A survey of twentieth century religious movements in the United States, with a focus on the intersection of religion, culture, and society. Often using primary documents, we will study movements such as the Social Gospel, Fundamentalism, Jewish Reconstruction, Pentecostalism, Zen Buddhism, and the Religious Right for their historical, social, and theological significance.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES 

This course provides an introduction to the primary religious traditions of South and East Asia. Particular focus is placed upon the religions of India, Tibet, China, and Japan. These include various forms of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shinto, among others. Historical, sociological, and philosophical dimensions of each are presented through lecture, film, discussion, and field trips.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: CENTRAL, SOUTH, AND EAST ASIA • PRE-1800 

Early Christianity from the first to the fifth century was a complex and variegated phenomenon. We shall investigate the variety of early Christianities in this time period, looking at texts primarily from North Africa, Asia Minor, and Rome. An investigation of the diversity of early Christianity in this time will allow us to think about early Christian struggles over authority and identity, both within Christian communities and between Christian communities and their neighbors, and to challenge categories such as orthodoxy and heresy.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: INTERCULTURAL • PRE-1800 

An interdisciplinary program that aims to orient students to the significance of Turkey from a range of academic perspectives. In the semester course, students enagage in an historical study of the peoples and culture of the region from antiquity to the present. Specifically, we study the Greeks and Persians of the Classical period, Romans of the Roman period, Christians of Late Antiquity and Byzantium, and Turks from the Ottoman period to Atatürk's reform and the modern Republic, paying attention to the ways in which these groups cooperated, competed, and absorbed ideas and traditions from each other. In addition to the historical study facilitated by the instructor, students are expected to conduct independent research projects on an aspect of Turkish history/culture that relates to their major/minor and their unique intellectual interests. At the end of the semester, participants in the program will spend a few weeks in Turkey where they deepen their understanding of Turkish history and culture. Our field study will take us to the ancient capitol of Istanbul, to the modern capitol of Ankara, to the interior of the country (Cappadocia, Konya, Hierapolis, Aphrodisias), then over to the Aegean coast and up the Gallipoli. On site, students will learn from the expert guidance of Prof. Upson-Saia, from a Turkish guide, and from one another as they present their research findings a site related to their topic. Prerequisite: instructor permission; application process
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: PRE-1800 ● INTERCULTURAL

This course examines the practice of pilgrimage as a pan- Asian phenomenon. It focuses especially on the religious traditions of India (Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism), but also traces how these traditions have spread, through pilgrimage, to Tibet, East and Southeast Asia, and how their pilgrimage practices have changed in the process. Using premodern and contemporary sources, we will investigate such topics as: relic worship; the role of myth, biography, and landscape in the creation and discovery of pilgrimage sites; pilgrimage networks; sacred spaces and political power; pilgrimage vs. travel; and sacred space in cyberspace.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: ASIA

This course provides an in-depth introduction to the traditions of Islamic mysticism. Students will explore the core teachings and practices of Sufism through the literary, artistic and philosophical expressions of the great saints and masters of the tradition including figures like Rumi, ibn Arabi, Sohrawardi, Mulla Sadra and al-Attar. We will situate Sufi thought and practice within broader Islamic thought and practice while attending to the unique modes in which Islamic mysticism has been institutionalized and transmitted. Prerequisites: RELS 150 or permission of instructor.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST • PRE-1800

A study of the development of the religion of ancient Israel and its expression in the Hebrew Bible. Special emphasis will be placed on the emergence of the central ideas of Biblical religion which formed the foundation for early Judaism, and, in time, of Christianity and Islam. In addition to close reading of selected Biblical texts in translation, attention will be paid to the historical context in which ancient Israel lived and to the findings of modern critical scholarship and archeology.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST ● PRE-1800

This course explores the dynamic relationship between religion and social reform in 19th-century and early 20th-century America. We will examine religious traditions as they influenced and were altered by American society and culture in transition and upheaval. The primary focus will be evangelical Protestant traditions, with some attention to American Catholic and American Jewish traditions as well. Four major areas of social reform will frame the course: the abolition of slavery, the struggle for women's rights, labor and industrial conflicts, and the social gospel reforms of the progressive era. We will use a variety of historical, literary and sociological texts to develop new perspectives on this important period of American history.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES

A study of the religious traditions of the African diaspora in North America. We shall investigate the role of religion in Black culture, and chart the development of the mainline Black Church. Islam, religious traditions from the Caribbean Islands, and new religions among African Americans will also be studied.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES 

This course focuses on a variety of interests within Buddhist philosophy, including views on time, space and causality, human understanding and knowledge, the ideals of human life, morality and ethics, as well as overall worldview. The course provides instruction in the practice of reading Buddhist texts in translation from Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese originals. Lecture presentations, discussions, field trips, and philosophical research projects are significant components of the course format.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: CENTRAL, SOUTH, AND EAST ASIA • PRE-1800

