PRLog (Press Release) -
Dec 16, 2009 -
It aims to be unique among graduate programs in religion (even among the established comparative religions programs throughout the major universities of North America), as it represents a different orientation to the study of scriptures, traditionally understood and practiced as textual study.
While other programs may offer some sort of comparison of scripture traditions, they generally privilege textual study. CCS is a departure from this business-as-
usual approach to scripture. Instead of confining scripture to a material object handed down from generation to generation, the program foregrounds the political, social-psychological, and cultural dynamics involved in meaning-making and identity formation as they occur over time and space. In these situations, the text itself is not the focus; rather, the focus is on the interpretive matrix that enables group construction around a shared meaning. Scripture, therefore, is treated as both subject and verb, something not only created, but also an activity in which people engage.
"The focus of this new program is placed ultimately not on historical criticism, but critical histories--the histories and phenomenology of religions and cultures, in complex relationships to texts, but also in relationships to other media understood as sacred," said Vincent L. Wimbush, Professor of Religion at CGU and Director of the Institute for Signifying Scriptures, whose mission and research initiatives inspired and will complement this new program.
The program invites students to explore the many creative ways human beings invent, engage, and represent 'scriptures.' It embodies CGU’s dedication to a truly ‘transdisciplinary’
model and encourages students to incorporate the methods and approaches of a variety of disciplines.
The program is flexible and more inclusive: students will be able to engage in critical and comparative research on a wide range of cultural practices and expressions, certainly of the major “world” traditions, but now within the framework of this new program, including also those practices and expressions of formations that have historically been rendered analytically invisible.
Students are encouaged to apply or find out more information here:
http://www.cgu.edu/pages/4532.aspPhoto:
http://www.prlog.org/10454888/1Founded in 1925, Claremont Graduate University is one of the top graduate schools in the United States. Our nine academic schools conduct leading-edge research and award masters and doctoral degrees in 24 disciplines. Because the world’s problems are not simple nor easily defined, diverse faculty and students research and study across the traditional discipline boundaries to create new and practical solutions for the major problems plaguing our world. A Southern California based graduate school devoted entirely to graduate research and study, CGU boasts a low student-to-faculty ratio.
Based at Claremont Graduate University in Southern California, its program is one of the top programs in the country to study religion. Offering masters and PhDs, the program features unique focuses in Mormon Studies, Islamic Studies, Catholic Studies, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Coptic Studies, Jewish Studies, Hebrew Studies, Philosophy of Religion, Theology, Ethics, Culture and women's studies.
