Undergraduate Courses

For Spring 2010 courses click here

Fall 2009

CAS RN100
Religion and Culture
Faculty: Lobel
MWF 1:00PM-2:00PM
Introduction to the history of religions with special emphasis on the classical periods of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and to the scientific study of religion. Attention is focused on the cultural contributions of religion in ways that invite further investigation and study.

CAS RN122
Religion in America II
Faculty: Knowles
TR 12:30-2:00PM
A survey of the history of religion in the United States to the present,focusing on a series of religious controversies that highlight the pluralistic and conflictive nature of American religious history.

CAS RN201/RN201 HP
The Hebrew Bible
Faculty: Klawans
MWF 1:00PM-2:00PM
Study of the literature of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the religious faith to which these writings bear witness within the context of the history of the ancient Israelite community.

CAS RN202/RN202 HP
From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of Christianity
Faculty: Fredriksen
TR 11:00AM-12:30PM
Places Jesus of Nazareth in his contemporary religious and social context of Second Temple Judaism; and accounts for the origins and growth of Christian life, belief, and spirituality up to the second century, as reflected in the writings of that period.

CAS RN214
Islam
Faculty: Ali
MWF 12:00PM-1:00PM
The rise and spread of Islam from the seventh century to the present; introduction to its central beliefs, institutions, and practices, and its impact on the religious and cultural history of Asia and Africa. Continuity and change in the modern period.

CAS RN215
Japanese Religion
Faculty: Cogan
TR 11:00AM-12:30PM
Introduction to Japanese religions, including Shintoism and Zen, Pure Land, and Tantric Buddhism. Focus on Zen Buddhism and its cultural expression in both geido (way of the arts) and bushdo (way of the warrior). Brief examination of the modern Japanese philosophy of religion.

CAS RN220
The Holy City: Jerusalem in Time, Space, and Imagination
Faculty: Zank
MWF 11:00AM-12:00PM
Jerusalem as a holy city: its importance in historical experience and theological understanding of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

CAS RN239
Religion and Science
Faculty: Wegter-McNelly
TR 2:00PM-3:30PM
Examines the complex relationship between science and religion, focusing on historical episodes (e.g., the "Galileo Affair") and curent controversies (e.g., "Intelligent Design" movement's influence on school curricula, "Spirituality and Health" research, and "Ecology and Religion.")

CAS RN302/GRS RN602/STH TX864
Early Christian Women
Faculty: Lenk
TR 2:00PM-3:30PM
An examination of the lives, concerns, and roles of women during the first four Christian centuries. Engages texts that present women as disciples, missionaries, ascetics, and church leaders, with attention to ancient gender constructions.

CAS RN307/GRS RN607/STH TX817
Medieval Christianity
Faculty: Klepper
MWF 11:0PM-12:00PM
Explores Christian beliefs and practices in medieval Europe within and outside formal church structures. Topics include accommodation of pagan culture, constructing identity, clerical and lay piety, heterodox practice and institutional response, and encounter with non-Christian traditions.

CAS RN312/GRS RN612/STH TX802
Buddhism in America
Faculty: Cogan
TR 2:00PM-3:00PM
The transplantation and transformation of Buddhism in the United States. Time period ranges from the eighteenth century to the present, but the emphasis is on contemporary developments, including the new Asian immigration, Jewish Buddhism, feminization, and engaged Buddhism.

CAS RN319/GRS RN619/STH TX876
Midrash: Classical Rabbinic Biblical Interpretation
Faculty: Lenk
TR 11:00AM-12:30PM
Explores rabbinic biblical interpretation in its literary, cultural, and historical context (second to seventh centuries CE). Examines how the rabbis read the Bible, and what these interpretations tell us about Jews and Judaism in the ancient world.

CAS RN325/GRS RN625/STH TX818
Jewish Mysticism
Faculty: Katz
TR 12:30PM-2:00PM
Analysis of the development of Jewish mysticism from the biblical to the early medieval era. Emphasis on the forms of mysticism--and the texts in which they are embedded--from the rabbinic era. No knowledge of Hebrew is required.

