This class looks at the histories, religion, and material culture of Caribbean Jews from the seventeenth to twentieth centuries, and traces their impact on the US Jewish life. Prior to 1825, the largest, wealthiest, and best educated Jewish American communities were in the Caribbean. In the early nineteenth century many Caribbean Jews traveled North and settled in the United States, but the region would once again play a key role between WWI and WWII as a sanctuary for Holocaust refugees. Communities we will cover include Recife, Curaçao, Jamaica, Suriname, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba.

This course examines changes in Americans' understanding of and response to death from the Puritans through the post-modern era, with special attention to how ethnicity impacts traditions and stories surrounding death. We will examine both elegies and gothic literature about the "undead," particularly the grim reaper, skeletons, ghosts, vampires, and zombies. We will study the material culture related to death, including cemeteries and places where the dead are prepared for burial or cremation. The timid should beware, as we will take a field trip to the Princeton cemetery to do iconographic and seriation studies.

How does stone become sacred, or lumber enlivened? Where is the Buddha Body in a decorated sutra? Why were so many ink paintings produced in the name of Zen, which declares images unnecessary? This seminar examines the history of Buddhist art-making and visualization practices from the earliest representations of the Buddha to the curatorial practices of modern museums. We foreground sensorial qualities and modes of making as we investigate the roles of aura, iconicity, and (in)visibility in the lives of efficacious objects. The class includes field trips to collections on campus and beyond to examine original works of art.

The course objective is to equip future leaders to successfully identify and navigate ethical dilemmas in their careers. The course integrates ethical theory and practice with practical tools for values-based leadership and ethics in professional life (e.g., public policy, for-profit and non-profit, business, tech, and other contexts). It also considers the role of religion as a potential resource for ethical formation and decision-making frameworks. The class explores contemporary case studies and includes guest CEOs and thought leaders from different professional spheres and backgrounds.

An introduction to some of the major works of Jewish thought and literature that survive from antiquity until the early modern era. We'll closely read a wide array of primary texts in translation, from the Hebrew Bible to Spinoza, discuss the worlds in which the people who produced them lived, and consider some of the ways in which they add up to an ongoing tradition across time and space - and some of the ways in which they don't. Students with reading knowledge of Hebrew and Aramaic are warmly encouraged to use them, but this is optional; no prior knowledge of Judaism is required.

The choice of a kind of life involves both fundamental commitments and day-to-day decisions. This course is interested in zooming out and zooming in: how should we adopt commitments, and how do we realize them in ordinary life? What is the purpose of life, and how can you fulfill it? Should you live by an overall narrative, or is your life just the sum of what you actually do? Are commitments chosen or given to you? Are the decisions we think of as high stakes important at all? When should you relinquish what you thought were your deepest commitments? What should you do when commitments clash?

In this course, we critically examine some of the core issues in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language and ethics that are elaborated by Buddhist philosophers. The course analyzes core texts of Buddhist philosophy supported by secondary literature. Once we gain an understanding of the views expounded by Buddhist philosophers, we will subject their doctrines to rational scrutiny. The course will also incorporate guided meditations from a range of different Buddhist practices and give you the choice of experimenting and reflecting on your experience as part of your assessment.

A thematic introduction to Chinese religion, ranging from ancient to contemporary. The first half focuses on classics of Chinese philosophy (Book of Changes, Analects of Confucius, Daoist and Buddhist classics, etc.). The second half utilizes journalism, ethnography, films, social media, and author interviews to consider contemporary China, atheism, popular movements, state control of religion, cosmology, gods, saints, divination, gender, and ritual.

This course introduces the Hebrew Bible (Christian "Old Testament"), a complex anthology written by many people over nearly a thousand years. In this class, we will ask questions about the Hebrew Bible's historical context and ancient meaning, as well as its literary profile and early reception. Who wrote the Bible? When and how was it written? What sources did its authors draw on to write these stories? And to what circumstances were they responding? Students will develop the skills to critically analyze written sources, and to understand, contextualize, and critique the assumptions inherent in modern treatments of the Bible.

Western stereotypes often equate Islam with violence. The goal of this course is to dismantle stereotypes and to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of the Islamic ethics of war and peace, in theory and in practice. How have Muslim thinkers, past and present, debated the laws of war? What has warfare meant for ordinary people? What does "jihad" mean? Can a war be just? What have been the results of the so-called "war on terror"? We explore these questions and others through primary sources in translation (including poetry and novels), modern scholarship, and films. An optional trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art is included.

