Courses for Fall 2023

	Title	Instructors	Description	Cross listings	Fulfills	Registration notes	Syllabus	Syllabus URL
RELS 0008-401	India: Culture and Society	Akhil Puthiyadath Veetil	What makes India INDIA? Religion and Philosophy? Architectural splendor? Kingdoms? Caste? The position of women? This course will introduce students to India by studying a range of social and cultural institutions that have historically assumed to be definitive India. Through primary texts, novels and historical sociological analysis, we will ask how these institutions have been reproduced and transformed, and assess their significance for contemporary Indian society.	HIST0851401, SAST0008401	Cross Cultural Analysis Humanties & Social Science Sector
RELS 0010-401	Introduction to Folklore	Adam Zolkover	The purpose of the course is to introduce you to the subjects of the discipline of Folklore, their occurrence in social life and the scholarly analysis of their use in culture. As a discipline folklore explores the manifestations of expressive forms in both traditional and moderns societies, in small-scale groups where people interact with each face-to-face, and in large-scale, often industrial societies, in which the themes, symbols, and forms that permeate traditional life, occupy new positions, or occur in different occasions in in everyday life. For some of you the distinction between low and high culture, or artistic and popular art will be helpful in placing folklore forms in modern societies. For others, these distinction will not be helpful. In traditional societies, and within social groups that define themselves ethnically, professionally, or culturally, within modern heterogeneous societies, and traditional societies in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia, folklore plays a more prominent role in society, than it appears to plan in literati cultures on the same continents. Consequently the study of folklore and the analysis of its forms are appropriate in traditional as well as modern societies and any society that is in a transitional phase.	COML0010401, NELC0010401	Cross Cultural Analysis Humanties & Social Science Sector
RELS 0020-401	Religions of the West	Reyhan Durmaz	This course surveys the intertwined histories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We will focus on the shared stories which connect these three traditions, and the ways in which communities distinguished themselves in such shared spaces. We will mostly survey literature, but will also address material culture and ritual practice, to seek answers to the following questions: How do myths emerge? What do stories do? What is the relationship between religion and myth-making? What is scripture, and what is its function in creating religious communities? How do communities remember and forget the past? Through which lenses and with which tools do we define "the West"?	JWST0020401	History & Tradition Sector			https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS0020401
RELS 0050-401	Gender, Sexuality, and Religion	Jeremy Steinberg	What does it mean to be a gendered individual in a Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, or Sikh religious tradition? How important are gender differences in deciding social roles, ritual activities, and spiritual vocations? This course tackles these questions, showing how gender - how it is taught, performed, and regulated - is central to understanding religion. In this course we will learn about gendered rituals, social roles, and mythologies in a range of religious traditions. We will also look at the central significance of gender to the field of religious studies generally. The first part of the course will be focused on building a foundation of knowledge about a range of religious traditions and the role of gender in those traditions. This course emphasizes religious traditions outside the West. Although it is beyond the scope of this class to offer comprehensive discussions of any one religious tradition, the aim is to provide entry points into the study of religious traditions through the lens of gender. This course will emphasize both historical perspectives and contemporary contexts. We will also read religion through feminist and queer lenses - we will explore the key characteristics of diverse feminist and queer studies approaches to religion, as well as limits of those approaches.	GSWS0050401	Humanties & Social Science Sector Cross Cultural Analysis			https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS0050401
RELS 0055-401	Introduction to Indian Philosophy	Deven Patel	This course will take the student through the major topics of Indian philosophy by first introducing the fundamental concepts and terms that are necessary for a deeper understanding of themes that pervade the philosophical literature of India -- arguments for and against the existence of God, for example, the ontological status of external objects, the means of valid knowledge, standards of proof, the discourse on the aims of life. The readings will emphasize classical Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophical articulations (from 700 B.C.E to 16th century CE) but we will also supplement our study of these materials with contemporary or relatively recent philosophical writings in modern India.	PHIL1252401, SAST0050401	History & Tradition Sector Cross Cultural Analysis
RELS 0088-303	Penitentiaries to PILOTs: Religion and Institutions in Pennsylvania	Jolyon Thomas	This first-year seminar examines how religion works through institutions such as penitentiaries, residential facilities for Native children, private universities, for-profit corporations, and public schools. Focusing on the State of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia as examples of broader national trends in the US, over the course of the term we investigate the fraught religious history of many local educational and correctional institutions. We consider topics such as the role of religion in prison culture, perceptions of public education as a right and as a duty, federal and supreme court cases related to schoolhouse ritual, the 1985 MOVE bombing and its aftermath, and the public consequences of tax exemption for private mega-nonprofits.		Humanties & Social Science Sector			https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS0088303
RELS 0110-001	Science and Religion		Science and religion are often assumed to be two areas with no zone of overlap. Or they are seen as rivals, destined to make sparks whenever they come into contact. This course explores the interactions of science and religion. It will consider perspectives from science and technology studies on how the nature of "science" has changed over time, the history of science in its dynamic interactions with religion, and contemporary cognitive and evolutionary perspectives on the origins of religion.
