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BTI Consortium | Last Updated November 14 - 9:00AM
Harvard Divinity School
School
Harvard Divnity School
HDS 2922
Preaching and Worship in the Black Church Tradition
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
SP24
This course engages students in historical, theological, and practical study of preaching and worship in the Black Church tradition. Readings in black homiletics and practical theologies of worship introduce students to a variety of approaches for the development and delivery of sermons and for the construction and ministerial leadership of worship within black Christian church contexts. The course considers these proposals for ministry practice against the backdrop of the social, political, economic, and cultural dynamics that shape the contemporary context of black communal life in the United States. The purpose of the course is to increase students' ministerial capacity through the incorporation of theological and practical wisdom from the Black Church tradition into their own understandings and uses of ritual and rhetoric.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Teddy Hickman-Maynard
T
3-6 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
This is a limited enrollment course. To apply, send a statement to thickmanmaynard@hds.harvard.edu with the following information: your name, degree program, year of study, school or university, previous relevant academic background, and a brief statement of your goals for the course
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 1563
Beyond the Canon: Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and Other Outside Books
BTI Category
Semester
Scripture & Biblical Studies
SP24
This seminar revisits the making of "the Bible" with a focus on ancient writings about the biblical past outside of the Tanakh and Protestant Old Testament. First, we will consider the biblical past in precanonical perspective, reading selections from Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and Dead Sea Scrolls. Then, we will explore their later Jewish and Christian reception, asking how a focus on such materials might shed new light on the formation of Jewish and Christian biblical canons. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1317.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Annette Reed
T
12-3PM
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3392
Can We Still Read Religious Classics? An inquiry with Christian, Hindu, and Confucian Classics
BTI Category
Semester
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
SP24
Theology is grounded in belief in God, or some Transcendent Reality that engages normatively our minds, hearts, bodies, lives. It is the practice of faith seeking understanding, exploring all manner of realities, human, all other worldly life form, and the divine. And, pertinent to this course, it is very often preserved primarily in classic religious texts that have for millennia been normative for believers. Today, such texts cannot be taken for granted. Our reading of them must be purified by the hardest critical questions, such as expose biases and systemic injustice, uncover elite power structures and exclusions and, in our interreligious world, undercut overdependence on the ideas, words, and methods of the Christian West. This course experiments with the retrieval of the reading of religious classics by taking seriously classics of three normative traditions: tentatively, in Christianity, Augustine's Instructing Beginners in Faith (4th century CE, North African Christian); in Hinduism, Sankara's Crest Jewel of Discrimination (8th century CE, orthodox Hindu), and in Confucianism, Confucius's Great Learning (6th century BCE, Chinese). We will read each carefully, and consider each in terms of its portrayal of the human, the transcendent (God, the One), the nature of learning, and, indeed, Truth such as survives our critiques of it. Each text is taken seriously, in light of critiques, and each is comprehended in light of the other two. Yes, we can still read the classics, but only if we work really hard at doing so, with the questions of the 21st century. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1040PPM.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Francis Clooney
MW
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 3357
Critical Perspectives on the Dynamics and Development of Islam in Africa
BTI Category
Semester
Islamic Studies
SP24
An estimated 450 to 500 million Muslims live in Africa - close to a third of the global Muslim population. The overwhelming majority of them lives in the northern half of the continent, above the equator. The spread of Islam increased the contact between the peoples of North Africa, the Sahara, and parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The course is designed to provide an understanding of the spread of Islam and the formation and transformation of Muslim societies in Africa. It is organized in two parts. The first part of the course will focus on the history of Islamization of Africa, and topics will include the ways in which Islam came to Africa, the relationships of Islam to trade, the growth of literary in Arabic and Ajami, the rise of clerical classes and their contribution to State formation in the pre-colonial period. The second part of the course will feature guest lecturers who will present cutting edge research on the transformation of Islam in postcolonial Africa. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Islamic Civilization 179.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Ousmane Oumar Kane
F
11-1PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 1309
Topics in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Exegesis at Qumran
BTI Category
Semester
Scripture & Biblical Studies
SP24
This course explores the diverse functions of scripture within the literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls, focusing in particular on the forms and methods of interpretation attested, and considered in light of other varieties of interpretation in early Judaism. Sessions will be devoted to reading, translation and discussion of primary sources in Hebrew, as well as to discussion of relevant secondary literature.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Andrew Teeter
T
3-5PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
The course presumes facility in Biblical Hebrew, as well as the ability to read unpointed Hebrew texts. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Jewish Studies 149.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2202
Queering Congregations: Contextual Approaches for Dismantling Heteronormativity
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
SP24
Queering Congregations introduces students to three systematic and process-oriented approaches for dismantling heteronormativity within American congregations. Using the lenses of practical theology, ecclesiology, gender studies, queer theory, and queer theology, the course examines the cultural backgrounds, beliefs, morals, values, and heteronormative structures of American churches and proposes methods for restructuring, reimagining, and subverting the heterosexist paradigms and binary assumptions that perpetuate oppression in American ecclesial spaces. The class examines how mainline open and affirming congregations understand what it means to be churches while paying close attention to the differences and similarities within their approaches to queering their congregations. The class will interrogate the following questions: (1) What happens to the church when it is queered, where queering as a verb can denote a rethinking of sexual identities as well as a challenging of normative understandings of ecclesiology and liturgy? (2) Can a queering of theology do more than critique and deconstruct traditional church structures, practices, performances, and self-understandings by pointing the way forward to the renewal of the church by suggesting new, more liberating, and truthful structures, practices, performances, and self-understandings? (3) Is ecclesiology a good meeting place for queer, practical, and classical theologies?
Professor
Class Day & Time
Brandon Crowley
R
9-11AM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
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 (selection process will begin Thurs. Jan. 20) with the following information: your name, degree program, year of study, school or university, previous relevant academic background, and a brief statement of your goals for the course.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 4055
Intermediate Pali II
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
This course is the final 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. The course will also introduce the student to commentarial material. The Theravada tradition has a rich body of material that explicates and comments on the canonical texts. Gaining familiarity with this style of writing will greatly benefit the student in subsequent reading of Pali material.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Beatrice Chrystall
MWF
10:30-11:30AM
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisites: Intermediate Pali I or equivalent (with the permission of the instructor). Note: Auditors not allowed.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3113
Magic Today: An Anthropological Perspective
BTI Category
Semester
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
SP24
What is “magic”? Is it different from “religion”? Is magic a “way of knowing”?
In this course, we will look at “magic” from an anthropological perspective. We will focus, in particular, on contemporary magic in Europe and North America, addressing e.g. Contemporary Paganisms, Wicca, Chaos Magic, New-Age Spirituality, and contemporary Esotericism. By engaging with ethnographic works, students will get acquainted with or deepen their knowledge of the main issues, traditions, debates, and research in the field of the Anthropology of Religion and in the Anthropology of Magic. Students will analyze contemporary magic vis-à-vis e.g. popular culture, feminism, globalization, medicine, social media, history, and well-being. They will do so through ethnographic readings, films, music, arts, discussions, and independent research.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Giovanna Parmigiani
T
3-5:30PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
This is a limited enrollment course: students will be asked to fill a questionnaire and to submit it to the instructor. The questionnaire will be available on Canvas two weeks before the beginning of the classes. Petitions will be accepted by the first day of classes. This course provides a research paper option for students interested in this possibility.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3191
Buddhist Historiography
BTI Category
Semester
Buddhist Studies
SP24
A profound concern with knowing the past is centrally visible across the Buddhist world historically. This course is a critical introduction to Buddhist concern with knowing the past, both in terms of its major contours and the significance of historical consciousness in Buddhist thought and practice. Close considerations of examples of Buddhist historiography and especially on different ways of reading them are the main focus of the course. These examples will be drawn from different times and places in the history of Buddhism in Asia.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Charles Hallisey
R
9-11AM
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2964
Pentecostal Polity
BTI Category
Semester
Church Polity/Canon Law
SP24
The history, principles and practice of Pentecostal believers. To understand the nature and functioning of Pentecostal denominations. To prepare Pentecostal students for ordination. The course will include liturgy, worship, and theology of the Pentecostal faith. The focus primarily will be on the major Pentecostal denominations and the charismatic flavor of other major denominations.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Samuel Hogan
M
12-2PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 4413
Intermediate German Readings
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
Second semester course to cover German grammar, syntax, and translation; reading and translation practice of selected texts at the intermediate level related to theological and religious studies. Prerequisite: One semester of German at the college-level or German AX (offered by FAS). Limited enrollment course. Enrollment priority given to HDS students and other Harvard faculty cross-registrants.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Karin Grundler-Whitacre
W
9-11AM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Permission to enroll in the course will be granted as petitions are received. If enrollment exceeds the allowed limit, priority will be given to those students that completed HDS 4412 in the fall, followed by date of petition submission.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 4463
Intermediate Spanish Readings
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
This course focuses on Spanish reading comprehension and translation at the intermediate level, with special attention to theological and religious texts from across time periods, traditions, and genres. Students will also review key grammatical structures with the goal of improving students' comprehension of written material in Spanish. 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.
