An Interdepartmental Program in Religious Studies
Last updated: August 28, 2019 at 2:18 PM
Programs of Study
- Minor
Objectives
The contemporary field of religious studies contributes significantly to a liberal arts education, cultivating the investigation of religious thought, ritual, spiritual insight, culture, history, and sacred texts. The Program in Religious Studies (PRS) is designed to deepen each student’s understanding of religion and its manifestations through required interdepartmental exploration: surveying systematic approaches to the field and completing courses in at least two different religious traditions. This approach exposes students to several scholarly perspectives on a variety of religious phenomena, often in a comparative context.
The university, with its commitment to ethical responsibility, and the wide range of religious and ethnic backgrounds represented in its student body, provides a unique context for examining religion with open-minded curiosity and sympathetic understanding.
Learning Goals
The modern field of religious studies is an important part of a liberal arts education, allowing for the study of religious thought, ritual, culture, history and texts, often in a comparative context.
The goal of the Program in Religious Studies is to expose students to different scholarly and pedagogical approaches to a variety of religious teachings. For example, the study of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam will bring great depth to one’s understanding of the historical development of individual traditions during a given epoch, as well as of the related art, literature, and politics of the societies practicing these religions. Similarly studies in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism will provide deeper appreciation not only of the relevant texts, but also of East-West cultural encounters and fundamental topics such as enlightenment and the possibility of rebirth.
In this program students survey the world's religions and a variety of approaches to religious studies, study specific religious traditions, and learn additional methods and contexts in which these traditions are situated.
Core Skills
As an interdisciplinary program, PRS helps its students to gain a broad understanding of religions, the peoples who practice them, and their modes of belief, particularly of those religions outside the student’s usual experience. Students analyze texts, histories, and the ways in which human beings have understood their world as reflected in their beliefs, ethics, rituals, artifacts, and organizations of religions. Students also investigate the changing relationships between religion and elements of the wider culture, and learn the theories and methods used in the study of religion.
Knowledge
The exposure to a wide range of religions often opens whole new fields of inquiry to the student: some extend their studies into languages, literature, history, law, and even the sciences. The Program in Religious Studies, through its unique and dynamic interdepartmental course work, strives to deliver a deep understanding of the multi-faceted nature of religion.
Some of the majors and minors with which our students have combined their studies in religion include: American Studies, Anthropology, Art History, Biology, Classical Studies, Comparative Literature, East Asian Studies, English, Environmental Studies, European Cultural Studies, Film, Television, and Interactive Media, Health: Science, Society and Policy, History, International and Global Studies, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Music, Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, Neuroscience, Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Sociology, Theater Arts and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Social Justice
The PRS curriculum provides students with the knowledge and perspectives needed to participate as informed citizens in a global society. PRS emphasizes understanding of and critical engagement with various religious ways of conceptualizing the world and of how religious communities contest practices and beliefs.
Students who are familiar with the narratives and history of various religious traditions develop a deeper understanding of the artistic expression in the world and the need to preserve it. Students who engage the beliefs and practices of various religious traditions develop a greater understanding of the forces that motivate people and move them toward justice. Students will learn to think in a more sophisticated manner about religious freedom within civil society.
After Brandeis
A Brandeis student with a religious studies minor will be prepared to:
- Pursue graduate study and a scholarly career in religious studies, theological education, or another related field,
- Use the knowledge and perspectives gained from the sustained study of religion to pursue professional training and a range of careers in any field dealing with people and religious-cultural diversity— including health care, politics, policy, education, and human rights work—in local and international settings,
- Engage in a pluralistic world as an educated global citizen.
How to Become a Minor
Ideally a mapping out of an academic plan with the current Program for Religious Studies chair or another member of the Religious Studies program core faculty would occur early in a student's career; leading them to fulfill the core course, REL 107a or one of its alternative courses (SOC 129a and ANTH 80a) by the completion of their sophomore year. This ideal scenario is not required, however; and students are welcome to enter the program at any point as long as they are able to complete all degree requirements in a timely fashion. Students gaining an early start in fulfilling PRS requirements are better able to maximize course selection, as a number of courses are not offered annually.