RELS 0301-401	Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament	Timothy Hogue	An introduction to the major themes and ideas of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), with attention to the contributions of archaeology and modern Biblical scholarship, including Biblical criticism and the response to it in Judaism and Christianity. All readings are in English.	JWST0303401, NELC0300401	Cross Cultural Analysis Humanties & Social Science Sector			https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS0301401
RELS 0305-401	Great Books of Judaism: Jews Write Their History	Talya Fishman	Since the early medieval period, Jews have been known as "the People of the Book". Yet the books they produced and consumed changed drastically over time and place, spanning a variety of known genres and inventing new ones. These works, in turn, shaped the texts, ideas, and lives of Jews and others for millennia, spawned vast commentary traditions, and inspired new works. This course engages prominent Jewish texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, Rabbinic Literature, the works of major medieval philosophers, pre-modern intellectuals, and modern authors, situating them in their literary, cultural, and social contexts, and examining their later reception.	JWST0305401, NELC0305401	Cross Cultural Analysis Arts & Letters Sector			https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS0305401
RELS 0500-401	East Asian Religions	Ori Tavor	This course will introduce students to the diverse beliefs, ideas, and practices of East Asia's major religious traditions: Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Shinto, Popular Religion, as well as Asian forms of Islam and Christianity. As religious identity in East Asia is often fluid and non-sectarian in nature, there religious traditions will not be investigated in isolation. Instead, the course will adopt a chronological and geographical approach, examining the spread of religious ideas and practices across East Asia and the ensuing results of these encounters. The course will be divided into three units. Unit one will cover the religions of China. We will begin by discussing early Chinese religion and its role in shaping the imperial state before turning to the arrival of Buddhism and its impact in the development of organized Daoism, as well as local religion. In the second unit, we will turn eastward into Korea and Japan. After examining the impact of Confucianism and Buddhism on the religious histories of these two regions, we will proceed to learn about the formation of new schools of Buddhism, as well as the rituals and beliefs associated with Japanese Shinto and Korean Shamanism. The third and final unit will focus on the modern and contemporary periods through an analysis of key themes such as religion and modernity, the global reception and interpretation of East Asian religions, andthe relationship between religion and popular culture. The class will be conducted mainly in the form of a lecture, but some sessions will be partially devoted to a discussion of primary sources in translation. The course assignments are designed to evaluate the development of both of these areas. No previous knowledge of East Asian languages is necessary, and all readings will be available in English on the Canvas site in PDF form.	EALC0500401	Cross Cultural Analysis			https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS0500401
RELS 0504-401	Introduction to the Qur'an	Joseph E Lowry	The goal of this course is to provide students with a general introduction to the holy scripture of the religion of Islam, the Qur'an. In particular, students will become familiar with various aspects of Qur'anic content and style, the significance of the Qur'an in Islamic tradition and religious practice, scholarly debates about the history of its text, and contemporary interpretations of it. Through close readings of a wide range of passages and short research assignments, students will gain first-hand knowledge of the Qur'an's treatment of prophecy, law, the Biblical tradition, and many other topics. No previous background in Islamic studies or Arabic language is required for this course.	NELC0500401	Humanties & Social Science Sector Cross Cultural Analysis			https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS0504401