CAS RN341/GRS RN641/STH TX844
Islamic Mysticism: Sufism
Faculty: Purohit
TR 11:00AM-12:30PM
Rise and development of the mystical movement in early Islam; analysis of the thought of leading Sufi brotherhoods, their organization, liturgy, and religious life; the impact of Sufism on classical and postclassical Islam.

CAS RN344/GRS RN644/STH TX814
Islam and the West
Faculty: Ali
MWF 10:00AM-11:00AM
Considers centuries of cooperation and conflict between Islam and the West, including the "Golden Age" of Islamic Spain, the Crusades, medieval European views of Islam, enslaved Muslims in the New World, colonialism and its legacies, and Western Muslim communities today.

CAS RN364/GRS RN664/STH TX878
Buddhist Literature
Faculty: Michael
MWF 2:00PM-3:00PM
Focuses on Buddhist sutras and other literature to explore key issues of doctrine, philosophy, and praxis in the Theravada and Mahayana traditions of Buddhism. Topics include the Buddha's life, practicing the path, emptiness, and interdependence.

CAS RN375/GRS RN675/CAS AN375/GRS AN775/STH TX875
Culture, Society, and Religion in South Asia
Faculty: Korom
MWF 2:00PM-3:00PM
Ethnographic and historical introduction to the Indian subcontinent with a focus on the impact of religion on cultural practices and social institutions.

CAS RN384/GRS RN684/STH TX884
The Holocaust
Faculty: Katz
TR 3:30PM-5:00PM
Background of German (and European) anti-Semitism. Rise of Nazism and early oppression, initial Jewish reaction, mechanics of destruction, ghettos, camps, world response and nonresponse, literature of the Holocaust, and religious implications.

CAS RN397/GRS RN697/CAS PH456/GRS PH656/STH TT819
Topics in Philosophy and Religion
Faculty: Speight
W 5:00PM-8:00PM
Topic for Fall 2009: Narratives and Meanings. What is the philosophical and religious importance of narrative? What do the stories we tell ourselves and each other reveal about who we are? This course parallels a series of interdisciplinary lectures by visiting and Boston University professors in the Institute for Philosophy and Religion.

CAS RN420/GRS RN720/CAS PH409/GRS PH609/STH TX879
Maimonides
Faculty: Zank
M 3:00PM-6:00PM
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.

CAS RN424/GRS RN724/STH TX894
Core Texts and Motifs of World Religions: East
Faculty: Lobel
TR 2:00PM-3:30PM
An intensive seminar in primary texts and key ideas of theology and religious philosophy as developed in representative world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism. Second course in a year-long sequence. Each semester may be taken independently.

CAS RN425/GRS RN725/STH TX825
Topics in South Asian Religions
Faculty: Purohit
TR 2:00PM-3:30PM
Specific aspects of South Asian religions within a historical or comparative/ phenomenological framework. Topic for Fall 2009: Religion and Politics in South Asia: Explores the relationship between religion and politics in colonial and post-colonial South Asia through readings of primary texts as well as debates on religious reform/revival, nationalism, caste, and Partition.

CAS RN441/GRS RN741/CAS PH457/GRS PH657/STH TX841
Hermeneutics
Faculty: Olson
TR 12:30PM-2:00PM
Analysis of literary works, ancient and modern, informed by hermeneutical theories of Heidegger, Gadamer, and Ricoeur. Attention to structure and meaning of symbol, myth, narrative; religious, philosophical, and poetic discourse; problems of self, world, and the Divine.

CAS RN453/GRS RN753/STH TX893
Topics in Religion and Sexuality
Faculty: Michael
M 6:00PM-9:00PM
Topic for Fall 2009: The Body and Sexuality in Classical Religious Texts. Treats foundational primary sources in translation comparatively on sex and the body on several world religions. Consideration of differences in sources; genre; gender; modern/classical. Traditions include Greek, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Daoist.

