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BTI Consortium | Last Updated November 14 - 9:00AM
INTERELIGIOUS LEARNING
School
Hebrew College
INT510-2
From Diversity to Pluralism: Religious Leadership in an Interreligious Age (Section 2)
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
We live in one of the most religiously diverse societies in the history of humankind. How can we cultivate an ethos of dignified engagement both within our communities of practice and across religious traditions? What are the ethical underpinnings—values and dispositions—that support such an effort? What theological resources might we draw on for this sacred work? What are some historical and contemporary models of individual and communal engagement that we can learn from as we develop our intra/interreligious leadership capacities?
Professor
Class Day & Time
Rabbi Or Rose
JTERM
JTERM
Grading Option
PF or Audit
Credits
2
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Y
School
Hebrew College
PHI147
Introduction to Buddhism for Jewish Leaders
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
This course introduces the foundations of Buddhism in India, integrating doctrinal and meditative traditions while tracing their development through the three vehicles (yanas) throughout Asia. Topics include ethics and wisdom, emptiness and compassion, and the inherent wakefulness of all beings. Special attention will be given to Tibetan Buddhism, which has resonated with Judaism on such a fundamental level, including an introduction to the deity traditions of Tibet. The course will include a map of American Buddhist communities and a discussion of Jewish-Buddhist dialogue, double-belonging, and secular mindfulness. The week will close with a visit to a Boston Buddhist meditation center.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Dr. Judith Simmer-Brown and Dr. Amelia Hall
JTERM
JTERM
Grading Option
Audit
Credits
0
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
IP-611-1
Peace, Justice, and Violence in Sacred Texts
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
Students in this course will examine sources from the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Quran that relate to peace, justice and violence. Students will analyze sacred texts in their original socio-historical contexts, and will explore diverse ways Jewish, Christian and Muslim sources confront and interpret these texts. Students will take a case study approach to investigate how texts from all three Abrahamic traditions can and have been used to legitimate violent conflict and injustice toward others in real-life settings (e.g., empires, religious persecution, colonialism, misogyny, racism, and Anti-Semitism), as well as how they can and have been used to promote peaceful practices and just relations (peace movements, provision of care for the poor and sick by religious orders and communities, peaceable co-existence and cooperation with religious and ethnic others, liberation and justice movements).
Professor
Class Day & Time
Grant, Deena
R
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
TH-513-1
The Faiths as Formal Realities: Describing and Portraying God
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
One of three core courses in the MA in Interreligious Studies curriculum, The Faiths as Formal Realities explores how faith communities move from the text to practices with the use of structured beliefs and traditions, approaches and doctrines. This course is taught in a multi-faith classroom, with faculty of different faith traditions, and it builds knowledge and skills for study within a multifaith setting.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Grafton, David/Kamaly, Hossein
M
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
HI-619
Muslim-Christian Conflict or Cooperation: The Politics of Interpreting Our Shared Past
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
The interpretation of Islam and Christian-Muslim encounters has become highly politicized, ideological, and controversial. Islam and Christianity have been described as either sibling children of Abraham sharing much in common or part of a monolithic clash of incompatible civilizations. This course will survey the history of Christian-Muslim relations, giving attention to how contemporary events shape our memories of past events and identities. Students will examine the origins of the encounter, the diversity of historical contexts, and interpretive frameworks to provide tools to develop their own critical perspectives on Christian-Muslim relations for contemporary public engagement.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Grafton, David
ASYNC
ASYNC
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 1508
Jewish-Christianity
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
This advanced seminar will explore those ancient sources traditionally studied under the rubric �Jewish Christianity,� as well as the historiography of this rubric and debates about its utility. Primary sources to be discussed include Matthew, Acts, the Didascalia Apostolorum, and the Pseudo-Clementine literature, and secondary sources will include writings from Augustus Neander, F. C. Baur, and Henrich Graetz. We will also consider its heurism for the study of other texts and groups, ranging from Revelation to the Elchasites. Students should have taken at least three semesters of ancient Greek; exceptions may be made for students with substantial knowledge of Hebrew and Rabbinic literature. Limited enrollment.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Annette Reed
T
12:00pm - 2:59pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2507
Fallen Angels
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
This course surveys Jewish and Christian traditions about fallen angels beginning with the oldest attested articulations in relation to the Flood, especially in Enochic and related traditions, and tracing late antique and medieval reinterpretations within and between Judaism and Christianity, from the Epistle of Jude to Sefer Hekhalot. Readings will include selections from apocryphal, biblical, magical, mystical, Patristic, and Rabbinic corpora, and key themes will include the origins of sin, aetiology of magic and civilization, the enduring impact of non-canonical writings, and the shared ideas of an antediluvian past among different religious groups in Late Antiquity. Although the class will focus on premodern Judaism and Christianity, students will have opportunities to explore later trajectories and transformations, from Islamic angelology to Japanese anime.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Annette Reed
M
3:00pm - 5:59pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hebrew College
INT600
Introduction to Islam for Jewish Leaders
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
In this intensive course students will explore key concepts, practices, and historical events from the Islamic tradition. Special attention will be given to the interaction of Jews and Muslims, past and present. We will also explore specific challenges and opportunities facing contemporary Muslims in the United States. The course will be taught by Imam Taymullah Abdur Rahman, who has served as imam for Harvard University, the Massachusetts Department of Correction, and Northeastern University. The course will include presentations by religious and cultural figures and a morning at a local mosque. At the end of this intensive course students will:
· Gain a broad-based understanding of the traditional beliefs and practices of Islam
· Understand the differences in the many iterations and offshoots of Islam around the globe
· Learn about the role that Jews play both in the Quran as well as in the historical narra-tive(s) of Islam
· Explore the experiences, priorities, and challenges of contemporary Muslims in the United States
Professor
Class Day & Time
Omer Bajwa
JTERM
JTERM
Grading Option
Audit
Credits
0
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hebrew College
INT510-1
From Diversity to Pluralism: Religious Leadership in an Interreligious Age (Section 1)
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
We live in one of the most religiously diverse societies in the history of humankind. How can we cultivate an ethos of dignified engagement both within our communities of practice and across religious traditions? What are the ethical underpinnings—values and dispositions—that support such an effort? What theological resources might we draw on for this sacred work? What are some historical and contemporary models of individual and communal engagement that we can learn from as we develop our intra/interreligious leadership capacities?