Professor
Class Day & Time
TBA
TBA
TBA
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisite: successful completion of elementary level Spanish courses, or the equivalent language knowledge.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2293
The Holocaust and the Churches, 1933-45
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP24
This seminar will approach the Nazi persecution of European Jewry from several disciplinary perspectives. Initially the seminar will explore the topic historically. In these weeks, the seminar will use a variety of historical materials dealing with the history of European anti-semitism, German history from Bismarck to the accession of Hitler, the evolution of anti-Jewish persecution in the Third Reich, and the history of the Holocaust itself. Sources to be used will include primary sources produced by the German government 1933-1945, by Jewish victims-to-be or survivors, documentary and feature films, and secondary interpretations. The aims of this part of the seminar will be to understand the basic background to and narrative of the Holocaust, to introduce students to the critical use of primary historical sources, and to familiarize them with some of the major historiographical debates. Then the members of the seminar will ponder religious and theological reactions to the Holocaust. The seminar will also consider the historical question of the role played by the Protestant and Catholic churches and theologies in the Holocaust. The seminar will conclude with an assessment of the role played by the Holocaust in today's world, specifically in the United States. Throughout the seminar, participants will use various literary and cinematographic sources and test their limits in helping to understand and to represent the Holocaust. Prerequesite: Some familiarity with the general shape of modern European history is desirable but not required. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1529.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Kevin Madigan
M
3-5PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Enrollment limited to 15 with the permission of the instructor, by application at the first course meeting.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2935
Compassionate Care of the Dying: Buddhist Training and Techniques
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
SP24
Traditional Buddhist monastics and teachers have long played a key role in helping others prepare for death. This course will explore the central approaches to death and dying in Buddhism, the Buddhist view of compassion, and how these are being adapted in the US for professional end-of-life care. Students will develop an understanding of basic skills in compassionate care of the dying, and tools to approach death as an opportunity for spiritual growth through readings, meditation exercises, listening practices, group work, and discussions with guest speakers. Some prior knowledge of Buddhism preferred.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Cheryl Giles, Chris Berlin
R
12-2:30PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisite: Spiritual Care, Chaplaincy, or CPE required.This class has a limited enrollment to facilitate a personal group dynamic of safety and support around issues of death and dying, collective processing, and contemplative cultivation. Priority will be given to students who have completed one or more prerequisite courses with the instructors, have a basic knowledge of Buddhism and Buddhist practice, are third-year M.Div. students about to graduate, or will be in CPE or a field education placement working with end-of-life care. During the first class, Thursday, January 27, instructors will ask prospective students to write a one-paragraph summary of their readiness, aspirations for the class, and above criteria to determine the class cohort. Decisions will be made by both instructors on the same day of the first class and they will email students that evening to let them know if they are in the class.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3063
Spiritual Care from a Muslim Perspective
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
SP24
This course introduces students to practices of spiritual care from a Muslim Perspective. As we will survey spiritual care practices of different Muslim cultures, our focus will be the relevant application of these practices in North America with a special focus on contemporary issues. We will study meditative/ritualistic, medical, philosophical, counseling, and psychological practices that have relevance and meanings in personal journeys of Muslim spiritual experience in different settings such as hospital, prison, university, community, social, and professional settings. Through a combination of readings, class discussions, practical exercises and expert guest lecturers in each class, students will begin to develop their own approaches to spiritual care in different circumstances such as the issues involving spiritual crises, trauma, mental illness, marriage/divorce, refuge related mental and spiritual complications, substance abuse, and others. Different stake holders such as pastoral care/chaplaincy (minister) candidates, students in education, social work, counseling, psychology, and health sciences as well as medical school students will find much value and benefit in this course. Class format will include weekly expert guest speakers including medical doctors, counselors, social workers, psychologists, clergy, and chaplains, from different disciplines who provide service to Muslim clients, patients, students, or inmates followed by a class discussion.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Yunus Kumek
M
12-2PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2085
Moral Conflict
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
Conflicts about abortion, climate change, economic inequality, gun regulation, LGBTQ+ rights, and other matters often occur when foundational values of different moral communities collide. This seminar provides an opportunity to examine conflicts implicating groups' deeply held values. Topics include the role these conflicts play in the formation and maintenance of moral communities; the role beliefs play in these conflicts; value pluralism and incommensurability; moral relativism; and possibilities for, and alternatives to, consensual resolution of value-laden conflict. We also will consider how these conflicts impinge upon and are processed within moral communities, including the hermeneutical challenges and opportunities value-laden conflicts present for religious communities. Readings will span multiple disciplines, including moral philosophy, theology, political theory, law, and the social sciences. Students will complete a final project that considers course themes in relation to a conflict of their choice.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Jeffrey Seul
M
3-5PM
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 an email to jseul@hds.harvard.edu by January 18 and attend the first class session on January 22. In your email, include your name, degree program, year of study, school or university, previous relevant academic and other experience, and a brief statement of your goals for the course. Please indicate whether you seek to take this course to fulfill a curriculum distribution requirement or other special requirement.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3547
The Buddhist Body, Its Materiality, and Its Moral Cultivation
BTI Category
Semester
Buddhist Studies
SP24
This is a seminar for exploring Buddhist understandings of the human body, including such topics as the nature of its materiality, sensitivity and gender; specialized practices for the body's moral cultivation using imagination, ritual, and yoga; and types of embodied knowledge. Most readings will be primary sources in English translation, including Abhidharma materials, sutra and tantra passages, medical treatises, and descriptions of bodily performance in both ritual and artistic spheres. Students will write one midterm paper with critical reflection on course readings, and one final paper creatively engaging one or more primary Buddhist source, which may include a course reading.Background in the study of Buddhism preferred.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Janet Gyatso
W
3-5PM
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Enrollment limited to 16; students wishing to take the course should write a one page summary of their academic background and why they want to take the course. They will be notified of their admission before the pre-registration period ends.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 1649
Sources of Jewish Spirituality
BTI Category
Semester
Judaic Studies
SP24
In the 11th century Rabbi Bahia Ibn Pakuda wrote a book called "Hovot Halevavot" -- duties of the heart. He wrote it to counteract the idea that Judaism was a tradition of practice and did not prescribe or evoke emotional and spiritual responses. Bahya and others made clear that Judaism has a long and rich spiritual tradition, which encompasses not only biblical and Talmudic texts, but mysticism, poetry, song, story, art and ritual objects. Tracing this from the Bible, we will explore how generations of poets, mystics, philosophers and artists have elaborated and innovated themes of the soul and its yearnings, seeking God, nature, relationship, depth theology, a sense of wonder, laughter and love. Questions of evil, the Hidden face of God, mystic ecstasy and insight, relations to other faiths and the foundational biblical stories and ideas that undergird these quests will be discussed, bringing us into practices and ideas current in present day Jewish life. Class will be a combination of lecture/discussion with both the midterm and final being a creative working of these themes orally or in writing.
