May be repeated with change in topic.

May be repeated with change in topic.

May be repeated with change in topic.

May be repeated with change in topic.

A historical and thematic introduction to the Christian thought and practice. The survey begins with the Jesus movement and continues through the current growth of Christianity in the southern hemisphere, particularly sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Literary genres, gender issues, political co...

A broad survey of role and function of religion and religious activity in Native American communities. The course takes a broad, multi-disciplinary approach and focuses on religious agency in Native American communities, both past and present. (H) (R)

A survey of the history, practices and beliefs of Islam from Muhammad’s era to the modern. It investigates special themes such as mysticism, gender and politics with attention to diverse cultural contexts. (H) (R)

A survey of the development of Judaism from its roots in ancient Israelite religion, its emergence in the Second Temple period and in early rabbinic thought, and its contemporary practices. The course balances historical narrative with detailed examination of important topics such as rabbinic interp...

A historical and thematic introduction to the religious ideas and practices that developed primarily on the Indian subcontinent. The course surveys central religious concepts and myths in classical texts and popular traditions; the interaction with Buddhism, Jainism, Islam and Sikhism; gender issues...

A historical and thematic introduction to the central ideas and practices of Buddhism. The course begins with the historical Buddha and early developments in India, Sri Lanka and Tibet, then surveys the spread of Buddhism to China and Japan and the interaction with Confucian, Daoist and Shinto tradi...

Lectures and readings on subjects of special interest. May be repeated with change in topic.

Lectures and readings on subjects of special interest. May be repeated with change in topic.

Lectures and readings on subjects of special interest. May be repeated with change in topic.

Lectures and readings on subjects of special interest. May be repeated with change in topic.

An exploration of some of the theories and methods used in contemporary secular studies of religion. Reviews various scholars who, in the past century, have sought to analyze the phenomenon of religion apart from theology through the use of history, literary studies, feminist studies, psychology, so...

A cross-cultural study of the ways women’s voices have been heard and silenced, of the ways that their lives have been influential (as well as violently ended) and of the vital roles women have played in various religious traditions. The course also investigates ways in which female divinity has b...

An environmental/ecofeminist investigation of the construction of “nature” and the “non-human” in the world’s religions, particularly addressing the problematic and destructive impact of religious-based anthropocentrism. The course examines whether religions encouraged human culture in its...

A cross-cultural study of the ways other-than-human animals are included in and influence several different religious traditions. The course also examines contemporary issues such as factory farming and biomedical experimentation. Ecofeminist and environmental theories and methods inform the course....

From Native American narratives to new immigrant stories, this course explores American religions through diverse protagonists and perspectives.  We will consider the development of the novel within the American context and consider the role of novels in maintaining dominant religious systems and, ...

A feminist, cross-cultural examination of notions of the embodied human self in various religious traditions, focusing on sexuality and sexual desire. The course will explore how the body is conceptualized; moral proscriptions regarding the body and what they reveal about religion and culture; self-...

This course looks at the ways in which groups of peoples (the focus will be primarily on Native Americans) have shaped their spiritual identities and communities around important places within the landscape, defining themselves against these places in nature and being defined by them at the same tim...

Examines activities and undertakings that, at first glance, may not seem to be particularly “religious,” but, when contextualized, actually turn out to be strongly ritualized, ceremonial activities. Students see a few of the wide variety of ways in which Native Americans, both past and present, ...

S. This course looks at the study of ethnic religious traditions in the United States - religions associated with specific ethnic groups. Students will examine religious systems such as Santeria, Rastafarians and the Cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe, among others. The goal of the course is not only ...

This course is no joke. Humor and play are topics that have captivated ancient philosophers, post-structuralists, sociologists of religion, liberation theologians, and others.  In this course, we will consider theories of humor and examine religious “play” in medieval Christianity, post-Holocau...

See Classics 07-204 and English 10-204. (H) (R) (IP) (WA)

See Philosophy 18-224. (H) (R)

See History 16-244. (H) (IP) (R)

See History 16-514. (H)

See History 16-674. (H)

Study of a selected aspect or topic related to the indigenous peoples and cultures of North America. Significant primary documents/materials are analyzed. The course includes an intensive writing component requiring analysis and in-depth research, as well as some original research on the part of the...

Study of a selected aspect of or a topic related to the Christian tradition. Significant primary documents/materials are analyzed. The course includes an intensive writing component requiring analysis and in-depth research, as well as some original research on the part of students (primary document ...

