Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 20
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 7
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies
Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday | 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM / Seelye 204 Instructional Method: In-Person

This course will examine the religious and historical legacy of the city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It will explore the ways Jerusalem and the Holy Land have been sanctified in scripture, art, architecture, literature, poetry, and film. It will also explore how rulers tapped into this sanctity and significance to promote their own legitimacy and agendas. In this respect, the course emphasizes Jerusalem and the Holy Land as a common, shared heritage to the three monotheistic traditions, yet how it has inspired religious and political conflict in the past and today. Enrollment limited to 20.

Crosslist(s): ANS, JUD, MED, MES
Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 999
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 21
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies, Literature
Time/Location: Monday/Wednesday | 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM / Seelye 102 Instructional Method: In-Person

The Hebrew scriptures (Tanakh/Old Testament). A survey of the Hebrew Bible and its historical and cultural context. Critical reading and discussion of its narrative and legal components as well as an introduction to the prophetic corpus and selections from the wisdom literature.

Crosslist(s): ANS, ARC, JUD
Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 25
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 13
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies
Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday | 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM / Seelye 208 Instructional Method: In-Person

This course will explore classical and contemporary forms of Buddhist meditation theory and practice. It will examine both classical formulations and contemporary expositions with an eye to seeing how the theory and practice of Buddhist meditation are being adapted to fit the needs of people today. Enrollment limited to 25.

Crosslist(s): BUS, EAL
Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 35
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 30
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies, Literature
Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday | 1:20 PM - 2:35 PM / Seelye 201 Instructional Method: In-Person

How do the world’s religions picture the journey beyond death? This course examines conceptions of heaven, hell and purgatory; immortality, rebirth and resurrection; the judgement of the dead and the life of the world to come. Readings include classic and sacred texts such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, Plato’s Phaedo, the Katha Upanishad, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Dante’s Divine Comedy and Newman’s Dream of Gerontius, and a variety of philosophical and theological reflections on the meaning of death and the hope for eternal life. Enrollment limited to 35.

Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 999
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 6
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies
Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday | 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM / Seelye 105 Instructional Method: In-Person

A thematic survey of Jewish history and thought from the 16th century to the present, examining Jews as a minority in modern Europe and in global diaspora. We analyze changing dynamics of integration and exclusion of Jews in various societies as well as diverse forms of Jewish religion, culture and identity among Sephardic, Ashkenazic and Mizrahi Jews. Readings include major philosophic, mystical and political works in addition to primary sources on the lives of Jewish women and men, families and communities, and messianic and popular movements. Throughout the course, we explore tensions between assimilation and cohesion, tradition and renewal, and history and memory.

Crosslist(s): HST, JUD
Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 25
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 23
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies, Literature
Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday | 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM / Seelye 109 Instructional Method: In-Person

"Who do you say that I am"? Reportedly posed by Jesus to his disciples, this question remained no less relevant to future generations of his followers as well as their detractors, and continues to challenge views of Christianity’s Christ to this day. This course examines some of the most prominent texts, images and films that have informed understandings of Jesus over the past two millennia and have contributed to making Jesus one of the most well-known yet controversial figures in history. Open to first years. Enrollment limited to 25.

Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 999
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 16
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Arts, Historical Studies
Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday | 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM / Hatfield 107 Instructional Method: In-Person

Offered as REL 242 and RES 242. As devotional objects, political symbols, and art commodities, Russia’s sacred art--the icon--has been revered as sacred, vilified as reactionary, embraced in rebellion, destroyed as dangerous, and sold as masterpieces. Engaging the fields of religion, material and visual culture, and ritual studies, this course examines the life and language of this art form, and its role in shaping Russia’s turbulent history. Topics include the production and reception of images; diverse meanings and functions of sacred imagery; visuality and spirituality; secularization and commodification; history, memory, and collective identities; the icon, avant-garde art, and film; controversial images and protest culture. No prerequisites. Open to first-year students.

Crosslist(s): REL, RES
Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 999
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 11
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies
Time/Location: Monday/Wednesday | 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM / Seelye 202 Instructional Method: In-Person

Major themes addressed by Muslim thinkers since the 19th century, such as Islamic reform and revival, the encounters with colonialism and imperialism, nationalism and other modern ideologies; and Islamic discussions of modernity, liberalism, democracy, feminism, sexuality, and militancy. Reading of primary sources in translation.

Crosslist(s): MES
Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 999
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 11
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies
Time/Location: Wednesday | 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM; Monday | 3:05 PM - 4:20 PM / Seelye 208 Instructional Method: In-Person

The development of Buddhism and other religious traditions in Japan from prehistory through the 19th century. Topics include doctrinal development, church/state relations, and the diffusion of religious values in Japanese culture, particularly in the aesthetic realm (literature, gardens, tea, the martial arts, etc.)

Crosslist(s): BUS, EAL
Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 18
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 16
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 6
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies
Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday | 1:20 PM - 2:35 PM / Burton 101 Instructional Method: In-Person

Offered as HST 271 and REL 271. Was Jesus a revolutionary socialist? Or did he preach an ethic of self-help? Is it holy to be poor? Or is prosperity our moral duty? This course will focus particularly on the relationship between religion and capitalism in the realms of economic and moral ideas, labor and working class politics, business history, and grassroots social movements. It will cover such topics as: utopian communes; debates over slavery and free labor; the ‘lived religion’ of the working class; Christian and Jewish socialism; ‘New Age’ spirituality and the counterculture; liberation theology and racial capitalism; big business and the Prosperity Gospel; and conservative Christianity in the age of Chick-Fil-A. Enrollment limited to 18. (E)

Crosslist(s): HST, REL
Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 18
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 20
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies, Social Science
Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday | 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM / Seelye 302 Instructional Method: In-Person

This course explores how American spiritual communities have produced radical social change and alternative visions for the future. Subjects include nineteenth-century Black prophets and abolitionism; Spiritualists and women’s suffrage; Latinx Catholics and labor activism; Black churches, Jewish liberals, and the Civil Rights movement; Native traditionalists and the Red Power movement; Mormon feminists and the ERA; radical Catholics and the anti-nuclear movement; the new religious left and LGBTQ rights; practitioners of green spirituality and the climate crisis; and spiritual-but-not-religious folks and the Black Lives Matter movement. As part of a class podcast project, students will also interview contemporary activists. Enrollment limited to 18. (E)

Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 12
Course Type: Seminar Section Enrollment: 11
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: Yes
Enforced Requirements: JR/SR only
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies, Literature
Time/Location: Wednesday | 1:20 PM - 4:00 PM / Seelye 206 Instructional Method: In-Person

What is it like to be a believer? What sort of evidence is needed for religious belief to be justified? Can doubt coexist with faith? This seminar investigates connections between religious belief and acts of knowing, trusting, searching, and doubting. We examine personal testimonies along with intellectual and literary expressions of belief and doubt. Readings from such authors as Nagarjuna, Ibn Sina, Aquinas, Pascal, David Hume, William James, Ludwig Wittgenstein, as well as contemporary philosophers of religion; Buddhist, Hindu, and biblical texts; al-Ghazali’s Deliverance from Error; and letters of Mother Teresa on her long “dark night.” Enrollment limited to 12. Juniors and seniors only. Instructor permission required.


Permission Required/Registration by Waitlist. During Add/Drop, Waiver Required.

6 cross listed courses found for the selected term.
Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 16
Course Type: Seminar Section Enrollment: 11
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: No
Enforced Requirements: FY only; FYS Limit
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies, Social Science, Writing Intensive
Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday | 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM / Seelye 302 Instructional Method: In-Person

The United States is one of the most religiously diverse nations on earth. This course investigates that diversity, in the past and in the present, and explores traditions imported to America, recent traditions born in America, and/or traditions indigenous to the Americas. By doing so, this course engages how religious traditions shape and are shaped by other forms of difference (race, class, gender, age, sexuality, etc.). As part of this study, students engage in original ethnographic research to document the religious diversity of the greater Springfield and Pioneer Valley region. Enrollment limited to 16 first years. (E)

Crosslist(s): REL
Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 18
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 16
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 6
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies
Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday | 1:20 PM - 2:35 PM / Burton 101 Instructional Method: In-Person

Offered as HST 271 and REL 271. Was Jesus a revolutionary socialist? Or did he preach an ethic of self-help? Is it holy to be poor? Or is prosperity our moral duty? This course will focus particularly on the relationship between religion and capitalism in the realms of economic and moral ideas, labor and working class politics, business history, and grassroots social movements. It will cover such topics as: utopian communes; debates over slavery and free labor; the ‘lived religion’ of the working class; Christian and Jewish socialism; ‘New Age’ spirituality and the counterculture; liberation theology and racial capitalism; big business and the Prosperity Gospel; and conservative Christianity in the age of Chick-Fil-A. Enrollment limited to 18. (E)

Crosslist(s): HST,REL
Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 999
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 12
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies, Literature
Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday | 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM / Hatfield 206 Instructional Method: In-Person

This course explores the world of midrash, a genre of rabbinic biblical interpretation. In this course, we will define the word midrash, speculate about the origins of midrash, and learn about various midrashic genres and techniques. We will see how the creation of midrash allowed the rabbis explore vital moral, theological, and literary concerns in daring and imaginative ways. Ultimately, our study will show how the rabbis transformed their Bible, the TaNaKh, into a living document that had continued relevance in their own times and which continues to be relevant today. (E)

Crosslist(s): REL
Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 999
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 16
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Arts, Historical Studies
Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday | 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM / Hatfield 107 Instructional Method: In-Person

Offered as REL 242 and RES 242. As devotional objects, political symbols, and art commodities, Russia’s sacred art--the icon--has been revered as sacred, vilified as reactionary, embraced in rebellion, destroyed as dangerous, and sold as masterpieces. Engaging the fields of religion, material and visual culture, and ritual studies, this course examines the life and language of this art form, and its role in shaping Russia’s turbulent history. Topics include the production and reception of images; diverse meanings and functions of sacred imagery; visuality and spirituality; secularization and commodification; history, memory, and collective identities; the icon, avant-garde art, and film; controversial images and protest culture. No prerequisites. Open to first-year students.

Crosslist(s): REL,RES
Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 18
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 16
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 6
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Historical Studies
Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday | 1:20 PM - 2:35 PM / Burton 101 Instructional Method: In-Person

Offered as HST 271 and REL 271. Was Jesus a revolutionary socialist? Or did he preach an ethic of self-help? Is it holy to be poor? Or is prosperity our moral duty? This course will focus particularly on the relationship between religion and capitalism in the realms of economic and moral ideas, labor and working class politics, business history, and grassroots social movements. It will cover such topics as: utopian communes; debates over slavery and free labor; the ‘lived religion’ of the working class; Christian and Jewish socialism; ‘New Age’ spirituality and the counterculture; liberation theology and racial capitalism; big business and the Prosperity Gospel; and conservative Christianity in the age of Chick-Fil-A. Enrollment limited to 18. (E)

Crosslist(s): HST,REL
Credits: 4 Max Enrollment: 999
Course Type: Lecture Section Enrollment: 16
Grade Mode: Graded Waitlist Count: 0
Reserved Seats: No
Curriculum Distribution: Arts, Historical Studies
Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday | 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM / Hatfield 107 Instructional Method: In-Person

Offered as REL 242 and RES 242. As devotional objects, political symbols, and art commodities, Russia’s sacred art--the icon--has been revered as sacred, vilified as reactionary, embraced in rebellion, destroyed as dangerous, and sold as masterpieces. Engaging the fields of religion, material and visual culture, and ritual studies, this course examines the life and language of this art form, and its role in shaping Russia’s turbulent history. Topics include the production and reception of images; diverse meanings and functions of sacred imagery; visuality and spirituality; secularization and commodification; history, memory, and collective identities; the icon, avant-garde art, and film; controversial images and protest culture. No prerequisites. Open to first-year students.

Crosslist(s): REL,RES