Professor
Class Day & Time
David Wolpe
MW
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 3175
Indian Ocean Islam
BTI Category
Semester
Islamic Studies
SP24
Does thinking oceanically influence the study of Islam? Can we remember a people's history of the Indian Ocean world? This course considers these questions and others as it focuses on religious worlds within port cities and the networks of Indian Ocean Islam. The course examines how religion in port cities and islands was centered upon a plethora of saints, missionaries, divinities and other agents of Islam, who have been marginalized in academic literature on the Indian Ocean. It simultaneously examines how oceanic religion was intimately connected to economic, political and technological developments. Students will be introduced to scholarship on oceanic Islam and monsoon Islam, before they are introduced to a variety of sources on transregional Islamic networks and agents of Islam, including biographies, hagiographies, travelogues, novels, poems and ethnographic accounts. Students will, moreover, be encouraged to consider ways in which approaches to studying Islam could be enhanced by a focus on religious economies and networks, as well as the lives of "subalterns" who crossed the porous borders of the Indian Ocean world and shaped its religious worlds. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1821 and Islamic Civilizations 136.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Ali Asani
R
3-5PM
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3931
The Yoga Sutras: Text, Meaning, Purpose
BTI Category
Semester
Hinduism Studies
SP24
The brief Yoga Sutras (only 195 sutras) of Patanjali (c 100 BCE-100 CE) is a vastly influential and fundamental text of yoga. It is the focus of the course, along with its primary commentary (Vyasa's Bhasya) in several translations, and with the 20th century commentator of Swami Hariharananda, a mystic practitioner. What was Patanjali up to? What are the Sutras for? What do the Sutras tell us about the meaning and purpose of yoga then and now? We will both stress the importance of the Yoga Sutras and be mindful that the Sutras are not the only normative authority regarding yoga. Though not a course about the practice of yoga or yoga in the modern world, it is always attentive to the implications for practice, and thus potentially of great use for practitioners and teachers today. Apt comparisons will be made with ancient Hindu and Buddhist parallels, other syntheses of yoga, Al-Biruni's 11th c. Arabic translation, and modern Christian interpretations of the Sutras. Weekly written responses, plus two twelve-page course papers. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1661.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Francis Clooney
T
3-5:30PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2171
Forgiveness
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
When, if ever, are we obliged to forgive? What should forgiveness look like in the aftermath of violence? What conditions should be attached to its offer? Does forgiveness foster peace at the expense of justice? Should it? This course will examine the complicated problem of forgiveness through an examination of several diverse sources: theological, philosophical, and literary. The aim will be to develop a sophisticated understanding of the promise and problems of forgiveness in human lives, and to foster the critical application of such lessons to contemporary contexts and moral problems. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 145.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Matthew Potts
R
12-2:45PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2248
The Medium and the Mission: Technology and Communication in Global Christianity
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
This course will explore the many diverse mediums through which Christianity travels around the globe to save, heal, touch, prophecy and connect Christian communities from diverse places. In order to do so, we will combine ethnographic case studies and theoretical analysis. The case studies will vary in locale (providing a global scope) and in the medium. Some weeks might consist of a Zoom visit from a Pentecostal deliverance minister or faith healer. Others might require watching a Pentecostal Ghallywood film. Some weeks might center on technology as a material object, while still others will consider television programming, radio programming, telegraphs, or the ubiquity of the Jesus Film. This ethnographic breadth seeks to capture some of the dynamism of medium in World Christianity.
We will pair each case study with a theoretical consideration of how technology has played a significant role in shaping Christian ideas of the human, sin, senses, the body, transference/impartation, gifts, evangelism, and the world around them. While considering these topics, special attention will be paid to how marginalized communities have incorporated various mediums as means of resistance. Assignments will include participation in class conversations, leading seminar discussions, analyzing diverse mediums, and a final paper.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Nathanael Homewood
M
12-2PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3348
The Emergence of Islam: Contours and Controversies
BTI Category
Semester
Islamic Studies
SP24
The birth of Islam in the seventh century C.E. was a momentous historical turning point, but many aspects of this crucial process remain vigorously contested in modern scholarship. Was the Prophet Muhammad a local preacher of righteousness or the conscious creator of a religion with global ambitions? Is the Qur'anic text a record of Muhammad's own preaching or the result of a collective effort that continued after Muhammad (and perhaps had begun before him)? Did the early Muslims believe in the imminent end of the world or not? Was Islam originally an ecumenical monotheistic movement open to Jews and Christians, or did Islam's earliest adherents consider it a new and exclusive religion separate from Judaism and Christianity? Did Arabian tribes have a shared sense of belonging to a unified "Arab" ethnos before Islam, or did this sense of identity grow after disparate Arabian peoples conquered the Near East together? This course is dedicated to an in-depth discussion of such fundamental historiographic questions. In the process, we will delve into some of the earliest literary and documentary witnesses to early Islamic history and read from seminal works of scholarship on Islam's origins. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 2800.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Mohsen Goudarzi
T
3-5PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3182
Mind, Spirituality, and Mental Health in Hinduism
BTI Category
Semester
Hinduism Studies
SP24
This course will interrogate the various ways in which discussions on Hinduism have been included or have illuminated issues in the contemporary psychological sciences. We will read how different intellectual approaches ranging from psychoanalysis, folk psychology, cognitive anthropology, global mental health, and psychedelic sciences engage the archives of Hinduism as well as how ideas and practices from Hinduism are employed to provide an alternative to the therapeutic and treatment registers found in these approaches. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1606.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Swayam Bagaria
T
12-2PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Permission to enroll in the course will be granted as petitions are received.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3137
Ethnography and Religion
BTI Category
Semester
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
SP24
This course critically considers how methodological experiments have brought together the ethnographic field and the religious archive in innovative ways. Particular attention is paid to questions that have arisen in post-colonial societies, that compel us to re-evaluate scholarly presumptions and methods that have been produced in the 'west'. Discussions will focus on a variety of global societies, considering how 'religion' has been the object of ethnographic, ethnohistorical, anthropological and historical inquiry in the past and present. Readings and presentations by invited speakers will acknowledge the methodological difficulties involved in pursuing research on the phenomenon and practice of religion across social contexts. We will be deliberating about ethnographic methods of studying religion as the everyday experience of diverse communities and identities, while paying attention to questions of power, race, gender and class, amongst others. The discussions will also consider how ethnography has been informed by religion and theological dispositions, and whether ethnographic inquiry should be free from religious inclination at all. As a methodology course, a key aim of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to develop their research interests, projects and ethnographic methods.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Teren Sevea
F
9:30-12PM
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2060
Devotional Poetry
BTI Category
Semester
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
SP24
This course surveys the work of English and American lyric poets writing in the devotional mode, primarily from the Christian tradition, from the seventeenth through the twenty-first centuries. Poets include the English Metaphysicals (Donne, Herbert, Vaughan, Traherne), John Milton, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, T.S. Eliot, R.S. Thomas, Denise Levertov, Franz Wright, Christian Wiman, Jericho Brown, Anya Silver, and others. Poems and poets are approached thematically rather than chronologically (for example, poems of praise, lamentation, doubt, etc.). Students will leave this course experienced in the discipline of reading deeply and with attention. New readers of poetry and projects that engage Arts of Ministry are welcome. This course is eligible for Episcopal/Anglican polity Art of Ministry.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Regina Walton
W
3-5:30PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3171
Spiritual Cultivation in Islam Part I: The Classical Era
BTI Category
Semester
Islamic Studies
SP24
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 it 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
Ousmane Oumar Kane, Khalil Abdur-Rashid
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 2798 01
Religion and Ecology
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
This course will explore the intersection between religious traditions and ecological activism, with special attention to current conversations about sustainable agriculture and ethical eating. We will consider both the resources that religious traditions provide to ecological activists and the ways these activists have challenged aspects of traditional religion. The course will also function as a general introduction to the multiple ways of knowing that comprise the scholarly study of religion, with attention to scriptural interpretation, history, ethnography, theology, ethics, spirituality, and ritual. For MTS students, this course will support the attainment of degree goals 2 (theories and methods) and 5 (public communication). Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1046.Note: This course will include an optional, multi-day field trip.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Dan McKanan
MW
9-10:15AM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2975
United Church of Christ Polity
BTI Category
Semester
Church Polity/Canon Law
SP24
The history, polity, theology and practice of the United Church of Christ. Issues addressed throughout include covenantal polity, how five historic streams combined to form the UCC, theological framings, wider church mission and justice, professional practices, and the ordination process. This course seeks to enhance authorized or lay ministry at the local church level by strengthening understanding of the covenantal connections among all settings of the UCC. MDiv students seeking ordination in the UCC are urged to take this course but all are welcome. Auditors by permission of instructor only.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Reebee Girash
M
3-6PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Permission to enroll in the course will be granted as petitions are received. If enrollment exceeds the allowed limit, priority will be given to those needing the course for UCC ordination, followed by date of petition submission.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 4212
Elementary Greek II
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
Continuation of 4211. Focus on the reading of portions of the New Testament, along with continued work in classical Greek grammar and syntax. Course has additional section hour to be arranged.
