Offers a historical exploration of Jewish beliefs, institutions, and bodies of literature over the ages, emphasizing continuities and changes in religious expression within and across different places and times.
Examines the evolution of anti-Jewish thought and behaviour as a response to the crisis of modernity. It examines the role of antisemitism in 19th- and 20th-century European ideological, political and socio-economic developments and the Jewish responses to antisemitism.
Examines the plurality of rituals and devotional practices in Islam and the variety of spaces and places engendered by Muslim worship and devotion from early Islam to the contemporary period. It examines the diversity of forms of Muslim worship and devotional practices such as prayer, pilgrimage, tomb visitations, as well as individual contemplation and remembrance […]
Introduces students to the foundational theorists and key questions in the history of the academic study of religion. This course examines the lenses through which we view religion, that is, how differing theoretical models shape our understanding of religion as a human phenomenon. Starting with Marx, Durkheim and Weber, the course explores a variety of […]
Explores the key approaches to the study of religion through an examination of various methodologies. Working through well-known case studies, students investigate a variety of approaches in practice to explore how questions of method shape our broader understanding of religious traditions. Open to: Religious Studies Majors and Minors only.
Each year, the Rainbow Project Committee announces its annual Rainbow List. These titles reflect significant gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans-gendered and queer-questioning (GLBTQ) experience for young people from birth to age 18. This course analyzes some of that literature in addition to other expressions and representations of GLBTQ children and youth (film, television, digital media, music, […]
Analyzes representations of children's and youths' alterity in picture books, graphic novels, novels, life writing, documentary and fiction films, photographs, art, advertising, and non-fiction for children and adults. Alterity refers to the "Other," marginalized through gender, sexuality, race, class, physical and mental (dis)abilities, religion, nation, and the difference between being human and being animal, cyborg, […]
Offers a picture of the cultural life of three variant Chinese communities through an analysis of major works of literature and film, as well as an understanding of the interaction between these groups and the contemporary globalized context.
A survey of legal concepts, practices, and narratives in the ancient world (Greece, Rome, and the Near East). Students will learn how the law is shaped by culture and history and how law and legal values are expressed in language, literature, rituals, and art. PRIOR TO FALL 2014: Course credit exclusion: AP/HUMA 3109 6.0; AP/HUMA […]
Analyzes interrelationships between literary, visual, and performative arts in children's picture books. Explores relationships between adult and child readers as they mutually make meaning in picture book reading experiences. Studies children's picture books' thematic breadth; diverse word-image relationships; historical development; genres (non-fiction, fiction, wordless, verse, graphic novels); and masters (including Beatrix Potter, Maurice Sendak, Chris […]