The question of how Jews, the historical "other" of the west, could be integrated into the modern nation state is one of the defining features not just of modern Jewish thought but of modernity more broadly. This course considers the relevance of modern Jewish thinking about the nature of the state, individual and collective freedoms, and political tyranny for modern debates in political theory. Topics include: liberalism, socialism, totalitarianism, race and identity politics.

What do we actually know about Jesus of Nazareth? An actual person? If so, what kind of person? We'll look first at the earliest sources -- various accounts in the New Testament, statements by Jewish and Roman historians, and ancient gospels not in the NT (i.e., the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene). Then we'll explore an enormous range of ways that various people, Christian or not, have interpreted Jesus and his message throughout two thousand years to the present -- in art, music, poetry, writing, theology, politics, and film.

Who Was - or is - Jesus In History, Art, Film, Music, Politics? What do we actually know about Jesus of Nazarcth? We start by looking at the earliest known sources-accounts in the New Testament; what Jewish, Roman, Greek contemporaries said of him, and also ancient gospels not in the NT (like the Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Mary Magdalene), Next, we'll explore an amazing range of interpretations of Jesus in art, poetry, music, theology, and politics, throughout 2000 years to the present, including newly emerging views.

The course will introduce students to the Hebrew Bible ("Old Testament") in its ancient Near Eastern setting. Key concepts such as God, worship, the afterlife, and history, will be scrutinized through a careful reading of a selection of Biblical texts including the Creation and Garden of Eden narratives in Genesis, the laws of Deuteronomy, the prophecies of Isaiah, and the poetry of Psalms. Particular attention will be paid to questions of authorship--possible dating, social setting, and original audience; and to transformations that the texts underwent through a continuous process of transmission and interpretation.

The Hebrew Bible (Christian "Old Testament") is a collection of diverse books that is central to worldwide social, political, and religious experience. Despite this centrality, there are many mysteries and misconceptions about how the Bible came into being and what it really says. In this class, we will explore the Bible's historical context and ancient meaning, with a focus on matters of composition and early reception. Moving beyond the project of identifying texts with authors, we will use biblical and ancient non-biblical sources to situate biblical authors with respect to institutions, class, gender, and more.

This course introduces the Hebrew Bible (Christian "Old Testament"), a complex anthology written by many people over nearly a thousand years. In this class, we will ask questions about the Hebrew Bible's historical context and ancient meaning, as well as its literary profile and early reception. Who wrote the Bible? When and how was it written? What sources did its authors draw on to write these stories? And to what circumstances were they responding? Students will develop the skills to critically analyze written sources, and to understand, contextualize, and critique the assumptions inherent in modern treatments of the Bible.

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This course explores the dynamics of religion, gender, and power in American religious history, with case studies of women in a variety of traditions. We consider how theologies, religious practices, and institutional structures shape gender systems; women's religious leadership; gender and religious constraint and dissent; race and women's religious experiences; and religion and sexuality. Each student's final digital history project (e.g. podcast, online museum exhibition, Wikipedia page, digital oral history, audio walking tour, digitized primary source) will contribute to a collaborative digital exhibition.

What were/are the representations of gender and sexuality in Muslim societies in the past and present? Is there one Islam or Islams? What are the domestic, ritual, economic, and political roles that Muslim women have played/play? What about the body, sex and "gender trouble"? What can we learn about the daily lives of Muslim women in past/present? How have modern Muslim women challenged gender roles and male religious authority? Material include: Qur'an, legal texts, medieval and modern literature; newspapers; letters; films; novels; internet sites. Guest speakers. No prior background in Islam or Gender Studies required.

Inter-disciplinary seminar makes use of texts in translation including: Qur'an and hadith, legal treatises, documents, letters, popular literature, autobiography, novels and subtitled films. These texts are supplemented by scholarly literature from religious studies, anthropology, history, gender studies, and sociology. Topics include: women in the Qur'an and hadith, sexuality and the body, woman and law, gendered space, marriage and the family, nationalism and feminism, gender and post-colonial societies, women's voices, women and Islamic revivalism. No prior background in gender studies or Islamic studies required.

What were/are the representations of gender and sexuality in Muslim societies in the past and present? Is there one Islam or Islams? What are the domestic, ritual, economic, and political roles that Muslim women have played/play? What about the body, sex and "gender trouble"? What can we learn about the daily lives of Muslim women in past/present? How have modern Muslim women challenged gender roles and male religious authority? Material include: Qur'an, legal texts, medieval and modern literature; newspapers; letters; films; novels; internet sites. Guest speakers. No prior background in Islam or Gender Studies required.

Are Zen and other religions stable entities with identifiable essences? Or do they lack a core, gradually vanishing as each layer is peeled away? Do they take on different forms in relation to cultural and power configurations? Or can they themselves shape social and political structures? In order to understand these questions and ask better ones, we will examine Zen in diverse contexts, including China, Japan, Korea, Germany, and the United States, to consider the tensions between romanticized ideals and practice on the ground. We will grapple with studying complex religious traditions with complicated and sometimes troubling histories.

Most people have heard of Zen Buddhism, but what is it? Who gets to define it? This class looks at Zen in China, Korea, Germany, Japan, Vietnam, and the United States through a range of methods from reading classic texts to studying ethnographic accounts. By considering Zen in different times and places, we explore how a religion is shaped by its political and cultural environs. We examine tensions between romanticized ideals and practices on the ground and grapple with how to study complicated and sometimes troubling traditions. Topics include myths, meditation, mindfulness, monastic life, gender, war, and death.