Who was Jesus of Nazareth and how do we know about him? Why did certain interpretations of his message win out over others? How did the small, illicit Christian movement grow to attract numerous followers, reshaping the social, political, sexual, and religious landscape of the Roman Empire and cultures worldwide? To explore these questions, we will study the earliest gospels, letters, Jewish and Roman historical sources, prison writings, martyr narratives, and papyrus documents, as well as scholarly interpretations of these texts. No matter your religious background, you will gain valuable insights and be able to contribute to the discussion.

This course merges research in American religious history with creating an archive using digital and deep mapping practices. It explores the politics of mapping, geography and race before delving into a place-based exploration of American religious communities during the late 19th century. The course asks, how do religious communities develop and construct space, foster and develop from movement? How are these processes influenced by the constructions of power reflected in defining religion, race and geography?

The most penetrating critiques of Christianity have the power to unsettle our sense of self and disrupt our most natural ways of being - for Christians and non-Christians alike. For these critiques don't focus on attacking religious beliefs alone; rather, they target many of the deepest values, attitudes, and tendencies at the core of Christianity and Christian-molded cultures, and perhaps even at the core of our humanity. This course explores some of the key 19th and 20th century critiques of Christianity. It will involve opening ourselves up to the self-reckoning demanded by the likes of Kierkegaard, Emerson, Nietzsche, Baldwin, and Butler.

Most people have heard of Zen Buddhism, but what is it? Who gets to define it? This class looks at Zen in China, Korea, Germany, Japan, Vietnam, and the United States through a range of methods from reading classic texts to studying ethnographic accounts. By considering Zen in different times and places, we explore how a religion is shaped by its political and cultural environs. We examine tensions between romanticized ideals and practices on the ground and grapple with how to study complicated and sometimes troubling traditions. Topics include myths, meditation, mindfulness, monastic life, gender, war, and death.

In this course we will focus on the rich body of Jewish norms and practices, the literature that discusses and prescribes them, and the diverse ways in which Jews have lived them out throughout history. We will highlight the embodied, material, mundane, and habitual aspects of Jewish practice and the ways in which they are enforced. We will also explore the common ground that Jewish norms (halakha) have with Islamic norms (sharia). Our focus on Jewish religiosity will bring us to examine the relationship between practice and belief as well as the very concept of "religion."

This class will concentrate on some of the earliest and most extensive religious and historical texts authored by Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, specifically by the Maya, Mexica (Aztec), Hopi, and Diné (Navajo). This set will allow for a critical and comparative study of Native rhetoric, mythic motifs, notions of space and time, morals, and engagements with non-Native peoples and Christianity.

This course introduces students to the Tantric traditions of premodern India through a close study of the idealized religious careers of Tantric initiates. It uses primary sources (in translation) to reconstruct the milestones, practices, and experiences that defined what it meant to be a member of a Hindu or Buddhist Tantric community. We will consider especially the broader religious context, Tantric initiation, and post-initiatory rituals involving yogic exercises, sexual practices, and violent sorcery. Students will also gain an understanding of the relationship between Hindu and Buddhist forms of Tantric scripture and practice.

The historiography of ancient Mediterranean religion has often been bound with concepts such as the self, individuation, and privatization. These concepts have been used to explain developments in a broad range of areas, including Christian asceticism, Rabbinic Halakhah, literary authorship, the reconfiguration of rituals, and images of the afterlife. The very definition of this period has been tied to how it presented a "new care of the self" or an "interiorization" of religion. This seminar considers the opportunities and challenges these concepts pose by examining scholarship on the period and the evidence it seeks to explain.

This course examines how the modern constructed categories of "race" and "religion" have interacted in American history and culture. We explore how religious beliefs and practices have shaped ideas about race and how American racialization has shaped religious experience. We consider the impact of religion and race on notions of what it means to be American and how these have changed over time. Topics include race and biblical interpretation; religion and racial slavery; religion, race, and science; popular culture representations; race, religion, and politics; and religious resistance to racial hierarchy.

Much of recent Jewish and Christian thought has focused on arguments defending the respective particularity of the Jewish and Christian traditions. With special attention to debates about God's people, the problem of election, the relation between religious and national identities, and the significance of the Apostle Paul, this seminar examines the historical and theological contexts of these arguments as well as their philosophical, ethical, and political implications.