Steering Committee
Kristen Lucken, Chair and Undergraduate Advising Head
(International and Global Studies and Sociology)
Abigail Cooper
(History)
Wendy Cadge
(Sociology)
Jonathan Decter
(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)
Maura Jane Farrelly
(American Studies)
Yu Feng
(German, Russian and Asian Literature and Languages)
Sarah Lamb
(Anthropology)
Charles McClendon
(Fine Arts)
Jonathan Sarna
(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)
Ellen Schattschneider
(Anthropology)
Jerome Tharaud
(English)
David Wright
(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)
Affiliated Faculty (contributing to the curriculum, advising and administration of the department or program)
John Burt (English)
Suleyman Dost (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)
Gregory Freeze (History)
Anita Hannig (Anthropology)
Eli Hirsch (Philosophy)
William Kapelle (History)
Reuven Kimelman (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)
Jytte Klausen (Politics)
Jon Levisohn (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)
Yeduddah Mirsky (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)
Laura Quinney (English)
Eugene Sheppard (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)
David Sherman (English)
Govind Sreenivasan (History)
David Steele (Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies)
Ilana Szobel (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)
Cheryl Walker (Classical Studies)
Aida Wong (Fine Arts)
Palle Yourgrau (Philosophy)
Requirements for the Minor
Students wishing to minor in Religious Studies must complete a total of five semester courses in Religious Studies from among the REL-designated courses and cross-listed offerings, as well as the following requirements:
- At least one core course: REL 107a (Introduction to World Religions), ANTH 80a (Anthropology of Religion), or SOC 129a (Sociology of Religion). Ideally, the student should take the core course early in their career, but not necessarily as the first course in the program.
- The remaining four courses must cover at least two different religious traditions. One course must focus on just one tradition, while a second may include up to two different religious traditions within the course content, other than the tradition of the first course. Additionally, the remaining four courses must be offered from at least two different departments or programs. A list of approved electives is below.
- A senior essay (REL 97a or 97b) may replace one course with the approval of the Program Chair.
- Students must obtain at least a C in each course. Pass/fail courses are not allowed.
- The Undergraduate Advising Head may approve up to two courses transferred from study elsewhere.
The following courses focus on just one tradition:
Ancient Near Eastern Religion: NEJS 116a
Buddhism: REL 151a
Christianity: ENG 154b, FA 42b, FA 145a, HIST 123b, HIST 206b, NEJS 128a, NEJS 130a
Greek and Roman Religion: CLAS 170a
Hinduism: REL/SAS 152a
Islam: FA 33b, IMES 104a, NEJS 186a, NEJS 186b, NEJS 190b, NEJS 194b
Judaism: NEJS 5a, NEJS 111a, NEJS 112a, NEJS 114b, NEJS 115b, NEJS 124b, NEJS 127b, NEJS 153a, NEJS 155b, NEJS 159a, NEJS 162a, NEJS 164a, NEJS 164b, NEJS 166b, NEJS 191b
The following courses focus on no more than two traditions:
Christianity and Judaism: AMST 50b, NEJS 148b
Confucianism and Daoism: REL 161a
Islam and Judaism: NEJS 144a
Courses of Instruction
(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students
REL
97a
Senior Essay
Usually offered every year.
Staff
REL
97b
Senior Essay
Usually offered every year.
Staff
REL
98a
Independent Study
Usually offered every year.
Staff
REL
98b
Independent Study
Usually offered every year.
Staff
(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students
REL
107a
Introduction to World Religions
[
hum
nw
]
An introduction to the study of religion; this core course surveys and broadly explores some of the major religions across the globe.
Kristen Lucken
REL
151a
The Buddha: His Life and Teachings
[
hum
nw
]
Few human beings have had as much impact on the world as Siddhartha Gotama Shakyamuni, known to us as Buddha. This course explores his life and teachings as reflected in early Buddhist literature and Western scholarship. Usually offered every year.
Staff
REL
161a
Chinese Religion and Thought: Understanding Confucianism and Daoism (Taoism)
[
hum
nw
]
This course aims at widening and deepening students' knowledge of world religions by introducing to them distinctive Chinese religions and schools of thought with emphasis on two most significant ones, namely, Confucianism and Taoism. Usually offered every second year.
Yu Feng
REL/SAS
152a
Introduction to Hinduism
[
hum
nw
]
Introduces Hindu practice and thought. Explores broadly the variety of forms, practices, and philosophies that have been developing from the time of the Vedas (ca. 1500 BCE) up to present day popular Hinduism practiced in both urban and rural India. Examines the relations between Hindu religion and its wider cultural, social, and political contexts, relations between the Hindu majority of India and minority traditions, and questions of Hindu identity both in India and abroad. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
Courses Focused on One Tradition
ANTH
141a
Islamic Movements
[
ss
]
Examines the social and cultural dimensions of contemporary Islamic movements from an anthropological perspective. It starts by critically engaging with such fundamental concepts as Orientalism, colonialism, and nationalism. Topics to be discussed include the difference between the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafism, Islamist feminism, Islamic public arguments, Al-Qaeda and ISIS, victimization and martyrdom, and the relationship between humanitarianism and terrorism. Usually offered every second year.