CAS RN459/CAS LI459/CAS XL459/CAS RN459 HP/CAS XL459 HP
Primo Levi Within Holocaust Literature
Faculty: Harrowitz
MWF 11:00AM-12:00PM
A study of Primo Levi's writings and scientific, theological, and philosophical approaches to the Holocaust. Other theorists (Arendt, Wiesel, Muller-Hill), and other survivors' testimonies (Delbo, Borowski, Fink) are read in conjunction with Levi's works.

CAS RN495
Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Religion
Faculty: Lehrich
TR 11:00PM-12:30PM
Origins and history of the academic study of religion. Different constructions of religion as an object of study and the methods that arise from them. The role of the humanities and social sciences in understanding religion’s place in history and contemporary experience.

CAS RN504/CAS AH504/STH TX831
Topics in Religion and the Visual Arts
Faculty: Fetvaci
M 2:00PM-5:00PM
Topic for Fall 2009: Religious Architecture in Islam: Mosques, Shrines and Tombs Examines a select group of buildings from the Islamic world in terms of architecture and religious practice. Explores monuments such as the Ka'ba; the Dome of the Rock; or the Taj Mahal, as well as themes such as pilgrimage; tomb visitation; and ritual prayer.

CAS RN555/CAS LI555/CAS XL383/CAS XL383 HP/STH TX880
Dante I
Faculty: Costa
TR 9:30AM-11:00AM
A close reading of one text, Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, with attention to its medieval contexts: philosophical, theological and historical. Analysis of the poetic means by which Dante represents both human evil and human hope. Bi-lingual text. Lectures and discussion in English

CAS RN560/CAS IR560
The Politics of Religion, Ethinicity, and Nationalism in International Relations
Faculty: Prevelakis
F 1:00PM-4:00PM
Explores causes, consequences, and patterns of resurgent religion, ethnicity, and nationalism in post-Cold War international relations, using interdisciplinary scholarship, policy literatures, and case studies. Prereq: junior standing.

CAS RN561/CAS IR561
Religion and International Relations
Faculty: Prodromou
W 2:00PM-5:00PM
Explores the role of religion in contemporary international relations in the context of questions about the common core of modernity. Reviews scholarly and policy literature, and case studies, in order to elucidate religion’s intellectual and operational diversity in international relations. Prereq: junior standing and consent of instructor.

CAS RN583/STH TS872
Literature of Memory V: Faith and Destruction
Faculty: Wiesel
M 12:00PM- 2:00PM
Examines the role of faith – as question, outcry, and absurdity – during and after the Holocaust. The role of faith in catalyzing resistance or causing resignation to evil, the varieties of faith, and the faith and doubt of survivors are examined. Is faith after devastation possible? How were survivors’ beliefs transformed? Is absurd faith still faith? Prereq: junior, senior, or graduate standing.  Approval can be obtained from STH Room 603, 745 Comm. Ave.

CAS RN584 /STH TS874
Literature of Memory VI: Biblical Choices
Faculty: Wiesel
T 8:30AM-10:30AM
Examines some of the fateful decisions faced by biblical characters, from Adam and Eve through David. Is there a biblical theology of decision-making? What is the nature of choice and human agency in the biblical economy? Morality, narrative, and theology serve as guiding issues. Close reading of biblical and secondary texts.  Prereq: junior, senior, or graduate standing. Approval can be obtained from STH Room 603, 745 Comm. Ave.

GRS RN796/STH TX877
Social Scientific Approaches to Religion
Faculty: Seligman
W 3:30PM-6:30PM
Introduces major theoretical questions in the social scientific study of religion. Examines approaches of Marx, Durkheim, and Freud among others..

Spring 2010

CAS RN100
Religion and Culture
Faculty: Hudak
MWF 1:00PM-2:00PM
Introduction to the history of religions with special emphasis on the classical periods of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and to the scientific study of religion. Attention is focused on the cultural contributions of religion in ways that invite further investigation and study.