RELS 0790-401	The Religion of Anime	Jolyon Thomas	Be it shrine maidens, gods of death, and bodhisattvas fighting for justice; apocalypse, the afterlife, and apotheosis... the popular Japanese illustrated media of manga and anime are replete with religious characters and religious ideas. This course uses popular illustrated media as a tool for tracing the long history of how media and religion have been deeply intertwined in Japan.	CIMS0790401, EALC1550401	Cross Cultural Analysis Arts & Letters Sector			https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS0790401
RELS 0790-402	The Religion of Anime	Caitlin Adkins Jolyon Thomas	Be it shrine maidens, gods of death, and bodhisattvas fighting for justice; apocalypse, the afterlife, and apotheosis... the popular Japanese illustrated media of manga and anime are replete with religious characters and religious ideas. This course uses popular illustrated media as a tool for tracing the long history of how media and religion have been deeply intertwined in Japan.	CIMS0790402, EALC1550402	Cross Cultural Analysis Arts & Letters Sector
RELS 0790-403	The Religion of Anime	Joonyoung Lee Jolyon Thomas	Be it shrine maidens, gods of death, and bodhisattvas fighting for justice; apocalypse, the afterlife, and apotheosis... the popular Japanese illustrated media of manga and anime are replete with religious characters and religious ideas. This course uses popular illustrated media as a tool for tracing the long history of how media and religion have been deeply intertwined in Japan.	CIMS0790403, EALC1550403	Cross Cultural Analysis Arts & Letters Sector
RELS 0790-404	The Religion of Anime	Caitlin Adkins Jolyon Thomas	Be it shrine maidens, gods of death, and bodhisattvas fighting for justice; apocalypse, the afterlife, and apotheosis... the popular Japanese illustrated media of manga and anime are replete with religious characters and religious ideas. This course uses popular illustrated media as a tool for tracing the long history of how media and religion have been deeply intertwined in Japan.	CIMS0790404, EALC1550404	Cross Cultural Analysis Arts & Letters Sector
RELS 0790-405	The Religion of Anime	Joonyoung Lee Jolyon Thomas	Be it shrine maidens, gods of death, and bodhisattvas fighting for justice; apocalypse, the afterlife, and apotheosis... the popular Japanese illustrated media of manga and anime are replete with religious characters and religious ideas. This course uses popular illustrated media as a tool for tracing the long history of how media and religion have been deeply intertwined in Japan.	CIMS0790405, EALC1550405	Cross Cultural Analysis Arts & Letters Sector
RELS 0790-406	The Religion of Anime	Claire Poggi Elliot Jolyon Thomas	Be it shrine maidens, gods of death, and bodhisattvas fighting for justice; apocalypse, the afterlife, and apotheosis... the popular Japanese illustrated media of manga and anime are replete with religious characters and religious ideas. This course uses popular illustrated media as a tool for tracing the long history of how media and religion have been deeply intertwined in Japan.	CIMS0790406, EALC1550406	Cross Cultural Analysis Arts & Letters Sector
RELS 0790-407	The Religion of Anime	Claire Poggi Elliot Jolyon Thomas	Be it shrine maidens, gods of death, and bodhisattvas fighting for justice; apocalypse, the afterlife, and apotheosis... the popular Japanese illustrated media of manga and anime are replete with religious characters and religious ideas. This course uses popular illustrated media as a tool for tracing the long history of how media and religion have been deeply intertwined in Japan.	CIMS0790407, EALC1550407	Cross Cultural Analysis Arts & Letters Sector
RELS 1110-001	God and Money	Anthea Butler	The relationship between how people understand god(s) and money has always been a complicated one. Many religions have a relationship to money, whether in offerings, asking for blessings, or to build and create places worship. God and Money explores the relationship between how religions view money, capitalism, and religion, and how movements like the prosperity gospel have expanded and complicated the interplay between religion, money and capitalism around the world.		Cultural Diviserity in the U.S.
