Buddhism in China, Korea and Japan with emphasis on the relationship between East Asian Buddhist thought and practice and the various historical contexts in which they emerged.

Early Christian and late antique literatures document one of the most significant periods of the human past. This period witnessed and helped to inaugurate the gradual transformation of classical society, government, and religion into three distinct cultures-the Medieval West, Byzantine, and Islamic. The western Mediterranean formed a European, Christian society made up of distinct European nations. In the eastern Mediterranean, the Roman Empire continued as the "Byzantine Empire," and the seventh century saw the birth of another major world religion, Islam, along with the Islamic caliphate. Early Christian and late antique literatures are characterized by a rich interdisciplinarity, but the social, religious, and political impact of Christianity is at the core of the Latin literature of this period. One particular focus of the course will be the "conflict" between Christian and pagan Latin literature- the problem of how to reconcile the literary inheritance of the pagan past with the Christian present. The texts of Tertullian and Jerome are the loci classici for the discussion of Christian attitudes to pagan literature and culture, a theme we will address first in their texts and then in all subsequent readings. Although our course will include source readings from the wider Latin West (e.g. North Africa and Gaul), our focus will be upon the dramatic transformation of fourth-century Rome into the Primatial See of the Catholic Church and the destination of religious pilgrimage-the new Jerusalem.

This course involves in depth study of early Christian texts together with related contemporary Jewish and Greco-Roman literature. Students will engage in careful analysis of individual texts in the New Testament and from the first four centuries of the Common Era, focusing on questions of genre, authorship, and meaning. Alongside these, students will examine writings by contemporary Jewish, Greek, and Roman authors (e.g., Philo, Josephus, Seneca, and Plutarch) as illustrative of the wider literary and religious culture. For students who have completed GRK 201, an option for readings in ancient Greek will be available as part of the course.

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

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.

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