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Harvard Divinity School

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3668

Selected Works of Twentieth Century Jewish Theology

BTI Category

Semester

Judaic Studies

FA23

A close reading of selected works of Jewish theology from 1920 to 1980 (approximately), with special attention to the questions of God, Torah, and Israel in light of modernity and the challenges and opportunities that it presents with regard to traditional Jewish practice, belief, and identity. Authors read will be drawn mostly from the following: Buber, Rosenzweig, Kaplan, Soloveitchik, Heschel, Leibowitz, Fackenheim, Greenberg, and Wyschogrod. No prerequisites. By permission only: students should submit an application to the instructor by September 5, 2023. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1255.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Levenson, Jon

TR

10:30-11:45am

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3919

Introduction to the Upanisads

BTI Category

Semester

Hinduism Studies

FA23

This seminar introduces the ancient Indian Upanisads, some of the oldest and most famous primary texts of Vedic and Hindu India, ranging from before 700 BCE to 200 BCE and later. Select later Upanisads too will be considered, and the reception of the Upanisads in the Vedanta traditions, both nondualist and theistic nondualist. Topics include: the nature of self and of absolute reality; knowledge as transformative; the limits of language; the role of God in a nondualist worldview; meditation practice; death and rebirth; knowledge and ethics. Texts will be read in translation. No language or course prerequisites, but students will be encouraged to make use of any such expertise. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1061.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Clooney, Francis

T

3:00-5:30pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 4054

Intermediate Pali I

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

This course is the third part of a two-year program designed to allow the student to read Buddhist canonical materials in Pali independently. The readings are taken from the canonical collections and are chosen and arranged thematically, exposing the student to key aspects of the teachings of Theravada Buddhism. The course readings are chosen to enrich the student's understanding of these teachings, at the same time as strengthening language skills.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Chrystall, Beatrice

MWF

10:30-11:30am

Grading Option

Letter

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

Y

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 4103

Intermediate Syriac I

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

Readings in classical Syriac prose and poetry. Emphasis on expanding knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, and reading unpointed Syriac. Texts include the Odes of Solomon, Bardaisan, Ephrem, Timothy I, and literature pertaining to the School of Nisibis. Introduction to the study of Syriac manuscripts. Prerequisite: Elementary Syriac or permission of instructor.

Professor

Class Day & Time

TBA

TBA

TBA

Grading Option

Letter, P/F

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 4211

Elementary Greek I

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

Introduction to ancient Greek emphasizing the grammar and vocabulary of the New Testament. Course has additional section hour to be arranged. Enrollment priority given to HDS students and other Harvard faculty cross-registrants. Permission to enroll in the course will be granted as petitions are received.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Skedros, James

MWF

9:00-10:00am

Grading Option

Letter, P/F

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

Limited enrollment course. Enrollment priority given to HDS students and other Harvard faculty cross-registrants.

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 4241

Advanced Greek: Ancient Prayers, Hymns, and Liturgy

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

In this course, we will study texts in ancient Greek grouped under the broad category of "worship:" that is, texts addressed to God (or gods). Most of our texts will be drawn from late antique Christianity. We will begin with a variety of "worship" texts found in the Septuagint and New Testament, including psalms, songs, and canticles. From there we will move to consider various early prayers and hymns, including both papyrus remains and literary compositions. We will spend the bulk of the second half of the semester making a particular study of the earliest surviving texts of Greek liturgies, the formal and collective worship of the church. Throughout, we will pay careful attention to questions of form, structure, audience, and purpose. Alongside the Christian material, we will examine comparanda from Hellenistic Judaism (e.g., prayers found in Josephus) and from Greek "paganism" (e.g. Homeric hymns, papyrus prayer-texts). The course may thus be a useful contribution to any study of religious experience in late antiquity.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Ennis, Michael

W

4-6pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

Y

Notes

Prerequisite: Two years of college level Greek, or equivalent

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 4412

German for Reading

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

An introduction to German grammar, syntax, vocabulary and translation with reading selections at an elementary level related to theological and religious studies. No prior knowledge of German is expected or required. Limited enrollment course. Enrollment priority given to HDS students and other Harvard faculty cross-registrants.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Grundler-Whitacre, Karin

MW

9-10:15AM

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

Reach out to Prof. Karin Grundler-Whitacre for permission. kgwhitacre@hds.harvard.edu

