Throughout the modern development of what has been called "spirituality" in the United States, Asian Pacific Americans along with Asian and Pacific Islander religions have been integral. In the mid-nineteenth century, Asian Pacific American (APA) immigrants brought their religions, and towards the end of the nineteenth century non-APAs enthusiastically brought APA religious teachers to the mainland United States. In the twentieth century, this mixture of APA people and religions continued to reach new communities and develop into independent US-based religions; eventually, these influenced the emergence of more individualistic, non-traditional forms of religion - popularly called 'spirituality.' These lines of influence crisscrossed over the decades, leading to a complex mixture of interests, investments, discourses, and depictions of different racial groups. As a result, this course's examination of Asian and Pacific religions in US-based spirituality engages questions about its definition in distinction to the term 'religion' and in relationship to the social dynamics of race. The course explores its presence in diverse locations such as medicine, theatre, environmental activism, and children's video games.

Overview of ethnic and religious minorities in the contemporary Middle East, study of ethnic and religious diversity and its origin and manifestations in the modern Middle East. Examination of how the concept of religious and ethnic minority has emerged as a key factor in state policies towards minorities as well as the cultural, economic, political, religious, and educational lives of its people.

This course examines various definitions of anti-Semitism and traces the history of anti-Semitism (or "anti-Judaism") from the earliest arguments between Christianizing Jews and Judaizing Christians to the birth of Islam, through the period of Muslim expansion and the Crusades, to the Middle Ages, the Enlightenment, and the Holocaust. It looks at the differences among various types of Christian anti-Semitism, Muslim anti-Semitism, and Jewish anti-Semitism, and concludes with a look at contemporary forms of anti-Semitism.

This course examines and discusses the dynamism of Indigenous religions in the world, particularly in North America and Africa, Buddhism, and Christianity. It will consider common themes in each tradition and illuminate areas of distinction.

How did conflicts between religion and politics drive the formation of East Asia societies? How did these conflicts shape religious experiences, ideas, and practices? What did "religion" even mean for different people, communities, and authorities across time and space? This course considers these questions by examining religious traditions such as Shinto, Confucianism, Christianity, Buddhism, and shamanism in the contexts of dramatic social, political, and cultural transformations in East Asia from the early dynastic era through the modern period. Beginning with an introduction to religion, society, and state formations in premodern East Asia, this course will focus on the complex relationships between "religion" and the modern politics of nationalism, imperialism, and colonial governance in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Examines the changing relationship between Islam and politics from the time of the Prophet to the present day.

Course will survey the history, textual and archaeological remains of ancient Judaism and the beginnings of Christianity in ancient Judaea from 336 BCE to 135 CE. Special emphasis will focus on how archaeology contributes to the understanding of the history and texts of Ancient Judaism and the New Testament.

This course examines the rich and fascinating civilizations of the Bronze and Iron Age Levant, with a particular focus on Israel and Judah in the Iron Age (1200-587 BCE). The course contextualizes the Levant in its Near Eastern setting, examines international relations and domestic politics, social structure, religion, gender, the development of technology and literacy, daily life and more. The critical tools used for this intriguing investigation include archaeology, history, biblical and other textual studies, anthropology, feminist studies.

This course examines religious beliefs in Africa in order to illuminate connections between religion and culture on that continent, and to examine the relationship between religio-culture and the socio-economic and political forces that shape contemporary African societies.

What is religion? How has religion been understood and explored, past and present? What are the different scholarly approaches to understanding and explaining religion in all its diversity? How has the academic conversation about religion, what it is and how to study it, changed over the years? In tackling these questions, we will read and discuss texts from a variety of religious studies approaches to help illuminate the complexity of studying the phenomenon we call religion.