What is ritual? Tantric Buddhism employs ritual in radical ways to work towards the goal of enlightenment in this very lifetime. This course provides an introduction to the principles of tantric ritual, including themes of guru devotion, rites of consecration, vows of secrecy, and visualization practice. In particular, the course guides students in contemplating what it means to imagine oneself as a deity as a means of attaining enlightenment. The importance of ritual to the practice of Tantric Buddhism invites us to reflect upon the larger significance of "ritual" for understanding tantra, Buddhism, and religion at large. The course culminates in an in-class colloquium aimed at defining ritual in dialogue with tantric materials. Graduate-level requirements include additional class presentations on research topics which will build upon the themes of the class to provide additional context, investigate a particular topic in greater depth, or diversify the scope of the material.

This course explores Judaism from Late Antiquity through the beginning of the Middle Ages. Rather than a traditional survey format, we will cover this period through historical, literary, and cultural approaches to primary literature (including focus on rabbinic literature) organized thematically. Throughout, we will read primary and secondary sources on two levels: exploring the historical and literary narratives they weave about this period in Jewish history, while paying close attention to their rhetorical choices. We discuss rabbinic self-representation simultaneously as we analyze the ways historical narratives and primary texts have been mobilized in the contemporary Jewish clime. Finally, we will treat the question of how this body of literature came to be of such central importance in Jewish culture. Graduate-level requirements include a 20 page research paper at the end of term. For students with skills in Hebrew and Aramaic, a separate meeting will be convened to read the texts in the original and work on linguistic skills.

Graduate-level requirements include separate meetings with a supplementary readings. An exploration of debates and arguments in European and American philosophy, theology and the history of ideas in response to the rational project of the Enlightenment, from the sixteenth century to the present.

Major topics in world religion, religion and culture, and philosophy of religion. Graduate-level requirements include an additional research paper.

An exploration of the encounter of Protestant ideas with the dawning of modernity from 1789 to World War I. Graduate-level requirements include additional readings.

The Inquisition in Spanish, European, & ethnic history: its bureaucracy and procedures; its festivities, its victims, New and Old Christians; and witches. Social, economic, and demographic context. Graduate-level requirements include graduate students studying more deeply the economic, social and demographic context of the Inquisition, through more scholarly reading, discussion and writing.

The course provides graduate training in the theories and methods of religious studies and guides students in contextualizing their own work within this discourse. It is an opportunity to learn how religion became an object of study, to explore the approaches of key theorists, and to assess the efficacy of these approaches. Controversies surrounding ritual, canon, culture, power, translation, and "experience" will inform our conversations. Students will develop a more nuanced understanding of the relationship of religious studies and area studies, in terms of historical and continuously-evolving dynamics. Finally, this course challenges students to evaluate the broader role of religious studies in the humanities and to set goals for their professional contributions to this discourse.

This course is an intensive investigation of the life of the ancient Israelite woman. It presents a multidisciplinary approach toward reconstructing the social, economic, religious and political life of women in Iron Age Israel. Through readings and class discussion, students will explore the ways in which women contributed to their society throughout the eras of the Judges and of the United and Divided Monarchies (1200-587 BCE). Because women traditionally have been undervalued and marginalized, until recently little attention was devoted to this vitally important and stimulating topic. In consequence, students will be challenged to utilize multiple sources in their reconstruction of the lives of Israelite women. The sources used in this class will include (but not be limited to) archaeological, historical and art historical data, the witness of the Hebrew Bible and other pertinent texts, and anthropological and ethnographic studies of the roles of women in pre-industrial and Middle eastern societies. Graduate-level requirements include meeting as a group, in advance (date to be determined) to organize the presentation of their papers. Each student will be assigned a "reviewer".

Origin and development of Sufism and its impact on Muslim and non-Muslim worlds.

The characteristic features of Hebrew poetry. The literary development of these writings and their function in the Israelite cult. Examples of biblical poetry outside the book of Psalms also considered. Graduate-level requirements include additional readings and a substantial research paper.