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The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. 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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  • GRS 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 Santer?a, Haitian Vodou, Brazilian Candombl? 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
  • GRS 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.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Critical Thinking
  • GRS 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
  • GRS 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.
  • GRS RN 697: Topics in Philosophy and Religion
    Topic for Fall 2023: Why are we here? Alongside philosophers and religious thinkers, this course explores different versions of this question. Why are we here reading and talking? Why are we at BU? Why are we here at all? Does life have some meaning? 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, Critical Thinking.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Critical Thinking
  • GRS RN 706: Biblical Fakes and Forgeries
    Graduate Prerequisites: GRS religion or STH graduate students, or consent of instructor.
    Examines issues regarding forged documents and artifacts relating to the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Examples of forgeries (alleged and certain) include: book of Daniel, Letter of Aristeas, Gnostic Gospels, Secret Gospel of Mark; forged Scrolls in museum collections. Proposed Edit: Examines forged documents and artifacts relating to Hebrew Bible and New Testament, probing historical and ethical questions they raise. Examples (alleged and certain forgeries) include: book of Daniel, Gnostic Gospels, Secret Gospel of Mark, and forged Dead Sea Scroll fragments. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Critical Thinking
  • GRS 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
  • GRS RN 710: Religion, Community, and Culture in Medieval Spain
    Interactions between Muslims, Christians, and Jews in medieval Europe's most religiously diverse region -- from the establishment of an Islamic al-Andalus in 711 CE to the final Christian "reconquest" of the peninsula and expulsion of the Jews in 1492 CE. To enrich exploration of interrelated themes and learning outcomes, student registrants of RN/HI 410/RN 710 will meet with student registrants of LS 410 during scheduled class time on 2/21, 3/13, 3/27, 4/24, and 5/1 during the term.
  • GRS RN 720: 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. 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.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • GRS RN 727: Topics in American Religion
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: WR 120 or equivalent.
    Graduate Prerequisites: graduate standing.
    Topic for Fall 2023: TBA. 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
  • GRS 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.
  • GRS RN 750: Topics in Religion, Science, and Medicine
    May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Topic for Fall 2023: Religion, Race, and Climate Change. Advanced introduction to critical theories of race, religion, and climate change. Interrogates how these terms exist in braided tension and how contemporary debates centered on environmental justice are not divorced from ultimate matters of religious, racial, and political concern. Effective Fall 2021, this course carries a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Critical Thinking.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Critical Thinking
  • GRS RN 752: Topics in Religious Thought
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS WR 120 or equivalent and one course from among the following: Religion, Philosophy, Core Curriculum (CC 101 and/or CC 102).
    Topic for Fall 2023: Buddhism as Philosophy. An exploration of the major problems of Indian Buddhist thought, with special attention to theories of knowledge and rationality, ethics, metaphysics, and the philosophy of mind. The course studies the arguments Buddhist philosophers used to defend their views against their critics. It also considers what we can learn from them philosophically today. Effective Spring 2022, 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. 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.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • GRS RN 753: 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 will vary according to instructor. Topic for Spring 2023: Race, Religion, Sexuality, and the US State. Examines the entwined relationships between race, religion, and sexuality in the histories, laws, and cultures of the US state through the lens of feminist and queer studies. Topics include settler colonialism, imperialism, civil rights, secularism, borders, labor, and reproduction. Effective Spring 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Historical Consciousness, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Creativity/Innovation
  • GRS 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.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • GRS 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.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • GRS RN 770: Topics in Medieval Religious Culture
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120).
    Graduate Prerequisites: graduate standing.
    Topic for Spring 2021: Magic, Witchcraft, and the Demonic in Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean. Magic, witchcraft, and the demonic as understood, employed, and feared in medieval Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities. Exploration of religious world views; visual culture; healing and medical practices; matters of gender, power, and social control, including counter- magic, legal prohibitions, and inquisition. 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
  • GRS RN 790: Topics in the Materiality of Ancient Mediterranean Religions
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: prior coursework in archaeology or ancient religions, or consent of instructor.
    Investigates material traces and contexts of religion in the Greco-Roman world, including iconic, architectural, votive, magical, and other archaeological remains; and draws on theories of space, image, and ritual performance. Topics vary. Also offered as GRS AR 735.
  • GRS 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.
  • GRS RN 792: Approaches to Religion II: Religion and Contemporary Theory
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: Admission to the GDRS PhD program, or permission of the instructor.
    Surveys contemporary theoretical and methodological works in religious studies. Topics might include the category of experience; ritual; modernism and postmodernism; sexual, racial, and cultural difference; postcolonial theory; historicism; narrative theory; gender and sexuality studies; secularism; and the politics of interpretation.

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