Indigenous language and cultural revitalization is centrally important-not only for providing Indigenous peoples with a sense of pride about their identities, but for the knowledge the languages contain about living sustainably in the world. This course addresses the importance of language and cultural revitalization efforts through focusing on Indigenous languages and cultures.
Attempts to address Canadian culture frequently stumble over the difficulties in attempting to include groups who are differently 'otherized' in Canadian society - particularly Indigenous peoples, Black people and other racialized peoples. This course explores theories of settler colonialism and their potential strengths in addressing the different positionings of Indigenous peoples, Black and other racialized […]
Explores concepts of soul from early Greek Civilization to the early Christian era. It examines a cluster of related concepts -- soul, spirit, shade, consciousness, will, and mind - that express the self or "inner person". Entailed are soul as a thing separate from body; sensation and perception; relation of soul to body; conflict within […]
This course addresses city formation, urban space, and the socio-religious structure in Islamic cities from early Islam to the modern period. The course approaches the Islamic city both as an urban phenomenon and as a modern analytical concept. Its content include some central themes in Islamic studies such as the place of religion in the […]
Jewish thought and culture are explored over a millennium (800-1800), focusing on transformations of the classical (biblical-rabbinic) legacy and interplay with the Islamic and Christian religio-cultural spheres in which they developed.
This course focuses on the Qur'an and its different interpretations. Historical, linguistic, literary, sectarian, Sufi, feminist, modernist and traditionalist approaches are considered in the discussion of selected readings from the Qur'an in English translation.
This course focuses on the Qur'an and its different interpretations. Historical, linguistic, literary, sectarian, Sufi, feminist, modernist and traditionalist approaches are considered in the discussion of selected readings from the Qur'an in English translation.
Provides the students with an opportunity to critically engage in analysis of the genesis of the myths claiming 'veracity' and 'historicity' of the selected tales from The Arabian Nights and a range of other sources that use themes from the Arabian Nights.
This course examines various biblical literary genres and themes within the context of literature from the ancient Near East.
This course attempts a nuanced reading of texts dealing with sexuality and/or violence in the Hebrew Bible. The discussion focuses both on a contextual and on a contemporaneous reading of these texts.