The evolving relationship between law and religion has had a profound influence on American political life and discourse since the country's founding. This course is designed to develop familiarity with that history and the resulting major tenets of the First Amendment's religion clauses. Taking as our starting point the concept of the separation of church and state, we examine what this idea has meant in U.S. Constitutional law. Class time will be structured around in-depth study of the Constitution and of Supreme Court precedents, and will integrate these formative Supreme Court decisions and decisions from state and lower federal courts into the social and historical contexts from which they derive meaning. In addition, the course will survey the scholarly treatment of such threshold questions as the meaning of "religion" in society, and will evaluate the evolving notion of religious liberty in a pluralistic society. We conclude with an examination of current legal debates and cases and of the prominent role of religious discourse about law, social change, politics and culture in today's society.

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.

An exploration of the encounter of Protestant ideas with the dawning of modernity from 1789 to World War I.

The course objectives are (1) to introduce students to the world of the Jewish communities in Islamic countries and (2) to acquaint students with the culture and history of Jewish communities of the Islamic world and the characteristics of Middle Eastern and North African Judaism.

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.

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.

Examination of the roles women have played throughout Islamic history and of the changing discourse in the Islamic community about women and their roles.

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.