School:

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BTI Category:

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School:

Harvard Divinity School

BTI Category:

Islamic Studies

Religion and Society in Islamicate History (900-1300 CE) from Shiʿi Centuries to Mongol Invasions

Between 900 to 1300 CE, Islamicate societies were characterized by drastic transformations in religious thought, political authority and institutions as Shiʿi dynasties (Ismaili Fatimids and Ithnaʾashari Buyids) were overthrown and replaced by rulers who enabled the establishment of Sunni dominance. This period is also marked by two tumultuous nomadic invasions (Saljuq Turks and Mongols) and their aftermaths which convulsed the Islamicate realms. In this course, we will unpack the complex histories of societies and study the socio-political and religious developments from the Shiʿi Centuries to the Mongol Invasions. We will examine the crystallisation of Ithnaʾashari Shiʿism. We will survey the challenges of Fatimid and Nizari Ismaili thought as well as their religio-political conflicts and relations with the Sunni Abbasid-Saljuq establishment. We will probe the contexts of the emergence of Sunni hegemony. We will explore the rise of Alid loyalism and the spread of Sufi ṭarīqahs (orders). We will analyse the formation of nomadic empires and their impacts on religion and societies. We will scrutinize the shifts in justifications of political authority in relation to the Prophet Muhammad to Chinggisid legitimations of rule after the twin decapitations by the Mongols of the Nizari polity in Iran (1256) and the Abbasid caliphate (1258).

School:

Harvard Divinity School

BTI Category:

Islamic Studies

Qur'an Recitation: Theory and Practice

The Qurʾan refers to itself as a book to be recited beautifully. Qurʾanic verses and hadiths command believers, both male and female, to chant the Qurʾan with melody. The ideal recitation is well-defined as an intent which not only accepts but also depends on the melodic element for its fulfillment. In this course, students will learn to recite Qur’anic passages, allowing them to bring first-hand experience to analysis of the rules of recitation. Both oral and theoretical aspects of recitation contribute to engagement with acoustic and auditory dimensions of Muslim religious worlds, allowing a more sonically aware study of gender and religion.

School:

Harvard Divinity School

BTI Category:

Islamic Studies

Intro to Islam through Prophetic Traditions

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School:

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

BTI Category:

Judaic Studies

Judaism in the Modern Period/The Modern Jew

Exploration of complex encounters between Judaism and modernity from the Renaissance and Reformation to expulsion from Spain and creation of Jewish centers in the New World; emancipation and its consequences; assimilation, conversion, Reform Judaism, Zionism, the American Jewish community, modern anti-Semitism.

School:

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

BTI Category:

Judaic Studies

The Holocaust

Rise of German (and European) antisemitism; rise of Nazism; 1935 Nuremberg Laws; the initial Jewish reaction; racial theory; organizing mass murder including ghettos, concentration camps, killing squads, and gas chambers; bystanders and collaborators (countries, organizations, and individuals); Jewish resistance; post-Holocaust religious responses; moral and ethical issues.

School:

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

BTI Category:

Judaic Studies

Representations of the Holocaust in Literature and Film

Questions of representation in literature and film about the Holocaust, including testimonial and fictive works by Wiesel and Levi, Ozick, and others; films include documentaries and feature films. Discussions of the Holocaust as historical reality, metaphor, and generative force in literature.

School:

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

BTI Category:

Judaic Studies

Representations of the Holocaust in Literature and Film

Questions of representation in literature and film about the Holocaust, including testimonial and fictive works by Wiesel and Levi, Ozick, and others; films include documentaries and feature films. Discussions of the Holocaust as historical reality, metaphor, and generative force in literature.

School:

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

BTI Category:

Judaic Studies

Maimonides

A study of major aspects of the thought of Maimonides. Primary focus on the Guide of the Perplexed, with attention to its modern reception in works by Baruch Spinoza, Hermann Cohen, Leo Strauss, and others.

School:

Boston University School of Theology

BTI Category:

Judaic Studies

Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period: Old Testament Apocrypha & Pseudepigrapha

An examination of the setting, origin, purpose, and religious outlook of Second Temple Jewish writings usually labeled Old Testament Apocrypha/Pseudoepigrapha, with attention given to the continuity of the Biblical traditions and the background they provide for an understanding of first-century Judaism and the New Testament. 3 credit hours.

School:

Harvard Divinity School

BTI Category:

Islamic Studies

Spiritual Cultivation in Islam Part II: The Modern Era

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.

School:

Hartford International

BTI Category:

Islamic Studies

Muslims in American Religious History

What makes Muslims an American religious minority? How have they shaped American religious history together with other groups? Spanning the period from the late 18th to the early 21st century, this course examines how Muslims have grappled with such quintessential themes of American life as race, freedom, justice, and politics. Each of these themes is examined through comparative lenses, reflecting in particular on African American, Jewish, Catholic and Buddhist experiences.

School:

Hartford International

BTI Category:

Islamic Studies

Quran Recitation/Tajweed

This course is designed for Muslim leaders and chaplains and anyone who is interested in learning and improving their Quranic recitation. Students will gain important knowledge on recitation of the Quran. In this course, the instructor will focus on correct pronunciation of Arabic letters and words with consistent application of tajweed rules.

Class time will be divided between teaching a tajweed lesson and group Tilawah, an exercise during which the teacher reads aloud and the students repeat after the teacher. There will be time for listening to the students’ recitations, as well.

Once each student understands and is comfortable with the application of the tajweed rules, s/he can complete recitation of the entire mushaf at a better and faster pace and more independently, in sha Allah.