Study of a selected aspect of or topic related to the Jewish tradition. Significant primary documents/materials are analyzed. The course includes an intensive writing component requiring analysis and in-depth research, as well as some original research on the part of students (primary document analy...

Study of a selected aspect of or a topic related to Buddhism. Significant primary documents/materials are analyzed. The course includes an intensive writing component requiring analysis and in-depth research, as well as some original research on the part of students (primary document analysis). Cour...

Study of a selected aspect of or a topic related to Hinduism. Significant primary documents/materials are analyzed. The course includes an intensive writing component requiring analysis and in-depth research, as well as some original research on the part of students (primary document analysis). Cour...

A critical investigation of an important subject or issue in religion: religion and violence, religion and media, religious authority, religion and politics, etc. May be comparative or may focus on one tradition. This course may be repeated when topic varies. (H) (R)

Intended primarily for majors in religion but open to other students with the permission of the instructor. (R) (WA)

Must be taken Pass/D/F.

Must be taken Pass/D/F.

Must be taken Pass/D/F.

Must be taken Pass/D/F.

Reading selected to round out the student’s acquaintance with the field of religion or special areas of interest. May be repeated with changed content.

Reading selected to round out the student’s acquaintance with the field of religion or special areas of interest. May be repeated with changed content.

Reading selected to round out the student’s acquaintance with the field of religion or special areas of interest. May be repeated with changed content.

Reading selected to round out the student’s acquaintance with the field of religion or special areas of interest. May be repeated with changed content.

By invitation only.

May be repeated with change in topic.

May be repeated with change in topic.

May be repeated with change in topic.

May be repeated with change in topic.

An examination of topics at the intersection of philosophy and politics, including historical and contemporary philosophical defenses and critiques of social and political orders, and analysis of political and social theories and concepts. (H)

A historically informed investigation of key metaphysical, epistemological, or political issues in philosophy by means of selected texts in the history of philosophy. Emphasis will be placed on the connections between different aspects or spheres of philosophical thinking, as well as the connections...

An examination of some of the principal philosophical problems involved in the practices of religion. Attention will center on the nature and practice of religious knowledge in relation to other ways of knowing, and on religious language and the role of religious narratives as central to understandi...

A survey of value questions arising in conjunction with and portrayed by communications media. Topics may include the discourse practices and influence of the various media upon cultural identity and self-understanding; value assumptions in news selection and programming, advertising and entertainme...

An introduction and survey of contemporary race theory, with emphases on intersections with gender, class, nationalism and imperialism. Specific focus on the ways race has been constructed as a category of identity across various cultures, academic disciplines and historical periods. Also Feminist S...

A philosophical exploration of modern science—its history, aims, methods, conceptual underpinnings and social and cultural implications. (H)

An introduction to issues surrounding moral deliberation, commitment and choice. Attention will be given to historical ethical theories, to their implications for moral discourse and decision, and to related issues such as personal identity, justice, human freedom and the intersection of moral/ethic...

An introduction to the complex history of Latin American philosophy, including European and indigenous traditions of thought as well as their hybrids. Key issues will be the interpretation and criticism of notions of history and progress, race and ethnicity, colonialism and knowledge production, the...

See Environmental Studies 49-294. (H)

Lectures and readings on subjects of special interest. Subjects to be announced. May be repeated with change in topic. (H)

Lectures and readings on subjects of special interest. Subjects to be announced. May be repeated with change in topic. (H)

Lectures and readings on subjects of special interest. Subjects to be announced. May be repeated with change in topic. (H)

Lectures and readings on subjects of special interest. Subjects to be announced. May be repeated with change in topic. (H)

An introduction to the philosophical discourses of the 18th and 19th centuries that attempted to comprehend and grapple with the historical emergence of art-making and art-experience as an apparently unique and autonomous domain of human understanding, value and practice. Various 20th-century effort...

This course traces the history and development of feminist ethics while considering its central issues and overall project. Areas of concentration might include discussions of human right and social justice, transnational perspective in ethical theories and biomedical ethics. Also Feminist Studies 0...

An historically informed introduction to key texts in feminist theory. Our approach to the issues and debates will be interdisciplinary and readings will be drawn from a range of disciplines such as philosophy, anthropology, sociology, psychoanalysis, cultural studies. Also Feminist Studies 04-214. ...

