| REL 100 M001 |
Religion and Money
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MW |
02:15 PM - 03:35 PM |
Jouili,Jeanette S |
Eggers 108 |
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This lecture course explores the complex relationships and tensions between religion, economy, and money. It examines religious scriptures, classical philosophical thought, and both historical and contemporary perspectives on how religious traditions engage with economic life. The course begins by analyzing sacred texts from a range of religious traditions—including Biblical, Islamic, Confucian, and Hindu—to investigate how economic practices and ideas were embedded within broader religious worldviews and ethical systems. It then considers historical examples of how religious institutions have managed or influenced economic activity. Finally, the course examines how various religious traditions and their practitioners have responded to the rise of modern capitalism—whether through adaptation, accommodation, or resistance—and how philosophical readings have sought to interpret or critique these transformations.
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| REL 102 M001 |
Religion Today
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MW |
12:45 PM - 02:05 PM |
Lakshmi,Shrutika |
HL 202 |
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In a world increasingly shaped by migration, technology, and global interconnection, religion continues to define how individuals and communities understand meaning, identity, and belonging. This course explores how major religious traditions—particularly Christianity, Hinduism, and African religious communities are practiced, transformed, and contested in the modern global context. We will examine religion not only as a system of belief, but as a dynamic social force expressed through ritual, media, and everyday life. Topics include global Christianity, Hindu diasporas, meditation and mindfulness movements, digital religion and online spirituality, and the intersections between religion, violence, and peacebuilding. Through ethnographic accounts, films, case studies, and scholarly readings, students will analyze how religious communities adapt, resist, and reinvent themselves in the 21st century.
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| REL 103 M001 |
Religion and Sports
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TuTh |
08:00 AM - 09:20 AM |
Arnold,Philip P |
HL 207 |
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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.
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| REL 108 M001 |
Religion and Its Critics
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TuTh |
02:00 PM - 03:20 PM |
Smith,Linden Kelley |
Huntn 107 |
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| REL 186 M001 |
Buddhism
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MW |
10:35 AM - 11:30 AM |
Fisher,Gareth |
Eggers 010 |
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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.
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| REL 200 M001 |
Happiness in Jewish Tradition
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TuTh |
12:30 PM - 01:50 PM |
Braiterman,Zachary J |
HBC 323A |
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Happiness in Judaism explores the character and quality of happiness in Jewish religious tradition. We trace the theme in biblical Wisdom literature, and medieval rationalism and mysticism. Happiness in Judaism combines well-being (the sense of well being) and pleasure in a world constantly hedged by sad suffering and violent death, limit and loss. It does so on planes that are alternately (and sometimes simultaneously) physical and spiritual planes that fold. Attention goes to care for the communal dimension of the body as a physical datum and as site of religious illumination.
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| REL 200 M002 |
Love&War inHindu Myth:Ramayana
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TuTh |
11:00 AM - 12:20 PM |
Brahmbhatt,Arun J |
Lyman 115B |
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For centuries, the Ramayana has figured heavily in religious imaginations across South and Southeast Asia. This course explores the telling and retelling of the story of Rama: a god born as a human prince, who is exiled to the forest for 14 years, and who enlists the aid of an army of monkeys to wage war against a demon king to rescue his kidnapped his wife. We begin by studying one of the earliest renditions of the story in Sanskrit, addressing questions about its composition, narrative structure, and themes. We will then explore premodern vernacular renditions in Tamil and Avadhi. The course culminates in modern imaginations in different mediums: performance, television and film, paintings and comics. In each case, we will examine the religious, social, and political conditions that prompted the retellings.
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| REL 239 M001 |
Jewish Humor and Satire
|
TuTh |
02:00 PM - 03:20 PM |
Frieden,Kenneth B |
HL 107 |
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Comedy in Three Acts-Act 1: Theories of humor, illustrated by Freud’s Jewish and Yiddish jokes from Vienna. Act 2: Reading Yiddish monologues and studying stand-up comedy performances. Act 3: Writing and performing Jewish stories and stand-up comedy. On the night before every Tuesday class, students post analyses of an assigned text or performance and write a short draft in the style of that source. For every Thursday class starting in week 4, students write, revise, post, and perform their own material. Throughout the semester, we read Stephen Rosenfield's Mastering Stand-Up and use it as a guide to researching, writing, and performing stand-up comedy. Students learn about specific genres (e.g., anecdotal, observational, self-deprecating) and techniques (e.g., act-outs, figures of speech, misdirect) that are used by stand-up comedians. After the Spring Break, students will compile and revise their drafts into a stand-up comedy set and prepare for the final performance. To succeed in this marathon of more than 26 writing tasks and courageous stand-up performances requires stamina and ongoing commitment.