CAS RN102
Sacred Journeys
Faculty: Hudson
MWF 1:00PM-2:00PM
An introduction to the comparative study of religion through the theme of the sacred journey/religious quest in Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, and popular literature. Topics include heroic, romantic, and/or mystical quests; voyages to the underworld; apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic journeys.

CAS RN106
Death and Immortality
Faculty: Harrington
TR 11:00AM-12:30PM
Examines death as religious traditions have attempted to accept, defeat, deny, or transcend it. Do we have souls? Do they reincarnate? Other topics include cremation, ancestor worship, apocalypse, alchemy, AIDS, near-death experiences, otherworld cosmologies.

CAS RN210
Buddhism
Faculty: Harrington
TR 3:30PM-5:00PM
A historical introduction to the major themes of Indian Buddhist thought and practice with special attention to the development of Buddhism in Tibet.

CAS RN322/GRS RN622/STH TX822
History of Judaism
Faculty: Levine
TR 11:00AM-12:30PM
Major trends in post-biblical Judaism; academy and synagogue; Mishna and Talmud; Babylonian diaspora; medieval poetry, philosophy, and mysticism; codes of law; organization of the Jewish community "in exile", the land of Israel; Jewish, Islamic, and Christian civilizations.

CAS RN323/GRS RN623/STH TX823/STH TT854
Classical Jewish Thought
Faculty: Lobel
TR 2:00PM-3:30PM
Basic human and religious issues as they have been understood within the classical Jewish framework of God, the people of Israel, and Torah: good and evil, creation, the relationship of human beings to God and to one another.

CAS RN334/GRS RN634/STH TX834
Dead Sea Scrolls
Faculty: Klawans
TR 12:30PM-2:00PM
Examination of the ancient Hebrew documents discovered in the Judean desert. Their authorship; the theological significance of the Scrolls; their relations to Ancient Judaism and early Christianity; the controversy over their release and publication.

CAS RN384/GRS RN684/STH TX884
The Holocaust
Faculty: Levine
T 3:30PM-6:30PM
Background of German (and European) anti-Semitism. Rise of Nazism and early oppression, initial Jewish reaction, mechanics of destruction, ghettos, camps, world response and nonresponse, literature of the Holocaust, and religious implications.

CAS RN387/GRS RN687/AN384/GRS AN784/STH TX887
Anthropology of Religion
Faculty: Korom
TR 12:30PM-2:00PM
Myth, ritual, and religious experience across cultures. Special attention to the problem of religious symbolism and meaning, religious conversion and revitalization, contrasts between traditional and world religions, and the relation of religious knowledge to science, magic, and ideology.

CAS RN425/GRS RN725/STH TX825
Visual Piety in South Asia
Topics in South Asian Religions
Faculty: Korom
T 3:30PM-6:30PM
A focus on the Indic concept of darshan (auspicious sight) as a way of understanding the everyday religious lives of South Asians. An exploration of the way people in the region "see" religion, with an emphasis on Hinduism.

CAS RN524 A1/XL560 A1/STH TX826 A1
Epic and Empire
Topics in Religion and Literature
Faculty: Hudson
M 6:00PM-9:00PM
Investigates the relationship between politics, religion, and ideology in the epic traditions of Gilgamesh, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata. Attends not only to the formation of these epics but also to their contemporary significance.

CAS RN524 B1/XL560 B1/STH TX826 B1
What defines Jewish literature?
Topics in Religion and Literature
Faculty: Gillman
TR 12:30PM-2:00PM
Study, attentive to social contexts, of works written in Hebrew, English, Yiddish, and German from the seventeenth century to today. Various genres: autobiography, novel, short fiction, and parable. Writers include Glückel, Peretz, Agnon, Kafka, Bellow, Oz. (Readings in English translation; original languages optional.)

Graduate-level courses in the study of Religion and Healing are also offered through the Masters Program in Medical Anthropology and Cross Cultural Practice (BU School of Medicine). Undergraduates are welcome. For information on how to cross-register, see FAQ at: http://www.bu.edu/bhlp/pages/masters/courses/faqCrc.html