Professor
Class Day & Time
James Skedros
MWF
9-10AM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisite: Successful completion of HDS 4211 or equivalent.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 1260
History of Early Christianity
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
This course will provide a basic historical introduction to early Christianity from the first to fourth centuries CE. How did different Christians in this period navigate the diverse teachings, rituals, and social practices associated with Jesus of Nazareth to produce a religious movement that came to dominate the Roman Empire, even as it was itself always complex, variegated, and internally contested from its earliest moments? Throughout the course, we will explore the diversity of early Christian thought and practice across a range of topics and geographical areas, as well as the ways in which Christians situated themselves within the larger Roman world and in relation to others both internal and external. This is an introductory-level course and it offers the possibility of writing a research paper. Note that the course is designed to complement and build upon HDS 1202 "Introduction to the New Testament." Each can be taken as a standalone class or the two can be taken in any order; but overlap between them will be kept to a minimum. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 2432.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Giovanni Bazzana
TR
9-10:15AM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2390B
Colloquium in American Religious History
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
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. Note: Second half of an academic year bi-weekly course. Credit will not be earned unless both the fall and spring semester of the course is completed. Course may be taken on a Sat/unsat basis only.Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 3505B.
Professor
Class Day & Time
David Holland
T
6-8PM
Grading Option
P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
PREREQ: HDS 2390A
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3044
Shi'a Islam and Politics in the Middle East
BTI Category
Semester
Islamic Studies
SP24
From the conflict in Yemen pitting the Shi'a Houthis against a Saudi-led coalition, to the civil war in Syria and the Shi'a majority militia-led fight against the remnants of ISIS in Iraq, dominant media narratives portray conflict in today's Middle East as part of a proxy battle between Iran and Saudi Arabia rooted in an ancient dispute within the Muslim world between the Shi'a and Sunni sects of Islam. In this rendering, primordial hatreds are driving religious wars and civil conflict with Iran, at the heart of the so-called Shi'a crescent, and Saudi Arabia, the stalwart of true Sunni identity. However, such thinking masks over a more complex understanding of the changes occurring in today's Middle East and prevents accurately differentiating between distinct yet overlapping factors such as actual substantive theological and intellectual differences between Shi'a and Sunni Islam, state competition (that is, between Iran and Saudi Arabia), and historical legacies of empire and state building in the Middle East. This course addresses such dominant narratives and challenges conventional understandings of the interplay between religion and politics in the Middle East and how sectarianism, Shi'a Islam, and geopolitical conflict can be more properly understood from a rigorous analytical perspective and focuses on the foundations and varieties of modern Shi'a political thought; religious clerical institutions; Shi'a political parties and militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen; and Iran's Islamic revolution, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), and the Basij paramilitary organization. The course assumes no prior knowledge of Islam or the Middle East.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Payam Mohseni
W
3-5PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3309
Solar Theology in the Ancient Mediterranean
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
This course will introduce students to the various solar theologies of the ancient Mediterranean world, including Egypt, Greece, Persia, Rome, and Syria. Topics to be explored include: the relationship of solar theology to monotheism and polytheism; solar theology and imperial ideology; solar theology and philosophy (espcially Platonism); and the influence of solar theology on early Christianity. All readings will be in translation, and no knowledge of ancient languages is required. Previous coursework in the religions of the ancient Mediterranean is recommended, but not required. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1321.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Charles Stang
T
3-5PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 4007
Advanced Literary Tibetan
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
This course will read selections from Tibetan masterworks, in order to give students familiarity with literary styles, including voice, poetic license, narrativity, and genre, over the range of Tibetan literature from its inception. A co-instructor with expertise in Tibetan literature and native reading capacity will lead the readings. Students should have at least an intermediate level of reading competency to take the class.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Janet Gyatso
TBA
TBA
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3138
Gender, Possession, and the Islamic Sciences of Healing
BTI Category
Semester
Islamic Studies
SP24
The seminar explores the relationship between health, 'faith healing,' and gender across Muslim societies. While the readings may give greater weight to work on Morocco, they will draw on a rich literature specifically on spirit and jinn possession in several African countries, the Middle East, South Asia, and increasingly Europe.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Zehra Parvez
T
6-8PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 1611
The Gnostic Mind: Jung and the Study of Religion
BTI Category
Semester
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
SP24
Carl Jung (1875 -- 1961), once the most influential psychologist in the History of Religions, is today almost wholly rejected by the discipline. This course will examine the impact of Jung on the study of religion, the reasons behind this disciplinary amnesia, and imagine what a post-Jungian approach to the psychology of religion should look like in the 21st century.The course will center primary readings from Jung (in English translation). These readings will encompass his academic writings as well as The Red Book, Jung's own stylized diary of his visionary journeys in "the land of the dead" from 1913-1916. We will explore topics in the history of religions germane to Jung's work: madness and mystical experience, the paranormal and UFOs, symbols, the imagination, and the relationship between a scholar and their historical subject. Critical assessments of Jung from feminist philosophy, anthropology, neuroscience, and the history of religions will be featured.Altogether, we will interrogate what counts as knowledge within the history of religions and what might have been lost in the forgetting of Carl Jung.
Professor
Class Day & Time
TBA
W
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 2034
Leading Music in Ritual
BTI Category
Semester
Preaching, Liturgy, & Ritual
SP24
This course will explore the leadership of music in the public rituals of religious, liturgical, and social movements, drawing on historical research, current practice in local communities, and students' own experience to answer questions about the role of music across religious and spiritual traditions as well as in movement-based activism. How does music inspire, connect, celebrate, and console? Where is the boundary between performance and prayer/meditation/worship? How does a song interact with its text to enhance and define the ritual space? Students will learn practical tools in leading song with their voices or musical instruments through the study of hymns, psalm chanting, and other folk and popular music traditions. The course is designed for students interested in ministerial or other ritual leadership who would like to expand their knowledge of musical literature, its current practice, and the history of music in the development and practice of religious traditions.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Chris Hossfeld
M
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 4104
Intermediate Syriac II
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
Readings in classical Syriac prose and poetry. Emphasis on developing skills in grammar, vocabulary, and reading unpointed Syriac. Texts to be read include Aphrahat, the Life of Mar Aba, a sixth-century theological letter (from manuscript), and East Syriac biblical commentary. Introduction to study of Syriac manuscripts. Each student will conduct a project on a manuscript of their choice from the Harvard collection.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Ute Possekel
MWF
10:30-11:30AM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisite: Elementary Syriac or permission of instructor. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Syriac BB.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 1103
Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament 2: Latter Prophets and Writings
BTI Category
Semester
Scripture & Biblical Studies
SP24
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 second part of a divisible, year-long sequence, will focus on the Latter Prophets and the Writings. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as ANE 120b.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Andrew Teeter
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 2628
Mourning, Melancholia, and Mysticism: Seminar
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
This course will look at key theoretical texts that articulate the role of mourning and melancholia in subject and community formation and the complex relationship between mourning, melancholic identification, gender, sexuality, and race. We will then turn to the Christian mystical tradition as a potential resource for a feminist philosophy of mourning. Readings will include texts by Margaret Ebner, Sigmund Freud, Nicolas Abraham and Maria Torok, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, Catherine Clément, Anne Anlin Cheng, and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. Prerequisite: Some acquaintance with contemporary theory. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1458.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Amy Hollywood
W
1-3 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisite: Some acquaintance with contemporary theory. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1458.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3129
Qualitative and Mixed Methods
BTI Category
Semester
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
SP24
This course will serve as an introduction to quantitative and qualitative methods in the study of religion. Using case studies on the study of religion from across the disciplines in the social sciences, the course will provide the students an introduction to a select array of methods which may include basic descriptive statistics, elementary survey design, material culture, case studies, ethnography (digital and otherwise), and more quantitatively experimental field methods. The students will work on group driven hands-on projects throughout the semester. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 2024.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Swayam Bagaria
M
10-12PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Permission to enroll in the course will be granted as petitions are received.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3092
Ethical Discernment in Business Contexts
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
Using the lenses of corporate strategy, frameworks for action, and the responsibilities and obligations that coincide with select stakeholders to examine and understand the ethical dimensions of decision making, the class will explore the implications of ethics in business contexts for both organizations and individuals. The objective of the course is to provide students with tools to enhance their efficacy as managers, future leaders, and colleagues in a variety of settings, including ministerial pursuits, NGOs, policymaking, the social sector, government, and organizations engaged primarily in economic activities. Among the topics that will be addressed include: the role and challenges language and religion can play in advancing conversations about values and ethics; the intersection of religion, ethics, and economic initiatives; the juncture of corporate social responsibility (CSR), shared value, and net-positive impact; environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG); and the future of capitalism. Reading materials will include case materials, teaching notes, and works by Howard Thurman, Peter Gomes, Reinhold Niebuhr, Mary Gentile, Gordon Kaufman, and Graham Allison. Students will be required to submit a 500-word op-ed and a 15--20-page final paper.
