Religion

• CAS RN 453: Topics in Religion and Sexuality
  Exploration of key topics and themes in the study of religion and sexuality, especially as they intersect with gender, race, and politics. Historical periods and religious contexts will vary according to instructor. Topic for Spring 2023: Race, Religion, Sexuality, and the US State. Examines the entwined relationships between race, religion, and sexuality in the histories, laws, and cultures of the US state through the lens of feminist and queer studies. Topics include settler colonialism, imperialism, civil rights, secularism, borders, labor, and reproduction. Effective Spring 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Historical Consciousness, Creativity/Innovation.
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  • Historical Consciousness
  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Creativity/Innovation
• CAS RN 460: Seminar on the Holocaust
  This course will examine historical, ethical and religious issues arising from the Holocaust. We will discuss antisemitism and ideology; what communities were considered "other"; human motivation regarding collaborators, perpetrators and bystanders; the role of individuals, organizations and governments; the treatment of women; the ethics of resistance; the behavior of the Jewish Councils; and attitudes to the existence of God during and after the Holocaust. We will also compare the Holocaust to contemporary crises now occurring around the world. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Ethical Reasoning, Historical Consciousness.
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  • Historical Consciousness
  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
• CAS RN 466: Religion and the Problem of Tolerance
  Explores the religious roots of tolerance as an alternative to secular, more liberal foundations for pluralism. Grapples with the challenge of tolerance to the revealed religions and the ways different societies have met or failed to meet this challenge. Presents multiple case-studies and contemporary connections, explores relevance to students own experiences. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, The Individual in Community, Teamwork/Collaboration.
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  • The Individual in Community
  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Teamwork/Collaboration
• CAS RN 470: Topics in Medieval Religious Culture
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120).
  Topic for Spring 2021: Magic, Witchcraft, and the Demonic in Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean. Magic, witchcraft, and the demonic as understood, employed, and feared in medieval Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities. Exploration of religious world views; visual culture; healing and medical practices; matters of gender, power, and social control, including counter- magic, legal prohibitions, and inquisition. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing- Intensive Course, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Historical Consciousness
  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS RN 494: Magical Texts: Literature & Practice
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: prior coursework in theory of religion (e.g., RN 200 or 242), ancient religions, or anthropology of religion recommended.
  An advanced course in the interpretation of ancient magical texts that emphasizes the use of theoretical models (Malinowski, Levi-Strauss, Tambiah, J.Z. Smith, et al.) for understanding the complementary uses of sound and symbol, myth and nonsense, and forms of verbal/scribal efficacy in magic, all with attention to social context. Texts include a selection of ritual manuals, amulets, binding tablets, and mystical ascent texts from Greco-Roman, Jewish, and Christian antiquity. Effective Spring 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Social Inquiry I.
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  • Social Inquiry I
  • The Individual in Community
• CAS RN 532: Literacy and Islam in Africa
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor.
  Examines the Islamization of Africa and literary traditions. Students learn about African texts written in the Arabic script (Ajami) and the spread of Islam and its Africanization throughout the continent. Texts written by enslaved Africans in the Americas are examined.