Religion
Department Website:
https://www.haverford.edu/religion
A central mission of the Religion Department is to enable students to become critically informed, independent, and creative interpreters of some of the religious movements, sacred texts, ideas, and practices that have decisively shaped human experience. In their coursework, students develop skills in the critical analysis of the sacred texts, images, beliefs, and performances of various religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. The department’s programs are designed to help students understand how religions develop and change and how religious texts, symbols, and rituals help constitute communities and cultures. Thus, the major in religion seeks to help students develop a coherent set of academic skills in the study of religion, while at the same time encouraging interdisciplinary work in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences.
Learning Goals
The Haverford religion major is unique in that it provides students with a comprehensive curriculum that includes carefully designed areas of concentrations, specialized coursework, supervised research, a lengthy written research product, and a departmental oral conversation with the entire department as the minimum requirements for fulfilling the major. Through coursework, senior thesis research, and the Senior Colloquium with the Swarthmore Religion Department, the department seeks to fulfill the following learning goals:
- Expose students to the central ideas, debates, scholars, methods, historiography, and approaches to the academic study of religion.
- Analyze key terms and categories in the study of religion, and utilize the diverse vocabularies deployed among a range of scholars in religion and related fields.
- Develop critical thinking, analytical writing, and sustained engagement in theory and method, together with the critical competence to engage sacred texts, images, ideas and practices.
- Cultivate the learning environment as an integrative and collaborative process.
- Expand intellectual opportunities for students to broaden and critically assess their worldviews.
- Encourage students to supplement their work in religion with elective languages (Arabic, Chinese, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi/Urdu, Japanese, Latin, Sanskrit, Yoruba).
- Foster interdisciplinary methods and perspectives in the study of religion, while continuing to model this through the curriculum.
- Prepare students for professional careers, for graduate studies in religion or related fields, and for leadership roles as reflective, critically-aware human beings.
Like other liberal arts majors, the religion major is meant to prepare students for a broad array of vocational possibilities. Religion majors typically find careers in law, public service (including both religious and secular organizations), medicine, business, ministry, and education. Religion majors have also pursued advanced graduate degrees in anthropology, history, political science, biology, Near Eastern studies, and religious studies.
Haverford’s Institutional Learning Goals are available on the President’s website, at http://hav.to/learninggoals.
Major Requirements
The major in religion is designed to help students develop a coherent set of academic skills and expertise in the study of religion, while at the same time encouraging interdisciplinary work in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. The major consists of 11 courses with the following requirements:
- Five courses within an area of concentration: each major is expected to fashion a coherent major program focused around work in one of three designated areas of concentration:
- Religious Traditions in Cultural Context. The study of religious traditions and the textual, historical, sociological and cultural contexts in which they develop. Critical analysis of formative texts and issues that advance our notions of religious identities, origins, and ideas.
- Religion, Literature, and Representation. The study of religion in relation to literary expressions and other forms of representation, such as performance, music, film, and the plastic arts.
- Religion, Ethics, and Society. The exploration of larger social issues such as race, gender, and identity as they relate to religion and religious traditions. Examines how moral principles, cultural values, and ethical conduct help to shape human societies.
The five courses within the area of concentration must include at least one department seminar at the 300 level. Where appropriate and relevant to the major’s program, up to two courses for the major may be drawn from outside the field of religion, subject to departmental approval.
- RELG H299 (Theoretical Perspectives in the Study of Religion).
- RELG H398A and RELG H399B, a two-semester senior seminar and thesis program.
- Three additional half-year courses drawn from outside the major’s area of concentration.
- Junior Colloquium: an informal required gathering of the junior majors once each semester. Students should complete the Religion Major Worksheet in advance in consultation with their major advisor and bring copies of the completed worksheet to the meeting.
At least six of each major’s 11 courses must be taken in the Haverford Religion Department. In some rare cases, students may petition the department for exceptions to the major requirements. Such petitions must be presented to the department for approval in advance.
Final evaluation of the major program will consist of written work, including a thesis, and an oral conversation completed in the context of the Senior Seminar (RELG H398A and 399B).