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 4451

Elementary French for Reading

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

An introduction to French grammar, syntax, vocabulary and translation, with reading selections at an elementary level related to theological and religious studies.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Torracinta, Pascale

W

5:00-7:00pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 4460

Elementary Spanish for Reading

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

This course introduces students to Spanish grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and translation with the goal of developing students' vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. Students will read and translate selections related to theological and religious studies from across time periods, traditions, and genres. In addition to the course readings, students will have the opportunity to work with and translate a text of their choice from their own research discipline. Limited enrollment course. Enrollment priority given to HDS students and other Harvard faculty cross-registrants.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Neufeld, Lana

W

5:00-8:00pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

The course presumes basic proficiency with Biblical Hebrew. Minimum of one year of Hebrew required. No previous knowledge of Aramaic required.

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 1102

Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament 1: Pentateuch and Former Prophets

BTI Category

Semester

Scripture & Biblical Studies

FA23

A critical introduction to the literature and theology of the Hebrew Bible, considered in light of the historical contexts of its formation and the interpretive contexts of its reception within Judaism and Christianity. The course, the first part of a divisible, year-long sequence, will focus on the major biblical narrative traditions, the Pentateuch and Former Prophets. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as ANE 120a.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Teeter, Andrew

TR

10:30-11:45am

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 1625

Rapid Reading: Classical Hebrew I

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

Advanced reading in selected biblical poetry texts and intensive review of the grammar of Biblical Hebrew.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Teeter, Andrew

R

12:00-2:00pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

Y

Notes

If the course reaches its enrollment cap, the professor will email potential students to notify them to submit a 1-page statement relating their vocational objectives to course description. Admission will be based on vocational alignment with course outcomes, degree program, and year. Enrollment in the class will then be announced no later than the end of the first week. (If the cap is not reached, all students will be admitted automatically.)

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 1630

The Book of Daniel

BTI Category

Semester

Scripture & Biblical Studies

FA23

A critical and exegetical study of Book of Daniel, based on a close reading of the text in Hebrew and Aramaic. Special attention will be given to large-scale compositional strategies and principles of literary organization, to textual logic, to analogical patterns, to inner-scriptural relationships, and to the nature and function of allusion within this book, with a view toward understanding the overall expectations made of readers, both ancient and modern. The text of Daniel and its underlying principles of design will be considered in the context of major critical debates within the current state of the field.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Teeter, Andrew

T

3:00-5:00pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

Y

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 1761

Early Christian Apocrypha

BTI Category

Semester

Church History/History of Religions

FA23

This course will survey the rich and diverse array of writings produced by early Christians in the first few centuries of the common era and usually put under the label of "Apocrypha". Combining the direct reading of primary texts with that of modern literature, the course will highlight the historical, literary, and theological significance of the "apocryphal continent". Through a series of focused case studies selected from different dates and genres, the course will discuss several traditional and emerging themes in the research on apocryphal texts, e.g., the definition of "apocryphon" and its relationship with the canon formation, the social dimension of apocryphal literature (on themes like the role of women in narratives or the attitude towards enslavement), the treatment of Jews and Judaism, or the influence of apocrypha on the Christian imagination and contemporary popular culture. This course includes the possibility of writing a research paper.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Bazzana, Giovanni

R

3:00-5:30pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

Y

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 1982

Scent in Ancient Mediterranean Religions

BTI Category

Semester

Church History/History of Religions

FA23

Accompanying the "material turn" and the role of embodiment in the study of religion has been a new awareness of the key role of the senses, including in the reconstruction of religious experience through archaeology. This seminar explores the often understudied sense of smell and how it mattered in ancient Mediterranean religions. We will study the ritual use, cultural management, and traditional interpretation of scent, odor, incense, smoke, perfume, and other media. Our goal will be to consider what it means to restore smell as a key element of the religious sensorium. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion xxxx.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Patton, Kimberley

R

3:00-5:00pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

This is a limited enrollment course. To apply, send a statement to bcrowley@hds.harvard.edu andsweting the following:
1. What program are youin at HDS?
2. Why do you want to take this class and how do you envision this course benefitting you?
3. Please summarize your background in the areas of administration and leadership. Are you currently, have you ever been, or do you desire to be a leader or administrator?
4. What do you want to learn about administration and leadership?