This course may be accompanied by the spring semester course AM-551: Quran Recitation/Tajweed II.

School:

Hartford International

BTI Category:

Islamic Studies

Life of the Prophet Muhammad

This course introduces students to the life of Muhammad, the prophet-founder of Islam, and his depiction in both Muslim and non-Muslim sources. After sequentially examining his life, as presented in the early biographical sources, we turn to examine the diverse images and conceptions of him across history, among various Muslim circles (including Sunni, Shi`i and Sufi conceptions) as well as non-Muslims. We will also discuss the Prophet’s teachings, and his roles (legislative, political, etc.). Students will also be introduced to the critical methods used in contemporary academic scholarship to investigate the Prophet’s life.

School:

Hartford International

BTI Category:

Islamic Studies

Life of the Prophet Muhammad

This course introduces students to the life of Muhammad, the prophet-founder of Islam, and his depiction in both Muslim and non-Muslim sources. After sequentially examining his life, as presented in the early biographical sources, we turn to examine the diverse images and conceptions of him across history, among various Muslim circles (including Sunni, Shi`i and Sufi conceptions) as well as non-Muslims. We will also discuss the Prophet’s teachings, and his roles (legislative, political, etc.). Students will also be introduced to the critical methods used in contemporary academic scholarship to investigate the Prophet’s life.

School:

Hartford International

BTI Category:

Islamic Studies

The Literary Legacy of the Islamic World

The course explores a wide variety of literature from the Islamic world from both the classical and modern periods. The course will study primary sources in English translation and the selection of texts cover several literary genres- scriptural, biographical, mystical, belle-lettres, prose and the modern short story. Each week will focus on a particular theme, with one of the readings forming the basis for student led seminar presentations.

School:

Hartford International

BTI Category:

Islamic Studies

The Literary Legacy of the Islamic World

The course explores a wide variety of literature from the Islamic world from both the classical and modern periods. The course will study primary sources in English translation and the selection of texts cover several literary genres- scriptural, biographical, mystical, belle-lettres, prose and the modern short story. Each week will focus on a particular theme, with one of the readings forming the basis for student led seminar presentations.

School:

Hartford International

BTI Category:

Islamic Studies

Intro to Shi'i Islam

This course provides a historical study of the development of Shi?i Islam against the backdrop of key events such the succession crisis and Occultation (Ghayba), and the formation of Shi?i states such as the Buwayhids, Safavids, Qajars and Modern Iran. It will introduce students to various theories and debates regarding the origins of Shi?i Islam through examining primary (in translation) and secondary sources. There will be a specific focus on Shi?i jurisprudence, theology, hadith and Quranic studies, including the Shi?i approach to the textual history of the Qur’an and its alleged distortion (tahrif). The course will also examine contemporary Shi?i communities around the world. By enabling students to develop a systematic understanding of the evolution of Shi?i Islam, the course will serve as a basis for more advanced courses. No previous knowledge of Islam or Arabic is required.

School:

Hartford International

BTI Category:

Islamic Studies

Islamic Spirituality

This course explores the growth of the Islamic spiritual tradition from the earliest days of Islam to the modern period. It aims to help students know the diverse manifestations of this spiritual tradition; to examine the historical contexts in which Muslim spiritual paths, orientations, practices, and communities developed; to discover elements and resonances between Muslim and other spiritual traditions; and to deepen understanding of how spiritual practices relate to Islamic law and theology and help the practitioner develop a more holistic approach to the Islamic way of life.

This course provides essential knowledge and skills in spiritual assessment for those in spiritual/pastoral care and counseling professions.

School:

Hartford International

BTI Category:

Islamic Studies

Prophetic Biography: A Model of Pastoral Care and Praxis

This course is a historical exploration of selected Prophetic biographical literature. Its aim is to understand how the Prophet Muhammad’s embodiment of revelation is a guiding example to a deeper understanding of Muslim pastoral care and praxis. We will engage not only the prophetic biography but also complementary elements of the Qur’an, hadith, jurisprudential literature, theological works, and Sufi devotional texts. This engagement will be through the medium of theological reflection through readings, lectures, small group discussions, and role-playing exercises. Students who take this class will cultivate and nurture their own tools of theological reflection to learn ethics-based spiritual care with Prophet Muhammad as the central exemplar.

School:

Hebrew College

BTI Category:

Judaic Studies

Modern Jewish Thought

This course will explore the writings of major Jewish thinkers living in the modern era and place them in the context of their historical setting. The class will focus on the various ways these thinkers –from Mendelssohn to Buber –understood the dynamic relationship between inherited tradition and modern conceptions of religious life. 

School:

Hebrew College

BTI Category:

Judaic Studies

Core Text--Rabbinics 1: Berakhot 1

Through intensive, guided study of one full chapter of the tractate Berakhot, this first semester inducts first-year Rabbinical students into the discipline of traditional Rabbinical learning. Course work covers essential themes in the field of liturgy while building skills that are necessary for reading, understanding, appreciating, analyzing and participating in Talmudic discourse and for accessing the full range of classical Rabbinical sources. 

School:

Hebrew College

BTI Category:

Judaic Studies

Theories of Halakhah

This course will provide an introduction to theories of halakhah and halakhic literature. We will explore some of the major features of halakhah and the ways in which they’ve been understood and debated by thinkers throughout the centuries. As we gain a more expansive understanding of the development of halakhah and halakhic literature, we will also have the opportunity to consider how the languages of halakhah can be a resource for our individual and communal Jewish practices.