Survey of development of Christian ethical thought and teaching from beginnings through Reformation era. Major ethical themes are traced through the centuries, as the church's scripture, evolving doctrine, and emerging tradition interact with secular society, politics, and philosophy. Readings will be taken mostly from primary texts, such as the Bible and the writings of selected Christian thinkers.

This course is built around the "big" questions Jews in the modern period have faced--such as "Who is a Jew?," "Are there divine commandments?," "Must a Jew believe anything?," "Can there be God after Auschwitz?" Each unit will approach a different question from a variety of perspectives and sources--secular and religious--offering tools to understand complexities, acknowledge context, and ask new questions.

This course examines the relationship between black religion and the criminal justice system in the U.S. from Jim Crow to the Black Lives Matter era. We will focus on the ideas, lived experiences, and activism of the incarcerated; religious engagements with policing; and movements for criminal justice reform and prison abolition. Authors likely will include Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Elijah Muhammad.

This seminar explores the major conversations that scholars of religion are having, and have had, about what "religion" is and the best ways to study it. Focusing on classical controversies, ongoing debates, and new developments, this course will help students map out the field of religious studies and begin to situate their own studies within it. This course is geared towards Religious Studies majors but open to any interested student.

Students in this course will fashion their own approach to studying religion and develop a retrospective project that interweaves the various strands of their prior study over the course of the major. Building on earlier courses in Religious Studies, this capstone seminar completes the major's sequence by applying questions and conversations in the study of religion to some advanced theme crafted by the instructor.

Students write a thesis, directed by a member of the department, focusing on a specific problem in the theoretical, historical or philosophical study of religion or a specific religious tradition. The thesis grows out of the project proposal and annotated bibliography developed in the Research Methods seminar.Prerequisite: Selection by faculty for Distinguished Major Program and completion of RELG 4800.

Systematic readings in a selected topic under detailed supervision. Prerequisite: Permission of departmental advisor and instructor.

This seminar will examine some of the most profound and influential writings about love from the Islamic intellectual and poetic traditions. Perhaps more than any other civilization, the literary and philosophical traditions of Islamic civilization have been "love-centric." In this course we will closely read and discuss various philosophies and theories of love from the mundane to the mystical.

This seminar will examine some of the most profound and influential writings about love from the Islamic intellectual and poetic traditions. Perhaps more than any other civilization, the literary and philosophical traditions of Islamic civilization have been "love-centric." In this course we will closely read and discuss various philosophies and theories of love from the mundane to the mystical.

This course examines Hindu-Muslim interactions in South Asia, bridging the long-standing gap between Hindu and Islamic studies while introducing critical issues currently facing the historiography of Hindu-Muslim relations. Special topics within the ambit of Hindu-Muslim encounters will be explored in depth, with a particular emphasis on intellectual interactions between traditions of Hindu and Islamic philosophy.