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 2066

Religion and Reproductive Politics in the United States

BTI Category

Semester

Ethics (All Traditions)

FA23

How have Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish conversations about sexuality and reproduction shaped access and attitudes toward reproductive health over the past century? This course uses primary sources and scholarly readings to explore this question in the context of the United States. We explore the range of religious attitudes towards contraception and abortion, the diversity of opinions within each given opinion, In doing so, we will examine the relationship of contraceptive history to feminism, population control, eugenics, and white supremacy.

Professor

Class Day & Time

TBA

TBA

TBA

Grading Option

Letter, P/F

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 2121

Trends in World Christianity, 1900-2050

BTI Category

Semester

Church History/History of Religions

FA23

In 1900, 82% of all Christians in the world lived in Europe and North America (defined by the United Nations as the "global North") and 18% of Christians lived in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania ("global South"). However, by 2020, only 33% of Christians lived in the global North, and 67% lived in the global South. As a result, a "typical" Christian today is a woman of color living in the global South with lower-than-average socioeconomic status and physical safety. This represents a vastly different typical Christian than that of 100 years ago, who would have been a White affluent European. The demographic shift of World Christianity is poised to continue and has brought to the surface many long-standing tensions in Christian communities related to power, money, interpretation, and influence. This course covers past (twentieth century) and present (twenty-first century) trends in World Christianity from historical and social scientific perspectives. It explores many of the tensions in World Christianity today related to, for example, colonial/post-colonial realities, contextual theologies, race/racism, and global issues such as the climate crisis and religious freedom. This course has a particular focus on gender in World Christianity, where women make up the vast majority of churches worldwide yet are often denied leadership roles and decision-making opportunities. The course addresses topics unique to each continent (with a global South focus) as well as major Christian traditions -- Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, Independents, Evangelicals, and Pentecostals/Charismatics. Students will interact with relevant literature, debates, methods, and conversations in World Christianity studies and have the opportunity to write a research paper on a topic of their choice with professor approval.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Gina Zurlo

W

9-11am

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 2182

Catholicism in America

BTI Category

Semester

Church History/History of Religions

FA23

This course focuses on the American Catholic experience. We will discuss French and Spanish missions, Catholic immigration to the British colonies, the rise of nativism, and controversies over slavery, industrial capitalism, Americanism, feminism, war, and sexuality. We will also discuss the transformation of the Catholic Church in the wake of Vatican II and contemporary divisions between liberals and conservatives. Besides examining Catholic intellectual life, we will also explore Catholic popular religion and devotionalism. Throughout the course, we will focus on the historical development of the Catholic Church and the relationship between Catholics and American culture. Note: Not open to auditors. Jointly offered as Religion 1462.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Brekus, Catherine

TR

10:30-11:45am

Grading Option

Letter, P/F

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 2390A

Colloquium in American Religious History

BTI Category

Semester

Church History/History of Religions

FA23

Presentation and discussion of the research of doctoral candidates in American religious history. Available, with instructors' permission, to Harvard doctoral students in other fields of religious studies or American studies. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 3505A.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Holland, David

T

6:00-8:00pm

Grading Option

P/F

Credits

0

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 2415 02

Liberal and Liberation Theologies in Dialogue

BTI Category

Semester

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

FA23

This course will explore the possibilities for fruitful interchange between classic liberal theologies and contemporary theologies of liberation. We will begin with major texts of American liberal theology (Channing, Emerson, Rauschenbusch), then turn to the defining liberationist texts (Gutierrez, Cone, Daly), and conclude with several attempts to integrate the traditions. Students will be invited to develop their own constructive theological or atheological proposals in dialogue with the assigned readings. Throughout the semester, we will use optional book groups to explore additional ecotheological texts. All students are expected to complete one or more group projects and to provide oral and written feedback on one another's work. Students will have the option of completing a research paper. For MTS students, this course will support the attainment of degree goals 2 (theories and methods), 4 (respectful dialogue) and 5 (public communication). Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1538.

Professor

Class Day & Time

McKanan, Dan

MW

10:30-11:45am

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

Prerequisite: HDS 4010 (A and B), HDS 4020, and HDS 4021 or the equivalents. Jointly offered as Classical Hebrew 130AR.