Advising for the major takes place in individual meetings between majors and faculty advisors and in a departmental Junior Colloquium held once each semester. At this colloquium, junior majors will present their proposed programs of study with particular attention to their work in the area of concentration. All majors should fill out and bring the Religion Major Worksheet, which can be found on the Religion Department website, to the colloquium.
Senior Project
The senior thesis research project in the Department of Religion serves as a capstone experience for our majors. The work of RELG H398A and RELG H399B, the required courses related to the senior research project in religion, consists of five stages: the formulation of a thesis proposal; presentation of the proposal; presentation of a portion of work in progress; the writing and submission of first and final drafts; oral discussion with department faculty.
Senior Project Learning Goals
The goals of the senior thesis process are to:
- further develop research skills and obtain a mastery of academic citation practices.
- provide students with an opportunity to pursue original research questions and to sharpen scholarly interests as one masters a particular field/argument.
- enhance written and verbal analysis through participation in the yearlong senior seminar with department faculty and students, weekly meetings with individual advisors, and the final oral presentation of the thesis to the department.
- nurture group cohesion as a department, through collaborative participation with fellow majors during the course of RELG H398A and RELG H399B, concretely expressed by way of critical feedback to shared writing.
- build student confidence in the ability to see to fruition a rigorous project requiring prolonged periods of thought, writing, revising, and research.
Senior Project Assessment
You will receive a regular course grade for RELG H399B, which will appear on your transcript. This overall grade is comprised of three separate grades that evaluate:
- Your participation in the seminar process outlined above.
- Participation in the seminar means: punctual attendance at all seminar events; careful preparation, especially the reading of your colleagues’ work in progress; and regular meetings with your advisor and submission of writing, according to the schedule mutually agreed upon.
- The quality of your thesis.
- Your thesis will be read by all members of the department, who will mutually agree upon a grade for the written thesis. This grade will be factored into your final grade for the seminar.
- The effectiveness of your oral exam.
- The effectiveness of your oral discussion will be factored into the final grade for the thesis and for the seminar as a whole. All members of the department will participate in your oral discussion, but your advisor will not participate in the process of the final evaluation and grading of your work.
Requirements for Honors
The department awards honors and high honors in religion on the basis of the quality of work in the major and on the completed thesis.
Minor Requirements
The minor in religion, like the major, is designed to help students develop a coherent set of academic skills and expertise in the study of religion, while at the same time encouraging interdisciplinary work in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. The minor consists of six courses with the following requirements:
- Five courses within an area of concentration, with at least one at the 300 level:
- Religious Traditions in Cultural Context. The study of religious traditions and the textual, historical, sociological and cultural contexts in which they develop. Critical analysis of formative texts and issues that advance our notions of religious identities, origins, and ideas.
- Religion, Literature, and Representation. The study of religion in relation to literary expressions and other forms of representation, such as performance, music, film, and the plastic arts.
- Religion, Ethics, and Society. The exploration of larger social issues such as race, gender, and identity as they relate to religion and religious traditions. Examines how moral principles, cultural values, and ethical conduct help to shape human societies.
- RELG H299 (Theoretical Perspectives in the Study of Religion).
- Junior Colloquium: an informal required gathering of the junior majors once each semester. Students should complete the Religion Minor Worksheet, available on the Religion Department website, in advance in consultation with their major advisor and bring copies of the completed worksheet to the meeting.
All six courses must be taken in the Haverford Religion Department. In some rare cases, students may petition the department for exceptions to the minor requirements. Such petitions must be presented to the department for approval in advance.
