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The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • CAS RN 242: Magic, Science, and Religion
    Boundaries and relationships between magic, science, and religion in Europe from antiquity through the Enlightenment. Explores global cultural exchange, distinctions across social, educational, gender, and religious lines, the rise of modern science, and changing assumptions about God, nature, and humanity. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
  • CAS RN 245: The Quest for God and the Good
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120), - An interactive seminar, investigating the meaning and purpose of human life, the significance of God or an Absolute, the role of contemplation and action in the spiritual quest, relationships between philosophy and religious thought, East and West. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. Effective Fall 2023 this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS RN 246: S24: Sex, Death, and the Buddha
    An exploration of various Buddhist understandings of the ideal human life. Topics examined include: karma and rebirth, nonviolence and war, human and animal rights, suicide and euthanasia, as well as abortion and contraception. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS RN 248: Food and Religion
    Explores the intersection of religion and food, using food to learn about religion and religion to study the role of food in human societies. Topics include feasting; fasting; feeding God(s), spirits, ancestors; eating/not eating animals; ingesting alcohol and psychoactive plants. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • The Individual in Community
  • CAS RN 249: Islamophobia and Antisemitism
    Explores historical and contemporary manifestations of Islamophobia and antisemitism. Students are exposed to wide range of relevant written and visual texts as well as theoretical approaches. Includes active learning component and collaborative presentations by students. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, The Individual in Community, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • The Individual in Community
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS RN 296: Religion and Hip Hop
    Uses digital media studies to explore diverse religious expressions in hip hop culture. Through critical reading, community field trips, and hands-on technology usage, students consider an often overlooked element in the study of hip hop culture: religion. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • CAS RN 301: Varieties of Early Christianity
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing. At least one prior course in biblical or New Testamen t literature recommended. - Surveys the many different and often competing forms of Christianity that arose and flourished in the second to the seventh century. Topics covered include martyrs, apocalypticism, Hell, Gnostics, prophecy, magical texts, angels and demons, and the various meanings of Christ. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS RN 310: The Reformation: Religious Conflict in Early Modern Europe
    Examines religious change in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe, particularly the origins and causes of the Protestant Reformation, the parallel Catholic Reformation, and the consequent military conflicts in Germany, France, and the Netherlands. Also offered as CAS HI 209. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Social Inquiry I.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS RN 311: African American Religious History
    A historical survey of religions practiced by people of African descent living in North America. Students explore the diverse terrain of African American religiosity, which includes Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Spiritualism, and African-derived religions.
  • CAS RN 312: Buddhism in America
    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. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS RN 316: Modern Islam
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: one course in RN or PH, or CC101/102, or consent of instructor. First- Year Writing Seminar" (CAS WR 120 or equivalent) - Pre-Req: First-Year Writing Seminar" (CAS WR 120 or equivalent). Challenges students to sociologically evaluate the concept of meritocracy, its origins, its societal implications, and contemporary adoption as an ideal worth striving for. Reviews empirical research on perceptions around and explanations of social inequality. Explores how beliefs about inequality are mobilized in class and racial conflict and in what ways people's beliefs are or aren't likely to change. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Social Inquiry I, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS RN 317: Greek and Roman Religion
    Survey of ancient Greek and Roman religions and their development from earliest beginnings to the eclipse of paganism. Theories and practices of these religions, comparisons with other religions, and relationships to Judaism and Christianity. Cannot be taken for credit in addition to CAS CL 317. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS RN 322: History of Judaism
    This class surveys Jewish history from the classical period to modern times. It covers: the destruction of the 1st Temple; the encounter with Hellenism; the Roman period; the destruction of the 2nd Temple; the rise and influence of rabbinic Judaism; the medieval era under Muslim and Christian rule; medieval antisemitism; Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah); and philosophy (Maimonides). For the modern era we will discuss: the Renaissance; the Reformation; the complex issue of Emancipation; coming to America; the growth of American Judaism; religious reform; modern antisemitism; and Zionism. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS RN 326: Jewish Mysticism
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (CAS WR 120 or equivalent) - This course explores the rich world of Jewish Mysticism from its earliest roots to its contemporary expressions in the 21st century. We look at the interaction between Jewish mystics and major western schools of thought such as Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, and Sufism. The course also introduces students to the Kabbalistic tradition and its various historical manifestations. No prior knowledge of Hebrew or other themes in Jewish studies required. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Aesthetic Exploration, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS RN 328: Modern Judaism
    Encounters between Judaism and modernity from the Renaissance and Reformation; the Spanish expulsion and creation of Jewish centers in the New World; emancipation and its consequences; assimilation, Reform Judaism, Zionism, the American Jewish community, non-European communities, Jewish global migration, and modern antisemitism. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS RN 337: Gender, Sexuality, and Judaism
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). - Explores the role of gender and sexuality in Judaism and Jewish experience, historically and in the present. Subjects include constructions of masculinity and femininity, attitudes toward (and uses of) the body and sexuality, gendered nature of religious practice and authority. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS RN 338: Philosophy and Mysticism: Jewish and Islamic Perspectives
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar; and one course from among the following: P hilosophy, Religion, Core Curriculum (CC101 and/or CC102) - A thematic introduction to mysticism and philosophy, with a focus on the dynamics of religious experience. Readings will be drawn from medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy; Sufi mysticism and philosophy; Kabbalah, Sufi poetry, Hebrew poetry from the Golden Age of Muslim Spain. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing- Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS RN 340: The Quran
    The emergence of the Quran as a major religious text, its structure and literary features, and its principal themes and places within the religious and intellectual life of the Muslim community. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Digital/Multimedia Expression, Research and Information Literacy .
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS RN 343: Jewish Fundamentalisms
    Exploration of Jewish Fundamentalist identities: diverse global communities reflecting a strict interpretation of Jewish law, the formation of Haredi societies in the 19th century, unprecedented growth, marriages and family life, religious studies' social and symbolic centrality, economy, and Haredi trans-national communities. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness, Teamwork and Collaboration .
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS RN 345: Shariah Law
    Shariah Law looks behind the stereotypes and headlines--despotic rulers, barbaric punishments, women's oppression--to understand the origins, history, and structure of Islamic law. Explores its implementation in various times and places, modern transformations, and contemporary debates over legal reform. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Ethical Reasoning, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Research and Information Literacy

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