Professor
Class Day & Time
John Brown
W
TBA
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
This is a limited enrollment course. Interested students should attend the first course meeting. 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 following the first course meeting. Students planning to enroll should send their r�sum� or C.V. to john_brown@harvard.edu at least one week before the first class.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3081
God's Nations: Religion, Nationalism and Modernity
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
1. Nationalism is not simply an ideology: it is also a set of practices by which territory, political power and the cultural identity of the people that inhabit this territory are constituted in a unique and singular fact. The religious dimension of nationalism has been infrequently analyzed by historians and even less so by social scientists who, operating under the influence of theories of modernization, have perceived nationalism and religion as incompatible. In the last three decades however, with the growth of religious claims in diverse national and international contexts, scholars have started to explore the connection between religion and nationalism. In this course we shall:analyze the historical links between religion and nation in Western Europe and the United States from the rise of the nation-state until today.
2. explore the diffusion of the concept of nation-state worldwide and its consequences on the politicization of religion in diverse countries: Turkey, India, Russia and China.
3. discuss religious nationalism "beyond nations" as exemplified by the globalization of religiously-based political claims from Islamism to evangelicalism.The scope of religions and national cultures covered in class will help students understand the major issues at stake such as state and religion relationships, religiously based political parties and movements, populism, anti Semitism and Islamophobia.
The course will benefit students interested in academic careers in the emerging field of religion and politics. It will also provide professional resources and networking opportunities for students aiming at professional careers in the field of media as well as religion and policy making domestically and internationally.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Jocelyne Cesari
T
12-2PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Enrollment is limited to 15. Permission to enroll in the course will be granted as petitions are received.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2188
The Protestant Reformations
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
The sixteenth-century was a time of unprecedented turmoil and rapid change in Europe, shaped by events that were specific to the time but will also feel familiar: new media, rising nationalism, internal and colonial aggression against racial others and religious minorities, plague, urbanization, populism, and major economic shifts. All of these shaped emerging religious movements in various ways with aftereffects that would lead to the reordering of human life on a global scale. This course looks at the historical and intellectual context out of which Protestantism emerged and considers its longstanding global impact. It is designed to be an introductory course, but more involved research opportunities will be made available for advanced students in consultation with the professor. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1469.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Michelle Sanchez
R
3-6PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3001
Quests for Wisdom: Religious, Moral and Aesthetic Experiences in the Art of Living
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
SP24
This is an experimental course taught from the perspectives of anthropology and religious studies intended to be transformative for students and teachers alike. Our goal is to develop, in collaboration with enrolled students, a pedagogy for fostering students' personal quests for wisdom, through lectures and readings, through extensive conversation, and also through other experiences inside and outside of class, including dramaturgical experiences with film or theater, caregiving, and meditation.
As teachers we are inspired by William James's conception of knowledge in the University as intended forstrategies needed to live a life of purpose and significance that also contributes to improving the world. In the words of Albert Camus, "Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present." Together, we will engage with the problems of danger, uncertainty, failure, and suffering that led the founders of the social sciences and humanities to ask fundamental questions about meaning, imagination, aesthetics, social life and subjective experience. These are the same existential questions that bring ordinary people all over the world, and throughout history, to question commonsense reality in the face of catastrophes and the violenceof everyday life. The many answers to these questions - wisdom that is found in religious, ethical and aesthetic quests, expressions and traditions - are intended to furnish individuals' art of living with strategies to respond to potential and hope, pain and suffering, to promote healing, and to address concerns about salvation, redemption, or other kinds of moral- emotional transformation.
Together - through discussions, lectures, films, museum visits, readings, and action - we will explore different paths to wisdom, including (1) the youthful quest for truth, beauty and goodness; (2) the affirmation of caregiving for others as the means of applying wisdom to repair and improve the world; 3)suffering and the ordeal of journeying through labyrinths and tests of courage; (4) the discovery of wisdom in teachers and mentors near and far; (5) the process of creative mourning for past losses and shaping new beginnings.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Dav�d L. Carrasco, Arthur Kleinman, Stephanie Paulsell
W
3-5:45PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 4057
Reading Post-Canonical Pali II
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
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 spring term, 2022, some texts will be read in Thai script.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Charles Hallisey
MW
9-10:15AM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisite: Intermediate Pali II or equivalent (with instructor's permission).
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3125
We are One: An Anthropological Introduction to Contemporary Spiritualities
BTI Category
Semester
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
SP24
What is spirituality? How is it different from religion? How is spirituality linked to well-being? In this course, we will address some of the most widespread ideas and practices within contemporary spiritualities through an anthropological lens. We will read scholarly work, for example, on astrology, Tarot, and divination; Reiki and energy healing; mediumship and near-death experiences; unidentified flying objects; and conspirituality. We will discuss their relation to neoliberalism and material culture; their role in healing and in popular culture; and their connections with politics, time, environmentalism, the senses, and non-rational ways of knowing. We will do so through ethnographic readings, films, music, arts, discussions, and independent research. By engaging with ethnographic works, students will become acquainted with or deepen their knowledge of the main issues, traditions, debates, and research in the field of the anthropology of religion and spirituality.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Giovanna Parmigiani
T
9-11AM
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Enrollment for this course is limited. Preference will be given to third-year MDIv students. Students will be asked to fill out a questionnaire to be considered for enrollment. Students will be notified of the decision after the first class
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2962
The Lutheran Church (ELCA) - Its Marks and Practice
BTI Category
Semester
Church Polity/Canon Law
SP24
This seminar focuses on Martin Luther's theological reappraisal of the Church, exploring central teachings of the Lutheran movement and its contemporary practices in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Opportunity will be given to focus a semester project on an aspect of the church's practices related to the student's interests and vocational preparation.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Alissa Oleson, Robin Lutjohann
M
3-5PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 1416
Ancient Jewish Wisdom Literature
BTI Category
Semester
Judaic Studies
SP24
A close critical reading and interpretation of works thought to derive from the Wisdom tradition of ancient Israel, principally in the Second Temple period. The workings of the world and the ways of God as they appear in works such as Proverbs, Job, Qohelet, Ben Sira, some Psalms, the Wisdom of Solomon, and Fourth Maccabees as well as narratives such as the Joseph story, Esther, and Daniel. Concludes with the early rabbinic Pirqé Avot. Egyptian and Mesopotamian antecedents and parallels briefly considered. Emphasis on matters of worldview and literary form.
Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1232.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Jon Levenson
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 4453
Intermediate French Readings
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
This course is designed to help students gain proficiency in reading and translating texts related to theological French and religious studies, as well as academic French more broadly, at the intermediate level. Grammar and vocabulary are reviewed as needed. The syllabus may be adjusted according to the specific interests of the students enrolled in the course.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Pascale Torracinta
TBA
TBA
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisite: HDS 4451 Elementary French for Reading, one semester of French at the college level, or equivalent elementary language knowledge.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 4465
Communication Skills for Spanish Ministry
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
An intermediate/advanced course to develop communication skills particularly suited to those planning to minister in Spanish-speaking environments. Exercises and exams center on outreach vocabulary as well as appropriate contexts for this field (congregations, counseling, hospital and/or correctional pastoral work, education, etc.).
Professor
Class Day & Time
TBA
TBA
TBA
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisite: An intermediate knowledge of spoken Spanish.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2671
Pragmatism and Religion: Peirce, James, and Dewey
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP24
This course engages three classic figures in the American pragmatic tradition, seeking both to understand the genesis and claims of "pragmatism" and its relation to and implications for religion in the contemporary era. Ordered chronologically, the course begins with Charles Sanders Peirce, and gives particular attention to the writings of William James and John Dewey. Topics include the nature of belief, human experience, truth, action, ethics, rationality, and the nature and role (socially and individually) of religion. Prior work in theology or philosophy is recommended but not required.
Professor
Class Day & Time
David Lamberth
R
3-5:45PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Enrollment is limited to 15. Applications for enrollment will be available on the Canvas site, and should be completed at least one week before the first class meeting; petitions should also be registered in my.harvard. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1556.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2936
Clinical Chaplaincy: Interfaith Caregiving Skills and Practice
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
SP24
Healthcare chaplaincy is a specialized, unique field of ministry continuing to increase in demand in clinical settings like hospitals and hospice centers. This introductory course will explore the theory and practice of clinical chaplaincy in hospitals and focus on developing the foundation and skills necessary for providing effective interfaith care and spiritual counseling interventions in the medical setting. Course content will include readings, group discussions, and counseling practice, and will emphasize six main areas of clinical chaplaincy: 1) basic counseling intervention skills, 2) interfaith spiritual care, 3) ethics in the medical context, 4) end-of-life support, 5) clinical standards and due diligence in the institution, and 6) self care.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Chris Berlin
W
3-6PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
A prior course in introduction to pastoral counseling or the equivalent is a prerequisite. Instructor permission required.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3087
African American Religious History
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
This graduate seminar course provides a critical survey of and introduction to major themes, debates, and trajectories in the field of African American Religious History. We will examine the multiple and manifold meanings of "African American religions" with attention to Christian denominational histories and extra-church, non-Christian, and quasi-Christian religious formations and interventions among people of African descent in the United States. To do so, students will be introduced to key historical events, prominent and unsung religious actors and institutions, and a diversity of theoretical and methodological approaches to investigating, analyzing, and narrating the archives of African American religious life and culture. Jointly offered as Religion 1089.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Ahmad Greene-Hayes
T
9-11AM
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2084
Sanctuary Ethics
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
Since the Middle Ages, when sacred places began to function as safe havens, the word "sanctuary" has gradually gained its modern meaning as a space that is sacred and/or safe. In this course in applied ethics, we will ask what happens when we encounter violence in our literal and figurative sanctuaries. Inspired by the modern-day sanctuary movement, this course focuses on the period from the mid-1800s to the present and explores the many meanings past and present that have been attached to the word "sanctuary." In a world rife with violence all around, what can we do to resist hopelessness and remain steadfast in our commitment to seeking solutions and creating meaningful change? Drawing on an array of historical and contemporary sources and in conversation with many moral philosophies and religious traditions, we will discuss strategies for avoiding ethical paralysis and charting new paths forward in the face of daunting challenges such as political unrest, structural injustice, racism, nativism, sexism, poverty, pandemic, environmental crisis, and culture wars. Students will write a weekly "quote and question" response (200-250 words) on the course readings, a 1,000-word lyric essay or opinion piece, and a 15-page final paper (with a preliminary 500-word project statement and bibliography) on a topic chosen in conjunction with the instructor. This is a limited enrollment course. Interested students should submit a petition as soon as possible and be sure to attend the first class meeting. Please note that permission to enroll will be granted as petitions are received.
Professor
Class Day & Time
K. Healan Gaston
R
12-2PM
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
This is a limited enrollment course. Interested students should submit a petition as soon as possible and be sure to attend the first class meeting. Please note that permission to enroll will be granted as petitions are received.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 1845
Lamentations and Its Rabbinic Interpretations: Catastrophe and Recovery in Ancient Judaism: Seminar
BTI Category
Semester
Scripture & Biblical Studies
SP24
A close historical-critical reading of the Book of Lamentations in Hebrew and a careful reading, also in Hebrew, of a generous sample of midrashim from Lamentations Rabbah. Emphasis upon the theological and literary dimensions.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Jon Levenson
R
3-5PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisite: Three years of college-level Hebrew (any period) and some previous experience with historical-critical methods. Not a course for those with a weak grasp of biblical grammar.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3477
Theory and History in the Study of South Asian Buddhisms
BTI Category
Semester
Buddhist Studies
SP24
This course does three things. First, it introduces the work of Pierre Hadot and Talal Asad and explores the relevance of their work generally for the Study of Religion, and especially their ideas of spiritual exercises, disciplinary practices, and tradition. Second, it looks at the reception of the ideas and approaches of Hadot and Asad in Buddhist Studies, with respect especially to the potential of their ideas for better understandings of Buddhist life in South Asia historically. Third, it reflects on the use of Hadot and Asad in Buddhist Studies as instances of what Edward Said called "traveling theory," especially with respect to what we can learn about what happens to ideas, given shape in one interpretive environment, when they are isolated from the interpretive context in which they originated and are then reintegrated into a new disciplinary environment.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Charles Hallisey
T
3-5PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3704
Religion and Society in Nigeria: Seminar
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
Religion is pivotal to the understanding of the history, culture, and politics of Nigeria's nation-state. The seminar examines the historical development of religion in Nigeria and explores its intersection with ethnic identity, culture, and society in pre-colonial, colonial, and contemporary periods. The course provides an understanding of various cultural traditions, historical events, and social forces that have shaped - and continue to shape - Nigeria's religious experiences and expression. The course will explore many topical issues, such as indigenous religious culture, Christian and Muslim identities, Islam, Christianity, and the state, civil religion; Muslim-Christian relations; religion and law; civil society and democratization, as well as many important interpretations of religion and politics in present-day Nigeria. Jointly offered as African and African American Studies 192x.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Jacob Olupona
T
3-5:45PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 1626
Rapid Reading: Classical Hebrew II
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
This course is designed to help students their increase their speed and fluency while reading biblical prose. It will also deepen their knowledge of Hebrew syntax, solidify the Hebrew verbal system, and expand their Biblical Hebrew vocabulary. Students will learn and practice useful skills relevant to studying Biblical Hebrew in graduate school and beyond, including reading the critical apparatus of the BHS and interpreting the Masorah. This course is designed to cover large areas of Biblical Hebrew narrative while also allowing the students to engage with current scholarship within the field of Hebrew Bible. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Classical Hebrew 130BR.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Andrew Teeter
R
12-2PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2220
Teresa of Avila
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