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| REL 294 M001 |
Mythologies
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MW |
02:15 PM - 03:35 PM |
Waghorne,Joanne Punzo |
Sims 337 |
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Often the disguised, the presence of “mythic” forms influences our popular culture, especially politics, and advertising. A consideration of myth can help unravel the current power of images and perception in our daily life, in the digital/Facebook world, and in the media that operates beyond rationalistic views or even open ideology. Beginning with cosmogonic myths of the creation of the world and classic heroic tales in multiple cultures, the course will trace the long debate on interpreting myth from early psychoanalysis to popular figures like Joseph Campbell, to harsh warning of the dangers of myth from Philosopher Ernst Cassirer and others especially after the rise of Hitler, and into the advertising era of the 1950s first critiqued by Roland Barthes to today’s “post-truth” era.
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| REL 300 M001 |
Love, Dialogue, Community
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TuTh |
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM |
Braiterman,Zachary J |
Lyman 115A |
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Love, Dialogue, Community –in this this course, we critically explore core concepts and dynamics in the philosophical writings of Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig, two of the most important Jewish philosophers and philosophers of Judaism of the 20th century. In this class, we will historically identify and critically assess claims regarding personal experience (sex, death, relation, dialogue), social identity (community, society, politics), and religious experience (the encounter with God, the performance of ritual, textual interpretation). Particular attention goes to human subjectivity and intersubjectivity, and to the role of art and imagination in relation to religion and reason, and to the emergence of Judaism in the modern period.
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| REL 300 M002 |
TheArt ofDevotion inSouth Asia
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TuTh |
03:30 PM - 04:50 PM |
Brahmbhatt,Arun J |
Marley 219 |
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For centuries, religious traditions in South Asia have developed pathways of love for gods, goddesses, saints, gurus, and prophets. In this course, we examine how Hindu and Muslim communities have expressed love and devotion for divine beings and holy persons through literature, performance, and the visual arts. Devotees used these various genres—poetry and song, dance and dramatic performance, paintings and sculpture—to convey and cultivate intense emotion and passion. We pay special attention to commonalities that transcend the boundaries of genre, religious tradition, time, and space, while remaining sensitive to the specificities of historical circumstance. We further explore how the language of devotional love is used to uphold social norms and communal identity, but also to challenge them. Most weeks, we will discuss readings on the Tuesday session and explore primary source material collaboratively through a “lab” component on the Thursday session.
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| REL 300 M003 |
Love & Friendship in Antiquity
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TuTh |
03:30 PM - 04:50 PM |
van der Meer,Matthieu Herman |
Bh 105 |
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| REL 335 M001 |
Israeli Literature & Culture
|
TuTh |
11:00 AM - 12:20 PM |
Brown Sofer,Erella |
Max 110 |
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REL 335/MES 335/LIT 335/ENG 315 The course discusses major internal and external conflicts that are still shaping the life of Israeli society. We trace current issues to their historical, religious, economical, and cultural roots which lead to the creation of the modern Jewish State. The dynamic shaping of ideological perspectives of Israel’s existence is discussed through their representations in literature, theater, and film. While learning about Israeli culture and society, students should develop skills such as close reading, critical thinking, scholarly writing, and public speaking
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| REL 362 M001 |
Islamism and Islamist Mvts
|
MW |
12:45 PM - 02:05 PM |
Bashiriyeh,Hossein |
Falk 104 |
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The purpose of this course is to explain various aspects of Islamism as a major contentious political ideology in the world today. Islamism has been described as a traditionalist, militant ideology and movement trying to preserve and reinvent a religious tradition against the forces of secularization, modernization, democratization and globalization. Since its emergence, Islamism has been challenging various aspects of modernity. It has emerged out of a deep sense of hostility and indignation and anger against various aspects of modern life. In this course we will study the origins, various generations, types, internal tendencies and trends, as well as the impact of Islamism and Islamist movements in a number of countries in the Middle East as well as in a number of non-Muslim nations. In the first few weeks we will delve into the religious, historical and intellectual roots of contemporary Islamism in the history of Islam. The main questions here are as follows: How much do Islam and Islamism overlap? Can the intellectual origins of current Islamism be found within the tradition of political thought in Islam? What modern conditions have paved the way for the rise of Islamism? Although religious as well as intellectual roots and origins are decisive in understanding the nature of Islamism and Islamist movements today, obviously the Islamist ideology and movements are contemporary or modern developments, rising in response to modern conditions and concerns. Hence, we will also deal with contemporary sociological origins of Islamic movements. Factors leading to the rise and development of Islamism will be divided into two main categories: First, long-term factors that have been responsible for the genesis of Islamism, such as the processes of secularization and modernization, particularly initiated from above by political elites, the recent processes of globalization, conflicts within Muslim nations between demising and rising social formations, as well as the demise of the Islamic empire; and, Secondly, short-term factors leading to the expansion of the Islamist movements, such as international, regional and local conflicts and conflict situations in general, socio-economic crises resulting from privatization and neo-liberalism as well as the new international order following the end of the Cold War.