Pascal Menoret
CLAS
170a
Classical Mythology
[
hum
]
An introduction to Greek and Roman mythology. Considers ancient song cultures, and the relationship between myth, drama, and religion. Also explores visual representations of myth. Usually offered every second year.
Joel Christensen
ENG
154b
Spirit Worlds: Religion and Early American Literature
[
hum
]
Explores how the religious imagination shaped literary expression in colonial America and the early United States, and how early American religion is represented in contemporary culture. Authors may include Ann Bradstreet, Charles Brockden Brown, Emily Dickinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Arthur Miller, and Nat Turner. Usually offered every third year.
Jerome Tharaud
FA
33b
Islamic Art and Architecture
[
ca
nw
]
Through case studies of cities, sites, and monuments, the course presents an overview of the art and the architecture of the Islamic world beginning from the seventh century up to the present. Some of the themes include, but are not limited to, Islamic material culture, orientalist imaginations, systems of governance and the colonial present, search for the local identity, urban modernity and nationalism, and globalization. Usually offered every second year.
Muna Guvenc
FA
42b
The Age of Cathedrals
[
ca
]
Architecture, sculpture, and painting (including stained glass) in Western Europe from the twelfth to the fifteenth century, with particular attention to the great churches of medieval France. Usually offered every second year.
Charles McClendon
FA
145a
St. Peter's and the Vatican
[
ca
]
The history, growth, and development of Christendom's most famous shrine, with particular concern for the relationship between the design and decoration of the Renaissance/baroque church and palace complex and their early Christian and medieval predecessors. Usually offered every second year.
Charles McClendon
HIST
123b
Reformation Europe (1400-1600)
[
ss
wi
]
Survey of Protestant and Catholic efforts to reform religion in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Topics include scholastic theology, popular piety and anticlericalism, Luther's break with Rome, the rise of Calvinism, Henry VIII and the English Reformation, the Catholic resurgence, and the impact of reform efforts on the lives of common people. Usually offered every third year.
Govind Sreenivasan
IMES
104a
Islam: Civilization and Institutions
[
hum
nw
]
Provides a disciplined study of Islamic civilization from its origins to the modern period. Approaches the study from a humanities perspective. Topics covered will include the Qur'an, tradition, law, theology, politics, Islam and other religions, modern developments, and women in Islam. Usually offered every year.
Carl El-Tobgui
NEJS
5a
The History of Judaism
[
hum
]
A survey of the Jewish experience and thought, focusing on the varieties of historical Judaism, including its classical forms, its medieval patterns and transformations, and its modern options. Usually offered every year.
Reuven Kimelman
NEJS
111a
The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
[
hum
]
Open to all students.
A survey of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Biblical books will be examined from various perspectives and compared to other ancient Near Eastern compositions. No knowledge of Hebrew is presumed. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
NEJS
112a
The Book of Genesis
[
hum
]
Prerequisite: HBRW 122a or b, NEJS 10a, or permission of the instructor.
An in-depth study of the Hebrew text of Genesis, with particular attention to the meaning, documentary sources, and Near Eastern background of the accounts of creation and origins of human civilization in chapters one to eleven, and of the patriarchal narratives, especially those about Abraham. Usually offered every third year.
Tzvi Abusch
NEJS
114b
Ritual in Biblical Narrative
[
hum
]
Prerequisite: HBRW 122a or b, NEJS 10a, or permission of the instructor.
A study of narratives in the Hebrew Bible that feature ritual motifs, with attention to ritual theory, literary, and historical-critical analysis. Usually offered every third year.
David Wright
NEJS
115b
Gender, Sexuality and the Bible
[
hum
]
Open to all students.
The Bible’s depiction of gender, relationships, and social values in narrative, poetry, and law. Topics include the legal status of women, masculinity, prostitution, and how particular readings of the biblical text have shaped modern ideas about gender and sexuality. Usually offered every third year.
Staff
NEJS
116a
Ancient Near Eastern Religion and Mythology
[
hum
nw
]
Open to all students.