RELS 1130-401	How to Read the Bible	Steven Phillip Weitzman	The aim of this course is to explore what the Bible means, and why it means such different things to different people. Why do people find different kinds of meaning in the Bible. Who is right in the struggle over its meaning, and how does one go about deciphering that meaning in the first place? Focusing on the book of Genesis, this seminar seeks to help students answer these questions by introducing some of the many ways in which the Bible has been read over the ages. exploring its meaning as understood by ancient Jews and Christians, modern secular scholars, contemporary fiction writers, feminist activists, philosophers and other kinds of interpreter.	JWST1130401, NELC0365401	Arts & Letters Sector
RELS 1400-401	The Making of Scripture: From Revelation to Canon	Simcha Gross	The Bible as we know it is the product of a lengthy process of development, elaboration, contest, and debate. Rather than a foregone conclusion, the process by which the texts and traditions within the bible, and the status ascribed to them, was turbulent and uncertain. This course examines that process, examining the Bible, traditions and communities from the Second Temple Period - such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and Community - that rewrote, reconsidered, revised, or rejected now well-recognized figures and stories, and constructed distinct ideas of what was considered scripture and how it should be approached. Even as the bible began to resemble the corpus as we now know it, interpretive strategies rendered it entirely different, such as Hellenistic Allegorizers, working from the platonic tradition, rabbinic readers who had an entirely different set of hermeneutics, early Christians, who offered different strategies for reading the "Old" and "New" Testaments alongside one another (and employing categories like "Old" and "New," themselves constituting a new attitude and relationship to and between these texts), and lastly early Muslim readers, who embraced many of the stories in the Bible, altered others, and debated the status of these corpuses under Islam.	JWST1400401, NELC1400401				https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS1400401
RELS 1460-401	Islam in Modern World	Jamal J Elias Rushnae Kabir Shrinidhi Narasimhan	This course key issues facing Muslims in the modern world with an emphasis on gaining an understanding of how Muslims view themselves and the world in which they live. Beginning with a discussion of the impact of colonialism, we will examine Islamic ideas and trends from the late colonial period until the present. Readings include religious, political and literary writings by important Muslim figures and focus on pressing issues in the Islamic world an beyond: the place of religion in modern national politics; the changing status of women; constructions of sexuality (including masculinity); pressing issues in bioethics; Islam, race and immigration in America; the role of violence; and the manifestations of religion in popular culture.	NELC0555401, SAST1460401	Humanties & Social Science Sector Cross Cultural Analysis
RELS 1600-401	Jews and Judaism in Antiquity	Simcha Gross	A broad introduction to the history of Jewish civilization from its Biblical beginnings to the Middle Ages, with the main focus on the formative period of classical rabbinic Judaism and on the symbiotic relationship between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.	HIST1600401, JWST1600401, NELC0350401	Cross Cultural Analysis History & Tradition Sector			https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS1600401
RELS 1730-401	Introduction to Buddhism	Justin Mcdaniel	This course seeks to introduce students to the diversity of doctrines held and practices performed by Buddhists in Asia. By focusing on how specific beliefs and practices are tied to particular locations and particular times, we will be able to explore in detail the religious institutions, artistic, architectural, and musical traditions, textual production and legal and doctrinal developments of Buddhism over time and within its socio-historical context. Religion is never divorced from its place and its time. Furthermore, by geographically and historically grounding the study of these religions we will be able to examine how their individual ethic, cosmological and soteriological systems effect local history, economics, politics, and material culture. We will concentrate first on the person of the Buddha, his many biographies and how he has been followed and worshipped in a variety of ways from Lhasa, Tibet to Phrae, Thailand. From there we touch on the foundational teachings of the Buddha with an eye to how they have evolved and transformed over time. Finally, we focus on the practice of Buddhist ritual, magic and ethics in monasteries and among aly communities in Asia and even in the West. This section will confront the way Buddhists have thought of issues such as "Just-War," Women's Rights and Abortion. While no one quarter course could provide a detailed presentation of the beliefs and practices of Buddhism, my hope is that we will be able to look closely at certain aspects of these religions by focusing on how they are practiced in places like Nara, Japan or Vietnam, Laos.	EALC0501401, SAST1730401	Cross Cultural Analysis