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| REL 365 M001 |
Muslim Politics in Real Time
|
MW |
12:45 PM - 02:05 PM |
Jouili,Jeanette S |
Sims 241 |
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This hands-on, information literacy-focused course invites students to collaboratively build the syllabus based on current events in Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority societies. Students will research these events using a range of international news media and scholarly sources. Through guided independent research and instructor-led lectures, students will learn to place current issues involving Muslims in their broader social and historical contexts. The course also emphasizes media literacy: students will learn to evaluate the reliability of different news sources and navigate a media landscape that often presents conflicting narratives—or overlooks certain stories entirely. By the end of the course, students will have developed the critical skills needed to interpret complex global events through their historical context, rather than relying on the simplified narratives often presented in news coverage.
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| REL 400 M001 |
Discovering Indigenous Peoples
|
Th |
12:30 PM - 03:15 PM |
Arnold,Philip P |
HL 504 |
|
Papal Bulls spurred on the Age of Discovery; the trans-Atlantic slave trade; trans-Atlantic mercantilism and global consumerism; the development of colonialism (and with it the theft of land along with cultural and environmental destruction) in the Americas, Africa, Australia and numerous other places around the world; violence against women and children; ethnocide against Jews, Muslims, and all kinds of Indigenous peoples around the world. The Doctrine of Discovery (DoD) focuses us on a religious root cause of the world’s major problems. Moreover, the DoD is of urgent interest to contemporary Indigenous people. The DoD became codified in the landmark Johnson v. M’Intosh (1823) US Supreme Court case, which has been fundamental to the development of property law and Federal Indian Law.
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| REL 400 M002 |
Indigenous Research Methodology
|
M |
03:45 PM - 06:30 PM |
Huambachano, Mariaelena |
Tooley 115 |
|
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| REL 439 M001 |
Confession,Comedy,Performance
|
M |
02:15 PM - 05:00 PM |
Frieden,Kenneth B |
HL 504 |
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| REL 600 M001 |
Discovering Indigenous Peoples
|
Th |
12:30 PM - 03:15 PM |
Arnold,Philip P |
HL 504 |
|
Papal Bulls spurred on the Age of Discovery; the trans-Atlantic slave trade; trans-Atlantic mercantilism and global consumerism; the development of colonialism (and with it the theft of land along with cultural and environmental destruction) in the Americas, Africa, Australia and numerous other places around the world; violence against women and children; ethnocide against Jews, Muslims, and all kinds of Indigenous peoples around the world. The Doctrine of Discovery (DoD) focuses us on a religious root cause of the world’s major problems. Moreover, the DoD is of urgent interest to contemporary Indigenous people. The DoD became codified in the landmark Johnson v. M’Intosh (1823) US Supreme Court case, which has been fundamental to the development of property law and Federal Indian Law.
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| REL 630 M001 |
Confession,Comedy,Performance
|
M |
02:15 PM - 05:00 PM |
Frieden,Kenneth B |
HL 504 |
|
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| REL 654 M002 |
Religious Corpo-realities
|
W |
02:15 PM - 05:00 PM |
Braiterman,Zachary J |
Pb 105 |
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