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Study of Religion Courses
relsty 109 Symbol, Myth and Ritual: Cultural Studies in Religion +
Description:
This course introduces students to the academic study of religion by examining the social function of religious phenomena in relation to wider sets of human behaviors, beliefs, and institutions. Students will explore the nature and concept of religion as well as the complex relationship between religion and other dimensions of human culture. Students will consider in particular the role of myths, symbols, and rituals in shaping religious identity. Major topics of discussion may include gender and sexuality, science and religion, death and dying, civil religion, religion and the visual arts, religion and entertainment, and religious violence. More Info
Offered in:relsty 110 Religions of Boston +
Description:
This course explores the complex and multifaceted role of religion in the greater Boston region. Attention will be given to the many diverse expressions of religion in contemporary Boston, examining a pluralistic landscapes that includes Christians, Jews, Muslims, Unitarians, Mormons, Hindus, Buddhists, and many more. Students will also analyze the role of religion in the city's history, considering numerous instances of conflict over religion, the complicated relationship between religion and regional governments, and the impact of immigration on the region's religious landscape. A major assignments in this course may be included in a Writing Proficiency Requirement portfolio. This is a hands-on, interactive course designed with the support of the Mellon Foundation. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
relsty 111 Religions of the West +
Description:
This course surveys the major western religious traditions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Emphasis is placed on the histories, literatures, belief, and practices of the so-called Abrahamic faiths. Consideration is also given to a comparison of and interactions among these three traditions, as well as to new religious movements (e.g., Mormonism) emerging from within these traditions. More Info
Offered in:relsty 112L Religions of Asia +
Description:
This course surveys the major religions of South, Southeast, and East Asia: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and Shinto, with attention also to Asian Islam and Christianity. The focus is on central teachings, practices, and institutions in their historical and social contexts, as well as interactions between these traditions. The course also considers the enduring vitality of these traditions in the modern world, in and beyond Asia.RELSTY 112L and ASIAN 112L are the same course. More Info
Offered in:relsty 115G Religion, Politics, Sex & Violence +
Description:
This course covers three themes-religion and public life, violence and non-violence, sexes and sexualities. Students become familiar with a range of major religious thinkers and formulate their own constructive positions. More Info
Offered in:relsty 125L Jerusalem: Sacred Space, Contested Space +
Description:
This course traces the history of Jerusalem from the Bronze Age to the present. Using a sampling of relevant primary sources (e.g., literary, archaeological, iconographical), students will study the political, physical, and conceptual development of this urban space through its multiple destructions and reconstructions, considering especially the emergence of Jerusalem as a sacred space for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Students will also give some attention o the political tensions in modern Jerusalem, using the study of the past to inform reflection on the present. More Info
Offered in:relsty 215L Introduction to Buddhism +
Description:
This course surveys the Buddhist religion from past to present. The focus is on central teachings, practices, and institutions in their diverse historical and social contexts, from ancient India to various lands of East and Southeast Asia and the contemporary world. Particular attention is given to Buddhist narratives, disciplines, cosmologies, and historical developments. More Info
Offered in:relsty 218G Religion and Film +
Description:
Religion, like film, makes worlds. Practitioners, like viewers, are asked to suspend belief in order to enter another world-and then find that world in this world. We leave a detective movie and start seeing the world as a series of clues; we leave a prayer meeting and start looking for moments of grace in daily life. This course serves as both an introduction to the methods and key terms in the study of religion and as a way to gain a richer understanding of why we watch films and how they work on us. We address topics such as: How do films such as Christopher Nolan's ''The Dark Knight'' or Julie Dash's ''Daughters of the Dust'' organize the world through myths about good and evil and with rituals that bind communities across generations? How does the Coen brother's ''A Serious Man'' retell a Biblical story for the present? And how do Afro-futurist films such as Sun Ra's ''Space is the Place'' help viewers imagine world not structured by racism? More Info
Offered in:relsty 222L Religion and the Environment: Global Stewardship and Practices of Faith Communities +
Description:
This course examines the influence of religious traditions on environmental ethics across cultures. The course draws on sacred texts of Judeo-Christian, Muslim, Jain, Hindu, and possibly other faiths, and secular perspectives of environmental ethics. From these standpoints, students examine global case studies, from Africa, the Middle East, Europe, America and possibly elsewhere. Students explore how spiritual understandings of the world influence human behavior toward the planet and the ecosystems we inhabit. Through comparisons between religious traditions across cultures and their relationship with environmental ethics, students develop an understanding of how faith systems influence our treatment of the Earth. . More Info
Offered in:relsty 225L The Philosophy of Religion +
Description:
This course is an introduction to several fundamental problems and concepts in philosophy of religion. Looking at the major world religions from West to East, the course explores the concepts of God and the Divine, religion and spirituality, mysticism, the role of religious experience and religious language/doctrine, the understandings, forms and aims of religious and spiritual practice, the problem of evil, the relationship of the human being and the divine etc. In the spirit of religious pluralism, this philosophy of religion course is addressed to students of all faiths, as well as agnostics and atheists, who are not afraid to ask challenging questions about what they believe. More Info
Offered in:relsty 233L Introduction to Islam +