This conference course will explore the life and work of the sixteenth-century Spanish writer, mystic and reformer, Teresa of Avila. With attention to her religious, literary, political and social context, we will read her major works: her Life, Interior Castle, Way of Perfection, Book of Foundations and her commentary on the Song of Songs as well as her poetry and documents related to her reform of the Carmelite Order. The format of the course will be a mixture of lecture, discussion, and, depending on the size of enrollment, reading our work aloud to each other.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Stephanie Paulsell
T
3-5:45PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2050
Gender and Judaism in Modern America
BTI Category
Semester
Judaic Studies
SP24
Contemporary Jews are as likely to view their tradition as a source of oppressive gender roles as they are to see it as an inspiration to activism for feminism or as a resource for queer identities. This course follows the construction of Jewish gender beyond the stereotypes, sometimes in collision with modern gender norms, sometimes in accommodation, and sometimes in open rebellion. It considers challenges to both demographic and cultural reproduction that place pressure on personal decisions, group dynamics, identity, and intergroup relations for members of minority religions. By juxtaposing modern scholarship with religious texts addressing gender in Judaism, the course incorporates historical accounts of the anxieties and opportunities that accompanied the construction of modern Jewish gender identities as well as textual traditions opening alternative possibilities. -Gender as a key marker of group identity forms a central axis of inquiry through three case studies:
-Jewish masculinities, from ideals of Talmud study and military service to comic book superheroes
-Ultra-orthodox communities, in which the rejection of modern gender roles is a defining tenet
-Jews as critics of gender and sexuality, including feminist and trans engagement with Jewish traditionPedagogically, the course draws on historical approaches and on developments in non-halachic Torah study closely tied to changing conceptions of gender in Judaism. Rather than assuming a fixed set of Jewish teachings about gender that confronted non-Jewish gender systems with the advent of modernity and Americanization, it invites students to participate in the ongoing process of questioning the meaning of religious texts in relation to human experience. Guest interlocutor, Yakir Englander, will visit the class twice to introduce the project of reading classical Jewish texts in modern perspectives and the practice of havruta (text study in pairs or groups). A product of both a traditional yeshivah education and a doctorate in feminist theory, Englander combines these approaches to open the topic of gender and Judaism beyond Western academic approaches. Teaching Fellow Emily Rogal, HDS alum and Rabbinical student at Hebrew College, will also lead text study throughout the term. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1256.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Ann Braude
W
4-6:30PM
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
To enroll send a paragraph to Tracy_Wall@harvard.edu expressing your reasons for interest in the course and any relevant background. HDS students should apply as soon as possible but no later than Thursday, Jan. 20 and will be notified whether they have been admitted no later than Friday, Jan. 21. FAS students should apply by Jan. 18 and will be notified by Jan. 19.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3089
Reparations as a Spiritual Practice
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
This course focuses on the social movement and practices utilized by spiritual, faith based and ethically communities to understand and engage in reparations as a healing, constructive and decolonial process. This journey will provide an introduction to reparations through its history and major figures and frameworks; it then explores economic, experiential, theoretical and legal bases for understanding reparations as articulated in academia, social movements, and in advocacy arenas. We will examine historical calls for reparations and the current movement and the possibilities toward reparations for Blacks in the U.S. Building on the key histories,theories and ideas that inform reparations, we will frame this contemporary discussion through the lens of spirituality and decoloniality to understand slavery, reconstruction, civil rights, truth and reconciliation, restorative and transitional justice. We will explore various understandings and approaches to reparations from organizations and individuals at the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America, National African American Reparations Commission, Caribbean Reparations Commission,Reparations4Slavery, UHURU solidarity, and many others.
Professor
Class Day & Time
David Ragland
T
12-3PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 1642
Exile, Diaspora, and Trauma in the Jewish Imagination
BTI Category
Semester
Judaic Studies
SP24
In this course we will examine the various iterations and motifs of exile, Diaspora, and trauma in the Jewish tradition from the Hebrew Bible and its reception to the advent of Zionism. The concept of exile (galut) is not only a description of the Jewish "state-of-being" but may be the very cornerstone upon which Judaism as we know is founded and continues to exist. While exile stands at the center of Jewish self-fashioning and ritual as a theological category, Diaspora (golah) is a more value-free historical term describing the dispersion of the Jews throughout the world. Tension between exile and Diaspora emerged with the advent of Zionism when questions of messianism problematized the concept of exile as an operational category. In addition, trauma filters through the entirety of the Jewish theological and historical experience as both a real and imagined category of identity and posture toward the world. All readings will be in translation.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Shaul Magid
M
12-2PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3139
Shi'i Interpretations of Islamic History and Thought
BTI Category
Semester
Islamic Studies
SP24
Islamic history and thought are often taught from the perspectives of Sunni Islam. In this course we will re-center the marginalized and dis-privileged Shi'i interpretations of Islam which continue to be misunderstood and misrepresented. Shi'i Muslims, individually and collectively, have played disproportionally greater roles in furthering the intellectual achievements of Islamic civilization through their seminal scientific, philosophical, theological, artistic, and literary contributions. In this course we will survey key historical moments from the death and succession of the prophet Muhammad in 632 to the present-day probing the intersections of the institution of imamate with the major Shi'i dynasties of the Buyids (fl. 945-1055), Fatimids (fl. 909-1171) and Safavids (fl. 1501-1722) down to the modern state of Iran. We will study the doctrines of __hir and b__in (exoteric and esoteric); taqiyya (dissimulation); na__ (specific designation of the imam); _ilm and ta_l_m (knowledge and teaching); da_wa (summons); mahd_ (eschatological redeemer) and qiy_ma (resurrection). We will examine a selection of primary and secondary texts that highlight the developments of Shi'i thought, ritual practices and communities in the wider discursive contexts of Islamic history within the major Shi'i branches of the Isma'ili's, Ithna_asharis and Zayd_s. In this course you will acquire in-depth knowledge and understandings of some of the most geo-politically significant religious communities of our times.
Professor
Class Day & Time
TBA
M
TBA
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3052
Mahayana Buddhism
BTI Category
Semester
Buddhist Studies
SP24
This course explores ideas and practices central to Mahayana Buddhism with an emphasis on ways of understanding the mind and approaches toward meditation. Mahayana is a diverse form of Buddhism found worldwide today and especially prevalent in Tibetan influenced regions, Inner Asia, and East Asia. Starting with the origins of Mahayana in South Asia, we study its expressions in a variety of cultures and time periods. We trace different Mahayana conceptions regarding the nature of our being, how and why ordinary mind operates in problematic ways, methods for spiritual transformation, and the goal of Awakening or becoming a Buddha. Related topics include the ideal of the bodhisattva, the implications of shunyata or emptiness, the relation between everyday truth and ultimate truth, and techniques for developing the heart. In English translation, we examine Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, traditional meditation manuals, and religious treatises from Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cultures. The final part of the course demonstrates how our study of Mahayana provides a basis for comprehending the tantric forms of Buddhism that emerged from it. All along, we discuss innovative contemporary Mahayana developments in America and across the world.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Elon Goldstein
TR
12-1:15PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2693
Sex, Gender, and Sexuality II
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
The second of two parts, the course will continue to explore the theoretical articulation of sex, gender, and sexuality in feminist, queer and trans theory, with attention to the role of other differences--racial, ethnic, religious, and differences in physical ability--in contemporary work.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Benjamin Dunning
T
12-2PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisite: 2692 or consent of the instructor. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1573.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2798 02
Religion and Ecology
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
This course will explore the intersection between religious traditions and ecological activism, with special attention to current conversations about sustainable agriculture and ethical eating. We will consider both the resources that religious traditions provide to ecological activists and the ways these activists have challenged aspects of traditional religion. The course will also function as a general introduction to the multiple ways of knowing that comprise the scholarly study of religion, with attention to scriptural interpretation, history, ethnography, theology, ethics, spirituality, and ritual. For MTS students, this course will support the attainment of degree goals 2 (theories and methods) and 5 (public communication). Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1046.Note: This course will include an optional, multi-day field trip.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Dan McKanan
MW
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 4158
Elementary Coptic II
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
A continuation of introduction to the native language of ancient Egyptian Christianity. Basic Sahidic Coptic grammar and syntax with selected readings from the Coptic Bible and other early texts.