Affiliated Faculty
Josh CohenVisiting Assistant Professor of Religion
Matthew Farmer
Associate Professor and Chair of Classics
Molly Farneth
Professor and Chair of Religion
Hank Glassman
The Janet and Henry Richotte 1985 Professor of Asian Studies; Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures
GT H
Associate Professor of Religion
David Harrington Watt
Douglas & Dorothy Steere Professor of Quaker Studies
Naomi Koltun-Fromm
The Burton Pike 1952 Professor in the Humanities; Professor of Religion
Ken Koltun-Fromm
Professor Emeritus of Religion
James Krippner
Edmund and Margiana Stinnes Professor of Global Studies; Professor of History
Emma Lapsansky-Werner
Visiting Professor of History and Religion
Anne McGuire
The Kies Family Professor of Humanities; Associate Professor of Religion
Ryan Warwick
Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics
Terrance Wiley
Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion and African and Africana Studies
"Thelathia ""Nikki""" Young
Professor of Religion and Gender & Sexuality Studies; Director of Gender & Sexuality Studies
Courses
RELG H101 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF RELIGION (1.0 Credit)
Josh Cohen
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
An introduction to the study of religion from multiple perspectives: overviews of several religions with classroom discussion of primary sources; cross-cultural features common to many religions; theories of religion and approaches to its study and interpretation.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
RELG H106 INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM (1.0 Credit)
GT H
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
This course is a general survey of the religion of Islam, encompassing history, beliefs, sacred texts (Qur'an and ?adith) and their interpretation, religious law, Sufism, philosophy, art, and science. Particular attention is given to Muslim practice and to Islam as a total way of life. Salient topics include modernity and modernism; statism, nationalism and imperialism; as well as gender, sexuality, marriage, and the family.
RELG H112 MYTH, FOLKLORE, AND LEGEND IN JAPAN (1.0 Credit)
Hank Glassman
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
An introduction to stories of the weird and supernatural in Japan and a reflection on genre and the scholarly enterprise of taxonomy-making. Readings from Buddhist miracle plays, early modern puppet drama, etc., supplemented by scholarly secondary sources.
RELG H118 HEBREW BIBLE: LITERARY TEXT AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT (1.0 Credit)
Naomi Koltun-Fromm
Division: Humanities
The Hebrew Bible, which is fundamental to both Judaism and Christianity, poses several challenges to modern readers. Who wrote it, when, and why? What was its significance then and now? How does one study the Bible from an academic point of view? Using literary, historical, theological, and archaeological interpretive tools, this course will address these questions and introduce students to academic biblical studies.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
RELG H120 INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM (1.0 Credit)
Josh Cohen
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
This course introduces the student to the history, texts, rituals and lived experiences of Judaism as it was practiced, recorded and documented across history and geography as well as the many forms and expressions Judaism encompasses today.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
RELG H122 INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT (1.0 Credit)
Anne McGuire
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
An introduction to the New Testament and early Christian literature. Special attention will be given to the Jewish origins of the Jesus movement, the development of traditions about Jesus in the earliest Christian communities, and the social contexts and functions of various texts. Readings will include non-canonical writings, in addition to the writings of the New Testament canon.
RELG H131 THE LURE OF IMAGES: RELIGION AND VISUAL MEDIA (1.0 Credit)
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
This course examines representations from figural forms to abstractions, found objects and beautiful writing to understand the power of sacred imagery. We will examine formats from medieval manuscripts and painted walls to films, panoramas and comic books to observe the dynamics that emerge among viewers and images in spatial contexts ranging from altar pieces, sculpture, stained glass and painting in neo-Gothic churches, calligraphy in mosque and shrine interiors, deity icons in Hindu temples and potent fabrics in Buddhist monastic complexes. Crosslisted: VIST.
RELG H137 BLACK RELIGION AND LIBERATION THEOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Terrance Wiley
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
An introduction to the theological & philosophical claims raised in Black Religion & Liberation Thought in 20th C America. In particular, the course will examine the multiple meanings of liberation within black religion, the place of religion in African American struggles against racism, sexism and class exploitation and the role of religion in shaping the moral and political imaginations of African Americans.
RELG H150 SOUTH ASIAN RELIGIOUS CULTURES (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
An introductory course covering the variegated expressions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, and Sikhism in South Asia.