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 2543

Decolonial Theory

BTI Category

Semester

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

FA23

This course is an exploration of key texts in decolonial theory, main themes and debates and its relevance for the study of religion. Readings include Walter Mignolo, Mar'a Lugones, Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui, and others. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 2521.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Rivera, Mayra

W

1:00-3:00pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 2873

What is the Church? Exploring Christian Community

BTI Category

Semester

Church Polity/Cannon Law

FA23

Ecclesiology is the branch of theology concerned with comparative, critical, and constructive reflection on the identity and purpose of the Church, in its local, universal, and cosmic/mystical forms. Both philosophical and practical, traditional and innovative, institutional and radical, ecclesiology is perhaps the most integrative and creative of the theological disciplines, uniting systematic, biblical, and liturgical theology with questions of authority and mission. This course aims to empower students to identify and release visions of Church rooted in nostalgic, oppressive, or colonialist systems and structures, and to imagine and claim an ecclesia that reflects God's love, justice, and abiding concern for the most vulnerable. Readings will range widely across Christian history and denominations (including Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Orthodox), and will include voices from the global south, feminist, womanist, queer, and liberation theologians. Alongside "What is the Church?," we will ask "What should the Church look like today?" in an age of ever-widening global inequality and overconsumption, rising secularism and fundamentalism, institutional decline, and climate crisis. Students will design a final project focused on a tradition of their choice and reflecting their vocational aspirations.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Walton, Regina

W

3:00-5:30pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 2927

Spiritual Care and Counseling

BTI Category

Semester

Practical/Pastoral Theology

FA23

This introductory course provides an understanding of the basic concepts in professional spiritual care and counseling applicable to individuals and faith communities alike. Through the integration of theory and practice, students will learn counseling skills for brief interventions and consider standards of professional ethics for the practice of spiritual care with diverse populations. The student's emerging theology of ministry will also be explored with particular attention to the role of the caregiver as a facilitator of growth and healing in various ministerial contexts.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Berlin, Chris

T

12:00-2:30pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 2965

Virginia Woolf and Religion

BTI Category

Semester

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

FA23

This course will examine some of the religious currents around Woolf--in her family, her society, her friendships and her reading--and explore their relationship to her work. Special attention will be given to Woolf as a religious thinker, the religious-literary practices that shaped her life and work, her experiments with the idea of God, her reimagining of the possibility of religious community, the spiritual trajectories of the modernist movement she helped to shape, and the religious dimensions of her attempt to reimagine literary realism.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Paulsell, Stephanie

T

9:00-11:45am

Grading Option

Letter, P/F

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3056

Spiritual Formation on the Buddhist Path

BTI Category

Semester

Buddhist Studies

FA23

This course focuses on the Buddhist spiritual Path or "marga" through the lens of spiritual formation theories. Students will be introduced to religious and secular theories of spiritual formation, human development, and moral growth. They will then examine Buddhist literature on the Path from Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana sources for their applicability to contemporary human spiritual development. Students will gain the ability to analyze and compare Buddhist and other models of spiritual formation, articulate important aspects of their own spiritual path, and facilitate the growth of others along their own spiritual path(s). Texts will be read in English translation; no scriptural languages needed.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Sanford, Monica

TR

4:00-5:30pm

Grading Option

Letter

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3070

Krishna and Christ: Does It Matter?

BTI Category

Semester

Interreligious Learning

FA23

Krishna, a supreme deity of Hindu tradition, and Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christian faith, have been compared and contrasted for well over two centuries. They been understood as similar divine persons, who descend into this world and are embodied here, gather followers, offer wise instructions, save their devotees, and are best approached by love and devotion. But differences have often been emphasized. For centuries, missionaries, scholars, and many ordinary believers have seen Krishna and Christ as competitors., pushing similarities and differences in contexts (most often in India but not only) where true religion, salvation, and conversion were at stake. Questions arose such as these: Are Krishna and Christ mythical or historical figures? The former mythical and the latter historical? Is either divine? Both? Did they truly come into this world, by incarnation or avatara? If they save, how does that happen -- and save from what? Are they moral role models? Can a Hindu love Christ, and a Christian love Krishna? Such were "hot" questions for a very long time, and even today for some. But for many, such questions have lost their urgency in the 21st century. It is good that competition is largely a thing of the past, but it may not be good that the urgency of the comparison -- Krishna and Christ, Christ or Krishna? -- no longer matters to most people. Do we have something to gain by taking both Krishna and Christ seriously? Facing this question sheds light on many larger questions regarding spirituality, religion, and cross-cultural learning. The course proceeds by key readings, discussed vigorously in class, but experience, practices, and images are important as well. Course requirements include brief weekly written responses to readings, and two 12-page course papers, but no final examination. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 64.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Clooney, Francis

MW

10:30-11:45am

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

Prerequisite: None. Auditors not allowed. Limited enrollment course. Enrollment priority given to HDS students and other Harvard faculty cross-registrants.

