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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 397: Topics in Philosophy and Religion
    Topic for Fall 2026: Heidegger’s Lectures on the Phenomenology of Religion. We slow-read Heidegger's Winter 1920-21 lectures and related philosophical and theological literature. Among the authors Heidegger engages is the Apostle Paul, who remains a major figure in late 20th- and early 21st-century political theology. We read Heidegger to understand why Paul has remained vital. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
  • CAS RN 401: Senior Independent Work
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: approval of the Honors Committee. - Prereq: approval of the Honors Committee
  • CAS RN 402: Senior Independent Work
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: approval of the Honors Committee. - SR INDEP WORK
  • CAS RN 403: Zen Buddhism
    Undergraduate prerequisite: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g.,CAS WR 100 or 120). - Explores Zen thought and practice across various Asian and global Buddhist traditions through texts and material culture, focusing on debates on metaphysics, the mind, and knowledge as applied to meditation, ethics, aesthetics, militarism, environmentalism, and aspects of daily life. Effective Spring 2026, this course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following BU HUB areas: Creativity/Innovation, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS RN 409: Cults and Charisma
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: undergraduates who have taken RN 200 and/or RN 355, and with consent o f instructor. - Examines religious sects, new religions, and charismatic leadership using case- studies from history and the contemporary world, as well as analytical principles from religious studies and anthropology. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS RN 416: Religion, Race, and Climate Change
    A multi-disciplinary course delving into the influence of and race on human behavior and non-human, planetary realities at local and global scales. It focuses on the historical, systemic, and societal implications associated with ongoing climate change debates. Effective Fall 2024 fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Social Inquiry I.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS RN 432: Gender, Sexuality, and Buddhism
    Examines gender and sexuality in various Buddhist cultures from a broad range of time periods such as ancient India, medieval China, and modern America. Topics include: family, the body, lust, abortion, and menstruation. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration, Critical Thinking.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Critical Thinking
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • CAS RN 435: Women, Gender, and Islam
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 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. 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: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • 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 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 1.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS RN 532: Literacy and Islam in Africa
    Examines the Islamization of Africa and literary traditions. Students learn about African texts written in the Arabic script (Ajami) and the spread of Islam and its Africanization throughout the continent. Texts written by enslaved Africans in the Americas are examined.
  • CAS RN 561: Religion and International Relations
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing and consent of instructor. - 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.
  • 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

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