Description:
This course acquaints students with the broad outline of the Islamic religion, including its origins and historical development, its sacred scriptures, and the main beliefs and practices of Muslims. It also considers Islam's mystical dimension, its aesthetic expressions, its views of gender relations, and its orientation in the modern world. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
relsty 235L Yoga in History, Philosophy, and Practice +
Description:
This course examines the history, philosophies, and practices of Yoga in their religious and cultural contexts. In the modern west, Yoga has become popular as a secular form of exercise. However, the diverse Yoga traditions of India have also involved sophisticated analyses of the mind and systems of mediation. Intrinsic to no single religion, Yoga has had roles in most South Asian traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sufism or Islamic mysticism. The course surveys this rich history and the history of the various forms of meditative and physical discipline Yoga has entailed. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
relsty 239L Hindu Myth and Narrative: the Epics and Puranas +
Description:
This course studies Hinduism through its narrative literature, especially the great epics (the Mahabharata and Ramayana) and mythological texts (Puranas - the ''Ancient Books''). Through stories of gods, devotees, villains, and heroes, the course explores the development of significant themes in the Hindu tradition, from ethics and philosophy to asceticism and religious devotion. An important focus of the course is the enduring cultural significance of myth and the epics of South and Southeast Asia, as retold through the ages in a variety of languages, cultural contexts, and media, including classical and vernacular texts, the oral tradition, drama, dance, and cinema. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
relsty 241L Myth, History, and Prophecy: Old Testament +
Description:
Interpretation of the religion and literature of ancient Israel in comparison with the mythic religious forms of the ancient Near East, with some attention to subsequent biblical interpretation, literature, and philosophy. Central themes include myth and history, covenant, charismatic leadership, imperial religion, prophetic protest, and apocalyptic visions. More Info
Offered in:relsty 242L Origins of Christianity: From Jesus to Constantine +
Description:
A study of the religion and the literature of early Christianity in comparison with other, contemporary, Jewish movements-Pharisees, Essenes, others-and with Hellenistic philosophy and mystery religions. Concentration on the career and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, the interpretation of his significance, and the development and diversity of the Christian movement. More Info
Offered in:relsty 245 The History of Christianity +
Description:
A study of Christianity in its diverse forms, exploring the development of institutional forms, theology, and Christianity's relation to the world. Materials include a comprehensive text, primary source readings, and cultural resources, such as music and images. Special attention is paid to people who were marginalized or subordinated within Christian history, such as women, non-literate people, non-Europeans and ''heretics.'' More Info
Offered in:relsty 271L Religion and the Arts +
Description:
This course examines the interplay between religion and aesthetics, as expressed through the literary, visual, and performing arts. Structured thematically rather than by religious tradition, this course covers topics such as religious seeing, visual representation of the divine through icons and iconography, iconoclasm and the power of images, aniconism, calligraphy and geometric design, sacred space and religious architecture, religion and the book arts, religious music, dance, and drama, visual narrativization, and religious ritual as performance. More Info
Offered in:relsty 280 Special Topics +
Description:
This course offers study of selected topics within this subject. Course content and credits vary according to topic and are announced prior to the registration period. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
relsty 310 Apocalypse and the End of the World +
Description:
This course explores speculations on the apocalypse and the end of the world from antiquity to the present. The first half of the course focuses on the origins of apocalyptic thinking and literature within ancient Jewish and Christian contexts. Students will carefully analyze a wide range of apocalyptic texts (biblical and extra-biblical) with an emphasis on location this literature within the wider social and historical contexts of early Judaism and early Christianity. The second half of the course concentrates on the varied legacies of ancient apocalypticism by exploring contemporary manifestations of apocalyptic thought and discourse. In particular, students will examine select millenarian movements and apocalyptic cults, the role of apocalypticism in religious fundamentalism and the presence of apocalypticism in popular culture. More Info
Offered in:relsty 311L The Fall of Rome +
Description:
People have been trying to understand the fall of Rome since the fall of Rome. In 200 CE, the Roman Empire was the largest, most diverse, and most powerful state the Mediterranean world had ever seen. By 500, the Western half of the Empire had splintered into smaller kingdoms that would eventually become the basis for modern European states. What happened? This course will examine the political, military, environmental, and social changes of the Empire as it loses territory and transforms into the medieval world. But we will spend just as much time trying to understand what it was like for typical Romans to live through this period. We will study armies and taxes, but also the rise of Christianity, the prevalence of slavery, the shifting gender norms, and the stories that filled the imaginations of people throughout this time. We will discuss major ancient cities like Rome and Constantinople, but we'll also venture out to the edges of the Empire and beyond learning about the Goths, Celts, Sassanians, and more.In addition to learning about the transformation of the Roman Empire between 250 and 800, students will also practice thinking like historians; that is, we will think about possibilities and limitations of the wide range of sources that historians use to piece together what happened and why it matters. How do we know what we know about the past? And why should we care how history is written? More Info
Offered in:relsty 312 Mysticism +
Description:
Mystics claim to encounter the divine in ways that push the limits of ordinary human experience. This course introduces students to the major themes, practices, and ideas of mysticism. Mysticism highlights a tension between the need for concrete rules, institutions, practices, and doctrine, and a conviction that there is something beyond what can be quantified and contained. Mystics need limits in order to cross them. How to make those limits and cross them is, therefore, central to our study. This course asks: What practices allow people to touch what is beyond words? How do intense, personal experiences relate to and depend on communal and institutional religion? Why is it important to talk about what cannot be said? How does mysticism challenge or strengthen authority, especially around questions of gender and sexuality? How have traditional religious practices been transformed in modern attempts at transcendence: More Info
Offered in:relsty 314L Meditation traditions of Asia +
Description:
Meditation is integral to Asia's major religions and increasingly popular in the contemporary world. This course explores a range of contemplative practices, mainly from Hindu, Buddhist, and/or Daoist traditions. We will also explore modern, secularized offshoots of these practices, such as mindfulness and postural yoga, which are now used widely in clinical settings and are the subject of much scientific research. The course will draw on perspectives such as the comparative study of religion, philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience. Moreover, we will approach meditation both academically and experimentally: participants will study contemplative practices in their historical, cultural, and religious contexts, wand will likewise engage in the practice of mediation, in both traditional and modern varieties. Going beyond seated mediation, we will explore contemplative practices and the traditional creative arts (e.g. poetry and calligraphy); musical meditations; and contemplative body-mind practices (e.g. poetry and calligraphy); musical meditations; and contemplative body-mind practices (e.g. walking meditation, yoga, and/or Qi Gong). The course hence integrates conventional academic study with a unique form of experiential learning. Meditation practice is an essential component of the course. This is a hands-on, interactive course designed with the support of the Mellon Foundation. More Info
Offered in:relsty 335L Literature and the Arts of the Islamic World +
Description:
This course examines the development of literature and the arts of the Islamic world from the early Islamic period to the modern day, focusing upon the specific ways in which religion interacted with the cultures of Islamic lands to inform these developments. The course will draw upon visual, performing, and literary traditions from across the Islamic world, from Andalusia to Mughal India, and from Indonesia to the Caribbean. Through the semester, students will be exposed to a diversity of geographical, religious, devotional, sectarian, and gender perspectives. This is a hands-on, interactive course designed with the support of the Mellon Foundation. More Info
Offered in:relsty 351L Religion and the Arts +
Description:
This course examines the interplay between religion and aesthetics, as expressed through the literary, visual, and performing arts. Structured thematically rather than by religious tradition, this course covers topics such as religious seeing, visual representation of the divine through icons and iconography, iconoclasm and the power of images, aniconism, calligraphy and geometric design, sacred space and religious architecture, religion and the book arts, religious music, dance, and drama, visual narrativization, and religious ritual as performance. More Info
Offered in:relsty 356L Faiths & Feminisms: Women, Gender, Sexuality & Religion in the U.S. +
Description:
This course explores feminisms and theologies - or varieties of ''God-talk'' - as resources for each other. The course engages key questions raised by students and non-students alike: what does it mean to have feminist politics and belong to a faith community? Can this be done? Is it desirable? What are the consequences?Starting from these personal-political questions, the course attends to the history of women and religion in colonial America and the United States. Selected feminist and womanist engagements with and challenges to aspects of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism in the contemporary United States are examined. The course explores women's - and transpeople's - experiences of religion and spirituality, both their leadership and their struggles within various faith communities. The professor and students analyze the ways that ideas about gender, racial/ethnic, economic, and sexual hierarchies are deeply entwined in theologies that oppress as well as those that seek to liberate. The course also investigates contemporary queer theologies and current thinking about feminism, secularism, and humanism. Student experiences and questions help guide the study of feminist scholarly research and writing in the fields of history, theology, criticism of sacred texts, politics, and literature. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
relsty 357L Women in South Asian Religions: Gender Ideology and Practice in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam +
Description:
This course examines women in South Asian history through the intersections of women's lives with three major faith traditions of the subcontinent - Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Using historical, literary, and anthropological lenses the course will consider how various institutions of authority - patriarchy, religion, and the state - have shaped and reshaped gender ideology in South Asia, and how women, throughout South Asia's history, have, in turn, interpreted and negotiated their position in society. More Info
Offered in:relsty 358L Psychology, Politics, and Philosophy in East Asia +
Description:
Why do attitudes in China, Korea, and Japan differ from Western attitudes on such issues as human rights; individualism and community; child rearing; moral and psychological development; the role of government; and proper behavior in business organizations? This course explores the roots of these differences in the Confucian tradition. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
relsty 385L Greek & Roman Religion +
Description:
The ancients' belief in, and worship of, the ancient gods; oracles, mysteries, cults. Both primary sources (ancient authors in translation) and modern secondary sources are used. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
relsty 478 Independent Study +
relsty 479 Independent Study +
Description:
Open only to a very limited number of students in any one semester. A written prospectus must be formulated with the instructor. More Info
Offered in: