Courses
The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.
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- African American & Black Diaspora Studies
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- African Studies: East African Languages: Kiswahili (Swahili)
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CAS RN 211: S24: Chinese Religion
A historical survey of Chinese religions from the ancient period to modern times. Covers cosmology, divination, philosophy, divine kingship, ancestors, art, the Silk Road, death and afterlives, popular deities, Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Creativity/Innovation. -
CAS RN 213: Hinduism
The course will provide the student with the opportunity to study on an introductory level Hinduism, the majority religion of India and Nepal. It is structured for the student who has had little or no previous background in the study of Hinduism from either an anthropological perspective or from a literary and historical point of view. It will focus on the development of the Hindu textual tradition, the philosophy and mythology it expounds, and the ritual practices related to it. Emphasis will be placed on how Hindu traditions adapted to changing historical conditions. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings. -
CAS RN 214: Islam
The rise and spread of Islam from the seventh century to the present; introduction to its central beliefs, institutions, and practices, and its impact on the religious and cultural history of Asia and Africa. Continuity and change in the modern period. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Teamwork/Collaboration. -
CAS RN 216: Judaism
Systematic and historical introduction to doctrines, customs, literature, and movements of Judaism; biblical religion and literature; rabbinic life and thought; medieval mysticism and philosophy; modern movement and developments. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking. -
CAS RN 220: Holy City: Jerusalem in Time, Space, and Imagination
Transformation of an ordinary ancient city into the holy city of Jews, Christians, and Muslims; and development of modern Jerusalem, as shaped by British rule, Zionism, and Palestinian nationalism. Jerusalem's past, present, and meanings considered through analyses of religious and secular rhetoric. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking. -
CAS RN 239: Religion and Science
Examines the complex relationship between science and religion, focusing on historical episodes (e.g., the "Galileo Affair") and current controversies (e.g., "Intelligent Design" movement's influence on school curricula, "Spirituality and Health" research, and "Ecology and Religion.") Effective Spring 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Ethical Reasoning, Teamwork/Collaboration. -
CAS RN 242: Magic, Science, and Religion
Boundaries and relationships between magic, science, and religion in Europe from antiquity through the Enlightenment. Explores global cultural exchange, distinctions across social, educational, gender, and religious lines, the rise of modern science, and changing assumptions about God, nature, and humanity. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking. -
CAS RN 243: Shamans and Shamanism
Shamans in global and theoretical perspectives. The origins and construction of the category of shamanism. Modern theories and debates about the category and the appropriateness of applying it cross-culturally. Also offered as CAS AN 243. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I. -
CAS RN 245: The Quest for God and the Good
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120), - An interactive seminar, investigating the meaning and purpose of human life, the significance of God or an Absolute, the role of contemplation and action in the spiritual quest, relationships between philosophy and religious thought, East and West. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. Effective Fall 2023 this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings. -
CAS RN 246: S24: Sex, Death, and the Buddha
An exploration of various Buddhist understandings of the ideal human life. Topics examined include: karma and rebirth, nonviolence and war, human and animal rights, suicide and euthanasia, as well as abortion and contraception. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Teamwork/Collaboration. -
CAS RN 248: Food and Religion
Explores the intersection of religion and food, using food to learn about religion and religion to study the role of food in human societies. Topics include feasting; fasting; feeding God(s), spirits, ancestors; eating/not eating animals; ingesting alcohol and psychoactive plants. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. -
CAS RN 249: Islamophobia and Antisemitism
Explores historical and contemporary manifestations of Islamophobia and antisemitism. Students are exposed to wide range of relevant written and visual texts as well as theoretical approaches. Includes active learning component and collaborative presentations by students. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, The Individual in Community, Teamwork/Collaboration. -
CAS RN 250: Introduction to the Sociology of Religion
Explores the role of religion in the organization of meaning within human societies and its contribution to the construction, maintenance, and transformation of the social order. Ways in which religion provides specific sets of solutions to the problems of social order are also explored. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. -
CAS RN 296: Religion and Hip Hop
Uses digital media studies to explore diverse religious expressions in hip hop culture. Through critical reading, community field trips, and hands-on technology usage, students consider an often overlooked element in the study of hip hop culture: religion. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation. -
CAS RN 301: Varieties of Early Christianity
Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing. At least one prior course in biblical or New Testamen t literature recommended. - Surveys the many different and often competing forms of Christianity that arose and flourished in the second to the seventh century. Topics covered include martyrs, apocalypticism, Hell, Gnostics, prophecy, magical texts, angels and demons, and the various meanings of Christ. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. -
CAS RN 310: The Reformation: Religious Conflict in Early Modern Europe
Examines religious change in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe, particularly the origins and causes of the Protestant Reformation, the parallel Catholic Reformation, and the consequent military conflicts in Germany, France, and the Netherlands. Also offered as CAS HI 209. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Social Inquiry I. -
CAS RN 311: African American Religious History
A historical survey of religions practiced by people of African descent living in North America. Students explore the diverse terrain of African American religiosity, which includes Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Spiritualism, and African-derived religions. -
CAS RN 312: Buddhism in America
The transplantation and transformation of Buddhism in the United States. Time period ranges from the eighteenth century to the present, but the emphasis is on contemporary developments, including the new Asian immigration, Jewish Buddhism, feminization, and engaged Buddhism. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy. -
CAS RN 314: Religious Thought in America
Surveys many of the strategies that American religious thinkers have adopted for interpreting the cosmos, the social order and human experience, and the interaction of those strategies with broader currents of American culture. Also offered as CAS HI 308. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry II. -
CAS RN 316: Modern Islam
Undergraduate Prerequisites: one course in RN or PH, or CC101/102, or consent of instructor. First- Year Writing Seminar" (CAS WR 120 or equivalent) - Pre-Req: First-Year Writing Seminar" (CAS WR 120 or equivalent). Challenges students to sociologically evaluate the concept of meritocracy, its origins, its societal implications, and contemporary adoption as an ideal worth striving for. Reviews empirical research on perceptions around and explanations of social inequality. Explores how beliefs about inequality are mobilized in class and racial conflict and in what ways people's beliefs are or aren't likely to change. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Social Inquiry I, Research and Information Literacy.
