Resources

A 2011 course by Ken Brashier at Reed College analyzes Chinese religious traditions (Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhism) "as an “idea system” highlights not only the main components of a religion but also how they interrelate with one another."

A 2001 course by Timothy Lubin at Washington and Lee University is an "exploration of temples in Hinduism, their forms and place in the lives of Hindus" with a focus on iconography, worship, and role in culture, religious education, and politics.

A 2012 course by Joel Kaminsky at Smith College "explores major Jewish texts, ideas and practices over a period of more than 3,000 years."

A 2008 course by John Reeves at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte treats issues "in the study of early Judaism as construed chronologically from the beginning of the Second Temple to the Arab conquest of Syria-Palestine."

A 2013 course by Lewis Brogdan at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary "is a survey course designed (a) to introduce students to the basic matters of New Testament studies and (b) to lay a foundation for all advanced work in the area. With regard to each book of the New Testament, we will, as possible, think about the literary shape, social context, and theological concerns of the writing."

A 2006 course by Joanne Pierce at College of the Holy Cross offers "an examination of the historical and theological development of the ideals and practices of Christian life, from the High Middle Ages to the Early Modern era. . . . Special attention will be paid to the following themes: gendered perceptions of sanctity and sin; community and solitude; poverty and riches; feasting and fasting as religious and cultural activity."

A 2000 course by John Hawley and Courtney Bender at Columbia University aims "through readings and projects already structured into this syllabus and through sustained exposure to projects of students own devising, to learn something of the complex texture of religious life in New York City."

A 2007 course by Catherine Wessinger at Loyola University New Orleans explores "religious responses to disaster in the context of diverse faiths, with special attention paid to the 2005 Katrina and Rita disaster in New Orleans."

A 2010 course by Kenneth Atkinson at the University of Northern Iowa introduces "the academic study of religion and the world’s major religions. . . . not only study the good side of religion, but we will also explore together the origins of contemporary religious violence in order to help you understand the important role that faith continues to play in world conflicts."