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Boston University
Graduate Program in Religion 

School

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

GRS RN612

Buddhism in America

BTI Category

Semester

Buddhist Studies

FA25

The transplantation and transformation of Buddhism in the United States. Time period ranges from the eighteenth century to the present, but the emphasis is on contemporary developments, including the new Asian immigration, Jewish Buddhism, feminization, and engaged Buddhism.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Laura Harrington

TR

2:00PM-3:15PM

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Online?

N

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N/A

School

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

GRS RN638

Philosophy and Mysticism: Jewish and Islamic
Perspectives

BTI Category

Semester

Interreligious Learning

FA25

A thematic introduction to mysticism and philosophy, with a focus on the dynamics of religious experience. Readings will be drawn from medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy; Sufi mysticism and philosophy; Kabbalah, Sufi poetry, Hebrew poetry from the Golden Age of Muslim Spain.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Diana Lobel

TR

12:30PM-1:45PM

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Online?

N

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N/A

School

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

GRS RN706

Biblical Fakes and Forgeries

BTI Category

Semester

Scripture & Biblical Studies

FA25

Examines issues regarding forged documents and artifacts relating to the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Examples of forgeries (alleged and certain) include: book of Daniel, Letter of Aristeas, Gnostic Gospels, Secret Gospel of Mark; forged Scrolls in museum collections. Examines forged documents and artifacts relating to Hebrew Bible and New Testament, probing historical and ethical questions they raise. Examples (alleged and certain forgeries) include: book of Daniel, Gnostic Gospels, Secret Gospel of Mark, and forged Dead Sea Scroll fragments.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Jonathan Klawans

R

3:30PM-6:15PM

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Online?

N

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N/A

School

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

GRS RN716

Religion, Race, and Climate Change

BTI Category

Semester

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

FA25

A multi-disciplinary course delving into the influence of and race on human behavior and nonhuman, planetary realities at local and global scales. It focuses on the historical, systemic, and societal implications associated with ongoing climate change debates.

Professor

Class Day & Time

James Hill Jr.

M

2:30PM-5:15PM

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Online?

N

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N/A

School

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

GRS RN466

Tolerance

BTI Category

Semester

Ethics (all traditions)

FA25

Explores the religious roots of tolerance as an alternative to secular, more liberal foundations for pluralism. Grapples with the challenge of tolerance to the revealed religions and the ways different societies have met or failed to meet this challenge. Presents multiple case-studies and contemporary connections, explores relevance to students own experiences.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Adam Seligman

TR

9:30AM-10:45AM

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Online?

N

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N/A

School

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

GRS RN628

Judaism in the Modern Period

BTI Category

Semester

Judaic Studies

FA25

Encounters between Judaism and modernity from the Renaissance and Reformation; the Spanish expulsion and creation of Jewish centers in the New World; emancipation and its consequences; assimilation, Reform Judaism, Zionism, the American Jewish community, non-European communities, Jewish global migration, and modern antisemitism.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Steven Katz

TR

3:30PM-4:45PM

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Online?

N

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N/A

School

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

GRS RN696

Philosophy of Religion

BTI Category

Semester

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

FA25

Critical investigation of the limits of human knowledge and the theoretical and practical demands for meaning attached to notions of God, providence, immortality, and other metaphysical conditions of human thriving, from Plato to modern philosophies of religion.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Michael Zank

M

6:30PM-9:15PM

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Online?

N

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N/A

School

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

GRS RN709

Cults and Charisma

BTI Category

Semester

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

FA25

Examines religious sects, new religions, and charismatic leadership using case- studies from history and the contemporary world, as well as analytical principles from religious studies and anthropology.

Professor

Class Day & Time

David Frankfurter

TR

2:00PM-3:15PM

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Online?

N

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N/A

School

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

GRS RN760

Seminar on the Holocaust

BTI Category

Semester

Judaic Studies

FA25

This course will examine historical, ethical and religious issues arising from the Holocaust. We will discuss antisemitism and ideology; what communities were considered "other"; human motivation regarding collaborators, perpetrators and bystanders; the role of individuals, organizations and governments; the treatment of women; the ethics of resistance; the behavior of the Jewish Councils; and attitudes to the existence of God during and after the Holocaust. We
will also compare the Holocaust to contemporary crises now occurring around the world.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Steven Katz

M

2:30PM-5:15PM

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Online?

N

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N/A

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