RELG H201 INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM (1.0 Credit)
Hank Glassman
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
Focusing on the East Asian Buddhist tradition, the course examines Buddhist philosophy, doctrine and practice as textual traditions and as lived religion. Crosslisted: East Asian Languages & Cultures, Religion
(Offered: Spring 2027)
RELG H202 THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT (1.0 Credit)
Naomi Koltun-Fromm
Division: Humanities
Why are people always predicting the coming endtime? This course will explore the genre of apocalypse, looking for common themes that characterize this form of literature. Our primary source readings will be drawn from the Bible and non-canonical documents from the early Jewish and Christian traditions. We will use an analytical perspective to explore the social functions of apocalyptic, and ask why this form has been so persistent and influential.
RELG H209 CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Matthew Farmer
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
An introduction to the primary characters and stories of Greek and Roman mythology including cosmic creation, Olympian and other deities, and heroes both as they appear in Greek and Roman literature and art and as they are later represented in modern art, music, and film. Crosslisted: Classical Studies, Comparative Literature, Religion
RELG H212 JERUSALEM: CITY, HISTORY AND REPRESENTATION (1.0 Credit)
Naomi Koltun-Fromm
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
An examination of the history of Jerusalem as well as a study of Jerusalem as religious symbol and how the two interact over the centuries. Readings from ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary sources as well as material culture and art.
RELG H215 THE LETTERS OF PAUL (1.0 Credit)
Anne McGuire
Close reading of the 13 letters attributed to the apostle Paul and critical examination of the place of Paul in the development of early Christianity.
RELG H221 WOMEN AND GENDER IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY (1.0 Credit)
Anne McGuire
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
An examination of the representations of women and gender in early Christian texts and their significance for contemporary Christianity. Topics include interpretations of Genesis 1-3, images of women and sexuality in early Christian literature, and the roles of women in various Christian communities.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
RELG H222 GNOSTICISM (1.0 Credit)
Anne McGuire
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
The phenomenon of Gnosticism examined through close reading of primary sources, including the recently discovered texts of Nag Hammadi. Topics include the relation of Gnosticism to Greek, Jewish, and Christian thought; the variety of Gnostic schools and sects; gender imagery, mythology and other issues in the interpretation of Gnostic texts.
RELG H230 RELIGION AND BLACK FREEDOM STRUGGLE (1.0 Credit)
Terrance Wiley
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course will examine the background for and the key events, figures, philosophies, tactics, and consequences of the modern black freedom struggle in United States. The period from 1955-1965 will receive special attention, but the roots of the freedom struggle and the effect on recent American political, social, and cultural history will also be considered.
RELG H233 SAINTS AND SINNERS: EUROPE'S RELIGIOUS WORLDS, 1500-1900 (1.0 Credit)
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
This course surveys European religious history from the early fifteenth century, when Martin Luther ignited debates about sin, faith, and salvation, to the end of the nineteenth, when Friedrich Nietzsche proclaimed the death of God. We will trace the evolution of Christian and Jewish religious traditions, their encounters with the cultures of the “New World,” and their interactions with cultural and intellectual developments such as the rise of toleration, the Enlightenment, revolutions, Romanticism, and secularization. Crosslisted: HIST,RELG.
RELG H237 GENOCIDE, EXILE AND RESISTANCE: DARI PERSIAN AND HAZARA POETRY FROM AFGHANISTAN (1.0 Credit)
GT H
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
This course combines language instruction with hands-on collaborative work of literary translation. Students enrolled will be involved in intensive studies of the Persian language, in particular its Dari variant. This will be coupled with course readings on the history and literature of the Persophone Hazara community in Afghanistan and translation practices using contemporary Persian Hazara poems collected from Hazara poets in exile across the world. COML 100 Intro to Persian is recommended. Crosslisted: RELG, COML.