An introduction to the religion, mythology, and thought of the ancient Near East. Usually offered every third year.
Staff
NEJS
124b
Divinity, Difference and Desire: An Introduction to Jewish Mysticism
[
hum
]
A study of Jewish mysticism through history. While investigating the nature of mysticism and the idea of mysticism itself and the transformation of key motifs of Judaism into a mystical key, the course will also be concerned with how to read a Jewish mystical text. All readings are in English. Usually offered every second year.
Yehudah Mirsky
NEJS
127b
The Jewish Liturgy
[
hum
]
Prerequisite: A 20-level Hebrew course or the equivalent.
A study of the literature, theology, and history of the daily and Sabbath liturgy. Emphasis will be placed on the interplay between literary structure and ideational content, along with discussion of the philosophical issues involved in prayer. Usually offered every third year.
Reuven Kimelman
NEJS
128a
Introduction to Christianity
[
hum
]
An introduction to Christian beliefs, liturgy, and history. Surveys the largest world religion: from Ethiopian to Korean Christianity, from black theology to the Christian right. Analyzes Christian debates about God, Christ, and human beings. Studies differences among Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox. Usually offered every year.
Staff
NEJS
153a
Between Ecstasy and Community: Hasidism in Jewish Thought and History
[
hum
]
Explores Hasidism, from the 18th century until today, as one of the dynamic forces in Jewish life, mixing radicalism and reaction, theology, storytelling and music, thick community and wild individualism, deep conformity and spiritual abandon. Usually offered every third year.
Yehudah Mirsky
NEJS
155b
Jewish Law and Ethics
[
hum
]
Traces the history of Jewish law from the Bible to the present. Jewish law is indispensable for understanding Jewish life, past, present and future, and is a rich source of reflection on law, ethics and religion. This course examines contemporary debates and controversies and explores its spiritual dimensions. Usually offered every second year.
Yehudah Mirsky
NEJS
159a
Modern Jewish Philosophy
[
hum
]
Surveys the contours of modern Jewish philosophy by engaging some of its most important themes and voices, competing Jewish inflections of and responses to rationalism, romanticism, idealism, existentialism, and nihilism. This provides the conceptual road signs of the course as we traverse the winding byways of Jewish philosophy from Baruch Spinoza to Emanuel Levinas. Usually offered every second year.
Eugene Sheppard
NEJS
162a
American Judaism
[
hum
ss
wi
]
American Judaism from the earliest settlement to the present, with particular emphasis on the various streams of American Judaism. Judaism's place in American religion and comparisons to Judaism in other countries. Usually offered every year.
Jonathan Sarna
NEJS
166b
Who is a Jew: Converts and Conversion in Jewish Law
[
hum
]
Highlights the central role the question of “Who is a Jew" occupies in modern Jewish life and consciousness against the backdrops of social-scientific writings on status and identity, the history of conversion to Judaism, and present day Israel-Diaspora relations. Usually offered every year.
Zvi Zohar
NEJS
186a
Introduction to the Qur'an
[
dl
hum
nw
]
Traces the history of the Qur'an as text, its exegesis, and its role in inter-religious polemics, law, theology, and politics. Examines the role of the Qur'an in Islamic teachings and its global impact. Usually offered every second year.
Suleyman Dost
NEJS
191b
The World to Come: Jewish Messianism from Antiquity to Zionism
[
hum
]
Messianism is an important component in Jewish history. This course examines the messianic idea as a religious, political, and sociological phenomenon in modern Jewish history. Examining how the messianic narrative entered Jewish political discourse enables a critical discussion of its role in Zionist activities as an example of continuity or discontinuity with an older tradition. Usually offered every year.
Alexander Kaye
NEJS
194b
Sufism: Mystical Traditions in Classical and Modern Islam
[
hum
nw
]
An examination of the teaching and practices of the Sufi tradition. Explores the foundations of Sufism, its relation to other aspects of Islam, the development of Sufi teachings in both poetry and prose, and the manner in which Sufism is practiced in lands as diverse as Egypt, Turkey, Iran, India, Malaysia, and Europe. Usually offered every second year.
Suleyman Dost
REL
151a
The Buddha: His Life and Teachings
[
hum
nw
]
Few human beings have had as much impact on the world as Siddhartha Gotama Shakyamuni, known to us as Buddha. This course explores his life and teachings as reflected in early Buddhist literature and Western scholarship. Usually offered every year.