Professor
Class Day & Time
Rabbi Or Rose
JTERM
JTERM
Grading Option
Audit
Credits
0
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Y
School
Hartford International
IP-611-2
Peace, Justice, and Violence in Sacred Texts
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
Students in this course will examine sources from the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Quran that relate to peace, justice and violence. Students will analyze sacred texts in their original socio-historical contexts, and will explore diverse ways Jewish, Christian and Muslim sources confront and interpret these texts. Students will take a case study approach to investigate how texts from all three Abrahamic traditions can and have been used to legitimate violent conflict and injustice toward others in real-life settings (e.g., empires, religious persecution, colonialism, misogyny, racism, and Anti-Semitism), as well as how they can and have been used to promote peaceful practices and just relations (peace movements, provision of care for the poor and sick by religious orders and communities, peaceable co-existence and cooperation with religious and ethnic others, liberation and justice movements).
Professor
Class Day & Time
Grant, Deena
R
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
TH-513-2
The Faiths as Formal Realities: Describing and Portraying God
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
One of three core courses in the MA in Interreligious Studies curriculum, The Faiths as Formal Realities explores how faith communities move from the text to practices with the use of structured beliefs and traditions, approaches and doctrines. This course is taught in a multi-faith classroom, with faculty of different faith traditions, and it builds knowledge and skills for study within a multifaith setting.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Grafton, David/Kamaly, Hossein
M
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary-Hamilton
AP/WM649
Hinduism & Buddhism
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
An overview of the Hindu and Buddhist traditions.�We will examine their histories, beliefs, rites, and impacts upon various cultures and societies in Asia and�other parts of the world. Efforts will be made to develop a Christian response to the traditions and�appropriate missiological thinking and strategies. Not for students who have taken AP/WM645 or�AP/WM646.�
Professor
Class Day & Time
Yao, Xiyi
F Sat
Fri 6:30-9:30pm; Sat 8:30am-4:30pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y - with live meeting time
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Feb. 21-22, Mar. 21-22, Apr. 25-26
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 1680
The Jewish Jesus in Modernity
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
One of the more interesting developments in Jewish modernity, especially after the emancipation of the Jews in Europe, was how Jews understood Jesus as a figure in the Jewish imagination. Whereas most medieval Jewish thinkers challenged the theological presumption of the church regarding incarnation and church doctrine, the rise of Protestantism and its ostensible �humanization� of Jesus, enabled modern Jews to reconsider Jesus as a Jew and a figure that can be viewed in a positive light in and for Judaism. We will examine Jewish sermons and studies on Jesus in Europe and especially 19th century America.This course will explore the �Jewish Jesus� in modernity, beginning with Spinoza and Moses Mendelssohn up the present-day movements of �Jews for Jesus� and �Messianic Jews� and contemporary Jewish theological investigations of Jesus� messianic claims. We will examine the role of Jesus in German and American Reform Judaism, Orthodox Judaism, and Zionism.This course will traverse three continents: Europe, America, and Israel. In Europe, how was Jesus a part of Jews� response to emancipation and becoming �European�? In America, how did Jews respond to Jesus as a cultural as well as a religious figure, that is, how did Jews relate to a �secularized� Jewish Jesus? And In Israel, we will examine how Zionists reappropriated Jesus for their national project as a Jew who lived and died in the land of Israel. And finally, in our contemporary world, what role does Jesus have in ecumenicism and emerging movements of religious syncretism.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Shaul Magid
W
1:00pm - 2:59pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3178
Introduction to Iranian Religions and Persian Philosophy
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
Throughout historical and contemporary periods, Persia (Iran) has occupied a central role in global religious thought and spirituality. The ancient Persian religions, including Zoroastrianism (Mazdayasna) and Manicheanism, had highly developed theological and philosophical worldviews with monotheistic and dualistic theologies. These included cosmologies of Light and Darkness, Good versus Evil, End-Times messianism, and resurrection that have greatly impacted world religious and philosophical traditions, including Greek philosophical schools, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, among others. In the post-Islamic period, Persia retained a distinctive place in the development of various Islamic philosophies, including among scholars, sages, poets, and philosophers such as al-Farabi, Avicenna (Ibn Sina), Sohrevardi, Attar, Rumi, Hafez, and Mulla Sadra. This has included highly mystical (Sufi/Irfani) understandings of religion that have shaped Islamic thought and culture to the present time, especially in Iran as the main center of Shi'a Islam, heavily impacting the development of Shi'a Islamic thought, philosophy, and identity. This course provides an introductory survey of several Iranian religions and philosophical-mystical traditions from the pre- to post-Islamic periods, ending with Muslim scholars of the 20th century and the Islamic Revolution of 1979 in Iran. It also examines the Western reception of Persian thought and religion, especially in American religion and contemporary popular culture, exploring the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Harold Bloom, and other media.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Payam Mohseni
W
3:00pm - 4:59pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
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