)

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

RELIG 180 3 Units

Death and Dying

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This course is a study of dying, death, and bereavement. Medical, ethical, legal, philosophical, and religious considerations will be explored. (This course is also offered as PHIL 180)

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

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