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3096

Faith-Based Community Organizing: Strengthening Social Justice and Strengthening Congregations

BTI Category

Semester

Leadership Formation & Ministry Skills

FA23

This course instructs students in principles and skills from the discipline of faith-based community organizing. The course will draw upon the variety of approaches employed by the four large national faith-based organizing networks in the U.S. Students will gain insight from the experiences of organizing practitioners, both organizers and clergy leaders in these organizations, who are actively engaged in empowering their communities, holding public officials accountable, and transforming unjust social structures related to economic and racial justice goals. Additionally, students will be asked to reflect on the personal and professional implications of faith-based organizing for their own developing understanding of ministry and for the mission of their respective religious communities. Topics of discussion include (but are not limited to) developing more leaders in the congregation, power, conflict, justice, self-interest, community, democracy, race. the role of clergy in a faith-based community organization, Scripture and the organizing process, what the organizing process entails, accomplishments of these organizations on social justice issues at the local, state, and national levels.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Finfer, Lewis

W

3:00-6:00pm

Grading Option

Letter

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3119

Ancient Hermeticism and Alchemy

BTI Category

Semester

Interreligious Learning

FA23

This course will introduce students to the ancient Hermetic and alchemical traditions of Greco-Roman Egypt. Previous coursework in philosophy and religion in the ancient Mediterranean world is recommended but not strictly required. An optional Greek reading section will be offered. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1314.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Stang, Charles

T

3:00-5:00pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3128

Black Spiritual Borderlands

BTI Category

Semester

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

FA23

This course examines the intersections of Black Feminist, African Diaspora, and Religious and Border studies to explore the act of crossing throughout religions in the African diaspora. We will explore how Black people throughout the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa create transnational geographies of belonging, traverse borders imposed upon them, and reimagine the world in new ways through spirituality.

Professor

Class Day & Time

TBA

TBA

TBA

Grading Option

Letter, P/F

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

Prerequisite: one year of college-level Latin or the HDS summer Latin course. Limited enrollment course. Enrollment priority given to HDS students and other Harvard faculty cross-registrants.

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3154

Religion in Mesoamerica: Codices, Colonialisms, and Cosmovision

BTI Category

Semester

Church History/History of Religions

FA23

This seminar is an advanced introduction to the history and study of religious expression in the cultural area known as Mesoamerica from prehispanic times to the present. Utilizing a diverse array of primary and secondary materials with special use of pictorial and alphabetic codices, we will examine the themes of cosmovision, miracles, human body, gender, death, and the soul in Mesoamerican cultures. The course will focus on the development of beliefs, practices, and religious structures (in Mexica, Maya, and other cultures) such as ceremonial centers, spiritual geography, sacred architecture, divination and the ritual calendar, sacrifice, and imperial ideologies, in light of a range of interpretive approaches to the study of myth, sacred time and space, ritual performance, syncretism, and transculturation. Particular attention also will be given to regional and cultural variations, continuities and changes over time, and the impact and implications of conquest, colonialism, and the advance of modernity. Students will leave the course with a solid grasp of primary and secondary sources for understanding religion in Mesoamerica as well as the ability to contribute to the organization of new knowledge about codices, colonialisms, and cosmovision. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Anthropology 2317.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Carrasco, David L.

