Courses in Religion taught by Mishael Caspi
200. Women's Journey: Still Waters
Run Deep
Women in Biblical literature, post-Biblical
literature, and in the oral literature of the Middle
East are not silent bystanders. They actively define
the world around them and pursue their own
relationship with the divine, their environment, and
the search for perfection.
Open to first-year students.
This course is the same as Women's Studies 200.
210. The Binding of Isaac:
Three Traditions
The story of Abraham and Isaac is a paradigmatic story
of faith in three traditions. In the Biblical
narrative, Isaac does not speak upon the altar, nor
does he cry out (Jesus, Ishmael). Is it possible that
he would not say a word? Still, he became the focus
of a dialogic connection between God and the
individual. As a reborn object of the
transformative sacrifice, he became the crux (Jesus,
the second Isaac) around which the world unfolded.
Open to first-year students.
258. Judaism in the Modern World
This course explores issues and thinkers in modern
Judaism. Topics vary from year to year, and may
include one or more of the following: twentieth
century European and American Jewish experience,
the varieties of modern Judaism, religion
and politics in contemporary Jewish thought, gender
issues in Judaism, inter-religious relations with
Islam or Christianity.
Open to first-year students.
264. The Islamic Tradition
An introduction to the history and the classical
forms of Islam with special attention to the Shi'ah
and the Sunnis. In addition to introducing the
Quran, the course explores basic teachings of Islam
in their historical and social contexts, and cover
such subjects as the life and teachings
of the Prophet, the Khalifahs and the expansion of
Islam, Islamic theology and law; Islamic worship
and ritual, and Islamic mysticism.
Open to first-year students.