RELS 1730-402	Introduction to Buddhism	Justin Mcdaniel Jay Zhang	This course seeks to introduce students to the diversity of doctrines held and practices performed by Buddhists in Asia. By focusing on how specific beliefs and practices are tied to particular locations and particular times, we will be able to explore in detail the religious institutions, artistic, architectural, and musical traditions, textual production and legal and doctrinal developments of Buddhism over time and within its socio-historical context. Religion is never divorced from its place and its time. Furthermore, by geographically and historically grounding the study of these religions we will be able to examine how their individual ethic, cosmological and soteriological systems effect local history, economics, politics, and material culture. We will concentrate first on the person of the Buddha, his many biographies and how he has been followed and worshipped in a variety of ways from Lhasa, Tibet to Phrae, Thailand. From there we touch on the foundational teachings of the Buddha with an eye to how they have evolved and transformed over time. Finally, we focus on the practice of Buddhist ritual, magic and ethics in monasteries and among aly communities in Asia and even in the West. This section will confront the way Buddhists have thought of issues such as "Just-War," Women's Rights and Abortion. While no one quarter course could provide a detailed presentation of the beliefs and practices of Buddhism, my hope is that we will be able to look closely at certain aspects of these religions by focusing on how they are practiced in places like Nara, Japan or Vietnam, Laos.	EALC0501402, SAST1730402	Cross Cultural Analysis
RELS 1730-403	Introduction to Buddhism	Justin Mcdaniel Jay Zhang	This course seeks to introduce students to the diversity of doctrines held and practices performed by Buddhists in Asia. By focusing on how specific beliefs and practices are tied to particular locations and particular times, we will be able to explore in detail the religious institutions, artistic, architectural, and musical traditions, textual production and legal and doctrinal developments of Buddhism over time and within its socio-historical context. Religion is never divorced from its place and its time. Furthermore, by geographically and historically grounding the study of these religions we will be able to examine how their individual ethic, cosmological and soteriological systems effect local history, economics, politics, and material culture. We will concentrate first on the person of the Buddha, his many biographies and how he has been followed and worshipped in a variety of ways from Lhasa, Tibet to Phrae, Thailand. From there we touch on the foundational teachings of the Buddha with an eye to how they have evolved and transformed over time. Finally, we focus on the practice of Buddhist ritual, magic and ethics in monasteries and among aly communities in Asia and even in the West. This section will confront the way Buddhists have thought of issues such as "Just-War," Women's Rights and Abortion. While no one quarter course could provide a detailed presentation of the beliefs and practices of Buddhism, my hope is that we will be able to look closely at certain aspects of these religions by focusing on how they are practiced in places like Nara, Japan or Vietnam, Laos.	EALC0501403, SAST1730403	Cross Cultural Analysis
RELS 1730-404	Introduction to Buddhism		This course seeks to introduce students to the diversity of doctrines held and practices performed by Buddhists in Asia. By focusing on how specific beliefs and practices are tied to particular locations and particular times, we will be able to explore in detail the religious institutions, artistic, architectural, and musical traditions, textual production and legal and doctrinal developments of Buddhism over time and within its socio-historical context. Religion is never divorced from its place and its time. Furthermore, by geographically and historically grounding the study of these religions we will be able to examine how their individual ethic, cosmological and soteriological systems effect local history, economics, politics, and material culture. We will concentrate first on the person of the Buddha, his many biographies and how he has been followed and worshipped in a variety of ways from Lhasa, Tibet to Phrae, Thailand. From there we touch on the foundational teachings of the Buddha with an eye to how they have evolved and transformed over time. Finally, we focus on the practice of Buddhist ritual, magic and ethics in monasteries and among aly communities in Asia and even in the West. This section will confront the way Buddhists have thought of issues such as "Just-War," Women's Rights and Abortion. While no one quarter course could provide a detailed presentation of the beliefs and practices of Buddhism, my hope is that we will be able to look closely at certain aspects of these religions by focusing on how they are practiced in places like Nara, Japan or Vietnam, Laos.	EALC0501404, SAST1730404	Cross Cultural Analysis