W

3-5pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3172

Spiritual Cultivation in Islam Part II: The Modern Era

BTI Category

Semester

Islamic Studies

FA23

This course, as part of the new HDS Initiative on Islamic Spiritual Life and Service, is intended for students preparing for vocation in a variety of settings in which they will provide Islamically-inspired service and support. The course will acquaint students with Islamic pedagogy and practice on spiritual cultivation, highlighting the foundational importance of spiritual-ethical virtues in Islamic piety and the lifelong quest for nearness to and knowledge of God. In addition the course will: explore ways in which spiritual-ethical cultivation has been fostered holistically in the lived devotion of Muslim communities across time, place, and culture, including in various manifestations of the Islamic science of Sufism (ta_awwuf) and its traditional integration within educational and religious life and institutions, with attention to topics such as spiritual mentorship, spiritual training (tarbiya), spiritual companionship, oral tradition and transmission, devotional arts, and the creation of spaces for spiritual connection and service across religious, cultural, and social differences: engage the students in experiential-learning exercises to deepen their understanding of relevant concepts and practices; invite students to reflect upon what they are learning in relation to: their personal development, faith perspectives, and spiritual, ethical, intellectual, and vocational formation, the Islamically-inspired service they will provide within and beyond Muslim communities, ways to support their own and others' growth in this pursuit, language and approaches for engaging varied audiences with this topic and pursuit in their respective settings.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Abdur-Rashid, Khalil

T

3-5pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3180

Hinduism and Comparative Law

BTI Category

Semester

Hinduism Studies

FA23

In this course, we will look at some of the longstanding issues in comparative constitutional law by looking at the place of Hinduism in the legal architecture of India. While we will briefly look at the archive of classical Hindu law and subsequent colonial codification of it in highly limited forms, our focus will be on a range of issues of religious jurisprudence that arise in modern India. We will read case law as well as secondary scholarship on a range of topics including separation of powers, judicial reform, state neutrality and secularity, constitutional design, constitutional interpretation, religious exemption. A preliminary course on Hinduism recommended.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Bagaria, Swayam

T

12:00-2:00pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

Y

Notes

See description

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3206

The Book of Baldwin

BTI Category

Semester

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

FA23

This is a seminar in Africana intellectual history engaging in close readings of the written corpus of James Baldwin. It is designed to address larger conceptual issues of religion, race, identity, gender, sexuality through the intensive study of a major thinker in North America. A working knowledge of African American social history is recommended but not required. This is a limited enrollment course. Interested students should attend the first course meeting on Tuesday, September 5. If the course is overenrolled, a selection procedure will be described at that first meeting. Selected students will then be invited to enroll in the course by the end of the day on Wednesday, September 6.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Hucks, Tracey

T

3-5pm

Grading Option

Letter

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

Y

Notes

A working knowledge of African American social history is recommended but not required. This is a limited enrollment course. Interested students should attend the first course meeting on Tuesday, September 5. If the course is overenrolled, a selection procedure will be described at that first meeting. Selected students will then be invited to enroll in the course by the end of the day on Wednesday, September 6.

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3338

The Prophet Muhammad in History, Devotion, and Polemic

BTI Category

Semester

Islamic Studies

FA23

In the early seventh century, a man named Mu_ammad son of _Abdallah founded a movement that in time grew into a global religion, empire, and civilization. This course introduces students to three discourses that developed around the life and character of the Prophet Muhammad. First, we will survey some of the biographies that Muslim scholars, both ancient and modern, have written about the life of their prophet. Second, we will explore how the Prophet's life, teachings and persona have served as subjects of Islamic devotion. Finally, the course examines some of the ways in which non-Muslims, again both ancient and modern, have perceived and portrayed Muhammad in polemic against Islam or dialogue with Muslims. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion xxxx.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Goudarzi, Mohsen

W

3:00-5:00pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3469

The Museum as a Buddhist Institution

BTI Category

Semester

Buddhist Studies

FA23

As is well known, the institutional and sociological settings for religious life have become increasingly diverse and dispersed in recent times. Such changes have made it necessary for students of religions to expand their frames of vision about what should be considered relevant to their investigations and descriptions of particular religions. This course takes up museums, both art museums and ethnological museums, as institutions of public culture which shape collective understandings of Buddhism by the varied ways in which they "represent" Buddhism. Museums also provide, at least for some of those who visit them, sites for religious and/or spiritual reflection and growth. The course thus is also an exploration of the place of museums in both the social imagination of Buddhism today and Buddhist life in contemporary North America. At a second order level, it considers what students of religion more generally can learn from these explorations of museums as Buddhist institutions with respect to theory and method in Religious Studies.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Hallisey, Charles

T

3-5pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

This course is a limited enrollment course. A statement of interest in the course and how it connects to your larger plans of study should be sent to Charles Hallisey (challisey@hds.harvard.edu). Permission to enroll will be sent on or before 6 September 2023.