A sustained and deeper examination of specific figures or themes in the history or the contemporary practice of political philosophy. Prerequisite: Philosophy 18-204 or Political Science 32-234. (H)

An examination of the reciprocity between philosophy and literature. The study of both philosophy as articulating issues and problems presented in the themes and aesthetic character of literary works, and literature as exposing themes (i.e. epistemological, metaphysical and ethical themes) that dema...

An exploration of the emergence of this modern concept—the self—and its psychological, anthropological, political and epistemological contours. Readings may be drawn from a variety of disciplines. Prerequisite: One course in Also Feminist Studies 04-364. Philosophy or Feminist Studies 04-104. (H...

This course will consider both the advent of the concept of class as a key to social analysis, as well as its apparent decline as a meaningful term. The guiding consideration for the course will be the extent to which class distinctions and structures remain central to the analysis and understanding...

Metaphysics is the area of philosophy that traditionally addresses pivotal questions concerning both nature and what, if anything, may lie beyond it: being and becoming, space and time, chaos and order, and the number and structures of realities. This course addresses some of the many metaphysical s...

An examination of the many ways in which philosophers have addressed the questions of language and knowledge. Central topics may include: the nature and limits of language; the kinds and limits of knowledge; the “linguistic turn” in 20th-century philosophy and its aftereffects; translation and i...

A continuation and deeper examination of specific aspects of the history of aesthetics and/or of contemporary art and art theory. Possible topics include theories and practices of contemporary art; film theory; or the relation between art and social movements. Prerequisite: Philosophy 18-364. (H)

A continuation and deeper examination of the history of Latin American philosophy with a particular focus on political philosophy and the relation of these philosophies to other contemporary philosophical movements. Prerequisite: Philosophy 18-284 or 18-204, or History 16-334. (H)

A sustained and deeper examination of the crucial texts and topics of feminist theory with a special emphasis on the debates and dialogues between Anglo-American and European approaches. The course will critically engage feminist methodologies and will analyze the production of feminist political d...

A guided effort to focus and improve advanced students’ capacities for engaged, thoughtful, critical and independent reading of philosophical forms of argumentation and analysis. Writing assignments and discussions will be focused on the detailed articulation and understanding of one or two import...

A survey of Greek philosophy from its inception through Neo-Platonism, emphasizing the unique expositional practices employed by the early Greek thinkers to express philosophical thought and questioning concerning epistemology, metaphysics and ethics explored through a selection of primary texts. Al...

An inquiry into some of the principal texts, issues and debates in European philosophy from the 16th to the 18th century, including thinkers such as Montaigne, Galileo, Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Hume and Kant. Topics will range across the emergence of modern science, the rise of ep...

An inquiry into the most influential philosophical movements of 19th-century Europe, including such authors as Hegel, Marx and Nietzsche. Topics will range across idealism, historicism, materialism, the limits of reason and the emergence of language as a philosophical problem. Prerequisite: One cour...

A study of the diverse fields and movements of the 20th century with an emphasis on Continental philosophy and intersections with philosophy beyond the western tradition. Topics may focus upon the role of language in philosophical inquiry, phenomenology, feminist theory, social and political philoso...

An engagement with some alternative model or models for constructing or narrating the history of philosophy, distinct from (or even opposed to) a sequential approach. These may include the study of themes, questions or problematics across different periods of western philosophy, engagements with the...

Advanced seminar. Investigation of a specific figure, period or movement in the history of philosophy—content will vary from year to year. May be repeated with change in topic. This course is intended for students who have taken 600-level courses in Philosophy or relevant upper-level courses in di...

Advanced seminar. A critical survey of some major area of contemporary philosophical concern—epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, etc. May be repeated with change in topic. This course is intended for students who have taken 600-level courses in Philosophy or rele...

Required of majors in Philosophy, normally in their final year. Offered every fall. Prerequisite: Philosophy 18-602. (H) (WA)

Must be taken Pass/D/F.

Must be taken Pass/D/F.

Must be taken Pass/D/F.

Must be taken Pass/D/F.

Readings selected to broaden the student’s acquaintance with areas of philosophy or topics of special interest. May be repeated with changed content.

Readings selected to broaden the student’s acquaintance with areas of philosophy or topics of special interest. May be repeated with changed content.

Readings selected to broaden the student’s acquaintance with areas of philosophy or topics of special interest. May be repeated with changed content.

Readings selected to broaden the student’s acquaintance with areas of philosophy or topics of special interest. May be repeated with changed content.

By invitation only.