Highlighted Courses

Pic of Famous Jewish Texts

REL 283 -Jewish Sacred Literature (Fall 2024 M/T/W/TH 9:00-9:50 AM: Meets 10/21/24-12/11/24)

This course examines the most famous canonical Jewish texts of all time, including the Talmud, the writings of Moses Maimonides, and Jewish Mysticism (the Book of the Zohar).

Course Description

Picture of Jesus as a Jew

REL 419 - Jesus and Judaism (Fall 2024 T/TH 3:00-5:30: Meets 10/21/24-12/11/24)

Examines the ways Jews over the last two thousand years thought about, polemicized against, and celebrated, Jesus of Nazareth.

Course Description

Minerva

REL 535- Historiography of Religion in America (Fall, 2024 Wednesdays 3-5:30 PM)

This course immerses students in major works of recent American religious history. Written from multiple disciplinary perspectives and wrestling with the knotty problems in which religion has been interwoven, these books will give the student a solid foundation in American religious history.

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MLK

AFRO 345/REL333 - Becoming Martin and Malcolm (Fall 2024 T/TH 12:30-1:50 PM)

Re-examines the lives and legacies of Martin Luther King Jr. & Malcolm X. Through their speeches, essays, and biographical writing, we explore the origins of their religious and political philosophies and consider how their memory is deployed in current day movements for social change.

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REL 494 - Complicity, Responsibility, and Structural Injustice (Fall 2024, Mondays 3:00-5:00)

Many of our most pressing social issues are complex, structural, and systemic phenomena. Included among these collective problems are climate change, migrant deaths, income inequality, sweatshop labor, homelessness, and housing/school segregation. Amid such complex social evils, how should we think about blame and responsibility? In this course, we will examine Christian theological, philosophical, and sociological sources in order to better understand complicity, responsibility, and blameworthiness as it relates to structural injustices or structural sin.

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intro to Jainism

REL 495 Introduction to Jainism (Fall 2024, T/TH 12:30-1:50 starts 10/22/24)

Everything you need to know about this ancient Indian religion. This course will teach you the basics of Jainism in a creative and interesting way. Non-violence, vegetarianism, asceticism, material culture, and more. We will learn about the ideas that shaped Jainism and made it so relevant in the ancient and contemporary world. No previous knowledge of the topic is required to take this class.

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South Asian Goddesses

REL 350 South Asian Goddesses (Fall 2024 M,W, F 12:00-12:50 starts 10/22/24)

Introduction to the most well-known Hindu goddesses, at both the pan-Hindu and local level, and explores their mythical narratives, associated powers, iconography, and rituals of worship. Presents different methodological approaches scholars employ in the interpretation of goddess worship in South Asia and abroad. Materials are drawn from textual, historical sources as well as contemporary ethnographic research, and seek to include representative figures from different regions throughout India and the Himalayan region.

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REL 199 - Becoming Martin and Malcolm (Spring 2024, T/TH 3:30-4:50 PM)

This course re-examines the lives and legacies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

Course Description

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REL 511 - Crime, Punishment, and Redemption in America (Spring 2024 Mondays 3-5:30)

The criminal-penal system in the United States is a complex web of mutually rein-forcing institutions, practices, & moral val-ues. This course focuses on the religious concepts that have informed our moral imaginations, which in turn, inform the so-cial practices we enact and the institutions we build & maintain.

Course Description

Course Flyer

REL 335 - Religion in Contemporary America (Spring 2024, T/TH 11:00-12:20)

Examines the religious dynamics of the twenty-first century United States.

Course Description

Block Reference

Department of Religion News

Read article: Two New Assistant Professors: Mukhtar H. Ali and Stephanie Thurston
Two New Assistant Professors: Mukhtar H. Ali and Stephanie Thurston
The Department of Religion is thrilled to announce the addition of two new assistant professors. These new members of our community continue the department’s long-standing commitment to excellence in research and teaching and bring exciting new areas of expertise to our campus. Dr....
Read article: Transfinite Life: A Symposium in Honor of Bruce Rosenstock z"l
Transfinite Life: A Symposium in Honor of Bruce Rosenstock z"l
On October 2, 2023 the Department of Religion and the Program in Jewish Culture and Society hosted a symposium on the life and legacy of Prof. Bruce Rosenstock z"l. Four different panels convened and they can be viewed here: Panel 1...
Read article: College of LAS names Department's Dov Weiss as a Conrad Humanities Scholar
College of LAS names Department's Dov Weiss as a Conrad Humanities Scholar
Four professors from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences have been named 2021 Conrad Humanities Scholars, including Dov Weiss from the Religion Department. The Conrad Humanities Scholars Award...

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