RELS 1730-405	Introduction to Buddhism		This course seeks to introduce students to the diversity of doctrines held and practices performed by Buddhists in Asia. By focusing on how specific beliefs and practices are tied to particular locations and particular times, we will be able to explore in detail the religious institutions, artistic, architectural, and musical traditions, textual production and legal and doctrinal developments of Buddhism over time and within its socio-historical context. Religion is never divorced from its place and its time. Furthermore, by geographically and historically grounding the study of these religions we will be able to examine how their individual ethic, cosmological and soteriological systems effect local history, economics, politics, and material culture. We will concentrate first on the person of the Buddha, his many biographies and how he has been followed and worshipped in a variety of ways from Lhasa, Tibet to Phrae, Thailand. From there we touch on the foundational teachings of the Buddha with an eye to how they have evolved and transformed over time. Finally, we focus on the practice of Buddhist ritual, magic and ethics in monasteries and among aly communities in Asia and even in the West. This section will confront the way Buddhists have thought of issues such as "Just-War," Women's Rights and Abortion. While no one quarter course could provide a detailed presentation of the beliefs and practices of Buddhism, my hope is that we will be able to look closely at certain aspects of these religions by focusing on how they are practiced in places like Nara, Japan or Vietnam, Laos.	EALC0501405, SAST1730405	Cross Cultural Analysis
RELS 1730-406	Introduction to Buddhism	Justin Mcdaniel Kirby Sokolow	This course seeks to introduce students to the diversity of doctrines held and practices performed by Buddhists in Asia. By focusing on how specific beliefs and practices are tied to particular locations and particular times, we will be able to explore in detail the religious institutions, artistic, architectural, and musical traditions, textual production and legal and doctrinal developments of Buddhism over time and within its socio-historical context. Religion is never divorced from its place and its time. Furthermore, by geographically and historically grounding the study of these religions we will be able to examine how their individual ethic, cosmological and soteriological systems effect local history, economics, politics, and material culture. We will concentrate first on the person of the Buddha, his many biographies and how he has been followed and worshipped in a variety of ways from Lhasa, Tibet to Phrae, Thailand. From there we touch on the foundational teachings of the Buddha with an eye to how they have evolved and transformed over time. Finally, we focus on the practice of Buddhist ritual, magic and ethics in monasteries and among aly communities in Asia and even in the West. This section will confront the way Buddhists have thought of issues such as "Just-War," Women's Rights and Abortion. While no one quarter course could provide a detailed presentation of the beliefs and practices of Buddhism, my hope is that we will be able to look closely at certain aspects of these religions by focusing on how they are practiced in places like Nara, Japan or Vietnam, Laos.	EALC0501406, SAST1730406	Cross Cultural Analysis
RELS 1730-407	Introduction to Buddhism	Justin Mcdaniel Kirby Sokolow	This course seeks to introduce students to the diversity of doctrines held and practices performed by Buddhists in Asia. By focusing on how specific beliefs and practices are tied to particular locations and particular times, we will be able to explore in detail the religious institutions, artistic, architectural, and musical traditions, textual production and legal and doctrinal developments of Buddhism over time and within its socio-historical context. Religion is never divorced from its place and its time. Furthermore, by geographically and historically grounding the study of these religions we will be able to examine how their individual ethic, cosmological and soteriological systems effect local history, economics, politics, and material culture. We will concentrate first on the person of the Buddha, his many biographies and how he has been followed and worshipped in a variety of ways from Lhasa, Tibet to Phrae, Thailand. From there we touch on the foundational teachings of the Buddha with an eye to how they have evolved and transformed over time. Finally, we focus on the practice of Buddhist ritual, magic and ethics in monasteries and among aly communities in Asia and even in the West. This section will confront the way Buddhists have thought of issues such as "Just-War," Women's Rights and Abortion. While no one quarter course could provide a detailed presentation of the beliefs and practices of Buddhism, my hope is that we will be able to look closely at certain aspects of these religions by focusing on how they are practiced in places like Nara, Japan or Vietnam, Laos.	EALC0501407, SAST1730407	Cross Cultural Analysis
RELS 2180-401	Media and Culture in Contemporary Iran	Fatemeh Shams Esmaeili	This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the culture and media of modern Iran, with a critical perspective on issues such as identity formation, ethnicity, race, and nation-building. It focuses on how these issues relate to various aspects of modern Iranian culture -- such as religion, gender, sexuality, war, and migration -- through the lens of media, cinema, and literature.	CIMS2705401, GSWS2705401, NELC2705401, NELC6700401
