Department of Religion Courses

Linked course titles have extended descriptions. Syllabi provided where available.

Course	Title	Day	Time	Instructor	Room	Syllabus	Description
REL 102 M001	Religion Today	MW	12:45 PM - 02:05 PM	Waghorne,Joanne Punzo			Religion is on the rise and at the same time changing rapidly in our world. New religious movements appear; new leaders emerge within established traditions and call for change. Some worldwide fundamentalist movements espouse violence, but many engage in important social service work as part of an emerging global civil society. Technology, especially the worldwide web, replaces print as the primary form of religious communication. New immigrants from Asia, Europe and America bring an unexpected religious pluralism to formerly Judeo-Christian populations, which in turn bring forceful backlash. The modern lines between religion and politics are challenged everywhere. This course explores these issues in a worldwide context. In the last weeks of the course, students work in groups to engaged in their own research projects on contemporary religious movements here in Syracuse. The course ends with group reports on these projects and a final paper.
REL 103 M001	Religion and Sports	TuTh	08:00 AM - 09:20 AM	Arnold,Philip P			We will explore the religious/ceremonial dimensions of sports in human culture; issues of sacred space, athletic “gifts,” civic and ethical values connected with sports, and how identity, gender, race, ethnicity are amplified through sports. Special emphasis is on Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) origins of lacrosse. (43 words)
REL 103 U801	Religion and Sports		Online	Arnold,Philip P			We will explore the religious/ceremonial dimensions of sports in human culture; issues of sacred space, athletic “gifts,” civic and ethical values connected with sports, and how identity, gender, race, ethnicity are amplified through sports. Special emphasis is on Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) origins of lacrosse. (43 words)
REL 103 U802	Religion and Sports		Online	Arnold,Philip P			We will explore the religious/ceremonial dimensions of sports in human culture; issues of sacred space, athletic “gifts,” civic and ethical values connected with sports, and how identity, gender, race, ethnicity are amplified through sports. Special emphasis is on Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) origins of lacrosse. (43 words)
REL 108 M001	Religion and Its Critics	TuTh	02:00 PM - 03:20 PM	Ramirez Arenas,Carlos Andres
REL 126 M001	Transgression	TuTh	12:30 PM - 01:50 PM	Carpenter,Rachel Katherine
REL 165 M002	Discovering Islam	MW	05:15 PM - 06:35 PM	Jouili,Jeanette S
REL 165 M800	Discovering Islam		Online	Kassam,Tazim R			Islam is the faith of over one-fifth of the world’s population. This course covers the founder, Prophet Muhammad; the Qur'an as scripture; rituals and cultural expressions; Sufi spirituality and music; women’s status; and differences between Sunni and Shia.
REL 186 M001	Buddhism	MW	10:35 AM - 11:30 AM	Fisher,Gareth			This course will provide a general introduction to the life and teachings of the “Buddha,” meaning the awakened or enlightened one, and the philosophical and religious systems that have developed throughout history from those who have considered themselves his followers. Starting first with the Buddha’s life in India, the course will then move out to consider the major movements of Buddhist thought; patterns of Buddhist religious organization and practice; and the influence that followers of the Buddha have had on the development of society, politics, and culture in Asia and the world.
REL 191 M001	Religion, Meaning & Knowledge	MW	02:15 PM - 03:35 PM	Robinson,Marcia			What is the best way to live? And what is the role of religion in it? This course explores the age-old quest for wisdom as the best and most appropriate way for human beings to understand themselves and to live happily, healthily, and responsibly. Oriented in philosophy of religion, it examines the ideas and the practices of figures as diverse as Potawatomie eco-botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer, Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, African American theologians and activists Howard Thurman and Martin Luther King, Jr., Danish religious thinker Søren Kierkegaard, and ancient Greek philosopher Plato and his teacher Socrates.
REL 200 M001	Islamophobia	MW	12:45 PM - 02:05 PM	Jouili,Jeanette S
REL 200 M002	Love & War/Hindu Myth: Mahabharata	TuTh	11:00 AM - 12:20 PM	Brahmbhatt,Arun J			About ten times the length of the Odyssey and the Iliad combined, the Mahabharata is a complex epic that has captivated South Asians for over 2,000 years: 100 babies gestating in earthen pots; a queen who inexplicably drowns her newborn children; a king who loses everything in a game of dice; the manifestation of the divine in the middle of a battlefield; a cataclysmic war between feuding cousins. In this course, we examine the life of the Mahabharata in its historical, political, and sacred dimensions. We also explore the retellings of the story in diverse mediums: art, dance, literature, film, and comics.
REL 200 M003	Care of the Soul	MW	03:45 PM - 05:05 PM	van der Meer,Matthieu Herman
REL 200 M004	Religion and White Supremacy	TuTh	11:00 AM - 12:20 PM	Arnold,Philip P			Religion is implicated in the origins of “white supremacy.” This class examines how religion was deployed to justify the Western conquest and colonization of Indigenous peoples. The “Doctrine of Christian Discovery” is an idea of religious superiority over all other peoples and traditions. Continuously for over 500 years it has been the persistent justification for the taking of land, enslavement, and resource extraction. (63 words)
REL 206 M001	Greco-Roman Religion	TuTh	09:30 AM - 10:50 AM	Kimmel,Daniel Joseph
REL 246 M001	Religion & Popular Culture	TuTh	09:30 AM - 10:50 AM	Gray,Biko M			iPhones. TikTok. Sneakers. Hip Hop. Taylor Swift and the “swifties.” Beyoncé and the Beyhive. What does any of this have to do with religion? Quite a bit, it turns out. In this course, we’re going to explore the relationship between religion and popular culture, thinking about the ways that “religion” and “culture” interact on one another.