How have scholars in slavery studies interrogated the intersection of religion and slavery? Does the "slaving zones" model rule out the role of race in pre-modern enslavement? How did slaves negotiate their enslaved lives within the religious cultures of their enslavers? How did gender inflect the lives of slaves and the religious discourses of enslavement? We address these questions by reading primary sources in translation, and scholarly studies of slavery in different historical contexts and within different religious traditions. Guest speakers participate.

Presentation and critical discussion of research in progress by participants, dealing with the study of religion in any field within the humanities and social sciences. Note: REL 517 (fall) and REL 517 (spring) constitute this year-long workshop. In order to receive credit, students must take the course both semesters.

A weekly, year-long workshop focused on current student and faculty research in religion and critical thought, designed primarily for graduate students working on dissertations and general examination essays on the philosophy of religion, religious ethics, and the role of religion in politics. Note: REL 518 (fall) and REL 519 (spring) constitute this year-long workshop. In order to receive credit and/or a grade, students must take the course both semesters.

A weekly, year-long workshop focused on the current research of visiting presenters, current students, and faculty in American religious history. Designed primarily for Ph.D. students in the field, but is open as well to undergraduate concentrators with a strong background in the study of American religion and culture. Note: REL 523 (fall) and REL 524 (spring) constitute this year-long workshop. In order to receive credit and/or a grade, students must take the course both semesters.

A weekly, year-long workshop providing students in the Religions of Late Antiquity with the opportunity to present their current research for discussion. Note: REL 525 (fall) and REL 526 (spring) constitute this year-long workshop. In order to receive credit and/or a grade, students must take the course both semesters.

A weekly year-long Religion workshop focusing on the research and writing of graduate students, faculty, and visitors in Islamic Studies. This workshop provides a forum for presentation of works in progress: drafts of dissertation chapters, dissertation proposals, seminar papers, conference papers, articles and book chapters. All Islamic Studies graduate students are encouraged to participate as presenters and as commentators. The workshop fosters collegiality and professional development. Note: REL 529 (fall) and REL 530 (spring) constitute this year-long workshop. Students must take the course both semesters to receive credit/grade.

Close reading of Chinese Buddhist texts surviving among the Dunhuang manuscripts. Introduction to the Dunhuang corpus, paleography, codicology, & research tools. Survey of different genres: canonical sutras & commentaries, indigenous sutras, miracle tales, sectarian literature, ritual handbooks, documents of lay congregations, performance literature (sutra lectures, transformation texts, etc.), temple administration, etc.

This seminar explores the visual and material culture of Japanese Buddhism during the eighth century through close examination of objects and documents with a focus on the Shosoin. We read primary sources and secondary scholarship including inventories, bureaucratic records, official histories, and Buddhist scriptures to show how Buddhism in the Nara capital and provinces was mediated by the production and dissemination of devotional objects. Significant time is spent on translation, as well as research methods necessary for the study of premodern Japanese Buddhism and art. Readings require basic familiarity with classical Chinese or kanbun.

This course introduces Tibetan Buddhist traditions based on sources in translation, emphasizing the historical development of the major lineages and their distinctive practice traditions. Course topics will include Tibetan tantric systems and rituals; Tibetan innovations in and approaches to Buddhist philosophy; Tibet's distinctive approach to religion and politics; Tibetan views of space and locality; Tibetan scholasticism; and the challenges posed by modernity and Chinese rule.

This course serves as a continuation of REL 555: Intro to Coptic Language and Literature. The focus of this term is on building Coptic reading competency. The class focuses on reading a selection of Coptic texts in Sahidic and samples in other dialects and serves as a basic introduction to the generic and literary forms of this corpus. We read texts both in English translation and prepare shorter selections of the Coptic for each session. Students walk away from the course with stronger reading comprehension as well as a knowledge about the theologies, philosophies, and historical contexts of the ancient codices.

This course engages certain major trends, debates, and questions that populate the field of Islamic Studies today, broadly defined. A central objective of this course is to think carefully about ways in which anthropological and other theoretical perspectives currently operative in the field might enrich more textually oriented approaches to the study of Islam, and vice versa. In addition, this course allows students to explore the question of how their particular research projects fit into and intervene in the broader landscape of Religious Studies and Islamic Studies.