AP/RLST 3557 6.00 Superstition, Religion, and Sexuality

This course explores the intersection of religion and superstition from ancient times to the present. It analyzes issues of gender, power and sexuality through the study of goddesses, witches and the current fascination with vampires in popular culture. It is comprised of three units. The first unit analyzes goddesses in the ancient near east and […]

AP/RLST 3519 6.00 Contemporary Women's Rituals

Women have been creating their own significant rituals both inside and outside established religious movements for centuries. Understanding the nature of women's rituals allows us to comprehend more fully women's relationship to humanity and to the numinous. This course will explore the phenomenon of women ritualizing and analyze a variety of contemporary women's rituals in […]

AP/RLST 3518 6.00 Feminist Approaches to Religion

In the last part of the 20th century in North America, an exciting  re-membering of women’s voices began to emerge, sparking growth in critical consciousness and in feminist theory/methods designed to uncover, critique, and challenge problems firmly embedded in dominant patriarchal traditions. Spaces opened up where women shared their stories and traditions, and discussed empowerment; […]

AP/RLST 3510 6.00 Religion, Gender and Korean Culture

This course explores the interactions of religion and gender from the traditional to the modern period in Korea, and relates this material to the general process of cultural development. RELIGIOUS TRADITION(S) COVERED: Multiple

AP/RLST 3481 6.00 World Religions

Examines selected religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Judaism with special reference to selected texts, traditions and thought. RELIGIOUS TRADITION(S) COVERED: Multiple

AP/RLST 3457 3.00 Gnosticism

An introduction to Gnosticism, a second century religious movement that intersected and overlapped with Christianity and Judaism. Emphasis will be on readings of primary sources. The course objective are to acquaint students with the theories behind the origins and nature of Gnosticism, examine gnostic literature from ancient Christian, Jewish, and “pagan” sources, note the continuation […]

AP/RLST 3439 3.00 How Irish Saved Civilization

Examines the remarkable cultural achievements of the Irish, how they kept the lamps of learning, literature and material culture (manuscript, painting, ornamental metalwork) burning following the barbarian invasions of the fifth century and the decline of Roman civilization on the continent. RELIGIOUS TRADITION(S) COVERED: Christianity

AP/RLST 3435 3.00 Augustine

A study of the life and seminal ideas of Augustine of Hippo. Setting his ideas in the context of his life story, the course explores his teaching on such themes as religion, education, philosophy, grade and free will, sexuality and politics. RELIGIOUS TRADITION(S) COVERED: Christianity COURSE CREDIT EXCLUSION: AP/HUMA 3435 6.00.

AP/RLST 3320 6.00 Anthropology of Ritual and Religion

How major anthropological thinkers seek to explain the variety and complexity of human ritual and symbolic behaviour informs this course. Ethnographic examples and materials on ritual events, religious symbolism, and belief systems will enrich this anthropological perspective. A series of topics will be investigated including shamans, sorcery and witchcraft, specific examples of Asian and European […]

AP/RLST 3425 3.00 Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea Scrolls provide an intriguing window into the development of early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism. This course examines the texts, the communities which produced them, contemporary movements within Judaism and Christianity, and the major lines of interpretive controversy. RELIGIOUS TRADITION(S) COVERED: Judaism