REL 300 M001	Bollywood and Religion	MW	02:15 PM - 03:35 PM	Brahmbhatt,Arun J			Spontaneous dance numbers. Item Queens. Saris billowing in the Alps. Double Roles. Intermissions and 200-minute+ runtimes. Masala. These are some of the defining characteristics of the Hindi film industry based in Mumbai, India. With its inception in 1913, and popularly called “Bollywood” for the last 50 years, the ever-changing industry is one of the largest in the world. This course explores how Bollywood films draw on classical Indian theories of aesthetics to grapple with the human condition, and the centrality of religion in these portrayals. We will particularly explore how religious identity is constituted through notions of gender, sexuality, caste, class, history, and nationalism.
REL 300 M002	Philosophical Problem of Evil	TuTh	12:30 PM - 01:50 PM	Gray,Biko M			Evil: what is it? How do we think about it? People use the word “evil” to describe everything from demons, to tyrants, from tornadoes to cancer. This course will explore the concept of evil as a social, political, and theological/religious problem. We’ll do this through philosophy and literature, seeing how thinkers and writers have worked through the concept in their work.
REL 320 M001	NoPain, NoGain: Ascetics Old & New	TuTh	09:30 AM - 10:50 AM	Spencer,Paige Elizabeth			What would you sacrifice for something you love? In this course, we will read stories about people who took their dedication to the extreme (through fasting, chastity, sleep deprivation, etc.) – alongside theories about what led them to do so. From early Christian martyrs to modern day performance artists and athletes, we will explore what it might mean to engage in practices that seem so opposed to our notions of health, self-care, and consumption.
REL 320 M002	Holy Sh!t: Your Poop Matters2G!d	MW	02:15 PM - 03:35 PM	Nahar,Sarah Elizabeth			Human excreta is generally considered waste, but this is a modern idea. Since time immemorial people have had to deal with urine and feces, and did so in different ways. You can learn a lot about a society based on how they deal (or don't) with their crap--literally and metaphorically. And what does poop have to do with religion? What you learn in this course may surprise you. The class format is mainly lecture and discussion that delves into, and builds on, the readings. Some classes will feature videos, guest speakers, or other interactive components.
REL 320 M003	Religion in the City	MW	05:15 PM - 06:35 PM	Paneri,Vaidehi			This course will introduce students to the study of religion in urban landscapes by looking at religious developments within certain metropolitan cities of the world. Students will explore connections between urbanization and religion by dealing with themes pertaining to migrant religious communities, unconventional sacred spaces, and religious pluralism. In working with these themes, the course aims to show how religion/religiosity develops both against and alongside urban and modern landscapes. The course will explore questions leading to but not limited to urban poverty, religion in precarity, cities and demons, multi-religious sites, secular vs/and sacred in city spaces, and rural vs/and urban religions.
REL 327 M001	Yoga-Ancient to Modern	MW	03:45 PM - 05:05 PM	Waghorne,Joanne Punzo			In the contemporary world, the term yoga works within a complex of meanings as well as contexts—from popular media, to the political, to the medical, and the psychological. In this course, “Yoga” will include a whole gambit of practices within educational institutions called “Wisdom Research” and/or “Contemplative Studies,” within social services and hospitals therapy, and in the public sphere as spirituality, meditation, or ardent exercise. Syracuse University has a “Contemplative Collaborative” with faculty and student members from throughout the university who work to make yoga and the latest research on the subjects available to the university community. Yoga is now global phenomenon. This course will consider yoga in all contexts but also provide historical background in the founding texts of this ancient system in India. The role of the guru, the history of yoga in Europe and the US, controversies over the origins of yoga as practiced outside of India all come into play. The course ends with group fieldwork on contemporary yoga movements here in Syracuse. Groups present their findings. A final paper from each student focusing on their research project caps the course.
REL 335 M001	Israeli Literature & Culture	TuTh	11:00 AM - 12:20 PM	PTI
REL 337 M001	Shoah: Responding to Holocaust	TuTh	02:00 PM - 03:20 PM	Braiterman,Zachary J
REL 341 M001	Women, Abolition, and Religion	Tu	03:30 PM - 06:15 PM	Robinson, Marcia			This course explores the role of religion in women's understanding of themselves as social reformers, women, and human beings.
REL 362 M001	Islamism and Islamist Mvts	MW	12:45 PM - 02:05 PM	Bashiriyeh,Hossein
REL 367 M800	God and Beauty in Islamic Art		Online	Kassam,Tazim R			This course explores the Prophet Muhammad’s saying that “God is Beauty and loves beauty.” Seeking the sacred in the universe, Muslims have sought to capture the virtue and inherent beauty of God’s creation through calligraphy, literature, architecture, poetry, and music
REL 439 M001	Israel	W	03:45 PM - 06:30 PM	Braiterman,Zachary J
REL 600 M001	Conceptions of Self &Community	M	02:15 PM - 05:00 PM	Jouili,Jeanette S
REL 610 M001	Textual Practices in St of Rel	W	12:45 PM - 03:30 PM	Robert,William Alden
REL 660 M001	Cont Philosophy of Relgion	W	12:45 PM - 03:30 PM	Robert,William Alden