Staff
REL/SAS
152a
Introduction to Hinduism
[
hum
nw
]
Introduces Hindu practice and thought. Explores broadly the variety of forms, practices, and philosophies that have been developing from the time of the Vedas (ca. 1500 BCE) up to present day popular Hinduism practiced in both urban and rural India. Examines the relations between Hindu religion and its wider cultural, social, and political contexts, relations between the Hindu majority of India and minority traditions, and questions of Hindu identity both in India and abroad. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
Courses Focused on Two Traditions
AMST
50b
Religion in American Life
[
ss
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took AMST 167b in prior years.
Considers the historical influence of religious belief on various aspects of American political, cultural, legal, and economic life. Topics include the use and effectiveness of religious language in political rhetoric, from the American Revolution to the War in Iraq; the role that religious belief has played in galvanizing and frustrating various reform movements; and the debate over the proper role of religion in the public square. Usually offered every second year.
Maura Farrelly
NEJS
144a
Jews in the World of Islam
[
hum
nw
]
Examines social and cultural history of Jewish communities in the Islamic world. Special emphasis is placed on the pre-modern Jewish communities. Usually offered every second year.
Jonathan Decter
REL
161a
Chinese Religion and Thought: Understanding Confucianism and Daoism (Taoism)
[
hum
nw
]
This course aims at widening and deepening students' knowledge of world religions by introducing to them distinctive Chinese religions and schools of thought with emphasis on two most significant ones, namely, Confucianism and Taoism. Usually offered every second year.
Yu Feng
Religious Studies: Elective Courses
The following courses are approved for the program. Not all are given in any one year. Please consult with Schedule of Classes each semester.
ANTH
80a
Anthropology of Religion
[
nw
ss
]
An introduction to the anthropological study of human religious experience, with particular emphasis on religious and ritual practice in comparative perspective. Examines the relationship between religion and society in small-scale, non-Western contexts as well as in complex societies, global cultures, and world historical religions. Usually offered every second year.
Sarah Lamb or Ellen Schattschneider
ANTH
164a
Medicine and Religion
[
djw
nw
ss
]
Prerequisite: ANTH 1a or equivalent.
Considers the convergence of two cultural spheres that are normally treated as separate: medicine and religion. The course will examine their overlap, such as in healing and dying, as well as points of contention through historical and contemporary global ethnographies. Usually offered every second year.
Anita Hannig
CLAS
190b
Ancient Mysteries, Cults, and Myths
[
hum
]
An investigation of the phenomenon of the ancient mystery cults as preserved in the surviving art and literature of antiquity. Usually offered every third year.
Staff
ENG
108a
Literature and Heresy
[
hum
]
A study of major texts of British literature through the lens of religious heresy. Does literature provide a refuge for heresy? Or is there something about literature that encourages heretical thinking? These questions are considered in light of dissident works by Milton, Blake, Shelley, James Hogg, and others. Usually offered every third year.
Laura Quinney
ENG
138a
Race, Region, and Religion in the Twentieth-Century South
[
deis-us
hum
wi
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took ENG 38b in prior years.
Twentieth century fiction of the American South. Racial conflict, regional identity, religion, and modernization in fiction from both sides of the racial divide and from both sides of the gender line. Texts by Chestnutt, Faulkner, Warren, O'Connor, Gaines, McCarthy, and Ellison. Usually offered every third year.
John Burt
FA
170a
Arts of the Ming Dynasty
[
ca
nw
]
Examines a broad array of arts from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The first half of the course focuses on activities in and around the Chinese court. The second half concentrates on monuments related to literati and popular cultures. Usually offered every second year.
Aida Wong
HIST
110b
The Civilization of the High and Late Middle Ages
[
ss
]
Survey of European history from 1000 to 1450. Topics include the Crusades, the birth of towns, the creation of kingdoms, the papacy, the peasantry, the universities, the Black Death, and the Hundred Years' War. Usually offered every second year.
William Kapelle
HIST
126a
Early Modern Europe (1500-1700)
[
oc
ss
]
Survey of politics, ideas, and society in Western Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Focuses on the changing relationship between the emerging modern state and its subjects. Topics include the development of ideologies of resistance and conformity, regional loyalties and the problems of empire, changing technologies of war and repression, and the social foundations of order and disorder. Usually offered every third year.
Govind Sreenivasan
HIST
157b
The Secret Lives of the Enslaved: Marginalized Voices and the Writing of History
[
deis-us
dl
ss
wi
]
Seeks to understand not only the system but the inner lives and cultures of slaves within that system. This course is a reading-intensive seminar examining both primary and secondary sources on American slaves. Focuses on the American South but includes sources on the larger African diaspora. Usually offered every second year.
