REL 502 */NC
Philosophy and the Study of Religion
Jonathan C. Gold
10:00 am – 12:50 pm F
The impact of twentieth-century philosophical ideas on the academic study of religion: naturalism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, structuralism, Nietzschean genealogy, and American pragmatism, among other philosophical movements.
REL 504/HLS 516 */AUD
Studies in Greco-Roman Religions – The Beginning of Late Antiquity
AnneMarie Luijendijk
1:30 pm – 4:20 pm Th
This class examines this influential period, beginning with the celebration of the Roman millennium in the year 247 through the reign of Theodosius I. We study sources pertaining to economy, law, demography, philosophy, social history, and theology in addition to material evidence (archaeological remains, coins, papyri).
REL 505 */AUD
Studies in the Religions of the Americas – Space, Place, and Religion in America
Judith Weisenfeld
1:30 pm – 4:20 pm T
This course examines how space and place – natural, constructed, imagined geographies – have shaped American religious history. We devote attention to such topics as religious understandings of the American landscape and nation, religion and migration, urban religions, the politics of religious space and place, memorials and shrines, and pilgrimage.
REL 507 */AUD
Studies in Religion and Philosophy – Augustine and Augustinianisms
Eric S. Gregory
1:30 pm – 4:20 pm W
Few thinkers have influenced Western thought and culture as much as Augustine. This interdisciplinary seminar examines this influence through close reading of primary texts, including “Confessions” and “City of God”, but also some very revealing sermons and letters. Attention is given to “classical” interpretations and a variety of critics who wrestle with his contested legacy for their constructive purposes. Topics include the self, political authority and citizenship, coercion and violence, sexuality, secularity and liberalism, eschatology, empire, and the nature of tradition.
REL 509 / NES 510 */AUD
Studies in the History of Islam – Legal Categories and Social Realities
Shaun E. Marmon
9:30 am – 12:30 pm M
This seminar explores the relationship (or dissonance) between legal and social categories in the context of late Medieval Muslim societies. Some of the topics that we will cover in this context will be gender, slavery, religious minorities, ethnicity and hybridity, communal violence and concepts of transgression. Readings will include scholarly literature and Medieval Arabic texts.
REL 518 */AUD
Religion and Critical Thought Workshop
Eric S. Gregory
9:30 am – 11:20 am Th
A weekly, year-long workshop focused on current student and faculty research in religion and critical thought, designed primarily for graduate students working on dissertations and general examination essays on the philosophy of religion, religious ethics, and the role of religion in politics. Note: REL 518 (fall) and REL 519 (spring) constitute this year-long workshop. In order to receive credit and/or a grade, students must take the course both semesters.
REL 521 */AUD
Religion and Culture Workshop
John G. Gager
12:00 pm – 1:20 pm F
A weekly, year-long workshop devoted to the critical discussion of research in progress in the ethnographic, historical, and normative study of religion and culture. Designed for dissertation writers receiving fellowships from the Center for the Study of Religion and post-doctoral fellows. Note: REL 521 (fall) and REL 522 (spring) constitute this year-long workshop. In order to receive credit and/or a grade, students must take the course both semesters.
REL 523 */AUD
Religion in the Americas Workshop
Jessica Delgado
3:00 pm – 4:20 pm Th
A weekly, year-long workshop focused on the current research of visiting presenters, current students, and faculty in American religious history. The workshop is designed primarily for Ph.D. students in the field, but is open as well to undergraduate concentrators with a strong background in the study of American religion and culture. Note: REL 523 (fall) and REL 524 (spring) constitute this year-long workshop. In order to receive credit and/or a grade, students must take the course both semesters.
REL 525 */AUD
Religions of Late Antiquity Workshop
AnneMarie Luijendijk
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm W
A weekly, year-long workshop providing students in the Religions of Late Antiquity with the opportunity to present their current research for discussion. Note: REL 525 (fall) and REL 526 (spring) constitute this year-long workshop. In order to receive credit and/or a grade, students must take the course both semesters.
REL 531 */AUD
Readings in Chinese Religions – Texts on Chinese Buddhist Cosmology
Stephen F. Teiser
1:30 pm – 4:20 pm W
Introduction to basic cosmological ideas of East Asian Buddhism through close reading of early, foundational texts in Chinese. Focus on content, genre, style, grammar, and vocabulary. Research tools, methods, some secondary sources also introduced. Reading knowledge of classical Chinese required. Students from all departments welcome.
REL 534 */AUD
Studies in Japanese Religions – Issues in Scholarship
Jacqueline I. Stone
1:30 pm – 4:20 pm T
This seminar provides an intensive introduction to Japanese Religions past and present and examine key issues in scholarship. It is designed for those planning to take general exams, teach, or simply acquire a background in this field. Topics may include interactions of Buddhism with local religious culture; the emergence of Shinto; lay and monastic Buddhist practice; doctrinal issues; modern transformations of Buddhism; and religion-state relations. Readings are chiefly in English, supplemented by Japanese for those with sufficient language skills. Some topics may be chosen to accommodate participant research interests.
CLA 547 / PAW 503 / HLS 547 / REL 547 Graded A-F, P/D/F, Audit
Problems in Ancient History – Encounters of Cultures in the Ancient Mediterranean
Nino Luraghi Brent D. Shaw
1:30 pm – 4:20 pm W
Relying on material and textual evidence, this seminar explores the connection between culture contact and cultural change in fields such as religious behavior, social hierarchies, political institutions, and patterns of behavior. We focus on key case-studies from the Iron Age to Late Antiquity, including the Orientalizing revolution, the Hellenization of Sicily and Southern Italy, the Romanization of Italy and of the provinces of the Roman empire, and the emergence of the Post-Roman kingdoms. Attention is devoted both to the trajectories of past scholarship and to possible new approaches based on new evidence and/or methods.
REL 550 No Pass/D/Fail
Coptic II: Early Christianity in Late Antique Egypt
Alexander G. Kocar
10:00 am – 12:50 pm Th
This course assumes a basic knowledge of Coptic language, and provides an introduction to early Christianity in Late Antique Egypt. Our starting point is the Nag Hammadi Library; as such, this course surveys a number of literary genres (letters, gospels, magic, and apocalypse) and sectarian groups (Sethians, Hermetists, and Valentinians) contained in the collection. Depending on student interests, this course may also consider a number of possible topics relating to Late Antique Egypt, such as Manichaeism, monasticism, Neo-Platonism, demonology, ecumenical councils, and indigenous religious beliefs and practices.