RELS 3100-401	Orthodox America	Reyhan Durmaz	This course surveys the rich history of Orthodox Christian communities in North America from the early 19th century to the present day. Orthodox Christians from the Middle East, eastern Europe, Russia, Ethiopia, India, and elsewhere have immigrated to America for more than two hundred years, and contributed to the American religious, political, legal, literary, and material landscapes. Their stories are, however, rarely incorporated into the often Protestant-centric grand narratives of the history of religion in America. Through the lenses of post-colonial, immigration and diaspora, gender, media, and religious studies, this course surveys the literature, art, material culture, and religious practice of various Orthodox Christian communities, highlighting the multifaceted ways Orthodox Christianity shaped America. The classes will consist of robust study of primary sources and scholarly works (including theoretical, historical, and ethnographic works), critical engagement with representations of Orthodox Christians in mass media, social media, and popular culture, and museum and church visits. The course is offered both at graduate and advanced undergraduate level.					https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS3100401
RELS 3100-402	Orthodox America (SNF Paideia Program Course)	Reyhan Durmaz	This course surveys the rich history of Orthodox Christian communities in North America from the early 19th century to the present day. Orthodox Christians from the Middle East, eastern Europe, Russia, Ethiopia, India, and elsewhere have immigrated to America for more than two hundred years, and contributed to the American religious, political, legal, literary, and material landscapes. Their stories are, however, rarely incorporated into the often Protestant-centric grand narratives of the history of religion in America. Through the lenses of post-colonial, immigration and diaspora, gender, media, and religious studies, this course surveys the literature, art, material culture, and religious practice of various Orthodox Christian communities, highlighting the multifaceted ways Orthodox Christianity shaped America. The classes will consist of robust study of primary sources and scholarly works (including theoretical, historical, and ethnographic works), critical engagement with representations of Orthodox Christians in mass media, social media, and popular culture, and museum and church visits. The course is offered both at graduate and advanced undergraduate level.	RELS6100402				https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS3100402
RELS 3170-401	“Black Spiritual Journeys: Modern African American Religious Memoir”	Vaughn A Booker	This seminar presents African Americans who have created religious and spiritual lives amid the variety of possibilities for religious belonging in the second half of the twentieth century and the early twenty-first century. By engaging an emerging canon of memoirs, we will take seriously the writings of Black spiritual gurus, theologians, hip hop philosophers, religious laity, activists, LGBTQ clergy, religious minorities, and scholars of religion as foundational for considering contemporary religious authority through popular and/or institutional forms of African American religious leadership. Themes of spiritual formation and religious belonging as a process—healing, self-making, writing, growing up, renouncing, dreaming, and liberating—characterize the religious journeys of the African American writers, thinkers, and leaders whose works we will examine. Each weekly session will also incorporate relevant audiovisual religious media, including online exhibits, documentary films, recorded sermons, tv series, performance art, and music.	AFRC3452401				https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS3170401
RELS 3425-401	Gender, Religion, and China	Hsiao-Wen Cheng	This course examines the interrelationship among "gender," "religion," and "China" as conceptual and historical categories. We ask, for example, how gender plays critical and constitutive roles in Chinese religious traditions, how religion can be used both to reinforce and to challenge gender norms, how religious women impact Chinese society and culture, and what the construction of "China" as a cultural identity and as a nation-state has to do with women, gender, and religion. We will also think about what assumptions we have when speaking of gender, religion, and China, and the infinite possibilities when we strive to think beyond. We will read three kinds of materials: (1) scholarship on gender and religion in historical and contemporary China as well as the Chinese-speaking world, (2) scholarship concerning theories and methodology of gender and religious studies not necessarily focused on China, and (3) historical record of religious women in English translation.	EALC3425401, EALC7425401, GSWS3425401, RELS7425401	Cross Cultural Analysis			https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS3425401