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3694

Religion, Culture, and Society in Africa

BTI Category

Semester

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

FA23

Exploring the meaning of religion and its impact of on African culture and society broadly, this course will highlight both religious traditions and innovations. Instead of treating each of the religions of Africa, the triple heritage in the words of Ali Mazrui of indigenous African religions, Islam, and Christianity, as distinct and bounded entities, we will explore the hybridity, interaction, and integration between categories throughout Africa. Using case studies, a unique perspective on religious diversity on the African continent and diaspora will emerge. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as AAAS 186.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Olupona, Jacob

W

3:00-5:45pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 4052

Elementary Pali I

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

The first in a two-year program of courses designed to enable the student to read Buddhist canonical materials in Pali independently. In addition to giving the student a comprehensive understanding of all grammatical forms found in the texts, the program will also equip them with a range of interpretive techniques to help them draw out as fully as possible the meanings of the texts. This course introduces students to major elements of grammar found in Pali. It also introduces the language patterns found in standard prose works to facilitate independent reading. The course is geared toward getting the student to read canonical Pali texts as quickly as possible, and readings in the textbook are taken from key canonical texts. The student is thus engaging with key canonical materials from the very beginning of the course.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Chrystall, Beatrice

MWF

9:00-10:00am

Grading Option

Letter

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 4056

Reading Post-Canonical Pali I

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

This course is a continuation of HDS course offerings in Pali (Elementary Pali and Intermediate Pali) and focuses especially on the reading and interpretation of Theravada Buddhist commentarial texts composed in Pali. Course will include learning how to read Pali texts printed in non-Roman scripts; in the fall term, some texts will be read in Thai script. Prerequisite: Intermediate Pali II or equivalent (with instructor's permission).

Professor

Class Day & Time

Hallisey, Charles

MW

9-10:15am

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

Y

Notes

See description

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 4157

Elementary Coptic I

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

This course will offer an introduction to Sahidic Coptic vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. No previous knowledge of Coptic or other linguistic background is required or presumed. The course is designed to give students the necessary training to read basic to intermediate level texts, including but not limited to the Coptic Bible, the Nag Hammadi Codices, monastic texts, and Coptic papyri. The course will also acquaint students with the vast resources available for the study of Coptic, including ongoing digital humanities projects. Students will have opportunities to engage directly with material remains from late ancient Egypt, including objects in Harvard's collections. Permission to enroll in the course will be granted as petitions are received.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Given, J. Gregory

MW

2:45-4:00pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 4220

Intermediate Greek I

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

Review of grammar and syntax. Special attention given to increasing facility in reading and interpreting the Greek New Testament. Selected readings from the gospels and epistles with occasional readings from LXX or early Christian writers.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Haley, Judy

MW

6:00-7:15pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

Y

Notes

This is a limited enrollment course. Interested students should attend the first course meeting on Tuesday, September 6. If the course is overenrolled, a selection procedure will be described at that first meeting. Selected students will then be invited to enroll in the course by the end of the day on Wednesday, September 7.

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 4320

Readings in Christian Latin

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

This course is intended to hone reading and translation skills in Latin by introducing students to Christian texts from scriptures to late ancient vitae, medieval sermons to early modern letters. The primary purpose is to increase facility and familiarity with the Latin language, developing skills begun in previous coursework conducted either in classical or in medieval Latin. The secondary purpose is to be introduced to the study of Christian Latin literature, as well as the resources scholars use to study it. Special attention will be paid to the theory and practice of scriptural interpretation and to Latin cultures of reading and translating. Students will encounter manuscripts, letters, and artwork at Harvard's libraries and museums.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Tichelkamp, Craig

TR

8:30-9:45am

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

Y

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 4414

Advanced Intermediate German Readings

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

Reading and translation practice in selected texts related to theological and religious studies. Prerequisite: 8-Week Intensive Beginners German for Reading, Korb's German for Reading, or Instructor's Permission. Limited enrollment course. Enrollment priority given to HDS students and other Harvard faculty cross-registrants.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Grimm, Gigi

W

1:00-3:00pm

Grading Option

Letter

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 4454

Advanced Intermediate French Readings

BTI Category

Semester

Languages

FA23

Reading and translation practice in selected texts related to religious studies. Satisfies one of the three language course requirements of the MDiv program. This course is designed to help students gain proficiency in reading texts related to theological French and religious studies, as well as academic French more broadly. The syllabus may be adjusted according to the specific interests and research areas of students enrolled in the course.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Torracinta, Pascale

TR

5:00-6:30pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

Y