Technology
REL 95-10 RELIGION AND SCIENCE FICTION (4)13955
PROF. JODI EICHLER-LEVINE
PROF. KHURRAM HUSSAIN
This course explores major concepts in religion studies through science fiction literature, television, and film. Themes to be covered include (but are not limited to): Utopias/Dystopias, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Alternative Worlds, Human and PostHuman Futures, God and Technology. Our investigation of these themes will rely on a wide variety of sources designed to enlighten and illustrate the many different ways both religion and SciFi deal with questions of meaning, identity and the nature of reality. (HU)
Globalization
REL/GS 148-10 ISLAM ACROSS CULTURES (4) KC 13944 13940
PROF. ROBERT ROZEHNAL
Explores the Muslim world’s diversity and dynamism in multiple cultural contests-from the Middle East and North Africa, to Asia and America-through literature, ethnography, and films. Topics include: travel and trade networks; education; women and gender, Islam and cultural pluralism; colonialism; and identity politics. (HU)
REL/PHIL 3-10 GLOBAL RELIGION, GLOBAL ETHICS (4) LS 13905 13906
PROF. LLOYD STEFFEN
Introduction to philosophical and religious modes of moral thinking, with attention given to ethical issues as they arise cross-culturally in and through religious traditions. The course will reference the United Nations Millennium Goals to consider family life and the role of women, social justice, the environment, and ethical ideals. Particular focus varies but may include one or more of the following: abortion and reproductive health, the death penalty, religiously motivated violence, and problems of personal disorder (heavy drinking, anorexia, vengeance). (HU)
REL/POLS 350-10/POLS 450-10 RELIGION AND POLITICS IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE (4) 14224 14179 14180 NI
PROF. NANDINI DEO
This research seminar attempts to identify the conditions under which religious parties arise and become influential, how religion influences popular understandings of secular politics and the extent to which religion is a necessary feature of modern public discourse. These topics are explored through country specific cases from around the world. (SS)
Identity
REL/AAS/WGSS 96-10 NEW BLACK GODZ (4) MM 13419 13042 12976
PROF. MONICA MILLER
New Black Godz explores a range of American icons on both sides of social promise and peril. From celebrity self-defining agents of material abundance (Kanye West, etc.) to those mass-mediated as gods after tragically succumbing to socially-sanctioned sacrifice (Michael Brown etc.), this course takes a cue from hip hop and black expressive cultures’ rhetorical signifying ongodz – transmuting “problem status” into creative ingenuity – and explores the creativemanipulation of identity and social difference in contemporary cultural production at the crossroads of social mobility and the limits of escape. (HU)
REL/JST/WGSS 138-10 SEX, GENDER, JEWS (4) JE 13933 13935 13934
PROF. JODI EICHLER-LEVINE
How do Jews of all genders tell their stories? What are the varied Jewish approaches to sexuality? How have feminist movements affected Jewish rituals? In this course, we willconsider how religion, gender, sexuality, race, and class intersect in the lives of Jews, with a particular focus on North America. Topics will include: Jewish women’s memoirs; the voices of LGBTQ Jews; recent innovations in Jewish ritual and leadership; Jewish masculinities; and the gendering of Jewish children’s literature, among others. (HU)
REL 159-10 ROMAN CATHOLICISM IN THE MODERN WORLD (4)13945
PROF. MICHAEL RAPOSA
A survey of the various intellectual, cultural, political and ecclesiastical developments that have shaped contemporary Roman Catholic life and thought. (HU)
Conflict
REL/JST 196-10 HIST/POLS 196-11 RACISM AND ANTI-SEMITISM FP 14389 14416 14388 14412
PROF. NITZAN LEBOVIC
Racism and anti-Semitism gained scientific and ideological reputation during the 19th century. Our course will examine the roots of such concepts in biology, ethnology, nationalism, aesthetics and culture. It will trace the development of “race” from the liberalism of 1848 to the Holocaust, and explore economic and scientific racism next to colonialist abuse and genocide. (SS)
REL/HMS/JST/WGSS 195-10 JUDAISM, MEDICINE, BIOETHICS (4) DL 13946 13979 14029 13981
PROF. DENA DAVIS
PROF. HARTLEY LACHTER
Jews have been intimately involved with medicine since at least the medieval period. This class traces that relationship from Maimonides (a 12th century Jewish scholar and physician) right up to the present day. Who were the important figures in the history of Jews and medicine? What is it about Jewish religion and culture that cultivates such an affinity for the healing arts? How does Jewish law, ethics and culture inform contemporary bioethics? What are Jewish perspectives on abortion, assisted suicide, genetic manipulation and other issues of our time? (HU)
REL/ASIA/GS 145-10 ISLAM AND THE MODERN WORLD (4) KH 13936 13939 14063
PROF. KHURRAM HUSSAIN
Examines how numerous Muslim thinkers-religious scholars, modernists, and Islamists-have responded to the changes and challenges of the colonial and post-colonial eras. Special emphasis is placed on the public debates over Islamic authority and authenticity in contemporary South Asia. (HU)
Ethics
REL/PHIL 97-10 IS GOD DEAD? PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE (4) CD13986 13988
PROF. CHRISTOPHER DRISCOLL
Is God dead? Some people think so. Do you? Come decide for yourself. This course looks at the idea of god in Western philosophy and theology, with particular attention to death of god movement(s), and the changing shape of these movements in light of culture wars and identity politics. The course surveys key thinkers to ask questions about the origins, functions, and future of god and gods in the contemporary world. Posed as an ongoing question-is god dead? - the course is for anyone interested in the idea of god past, present and future. (HU)
REL/PHIL 124-10 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION (4) CO13549 13627
PROF. ROSLYN WEISS
A critical look, from a philosophical perspective, at some fundamental problems of religion: The Nature of religious experience and belief, reason and revelation, the existence and nature of God, the problem of evil and religious truth. (HU)
Environment
Please check back in Summer and Fall 2018!
Transformation
REL 5-10 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES IN RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS (4) 13041
PROF. MICHAEL RAPOSA
PROF. ROBERT ROZEHNAL
Explores a variety of religious disciplines developed in various traditions, ranging from the practice of yoga and the martial arts to various forms of prayer, meditation, and asceticism. (HU)
History
REL/ANTH/JST 96-11 ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE BIBLE (4) BE 14220 14237 14222
PROF. BENJAMIN WRIGHT
In this course we will examine the way that archaeological work can inform the study of the Bible. One important consideration is how archaeological data have been used either to confirm or falsify the biblical texts. We will look at how archaeologists work and how archaeological data and the Bible intersect. We will examine in detail several archaeological sites in order to understand better the difficulties in interpreting the material remains that archaeologists dig up.
REL/GS 11-10 INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS (4) BW 13907 13908
PROF. BENJAMIN WRIGHT
PROF. HARTLEY LACHTER
Living and working in a globalizing 21st century requires an understanding of diverse religious and cultural identities. In this course, students will be introduced to the history, ideas, and practices from a wide variety of the world’s religious traditions. (HU)
