Diana Lobel, Coordinator
147 Bay State Rd., Fifth floor
Boston, MA 02215
T: 617.491.7279
E: dnlobel@bu.edu
The graduate program in philosophy of religion
explores the reasons and rationalities
embedded in a variety of religious traditions
and the religious dimensions embedded in
a variety of philosophical traditions.
Graduate students in the philosophy of
religion program are expected to become
conversant with the methods of religious
studies (including the history and phenomenology
of religion), with traditional areas of
philosophical study (metaphysics, epistemology,
ethics, and the history of ideas), and
with the texts and normative discourses
of the particular religious traditions
relevant to their area of interest. Graduate
students in the Division of Religious and
Theological Studies (DRTS) have access
to the faculties of the Graduate School
of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), the Boston
University School of Theology, and, through
the Boston Theological Institute, other
universities in the Boston area.
Doctoral students commence their programs
by submitting an approved plan of study
in consultation with their advisor(s).
The general guidelines of the DRTS require
that students take an introduction to the
study of religion in their first year and
a core-text course on the world’s
religions. It is strongly recommended that
candidates pass at least one of the two
required foreign language examinations
during their first year of study. Advisors
determine which languages are appropriate
to the student's plan of study. Upon the
completion of coursework, doctoral candidates
take three qualifying examinations: (1)
History of Philosophy, (2) Philosophy of
Religion, and (3) a specialization exam,
the particulars of which are developed
in accord with the dissertation topic envisioned
by the candidate. The specialization examination
may be on a problem, methodology, or period
in the philosophy of religion, for example,
"The Problem of Creation in Medieval
Philosophy," "Pantheism in 18th-
and 19th-Century European Philosophy and
Theology," "The Impact of Process
Philosophy on the Philosophy of Religion,"
"Phenomenology and Hermeneutics in
the Study of Religion," "Comparative
Religious Ethics," "Critical
Theory and Religion," etc. The successful
completion of all qualifying examinations
permits the candidate to move on to a dissertation
prospectus, again in consultation with
advisors. Upon approval of the prospectus,
the candidate writes and defends the dissertation.
Masters degree candidates, upon the completion
of coursework, may elect either to write
and defend a thesis or to be examined on
two major papers written during their program.
Degrees offered: Master
of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy
Faculty:
John H. Berthrong
Chinese Philosophy and Comparative Theology
Klaus Brinkmann
History of Philosophy, Aristotle, German idealism, esp.
Hegel
Daniel Dahlstrom
Phenomenology, German Idealism, Aesthetics
M. David Eckel
Buddhist Philosophy
Juliet Floyd
Analytic Philosophy, Wittgenstein, Kant, Philosophy of
Mathematics and of Logic
Aaron Garrett
Early Modern Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, Aristotelianism
Garth Green
19th-Century Idealism, Christian Thought
Charles Griswold
Ethics, History of Ancient Philosophy, esp. Plato
Ray Hart
Schelling, Systematic Theology, Christian
Mysticism
Steven T. Katz
Comparative Mysticism, Modern Jewish Thought
Victor Kestenbaum
American Philosophy, esp. John Dewey
Livia Kohn, Emeritus
Taoism
Manfred Kuehn
Kant, Hume, Reid, The French and German Enlightenments
Diana Lobel
Comparative Medieval Islamic and Jewish Mysticism and
Philosophy
Herbert Mason, Emeritus
Arab and Islamic Civilization
Robert Neville
Philosophical Theology, Metaphysics, Process Philosophy
Alan Olson
Hegel, Hermeneutics, Continental Philosophy
Allen Speight
Ethics, German Idealism, Philosophy and Literature
Merlin Swartz, Emeritus
Intellectual History of Medieval Islam
Wesley J. Wildman
Philosophical Theology
Michael Zank
Neokantianism, Modern Jewish Thought, Political Theology
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