Abigail Cooper
HIST
188b
The Varieties of Religious Experience, 1350-1900
[
ss
]
How do you talk about religion after Darwin, when science has replaced religion as the authoritative discourse, but most people everywhere adhere to some sort of religious belief? By reading together The Varieties of Religious experience (1902) by William James. Usually offered every third year.
David S. Katz
HUM
10a
The Western Canon
[
hum
]
May not be taken by students who have taken FYS 18a in prior years.
Foundational texts of the Western canon: the Bible, Homer, Vergil, and Dante. Thematic emphases and supplementary texts vary from year to year.
Staff
NEJS
3a
Religions of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, Islam
[
hum
]
An introduction to the three major religions originating in the Near East: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Areas of focus include historical development, sacred texts, rituals, and interpretive traditions. Usually offered every second year.
Jonathan Decter
NEJS
122a
Magic and Witchcraft in the Ancient Near East
[
hum
nw
]
Examines magical literature, rituals, and beliefs in the ancient Near East, especially Mesopotamia. Topics such as demonology, illness, prayer, and exorcism are covered; special attention is paid to witchcraft. This course is organized around the close reading of ancient texts. Usually offered every third year.
Staff
NEJS
139b
Christians and Israel
[
hum
]
Explores how different Christian groups--from American evangelicals to Orthodox Palestinians--have wrestled with both the idea and reality of a Jewish state in the Holy Land. Special one-time offering, spring 2018.
Walker Robins
NEJS
156b
A Philosophical Introduction to Judaism
[
hum
]
Explores selected topics that are central to Jewish thought and practice. An introduction to Judaism for those without background in Jewish texts and traditions, but also appropriate for those with background. Topics include covenant, ritual, idolatry, interpretation, gender, violence, chosenness. Usually offered every second year.
Jon Levisohn
NEJS
170a
Studying Sacred Texts
[
hum
]
What does it mean to study a sacred text? What are the problems with doing so? What is sacred about a sacred text? How is studying a sacred text similar to and different from studying other texts? How do different religious traditions study texts differently? Usually offered every second year.
Jon Levisohn
NEJS
190a
Introduction to Islamic Theology
[
hum
]
An introduction to Islamic theology and intellectual tradition. After studying the formative period of the Prophet Mohammad's life, students examine the development of law, doctrines, beliefs, philosophy, and the diversity of thought in Islamic tradition. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
NEJS
193a
Pirates, Mystics and Scholars: Travel Literature from the Islamic World
[
hum
]
Studies medieval and early modern travelogues from the Islamic world in English translation. These works provide us with a candid view of the Muslim Mediterranean including things like urban topography, social life, orthodox and subversive religious practices, status of minorities, conditions and limits of hospitality and so on. Usually offered every second year.
Suleyman Dost
PHIL
24a
Philosophy of Religion
[
hum
]
An introduction to the major philosophical problems of religion. Discusses traditional arguments for and against the existence of God, the nature of faith and mystical experiences, the relation of religion to morality, and puzzles about the concept of God. Usually offered every second year.
Eli Hirsch
PHIL
146a
Idea of God
[
hum
]
Prerequisite: PHIL 1a, PHIL 35a, PHIL 37a or PHIL 66b or permission of the instructor.
Engages in a philosophical investigation, not of religion as an institution but of the very idea of God. Studies the distinction between human being and divine being and addresses the issue of the relation of God's essence to his existence. Usually offered every second year.
Palle Yourgrau
POL
145b
Seminar: Muslims in the West: Politics, Religion, and Law
[
ss
]
Few issues have caused more public furor than the accommodation of Islam in Europe and the United States. It is often overlooked that Muslims are developing the institutions of their faith in societies that offer everyone the freedom of choice and expression. This seminar looks at religious discrimination as a barrier to the civic and political inclusion of Muslim immigrants, the responses of governments, courts, and the general public, and what we know about the balance among "fundamentalist, " "moderate," and "progressive" Muslim viewpoints. Usually offered every year.
Jytte Klausen
SOC
129a
Sociology of Religion
[
deis-us
ss
]
An introduction to the sociological study of religion. Investigates what religion is, how it is influential in contemporary American life, and how the boundaries of public and private religion are constructed and contested. Usually offered every year.
Wendy Cadge