top of page

SOCIOLOGY

School

Hartford International

RS-658

The Future of Religion

BTI Category

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

Semester

SP26

Undeniable changes are taking place in the religious landscape of the United States as well as globally. Yet the human desire for religious and spiritual grounding continues, but what forms and practices will address this need into the future? This course explores recent past trends and the present dynamics that are reshaping religion in America, including individuals, organizations, and the religious enterprise itself. Using this research-informed perspective, we will speculate on what the near and distant future(s) could look like. This course, however, will not just be an academic thought experiment, but rather asks students to re-envision ministry and craft possible alternative religious communities of practice that might address these possible future realities with spiritual integrity.

Course fulfills the following curricular requirements:
MAIRS - Interreligious Studies: Elective
MAIRS - Islamic Studies: Elective
MAIRS - Ministerial Studies: Arts of Ministry
MAC - Chaplaincy elective

Professor

Class Day & Time

Thumma

R

7:00 - 8:50 PM

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

3

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

Y

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Boston University School of Theology

STHTR 814

Advanced Qualitative Research

BTI Category

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

Semester

SP26

This course is for students involved or interested in independent qualitative research, including interviews, ethnographic projects, and/or content analysis. It will function much like a workshop, providing extensive guided practice with project conceptualization and design, finding funding, meeting university ethics requirements, gaining access to communities, recruiting participants, managing and storing data, creating coding schemes and using software, integrating mixed types of data to support an argument, balancing "home" and "field," being reflexive, and exercising respect and care for both oneself and one's interlocutors. Relative attention to these issues will depend on the needs and interests of the students.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Young, Luther

R

3:30-6:15pm

Grading Option

Letter or P/F

Credits

3

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3129

Qualitative and Mixed Methods

BTI Category

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

Semester

SP26

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

Bagaria

M

09:00am-11:00am

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3202

The Religious and Ecological Dimensions of Octavia Butler's Parables

BTI Category

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

Semester

SP26

Amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and the rapid progression of climate change, there has been a renewed interest in the works of science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler. Known for her keen insights into ecological degradation, ecofascism, authoritarianism, and urban survival in her 1990s Parable series, Butler has been hailed by scholars and activists as a prophetic voice for our times. Social media platforms have been flooded with hashtags like #OctaviaTriedToTellUs and #OctaviaKnew as people seek to make sense of our global environmental and health crises.If Butler's visionary perspective on today's religious, political, and ecological crises is to be fully appreciated, it is essential to examine it through the lens of Black histories and literary traditions that navigate and shape new worlds. This includes exploring Black religious expressions, particularly African traditional religions, Black Christian traditions, and Black new religious movements—all of which have profoundly influenced both Butler’s personal life and her characters. The course will primarily focus on the Parable series, interviews of Octavia Butler, and secondary articles.This course is limited to 12 students.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Hoskins

R

03:00pm-04:59pm

Grading Option

Letter

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

This course is limited to 12 students.

School

Boston University School of Theology

STHTC 851

Proclamation and the Black Experience

BTI Category

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

Semester

SP26

This course examines the history of norms, socio-cultural contexts, hermeneutics, and theologies that inform proclamation at the intersection of Black lived experiences in North America. Students will engage the preaching of key figures who have shaped the Black preaching tradition, while also attending to non-traditional and emerging voices that expand its boundaries. Alongside the study of Black preaching traditions and other forms of proclamation, the course will provide close readings of sermons, practices, and performances. In doing so, it assists students in developing a critical appreciation of proclamation as an act deeply connected to its contexts, while offering opportunities to explore how key learnings may further shape one’s ministry practices.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Adkins-Jones, Tim

W

2:30-5:15pm

Grading Option

Letter or P/F

Credits

3

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Boston University School of Theology

STHTF 813

Theological Writing Workshop

BTI Category

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

Semester

SP26

This course is a general introduction to the tasks of conducting research in order to write academic theological arguments. The course focuses on honing the skills you already have in order to research more efficiently, and write more precisely.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Menéndez-Antuña, Luis

ARR

Mondays (Feb 2, 9, 16, 23) 5:00-8:30pm

Grading Option

Letter or P/F

Credits

1

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

Y

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 2634

Anthropological and Sociological Perspectives on African Christianities

BTI Category

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

Semester

SP26

This course serves as an introduction to African Christianity, designed for students with little or no prior knowledge of the subject. Through anthropological and sociological lenses, the course explores the diversity and local transformation of Christianity in Africa, from its missionary origins to its contemporary expressions. Students will examine the role of actors and the social, political, and religious processes that shape African Christianity. Key topics include Christian pluralism within Africa's broader religious pluralism, the historical encounter between colonial evangelism and African cultures, and the postcolonial discourse of inculturation. Other topics include African Pentecostalism, Christianity’s relationship with gender, witchcraft, healing, politics, civil society, and the growing influence of African Christianity in the diaspora. Using relevant literature from the past five decades, this course emphasizes how African Christianity interacts with local traditions and global movements, offering a comprehensive overview of the field.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Lado

T

12:00pm-01:59pm

Grading Option

Letter

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3134

Theories and Methods in the Study of Black Religions

BTI Category

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

Semester

SP26

This graduate seminar course will expose students to foundational theoretical and methodological debates in the academic study of Black religions across the African diaspora in the afterlives of slavery and colonization. We will read canonical works and study the interventions and contributions of pivotal thinkers in the field (Du Bois, Hurston, Herskovits, Frazier, Cone, Long, Williams, etc.) while also examining their legacies and continued influence upon both Religious Studies and Black Studies, respectively. In addition to familiarizing students with a variety of approaches to studying the varied manifestations and articulations of Black religions (as phenomena, traditions, cultural practices, and aesthetics), the course examines the construction of the category of "Black religions," ethical and political issues involved in the study of Black religions, and discourses and topics (slavery, African retentions, gender, sexuality, colonialism, etc.) profoundly affecting our changing understanding of Black religions in the contemporary period and reshaping our understandings of the field's intellectual history.Note: Course is by application to the instructor. Please provide a short paragraph answering the following: What is your year and course of study? Why do you want to take this course? What are your research experiences with regard to the study of Black religions?

Professor

Class Day & Time

Greene-Hayes

T

12:00pm-01:59pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

Y

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

Note: Course is by application to the instructor. Please provide a short paragraph answering the following: What is your year and course of study? Why do you want to take this course? What are your research experiences with regard to the study of Black religions?

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3208

Christianity and Modern China

BTI Category

Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods

Semester

SP26

This course is a search for historical understanding of how the rise of Christianity helped shape modern China and how, at the same time, the country’s modern upheavals left their imprint on Chinese Christianity. It explores ways in which the spread of Christianity facilitated momentous social changes—from the introduction of modern education, medicine, and journalism to the rise of women and the pioneering struggles for individual freedom and civil liberties. It also examines how China’s tortuous journey out of its dynastic past and its troubled encounters with modernity fashioned a Christian tradition characterized in turn by popular messianic exuberance and by prophetic political and cultural strivings.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Lian

T

03:00pm-04:59pm

Grading Option

Letter

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

bottom of page