Religious Studies

Jerusalem's glory rests not only in the archeological sites and ancient monuments which shed light on its past, but also in the multiple dynamic religious groups whether of Jewish, Christian, Islamic, or other origin, which flourish in it today. This unique course tours the city, meeting representatives of these religious groups, visiting their communities, and thus understanding the complex but also amazing fabric of this exquisite city. 

This course explores the developmental context of Buddhist history and the evolution of important Buddhist ideas, systems, and cultures. It provides an analysis of historical materials and the interpretation of religious thoughts, as well as new perspectives and theories of Buddhism research in China and abroad. The course focuses on the history of Chinese Buddhism, taking into account topics such as early Indian Buddhism, Japanese, and Korean Buddhism.

The course examines key aspects of popular religious culture during the early modern period in Europe which witnessed the transformation of religious life associated with the Protestant and Catholic Reformations. It deals specifically with religious ideas and devotional practices at a popular level and the changes introduced by both Protestant and Catholic reformers. As part of the spectrum of belief it examines ideas concerning magic and witchcraft and it includes a study of the witch hunting which swept through Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Throughout the course particular attention will be given to the role of women in churches and society and how they were affected by the religious upheavals of the period. 

On this course, students read a range of Buddhist literature from different historical and geographical contexts, and use this literature to explore key Buddhist ideas, themes, and literary forms.
 

Recently, in the decades since the 1970s, millions of people from many countries and religions have flooded into Italy, sparking a profound change in the social fabric of the once homogenous Italian peninsula. This course reviews the key teachings and beliefs of several world religions present in Rome, and introduces undergraduate students to the principles and practices of “interfaith dialogue,” using local dialogue case studies and site visits to give context to our discussions. Students grapple with the complex nature of religious and social diversity in the Eternal City, and the concrete steps many inhabitants of Rome are taking to bridge social divides. Inspired by Enzo Pace, students learn to “deal with the unprecedented religious pluralism that has been increasingly characterizing life in Italy.”

Islamic feminism is a field of study that has been marginalized in both contemporary Islamic and feminist discourses. This course counters this marginalization by exploring the diverse theoretical frameworks and methodologies used in Islamic feminist scholarship. It takes an intersectional perspective to examine the different strategies that Islamic feminists have developed to challenge multiple constellations of power, such as sexism, patriarchy, and (feminist) neo-Orientalism. The course aims for the decolonization of knowledge on Islam, gender, and feminism. This is achieved by the inclusion of life experiences and knowledge production from different regions in and outside the "Muslim World."

This course examines the Koran as the most important book to Muslims worldwide and one of the sources from which the religion of Islam derives. It discusses the faith of Islam, how Muslims traditionally relate to the Koran, how the Koran can be read in the light of today's civilization, and whether it holds any relevance to contemporary topics such as the environment, economics, science, or art. 

This course examines the Jewish experience in the Czech Lands and the other countries of Central Europe. It touches upon the history of Jews in Russia, in addition to Central Europe, since Russia shares some commonalities with the history of Jews in Poland and the Czech Lands. The History of Jews in Central Europe is not only a story of prejudice and contempt, but also a story of hope and suffering which culminates in the worst tragedy of the Jewish people in history, the Holocaust. However, the issue of the Holocaust is not principal in this course. This course provides students with insights into the most flourishing center of Jewish life of Prague and Central Europe, exploring its many different facets. Although the course presents some Jewish philosophical ideas and practices, it is not primarily a course in the Jewish Religion.