michael zank@bu: courses
RN101 The Bible. An introduction to the Jewish and Christian sacred
Scriptures, for concentrators and non-concentrators. The course fulfills
the CAS humanities distribution requirement. The linked syllabus is from
Spring 2009 and will be updated for Spring 2010.
RN220 Holy City: Jerusalem in Time, Space, and the
Imagination History of Jerusalem from pre-Israelite to modern
Israeli/Palestinian times. Aided by images, maps, texts, film, and web-based
information, we will study the relation between religion and politics in this
conflict-ridden sacred place.
RN389/689 Moses and the Origin of Monotheism This course
explores interpretations of Moses in Western religions and cultures from Philo
to Freud, tracing the discourse on the Egyptian origins of monotheism from its
ancient sources to its modern rationalistic, psycho-analytical, literary,
identity-political, and cinematic permutations.
RN420 Maimonides A study of major aspects of the thought of Maimonides. Primary focus on the Guide of the Perplexed, with attention to its modern reception in works by Baruch Spinoza, Hermann Cohen, Leo Strauss, and others. (Crosslisted with RN720, PH409/609 & STH TX879)
RN469 Critique of Religion Philosophical critiques of
revealed religion from Enlightenment to the 20th century, including analysis of
criticisms in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Major trends examined include
rationalism, historicism, anthropological materialism, and nihilism.