Winter 2023 Courses

Welcome! Explore our Winter 2023 classes below and click the course title to register in MyPlan.


A Life Worth Living 

RELIG 101
5 credits, SSc
TBD
James K. Wellman

Discover a course about love, life, and finding your groove: What makes a life worth living? Using religious and humanistic traditions, we create meaning; we develop ethical traditions that enable a thriving social order. We study the resources in our lives, which mobilize energy to drive our dreams. Rites of passage, from the indigenous to the post-modern, empower us to navigate our journeys. Each student will ask, “What makes life worth living?” Each will find the tools to navigate our global market to fashion a flourishing life. A life worth living, therefore, masters meaning, morals, and the resources that create a life that uplifts, delights, and loves the world.


Introduction to World Religions: Western Traditions (I&S) 
RELIG 201
5 credits, SSc
TTh 12:30 – 2:20 pm
Philip Tite

Learn about the foundational texts, beliefs and history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to better understand history and current global events.


Religion and World Politics (I&S)
RELIG 307
5 credits, SSc
8:30 – 9:50 am
Tony Gill

Explores the intersection of religion and politics in various regions of the world, including the United States, Europe, Middle East, Latin America, and other regions. Presents an historical perspective on religion alongside contemporary issues in religion, politics, and church-state relations.


Gender and the Hindu Goddess 

RELIG 456
5 credit, A&H, DIV
MW 1:30 – 3:20 pm
Heidi Pauwels

Explores implications of the perception of a feminine divine for gender issues in South Asia. Includes historical overview of goddess worship in South Asia, mythologies, philosophical systems, cults, and rituals associated with the major goddesses, the phenomena of suttee, goddess possession, and women’s goddess rituals at the village level.


Colloquium in Comparative Religion

RELIG 598
1 credit
W 5:30 – 7:50 pm
James K. Wellman

Required colloquium for graduate students in comparative religion program. Introduction to faculty research and to major methods and disciplines in the study of religion.


Calderwood Seminar: Writing on US Religion and Politics
JSIS 498 E
5 credits, SSc
TBD
James K. Wellman


Other religion-related courses of interest

See projected courses here.

Essential Sanskrit for Yoga and Meditation

SNKRT 205
TTh 1:30 -2:50
Joe Marino


Islam and Muslims in China 

NEAR E 358/559
TTh 1:30-3:20pm
Talant Mawkanuli
Hybrid course with significant online content


Jewish Humor 

JEW ST 210
TTh 9:30 -11:20
Noam Pianko


Jewish Cultural History

JEW ST 250
TTh 1:30 – 3:20
Devin Naar


History of Jews and Muslims

JEW ST 495/559
TTh 11:30-1:20
Liora Halperin


Law, State, and Society: Law and Religion in Israel 

JSIS B 315
MW 10:30-2:20
Smadar Ben-Natan


Political Islam

JSIS B 406
MW 2:30-4:20
Cabeiri Robinson 


Modern Sephardic Cultures

NEAR E 286 A
MW 3:30-5:20
Canan Bolel


History of Modern Israel/Palestine

JSIS A/HSTAFM 314
MW 1:30-3:20pm
Liora Halpern


Classical Arabic Literature in Translation

NEAR E 529
TTh 2:30 – 4:20
Terri DeYoung


1001 Nights 

NEAR E 531
TTh 5:00 – 6:20
Terri DeYoung


Islamic Civilization

NEAR E 229
TTh 2:30-3:50pm
Paula Holmes-Eber


Introduction to the Ancient Near East

NEAR E 201
MW 1:30-3:20pm
Kathryn Medill


View previous courses here.