This course examines the rise of Mormonism as a uniquely "American" religious phenomenon, examining Mormons' engagement with social, political, economic, and sexual dynamics in American life from the nineteenth century to the present day. Mormon history provides a lens for examining key topics in American religious history, including the creation, maintenance, and fragmentation of New Religious Movements; religious violence; church/state relations; constructions of race, gender, and sexuality; modern sacred space; and the globalization of religion.

This course will study the history and intersections of religion and literature in Latin America.

Comparative approaches to the study of religion, systems of ritual and symbolization in the primitive world, shamanism and possession, religious movements, and religion in the modern world.

The Reformation in thought and action both from the perspective of its religious origins and of the political and social conditions. Analysis of its impact on sixteenth century Europe including the spread of Protestant reformation and its companion movement, counter-reformation.

The course objectives are (1) to acquaint students with traditional literature and contemporary research on Islamic movements, and 2) to introduce students to the historical and ideological basis of an emerging globalized political Islam.

Europe between the 14th and 16th centuries with special emphasis on Italy as the seat of the Renaissance. Topics include the city states, humanism, the Church in an age of Schism and secularization, Renaissance art, the New Monarchies and European exploration and imperialism.

This course critically explores the categories of "religion," "spirituality," and "the sacred" as they relate to American Indian communities, traditions, lifeways, histories, narratives, ceremony, and land. Focusing on both the plurality of indigenous lifeways and shared characteristics, some major topics that will be examined include the role of religion both in the colonization of Native people as well as in resistance to colonization, the importance of land/place/ecosystem and conceptions of sacred space, and issues of religious freedom and the fight for traditional land. Throughout we will analyze the efficacy of the terms "religion" and "spirituality" as well as engage with concerns regarding the academic study of Native American religions more broadly.

This course is designed to offer tools for engaging religious and cultural diversity within healthcare settings, which includes consideration of religious patients, religious healthcare workers, faith-based healthcare institutions, and the impact of religious communities on healthcare laws and services. To develop skills for navigating intercultural differences, students will practice applying academic approaches to religion to health-related case studies.

Major institutions and trends in Europe from the breakup of the Roman World to the 14th century.

This course examines the creation and evolution of a new cultural and cartographical construct Europe during the Middle Ages (roughly from the fourth century through the sixteenth century) within the context of world history. Among the topics we will explore are religious conversion and conflict, the creation of group identities, the development of secular and ecclesiastical authority, and the cultural, intellectual, and technological achievements of the Middle Ages.