RELS 4305-401	Spirit and Law	Talya Fishman	While accepting "the yoke of the commandments", Jewish thinkers from antiquity onward have perennially sought to make the teachings of revelation more meaningful in their own lives. Additional impetus for this quest has come from overtly polemical challenges to the law, such as those leveled by Paul, medieval Aristotelians, Spinoza and Kant. This course explores both the critiques of Jewish Law, and Jewish reflections on the Law's meaning and purpose, by examining a range of primary sources within their intellectual and historical contexts. Texts (in English translation) include selections from Midrash, Talmud, medieval Jewish philosophy and biblical exegesis, kabbalah, Hasidic homilies, Jewish responses to the Enlightenment, and contemporary attempts to re-value and invent Jewish rituals.	JWST4305401, NELC4305401	Cross Cultural Analysis			https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS4305401
RELS 6100-401	Orthodox America	Reyhan Durmaz	This course surveys the rich history of Orthodox Christian communities in North America from the early 19th century to the present day. Orthodox Christians from the Middle East, eastern Europe, Russia, Ethiopia, India, and elsewhere have immigrated to America for more than two hundred years, and contributed to the American religious, political, legal, literary, and material landscapes. Their stories are, however, rarely incorporated into the often Protestant-centric grand narratives of the history of religion in America. Through the lenses of post-colonial, immigration and diaspora, gender, media, and religious studies, this course surveys the literature, art, material culture, and religious practice of various Orthodox Christian communities, highlighting the multifaceted ways Orthodox Christianity shaped America. The classes will consist of robust study of primary sources and scholarly works (including theoretical, historical, and ethnographic works), critical engagement with representations of Orthodox Christians in mass media, social media, and popular culture, and museum and church visits. The course is offered both at graduate and advanced undergraduate level.
RELS 6100-402	Orthodox America	Reyhan Durmaz	This course surveys the rich history of Orthodox Christian communities in North America from the early 19th century to the present day. Orthodox Christians from the Middle East, eastern Europe, Russia, Ethiopia, India, and elsewhere have immigrated to America for more than two hundred years, and contributed to the American religious, political, legal, literary, and material landscapes. Their stories are, however, rarely incorporated into the often Protestant-centric grand narratives of the history of religion in America. Through the lenses of post-colonial, immigration and diaspora, gender, media, and religious studies, this course surveys the literature, art, material culture, and religious practice of various Orthodox Christian communities, highlighting the multifaceted ways Orthodox Christianity shaped America. The classes will consist of robust study of primary sources and scholarly works (including theoretical, historical, and ethnographic works), critical engagement with representations of Orthodox Christians in mass media, social media, and popular culture, and museum and church visits. The course is offered both at graduate and advanced undergraduate level.	RELS3100402				https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS6100402
RELS 6510-401	Approaches to Islamic Law	Joseph E Lowry	This course aims to introduce students to the study of Islamic law, the all-embracing sacred law of Islam. In this course we will attempt to consider many different facets of the historical, doctrinal, institutional and social complexity of Islamic law. In addition, the various approaches that have been taken to the study of these aspects of Islamic law will be analyzed. The focus will be mostly, though not exclusively, on classical Islamic law. Specific topics covered include the beginnings of legal thought in Islam, various areas of Islamic positive law (substantive law), public and private legal institutions, Islamic legal theory, and issues in the contemporary development and application of Islamic law.	LAW7370401, NELC6510401				https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS6510401
RELS 7425-401	Gender, Religion, and China	Hsiao-Wen Cheng	This course examines the interrelationship among "gender," "religion," and "China" as conceptual and historical categories. We ask, for example, how gender plays critical and constitutive roles in Chinese religious traditions, how religion can be used both to reinforce and to challenge gender norms, how religious women impact Chinese society and culture, and what the construction of "China" as a cultural identity and as a nation-state has to do with women, gender, and religion. We will also think about what assumptions we have when speaking of gender, religion, and China, and the infinite possibilities when we strive to think beyond. We will read three kinds of materials: (1) scholarship on gender and religion in historical and contemporary China as well as the Chinese-speaking world, (2) scholarship concerning theories and methodology of gender and religious studies not necessarily focused on China, and (3) historical record of religious women in English translation.	EALC3425401, EALC7425401, GSWS3425401, RELS3425401				https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=RELS7425401