RELG H242 TOPICS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN RELIGIOUS HISTORY: THE RELIGIOUS WRITINGS OF JAMES BALDWIN (1.0 Credit)
Terrance Wiley
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
This course will explore the intellectual thought of novelist, writer, activist, James Baldwin. The course will cover four decades of James Baldwin's fiction and non-fiction writings. Students will also be asked to read relevant biographical materials that help to contextualize Baldwin's life and literary corpus.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
RELG H251 COMPARATIVE MYSTICISM (1.0 Credit)
Josh Cohen
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
Readings in medieval Jewish, Christian and Islamic mystical thought with a focus on the Zohar, Meister Eckhart, the Beguine mystics Hadewijch of Antwerp and Marguerite Porete, and the Sufi Master Ibn ’Arabi. The texts are a basis for discussions of comparative mysticism and of the relationship of mysticism to modern critical theories.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
RELG H252 HISTORY OF HAVERFORD COLLEGE: CONFLICT, CONSENSUS AND THE LIBERAL ARTS (1.0 Credit)
David Harrington Watt, James Krippner
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
This course provides a chance to work in the Haverford College archives, with guidance provided on how to analyze primary source evidence. Over the course of the semester we will debate and answer questions such as: How has Haverford College's status as a school of Quaker origin been significant and does that legacy remain relevant today? What is the purpose of a values-based undergraduate liberal arts education in the hyper-competitive, debt-fueled and increasingly consumerist educational marketplace found in the contemporary United States? Crosslisted: HIST, RELG Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or above.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
RELG H254 RAP AND RELIGION: RHYMES ABOUT GOD AND THE GOOD (1.0 Credit)
Terrance Wiley
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
We will explore the origins, existential, and ethical dimensions of Rhythm and Poetry (RAP) music. Giving attention to RAP songs written and produced by African American artists, including Tupac, Nas, Jay-Z, The Roots, Lauryn Hill, and Kanye West, we will analyze their work with an interest in understanding a) the conceptions of God and the good reflected in them, b) how these conceptions connect to and reflect African American social and cultural practices, and c) how the conceptions under consideration change over time.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
RELG H258 FEMINIST JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT (1.0 Credit)
Molly Farneth
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
An exploration of gender in Judaism and Christianity through a study of feminist and queer thinkers who critique and contribute to these traditions. Topics include sex/gender difference, the gender of God, and the nature of divine authority. Prerequisite(s): Familiarity with philosophical and/or theoretical inquiry is recommended
RELG H259 GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN ISLAMIC TEXTS AND PRACTICES (1.0 Credit)
GT H
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course introduces students to the different views of gender and sexuality in Islamic thought, and situates these views within Muslim histories and societies. We will draw on primary sources, historiographical work, ethnographies of Muslim societies, fiction, poetry, and play. One major focus will be on homosexuality in Islam and Muslim societies. In the course of this examination we will also have a chance to question what “homosexuality” is and whether this term can be applied cross-culturally and cross-religiously. To think critically about homosexuality in Islam will thus compel us to reconsider homosexuality and Islam at once.
RELG H268 ANARCHISM: RELIGION, ETHICS, POLITICAL OBLIGATION (1.0 Credit)
Terrance Wiley
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
Anarchism emerged in the nineteenth century as an important transnational sociopolitical philosophy and religious movement. Course participants will analyze anarchism as a political philosophy and as a social movement, from the nineteenth century labor movement to the ongoing global justice movement.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
RELG H272 RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES (1.0 Credit)
David Harrington Watt
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
This course will investigate the historically shifting roles of religion in American society and the increasing prevalence of religious diversity throughout the country. The class will consider the functions of religion within settler colonialism, slavery, and immigration, and explore how religion has shaped popular culture, the legal system, and American identity. The class will also examine the role of religion within changing notions of gender, sexuality, and race.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
RELG H278 RELIGION, IDEOLOGY, AND CRITIQUE IN THE 19TH CENTURY (1.0 Credit)
Molly Farneth
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
This course explores Western religious thought in the 19th century, when religion's defenders and critics alike developed new ways of thinking about its role in modern life, asking: Is religion rational, or is it a leap of faith? Is religious doctrine true, or is it an ideology? Do religions support an unjust status quo, or do they offer a radical alternative? Is religion necessary for morality, or is it a hindrance? Lottery Preference: Senior majors/minors, junior majors/minors, then all others.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
RELG H286 RELIGION AND AMERICAN PUBLIC LIFE (1.0 Credit)
Molly Farneth
Division: Humanities
This course explores the complex relationship between religion and politics in the U.S. We ask: what, exactly, is religious freedom? What do we mean by the separation of church and state? In what ways has religion shaped U.S. democracy? And how do citizens navigate the tensions between their religious commitments and democratic allegiances?