Our experience of freedom is riddled with contradictions. The effort to reliably predict or causally explain not just the natural world but our every decision and action permeates contemporary life. From physics through the social sciences, the belief in our capacity for mathematical prediction and causal explanation is increasingly dominant, so much so that we simply take it for granted. And yet, the idea of human freedom persists. It too is taken for granted -- not only in our daily lives where we continue to act as if we chose and decide freely, but also in our politics where it is championed and proclaimed. Nowhere is this more true than in the Arts and Humanities where freedom is a fundamental principle. But as Socrates would ask--do we even know what we mean when we say 'freedom'? Have we seriously examined our ideas of freedom in light of our equally strong faith in prediction and determinate causal explanation? This course seeks to carry out that examination and to cultivate a more critical and well-founded concept of freedom.

An examination of religious thought emerging out of the philosophical projects that declared the "death of God" and the "end of metaphysics." Following a careful study of key philosophical and theological concepts, students will analyze both the critiques levied against these concepts and formulations of post-metaphysical religiosity ('A/theology,' 'Death of God Theology'). Possible authors to be studied include Heidegger, Bataille, Benjamin Derrida, Robert Scharlemann, and Mark Taylor. Prerequisite: one Religious Studies course.  

The contemplative Life and Social Justice
Over the course of religious history, some have chosen lives of contemplation and prayer, seeking to explore religion in its depth dimension. This course examines the lives of Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton, who in 20th century America, fashioned new forms of the contemplative life, often characterized as much by engagement with the world as by retreat from it. Day pursued social justice through the founding of the Catholic Worker Movement and the running of Hospitality Houses for the urban poor over several decades. Merton, a Trappist monk, took vows of silence, but voiced concerns for justice and peace through his popular writings as a religious thinker and social critic; he fostered interreligious dialogue among Christians and Buddhists in Asia and elsewhere. We will review the history of contemplation in the Western traditon and ponder the meaning and value of contemplation for post-modern lives. We will read extensive works by and about Day and Merton to understand how they each led lives of contemplation while tending to the world swirling around them.

A study of selected religious communities and movements in American history. The social cultural and religious purposes and impacts of groups such as the Shakers, the Native American Church, the Hasidim, Pentecostalism, and Mexican American religion will be explored.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES 

This advanced seminar will investigate the meanings and traditions behind the popular American claim, "I'm spiritual but not religious." What is spirituality in the American context? How and why does spirituality overtake religion in appeal and status? What historical features of American culture and society promote contemporary issues of spirituality? Prerequisite: one previous Religious Studies course.

An intensive review of landmark cases concerning the establishment and free exercise of religion clauses of the first amendment. We will study the history and varying interpretation of these clauses. Students will focus on mastering the arguments presented in landmark cases concerning sabbath observance, religion and the schools, ritual animal sacrifice, ritual drug use, and religious displays in public places, among others. Open to juniors and seniors only. 

A study of moral/ethical thinking in the history of Buddhism. Through a close reading of selected Buddhist texts from India, Tibet, and China, we will examine Buddhist theories of character development and virtue, the ideals of human enlightenment towards which Buddhists aspire, and the practices or disciplines thought adequate to this aspiration.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: CENTRAL, SOUTH, AND EAST ASIA • PRE-1800 

In this course we will seek to understand the critique of religion and certain principles of morality set out in Nietzsche's writings. This means coming to terms with the crisis that arises once the basic values grounding our life conduct have been undermined. We will then examine Nietzsche's efforts to articulate a new ideal of a moral or beautiful life that has no absolute standard for truth or good. In the second part of the course, we will examine how Nietzsche's project is taken up in Martin Heidegger's Being and Time and Heidegger's lecture course on Nietzsche.

Contemporary Islam. Students in this course will examine the writings of 20th-21st century Islamic political thinkers in the broader socio-historical context in which their work was and is produced. In successive years, the course will focus on different regions or countries where these ideas are being articulated - for instance, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan and India, South East Asia, or North Ameria. Beginning with a study of key concepts in Islamic theory and political philosophy, students will then analyze the complex and specific relationship between political, religious, and economic ideas and forces informing the work of authors studied in the course. Special attention will be paid to the ways in which Western and modern ideas and practices, and Western imperialism or colonialism are taken up in their work.

This seminar is offered in conjunction with Religious Studies majors' ongoing research for the senior comprehensive project. Seminar meetings will be devoted to instruction on research and writing in the discipline of Religious Studies, as well as discussion and critique of individual students' work in progress. Open only to senior Religious Studies majors.