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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 420: 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. Also offered as CAS PH 409. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Oral and/or Signed Communication.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
  • CAS RN 427: Topics in American Religion
    Topic for Spring 2024: Black Religion and Black Politics. Delves into the intricate and interconnected relationship between politics and religion within the Black experience. This course challenges the conventional notions of "politics," "religion," and "blackness," and instead encourages students to critically engage with these concepts through a diverse range of multimedia sources, including literature, film, performances, and modes of discourse. By exploring the complexities, controversies, and nuances of the relationship between religion and politics, this seminar invites students to grapple with the indeterminate and contested nature of this connection in the modern world. By examining historical and contemporary examples, students will gain insights into the challenges, conflicts, and possibilities that arise from the interplay between religion and politics within Black populations throughout the African diaspora. This critical examination will shed light on how blackness disrupts and reshapes traditional academic approaches, creating new avenues for understanding and engaging with the complexities of religion and politics. Effective Spring 2023 this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, The Individual in Community, Research and Information Literacy.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS RN 430: Topics in East Asian Religions
    Three topics are offered 2014/2015. Students may take one, two, or three for credit. Topic for Fall 2014: Buddhism, the State, and Politics in East Asia. Analyzes models of the ideal Buddhist ruler in China, Korea, and Japan and their behaviors both historically and in the present. Topics include state patronage and persecution of Buddhism as well as Buddhist rebellions and resistance to state control. Topics for Spring 2015. Section A1: Confucian Religious Ethics. Explores the ethical ideas that emerge from Confucianism's understanding of the human person in terms of his/her relationships rather than as an independent entity. Discussion topics include social roles, personal agency, and the cardinal virtue of ritual propriety. Section B1: Shamanism in East Asia. Approaches to shamanism in East Asia (China, Japan, Korea). Reading of original texts in translation and secondary scholarly studies. Topics include shamanism and state and local religion; myth and poetry; gender and mediumship; ancient and modern religion.
  • CAS RN 435: Women, Gender, and Islam
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CAS WR 100 or 120). - Investigates the way Muslim religious discourse, norms, and practices create and sustain gender and hierarchy in religious, social, and familial life. Looks at historical and contemporary challenges posed to these structures. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, The Individual in Community, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS RN 450: Topics in Religion, Science, and Medicine
    May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Topic for Spring 2025: Healing and the Body in East Asian Religions. From Ayurveda to Zen, this course explores diverse healing practices and understandings of the human body across various East Asian religious traditions. Covering topics such as Buddhist medicine, Daoist remedies, Mongolian shamanism, and Shinto purification rituals, we discuss how different East Asian religions interpret the body within their philosophical and cosmological frameworks, as well as how practical healing applications were developed and performed. Effective Fall 2021, this course carries a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • CAS RN 452: Topics in Religious Thought
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASWR 120 or equivalent and one course from among the following: Religion, Philosophy, Core Curriculum (CASCC 101 and/or CC 102). - Topic for Spring 2025: Happiness, East and West. What is happiness? How can we achieve a balanced, healthy, fulfilling life? Classical thinkers such as Aristotle, Plato, Chuang Tzu; Stoic, Confucian, Buddhist paths; comparison with contemporary studies on happiness and mindfulness. Effective Spring 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 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 vary according to instructor. Topic for Spring 2025: Queer and Trans Religion. Religious language figures prominently in both attacks on and affirmations of queer and trans existence. We use religious studies and queer and trans studies to analyze fiction, film, and poetry that explores the relationships between gender, sexuality, and religion. Effective Spring 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Historical Consciousness, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Historical Consciousness
  • 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.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Historical Consciousness
    • 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.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • The Individual in Community
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS RN 468: Symbol, Myth, and Rite
    Historical overview of ritual behavior, the role of symbolism in the study of culture, and the narrative quality of worldview and belief. Emphasis on verbal performance and public display events in specific cultural contexts. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS RN 470: Topics in Medieval Religious Culture
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. First Year Writing Seminar ( e.g., CASWR 100 or WR 120). - Topic for Spring 2025: Marriage, Sex, and Ritual. Explores the ritualized nature of marriage and sex among Christians, Jews, and others. Topics include betrothals and weddings, religious authority and marriage, ritual power and sex, procreative 'magic,' and objects used by people to ritualize their marital and sexual lives. 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.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS RN 492: Directed Study in Religion
    A directed study in a topic in religion.
  • 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.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS SO 100: Principles in Sociology
    An introduction to the major theories and basic principles of sociological analysis. Explores culture, media, socialization, race and ethnicity, globalization, capitalism, gender and sexuality, inequality and poverty, power in American society, and health and medicine from a sociological perspective. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • The Individual in Community
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS SO 201: Sociological Methods
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: one introductory course or consent of instructor. - Required of sociology majors and minors. Students learn to evaluate and practice social science research: survey, interview, ethnography, and experiments. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS SO 203: Introduction to Sociological Theories
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: one introductory course or consent of instructor. - Required of sociology majors and minors. The works of major theorists of the discipline are the focus: W.E.B. Du Bois, Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim. In-depth comparisons and contrasts in respect to themes and approaches are offered.
  • CAS SO 205: American Families
    Examines the family as a historically and geographically contingent social construction. How families in the U.S. are organized. Considers diverse family formations and intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality in the operation of family dynamics and politics. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS SO 206: Introduction to the Sociology of Globalization
    A sociological introduction to globalization. Explores the roles of technology, transnational corporations, and the state. Considers globalization's impacts on the workplace, the environment, and other institutions as well as the emergence of global social movements. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS SO 207: Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
    Examines the fundamental theoretical and empirical approaches regarding race/ethnicity and the current state of race relations in the U.S. that explore both contemporary social problems. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, The Individual in Community, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • The Individual in Community
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS SO 208: Sociological Approaches to Current Issues
    Topic for Spring 2025: Latinx Sociology. The diverse histories of the Latinx population in the United States and the issues that shape their political, social and cultural practices and experiences. Topics discussed include: race and ethnicity, colonialism, migration, class and wealth, language, gender and sexuality, media representation, and social movements and resistance.

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