Global Arc

How do we know what the Buddha said? What brings the Buddha's words to life, 2500 years after his nirvana? Through close readings of four great works of Buddhist literature, we'll critically consider "the Buddha's word," its powers, how it came to be written down, and the rich worlds of ritual, artistry, and debate that it's embedded in. We want to figure out how media such as books, storytelling, and performance influence how we experience the Buddha's message. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

This course introduces the Hebrew Bible, a complex anthology written by many people over nearly a thousand years. In this class, we will ask questions about the Hebrew Bible's historical context and ancient meaning, as well as its literary profile and early reception. Who wrote the Bible? When and how was it written? What sources did its authors draw on to write these stories? And to what circumstances were they responding? Students will develop the skills to critically analyze written sources, and to understand, contextualize, and critique the assumptions inherent in modern treatments of the Bible. Two lectures, one preceptorial

Western stereotypes often equate Islam with violence, in contrast to Christianity and secular Western modernity. This course dismantles stereotypes. We explore the ethics of war and peace in Islamic scripture, jurisprudence and historical narratives. What is jihad? How did Medieval Islamic jihad theory differ from Medieval Christian just war theory? Do heroic narratives reflect the realities of war? Has Western just war ever been just? What has been the cost of the "war on terror" against Muslims? We explore these questions and others through primary sources in translation (including poetry and fiction), modern scholarship, and films.

This course is a survey of Islamic civilization and culture in both historical and in contemporary times. We cover major themes of Islamic religious thought including the Quran and its interpretation, the intellectual history of Islam, Sufism, Islamic law, and Muslim reform. Through the utilization of both secondary and primary sources (religious and literary texts, films), we examine Islam as an ongoing discursive tradition. In addition to gaining an understanding of the problems associated with the study of Islam, this course should equip you with the tools required to analyze broader theoretical issues pertinent to the study of religion.

This course examines Sufism or what is often called the mystical tradition in Islam. Sufism represents one of the most important intellectual, social, and political traditions in Muslim thought and practice. This course engages multiple aspects of Sufism including its institutional and intellectual history, metaphysics and cosmology, meditation and disciplinary practices, poetry and literature, modern debates over the limits of normative Sufism, and orientalist and neo-imperialist representations of Sufism. A major focus of this course will be on close readings of primary texts, all in translation.

What is the relation of Judaism and the individual Jew to the modern world? Is Judaism a religion, a nationality, an ethnicity, or a combination of these? This course explores various answers to these questions by examining various historical and cultural formations of Jewish identity in Europe, America, and Israel from the 18th century to the present, and by engaging particular issues, such as Judaism's relation to technology, the environment, biomedical ethics, feminism, and democracy. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

This course traces the emergence of the traditions we now call Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: their first communities, texts, images, and values. Students will learn to examine their histories critically, identify patterns across traditions, uncover the way these traditions shaped one another, trace the developments of beliefs and practices from their earlier forms, and analyze the social and political factors that informed these developments. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

The diverse world of ancient Judaism was "lost" for centuries. Major archaeological findings and the "discovery" of ancient Jewish works that were preserved by Christian scribes, reveal a rich mosaic of thriving Jewish communities in Egypt, Babylonia, Judea, the Galilee, and across the Mediterranean. They established temples and synagogues, created splinter groups, and fought foreign empires. They also wrote stories and philosophical works, legal contracts, and healing amulets. In this course we will examine sophisticated literary sources alongside artifacts of day-to-day life, to catch a glimpse of the lives and culture of ancient Jews.

Who was Jesus and how did the first generations of his followers interpret his life in Judaea and execution at the hands of Rome? What kind of religious world did they inhabit, and what did their communal spaces look, sound, and smell like? This course is a historical introduction to the early Christian movement: a Jewish sect that emerged in the context of the Roman Empire. We will use the methods of ancient history to examine texts composed by followers of Jesus in the first two centuries CE, along with aspects of material culture, like the archaeological remains of relevant sites. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Who was Jesus of Nazareth and how do we know about him? Why did certain interpretations of his message win out over others? How did the small, illicit Christian movement grow to attract numerous followers, reshaping the social, political, sexual, and religious landscape of the Roman Empire and cultures worldwide? To explore these questions, we will study the earliest gospels, letters, Jewish and Roman historical sources, prison writings, martyr narratives, and papyrus documents, as well as scholarly interpretations of these texts. This is an introductory course; no previous knowledge of the subject is expected.