Professor
Class Day & Time
J. Gregory Given
MW
2:45-4PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisite: HDS 4157 or equivalent.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 4232
Advanced Greek: Critiquing the Gods
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
This course aims to move students from an intermediate to advanced proficiency with Greek by studying select Christian, pagan, or Jewish texts primarily from late antiquity. A primary purpose is to increase reading comprehension through prepared readings (with review of grammar when necessary). A secondary purpose is to gain a knowledge of the theological vocabulary and debates about the existence and morals of Greek and Roman gods, as well as the efficacy of sacrifices, in the second and third centuries CE. Are the gods ethical or worthy of worship? Do they exist? How do we communicate with gods, and how do we know that it works? Possible authors include Athenagoras of Athens, Lucian, Plutarch, the writer of the Epistle to Diognetus, and Iamblichus.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Chance Bonar
TR
10:30-11:45AM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisite: Two years of college level Greek or permission of the instructor.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 4053
Elementary Pali II
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
This course is a continuation of Elementary Pali I. The goal of this course will be to complete the study of the major elements of grammar found in Pali and to strengthen the student's familiarity with the language patterns found in standard prose works. The student will begin to gain experience in a wider range of literary styles. Prerequisites: Elementary Pali I or equivalent (with the permission of the instructor).
Professor
Class Day & Time
TBA
TBA
TBA
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Note: Auditors not allowed. Limited enrollment course. Enrollment priority given to HDS students and other Harvard faculty cross-registrants.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2031
Introduction to Chaplaincy in Higher Education
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
SP24
This course engages the theory and practice of chaplaincy in settings of higher education in the United States. Drawing on the rich history of multireligious ministries in higher education and the range of expressions chaplaincy assumes, the course will provide an overview of the strategies, practices, contextual analysis, and narratives of practitioners in the field. Through a series of lectures, open discussions, site visits, chaplaincy narratives and personal reflection, the class will provide students with encounters with the vocation of chaplaincy in its multifaith, pluralistic expression in the 21st century academy.- Course Objectives: Provide an introductory overview of the history of chaplaincy on college and university campuses in the United States
- Interrogate the variety of purposes and missions that inform chaplaincies in various settings of higher education
- Explore the range of structures and practices chaplaincy assumes in its diverse contexts
- Interrogate approaches to the dismantling of white supremacy in higher education chaplaincy settings
- Investigate and highlight best practices in chaplaincy
- Explore the qualifications and opportunities for professional employment in higher education chaplaincies
Professor
Class Day & Time
Kerry Maloney
TBA
TBA
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Special Schedule Notation: This spring term course is offered intensively in January during semester recess, for one week, Monday-Friday 10:00-AM-3:30 PM. The course also includes four mandatory morning seminars (7:00-9:00 AM) , once in the fall term in November and three times in the spring term (February, March, and April). Registrants must contact the instructor beginning September 1 in the years offered to pre-register. First-come, first-served. Requirements for the course include a book report, a daily journal, a group research project, two seminar presentations, and a final research project or paper.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2069
Mysticism and Madness in the Early Modern World
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
There was no period more significant to the development of Catholicism than early modernity. Faced both with the competing truth claims of the Protestant Reformation and encounter with new and unknown cultures, the Catholic Church reaffirmed or redefined itself and many of its major tenets. Three of the most significant and interrelated of these concepts that required review were sanctity, martyrdom, and mysticism. They were central to early modern Catholic theology and devotion, and yet saints, martyrs, and mystics were liminal figures. They were caught between orthodoxy and heterodoxy, cultural heroes, and counter cultural. This seminar explores these tensions as they manifested themselves in the early modern world, with special attention to analysis of primary source texts. Topics examined include mission history, gender, and history of the body.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Thomas Santa Maria
R
12-2PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 1656
American Jews, Judaism, and the Challenges of Identity
BTI Category
Semester
Judaic Studies
SP24
American Judaism is a distinctive form of the historical Jewish experience. Jews arrived in America emancipated and began a long process of acculturation, curating a new sense of "identity" in a place some called "the New Promised Land." The Judaism cultivated here included adaptation to American Protestant religiosity and values, democracy, freedom of religion, social activism for other minorities, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, as well as the encounter with new religious movements (e.g. Transcendentalism, Pragmatism, New Thought, New Age, etc.). In this course we will examine the theoretical underpinnings and challenges of Judaism in the United States, addressing questions of identity, continuity, and survival. This is not a history course but rather a course focused on identifying the structures, fissures, and complexities of an American religion in perpetual transition.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Shaul Magid
W
1-3PM
Grading Option
N/A
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2089
Saints, Sinners, and all the Women in Between: Inquisitions Judging Women of the Atlantic World
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
This course provides an in-depth analysis of how the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions judged the lives and religiosity of women across the Atlantic World. It will highlight the ambiguous and tenuous place of women within Global Catholicism and the ways that inquisitorial perceptions forced them into particular categories of deviance.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Jessica Fowler
M
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 3199
Black Religion on the Big Screen
BTI Category
Semester
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
SP24
This course uses historical and contemporary films and other sources as case studies to examine how filmmakers, and Hollywood professionals more broadly, reproduce tropes and reinscribe complex representations concerning Black religion, Black people, and race and religion in a variety of geographical and temporal contexts through film. The ultimate objective of this course is for students to grapple with how Black religious subjects have utilized the medium of film for different purposes and also for students to analyze how filmmakers and cinematographers such as Arthur Jafa, Julie Dash, Tyler Perry, Spike Lee, and others portray, conceptualize, and regard the variety of Black religious expressions in the New World and throughout the African diaspora. Students will be expected to have some knowledge of Africana religions, Black studies, feminist and queer theory, and/or filmic analysis. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as xxxx.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Ahmad Greene-Hayes
M
6-9PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3157
Reading Women's Narratives, Recovering a Hidden Narrator: Toward an Islamic Feminist Theology
BTI Category
Semester
Islamic Studies
SP24
How (much) are the moral, political, and legal systems rooted in theology? If we revise different images of the divine, how may this change the frameworks that shaped our ethical and legal conceptions? In this course, we will review the most dominant images of God in different Islamic theological, mystical, and philosophical traditions. Then, we will try to re-construct a new image of God through reading the narratives of women in the Qur'an. Those stories would open a path towards a kind of narrative, feminist theology. We will read and discuss women's stories to find a hidden narrator and the hidden structures of power behind them. As the readers and interpreters of these narratives, students will finally write a short article on the opening questions above. There will be more readings and discussions than writing assignments. Due to the discussion structure of this course, at most 15 critical readers (students) will participant in this course.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Zahra Moballegh
T
12-2PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2197
Readings in Political Theology
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
SP24
"Political Theology" refers specifically to the claim that secular states remain structurally and imaginatively shaped by their historical ties to theology. Scholars have taken a range of positions on this claim, at times under the banner of secularization theory or postsecularity. . Some deny it and give alternate accounts. Some defend and elaborate it, but strictly with reference to the state. Some elaborate it more broadly, considering the impact of a theological imagination on coloniality as well as social and economic life. Most recently, scholars have been rethinking political theology beyond Christianity and the west. This seminar begins by surveying key texts from the past and present of this theoretical subfield and then invites students to design their own original research projects.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Michelle Sanchez
M
3-6PM
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisite: Prior coursework in philosophy, theology, political and/or critical theory and/or religious history. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1524.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2907
Introduction to Public Preaching
BTI Category
Semester
Preaching, Liturgy, & Ritual
SP24
Carrying forth the preaching pedagogy of Rev. Peter Gomes, this course focuses on the practice of textual preaching from the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. The course is taught by Rev. Daniel Smith (Senior Minister, First Church in Cambridge, Congregational, UCC). It emphasizes exegesis, worship context, sermon content and delivery. Participants will be expected to prepare and deliver three essays and three sermons. The course is limited to 8 students. If more than 8 students show for the first class and wish to take the course, a list of admitted students will be posted later that day.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Daniel Smith
M
12-2:30PM
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 4221
Intermediate Greek II
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
Selected readings of early Christian and Hellenistic Jewish authors, selected from the Apostolic Fathers, Apologists, hagiographic, apocryphal, gnostic materials, Irenaeus, Clement, Origen, Philo or Josephus. Texts will be chosen to consolidate Greek skills and, where possible, to reflect the interests of the class; each will be set in its historical and linguistic context as an essential part of translation and interpretation. Designed both for those who wish to gain reading skills with a variety of authors and for those who plan further study of Greek, e.g., in Advanced Greek (4230).
Professor
Class Day & Time
Judy Haley
MW
6-7:15PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Prerequisite: Intermediate Greek I (4220) or equivalent.
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