(Offered: Fall 2026)
RELG H289 QUEER RELIGION (1.0 Credit)
"Thelathia ""Nikki""" Young
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course analyzes the dynamic relationship between queer theories and religious discourse. With an emphasis on LGBTQIA+ experiences, perspectives, and practices, we will use a theological and ethical lens across (a few) religions to explore concepts, sacred texts, and relational possibilities that constitute contemporary ideas about religion and queerness.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
RELG H296 SEMINAR IN QUAKER STUDIES: QUAKER WOMEN (1.0 Credit)
Emma Lapsansky-Werner
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
Since its emergence in the seventeenth century, Quaker theology has been known for supporting the autonomy and power of women, and for empowering women's independence in both religious and business spheres. This course explores the ideas and experiences of some of the individual women and situations that have sustained and enlivened that religious autonomy across time, geography, and cultures. Lottery Preference: Religion majors
(Offered: Spring 2027)
RELG H297 BLOOD AND RELIGION IN THE MIDDLE AGES (1.0 Credit)
Josh Cohen
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
An examination of the religious meanings and powers of blood in the Middle Ages. Readings will cross theology, philosophy, medicine, law, and literature, compare blood symbols in Judaism and Christianity, and explore Christian claims about "Jewish" and "Muslim" blood. Special attention will be given to blood as the stuff of medieval selfhood, blood as food, and the rise of blood--with an eye toward the present--as a form of racial lineage.
RELG H299 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN THE STUDY OF RELIGION (1.0 Credit)
Molly Farneth
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
An introduction to theories of the nature and function of religion from theological, philosophical, psychological, anthropological, and sociological perspectives. Readings may include: Schleiermacher, Marx, Nietzche, Freud, Tylor, Durkheim, Weber, James, Otto, Benjamin, Eliade, Geertz, Foucault, Douglas, Smith, Berger, Haraway.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
RELG H301 SEMINAR IN RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS IN CULTURAL CONTEXT: TUPAC (1.0 Credit)
Terrance Wiley
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
This multidisciplinary seminar will focus on the life, art and legacy of Tupac Shakur, with special emphasis on the political, social, theological, aesthetic, and economic dynamics that informed Shakur's art and activism. Participants will engage a variety of classic and contemporary texts, albums, and films in order to explore the connections between relevant American and black political, religious and artistic traditions and movements and to situate Tupac Shakur as a black artist and intellectual preoccupied with questions about how gender, race, class, violence, power, capitalism, and sexuality intersect and function to perpetuate social suffering and injustice.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
RELG H303 RELIGION, LITERATURE AND REPRESENTATION: THE PARABLES OF JESUS (1.0 Credit)
Anne McGuire
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
This seminar offers close reading and analysis of the parables of Jesus in the New Testament gospels and the Gospel of Thomas. The class will consider various modes of interpretation, including comparative study, redaction criticism, theological interpretation, and literary analysis of the parables as extended metaphors or allegories.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
RELG H305 SEMINAR IN RELIGION, ETHICS, AND SOCIETY: AUGUSTINE'S ETHICS AND POLITICS (1.0 Credit)
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
A critical study of prominent ethical and political themes in Augustine’s religious thought: the character of the good life; the meaning of and relations between love of God and love of neighbor; Christ and the moral life; freedom, virtue, and evil; idolatry’s reach; sexuality and its discontents; the purposes and limits of political society; war and peace. Seminar format emphasizing close readings of On Christian Doctrine, Confessions, and City of God.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
RELG H312 RITUAL AND THE BODY (1.0 Credit)
Molly Farneth
Division: Humanities
An exploration of the meaning and function of ritual, and of the ways that rituals shape bodies, habits, and identities. Special attention will be given to the relationship between ritual and gender. Readings include Durkheim, Mauss, Bourdieu, Butler, and Mahmood. Prerequisite(s): at least one 200 level in the department, or instructor consent
RELG H316 HEGEL'S SOCIAL ETHICS (1.0 Credit)
Molly Farneth
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
An examination of religion, ethics, and politics in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit (in translation). As we work through Hegel’s monumental text, we will consider its influence over modern and contemporary discussions of gender, domination, ethical conflict and religious pluralism. Prerequisite(s): At least one 200-level course in philosophy, political theory, or religious thought, or permission of the instructor.
