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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 665: Art, Media, and Buddhism
    Examines how textual, visual, and material forms of religious expressions have been conceptualized by Buddhists as well as how Buddhist objects are understood and re- contextualized in the West. Topics include: self-immolation; museums; war propaganda, and pop culture. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS RN 675: Culture, Society and Religion in South Asia
    Ethnographic and historical introduction to the Indian subcontinent with a focus on the impact of religion on cultural practices and social institutions. Effective Spring 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • CAS RN 682: History of Religion in Pre-Colonial Africa
    Study of the development of religious traditions in Africa during the period prior to European colonialism. An emphasis both on indigenous religions and on the African roots and the growth and spread of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in the continent as a whole. Also offered as GRS AA 882 and GRS HI 749.
  • CAS RN 683: African Diaspora Religions
    This course introduces students to religions of the African Diaspora, with a specific focus on the Caribbean and the Americas. Religious traditions such as Africanized Christianity, Cuban Santería, Haitian Vodou, Brazilian Candomblé, and African American Spiritualism will be explored. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • The Individual in Community
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS RN 684: The Holocaust
    Rise of German (and European) antisemitism; rise of Nazism; 1935 Nuremberg Laws; the initial Jewish reaction; racial theory; organizing mass murder including ghettos, concentration camps, killing squads, and gas chambers; bystanders and collaborators (countries, organizations, and individuals); Jewish resistance; post-Holocaust religious responses; moral and ethical issues. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS RN 687: Anthropology of Religion
    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. Also offered as GRS AN 784. This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS RN 690: Archeology and Israeli Society
    Graduate Prerequisites: graduate standing. - In Israel, archaeology is part of current events. We study material remains from the Israelite to the Muslim conquests (c. 1200 BCE -- 640 CE) to learn how physical evidence is created and still plays a role in a larger historical drama. Also offered as GRS AR 742. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Ethical Reasoning, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS RN 696: Philosophy of Religion
    Critical investigation of the limits of human knowledge and the theoretical and practical demands for meaning attached to notions of God, providence, immortality, and other metaphysical conditions of human thriving, from Plato to modern philosophies of religion. Effective Spring 2022 this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
  • CAS RN 697: 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 703: 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 709: Cults and Charisma
    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 716: Religion, Race, and Climate Change
    A multi-disciplinary course delving into the influence of religion 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 732: 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 735: Women, Gender, and Islam
    Graduate Prerequisites: graduate standing. - 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 2024, 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 750: 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 752: 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 Fall 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 760: 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 766: 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 768: 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
  • CAS RN 791: Approaches to Religion I: Classical Approaches
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: Admission to the GDRS PhD program, or permission of the instructor. - Surveys in roughly chronological order classic theoretical and methodological works in religious studies. Covers the history of the field, and critically analyzes the ways religion is studied and taught in modern universities.

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