RELG H319 BLACK QUEER SAINTS: SEX, GENDER, RACE, CLASS AND THE QUEST FOR LIBERATION (1.0 Credit)
Terrance Wiley
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
Drawing on fiction, biography, critical theory, film, essays, and memoirs, participants will explore how certain African American artists, activists, and religionists have resisted, represented, and reinterpreted sex, sexuality, and gender norms in the context of capitalist, white supremacist, male supremacist, and heteronormative cultures. Crosslisted: Africana Studies, Religion Prerequisite(s): 200-level Humanities course, or instructor consent
(Offered: Spring 2027)
RELG H321 BLACKNESS IN ISLAM: RACE, SLAVERY AND GENDER IN EARLY MUSLIM CULTURE (1.0 Credit)
GT H
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
This course uses medieval Arabic prose and poetry – most of them with English translations – as well as contemporary academic literature to introduce students to the intricate and embattled histories of Blackness in classical Islam. While our understanding of B/blackness in the Euro-American context is heavily determined by the constraining experience of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, notions of B/blackness and ideas of anti-racism also exhibit a wider and richer genealogy if we shift our attention to the wider Indian Ocean world that encompasses Africa, Arabia, Persia, and Asia. Pre-requisite(s): One course in Religion, Anthropology, Arabic or Middle Eastern Studies, or permission of the instructor
RELG H322 RADICAL PACIFISM (1.0 Credit)
Terrance Wiley
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
This seminar explores the development of pacifism or the philosophy of nonviolence, particularly yet not exclusively in the American context, from the middle nineteenth century to the latter part of the twentieth century. Students will consider different articulations of pacifism and nonviolent direct action and the social-historical context in which modern pacifism emerged, focusing on movements for racial justice, gender liberation, economic justice, and against nationalism.
RELG H324 FREUD AND RELIGION (1.0 Credit)
Josh Cohen
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
How did Freud think about religion? When did Freud think about religion? In this seminar, students will read a number of different texts in which Freud rereads religious stories, retells Jewish jokes, interprets religious practices, bodies, and experiences, and offers prophecies of his own. Attention will be given to Freud's relationship to Judaism, and the role of the critique of religion in the emergence of psychoanalysis. Pre-requisite(s): At least one 200-level course in Religion, English, or German Studies, or permission of the instructor.
RELG H348 SEMINAR IN ANCIENT JUDAISM (1.0 Credit)
Naomi Koltun-Fromm
Advanced study of the development of Judaism from the biblical period to the talmudic period. What constitutes Israelite religion? By what processes does it become rabbinic Judaism? What were its various manifestations along the way? Readings are drawn from the Bible, the Apocrypha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Hellenistic Jewish literature and rabbinic literature.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
RELG H398A SENIOR THESIS SEMINAR PART 1 (1.0 Credit)
Naomi Koltun-Fromm
Division: Humanities
A practical methodology course which prepares senior Religion majors to write their senior theses.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
RELG H399B SENIOR SEMINAR AND THESIS (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
Senior Thesis
(Offered: Spring 2027)
RELG H460 TEACHING ASSISTANT (1.0 Credit)
David Harrington Watt
Division: Humanities
Teaching Assistant
(Offered: Fall 2026)
RELG H480 INDEPENDENT STUDY (1.0 Credit)
Naomi Koltun-Fromm
Division: Humanities
Independent Study
(Offered: Fall 2026)