Annual 2026-2027 Class Schedule
| Course # | Course Title | Fall | Winter | Spring |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| REL 101-7-20 | First-Year Writing Seminar: The Incredibly True Adventures of Horse Girls | Taylor | ||
REL 101-7-20 First-Year Writing Seminar: The Incredibly True Adventures of Horse Girls | ||||
| REL 101-8-21 | First-Year Writing Seminar | Orsi | ||
REL 101-8-21 First-Year Writing Seminar | ||||
| REL 101-8-22 | First-Year Writing Seminar | KB Dennis Meade | ||
REL 101-8-22 First-Year Writing Seminar | ||||
| REL 101-8-23 | First-Year Writing Seminar | Hamid | ||
REL 101-8-23 First-Year Writing Seminar | ||||
| REL 170-20 | Introduction to the Study of Religion | Bielo | ||
REL 170-20 Introduction to the Study of Religion(Fall 2026, Professor James Bielo) This course will guide students through a series of case studies that highlight the practical, ethical, and material dimensions of religions around the world. These case studies dramatize how religions are lived with and against the grain of established doctrine, so that students will gain a richer understanding of the ways religious customs have shaped the world around them. The course also serves to introduce students to the basic methods scholars employ to study religion, including history, ethnography, textual analysis, ritual theory, phenomenology, and comparison—tools through which students will formulate their own accounts of religious phenomena. | ||||
| REL 172-20 | Introduction to Religion, Media, and Culture | Taylor | ||
REL 172-20 Introduction to Religion, Media, and Culture(Spring 2027, Professor Sarah Taylor) | ||||
| REL 200-20 | Introduction to Hinduism | McClish | ||
REL 200-20 Introduction to Hinduism(Fall 2026, Professor Mark McClish) | ||||
| REL 210-20 | Introduction to Buddhism | Jacoby | ||
REL 210-20 Introduction to Buddhism(Winter 2027, Professor Sarah Jacoby)
| ||||
| REL 220-20 | Introduction to Hebrew Bible | Wimpfheimer | ||
REL 220-20 Introduction to Hebrew Bible(Spring 2027, Professor Barry Wimpfheimer) | ||||
| REL 230-20 | Introduction to Judaism | Wimpfheimer | ||
REL 230-20 Introduction to JudaismThis course attempts to answer the questions "What is Judaism?" and "Who is a Jew?" by surveying the broad arc of Jewish history, reviewing the practices and beliefs that have defined and continue to define Judaism as a religion, sampling the vast treasure of Jewish literatures, and analyzing the unique social conditions that have made the cultural experience of Jewishness so significant. The class will employ a historical structure to trace the evolutions of Jewish literature, religion, and culture through the ages. | ||||
| REL 250-20 | Introduction to Islam | Hamid | ||
REL 250-20 Introduction to Islam(Fall 2026, Professor Usman Hamid) This course is an introduction to the study of Islam, one of the major religious traditions of world history. It adopts an interdisciplinary framework for understanding Islam as a lived tradition by focusing on the debates and practices that have animated Muslim religious life across time and geography. We will examine religious texts alongside material evidence, historical research, and ethnographic studies. Particular attention will be paid to the ways in which Muslims have engaged with the Qur’an and the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad, the practice of Islamic ritual, piety, and devotion, as the place of Islamic law in everyday life. Through this course, students will develop critical vocabulary necessary for understanding Islamic discourses and practices, as well as facility with the theoretical language in the study of religion. | ||||
| REL 261-20 | Cultivating Environmental Consciousness | McClish | ||
REL 261-20 Cultivating Environmental ConsciousnessThis course is an experimental, constructive, student-led inquiry into the idea of environmental consciousness, a term recently used by philosopher Michael Bonnett to posit an intrinsic relationship between consciousness and nature. He argues that education should be ecologized by aiming to help students develop environmental consciousness as a responsive receptivity to nature. In this course we will explore the idea of environmental consciousness by developing and carrying out nature-based practices meant to help us understand its feasibility as a basis for education. Students will collectively design, undertake, and assess these practices. In doing so we will reflect on our relationship with nature and the environment, the goals of education, conceptions of learning and assessment, the putative distinction between the secular and religious, and the relationship between educational practices and climate catastrophe. | ||||
| REL 262-20 | Introduction to Black Religions: The North American Experience | KB Dennis Meade | ||
REL 262-20 Introduction to Black Religions: The North American Experience(Winter 2027, Professor KB Dennis Meade) This course introduces you to the variety of Black religions that developed during and after the Atlantic slave trade up to the present in what is now the United States. The historical contexts surrounding the development of Black religions and the lived experiences of Black Americans are the main topics of our course. The course orients us to these traditions as continuities/changes of West African religious cosmologies. We explore the impact of the Atlantic slave trade, the role of politics, the construction of racial identities, and most importantly, the diversity of Black Religion in the United States and locally in Chicago. We will examine the interplay between religion, and race within various forms of Christianity, Islam, and American expressive cultures. | ||||
| REL 270-20 | Introduction to Theology | Helmer | ||
REL 270-20 Introduction to Theology(Spring 2027, Professor Christine Helmer) | ||||
| REL 278-20 | Religion and the Arts | Bielo | ||
REL 278-20 Religion and the Arts(Fall 2026, Professor James Bielo) | ||||
| REL 278-22 | Exhibiting Religion | Bielo | ||
REL 278-22 Exhibiting Religion(Winter 2026, Professor James Bielo) In this course students will explore diverse representations of religion in museum settings and other contexts of public display. Student research will include engagement with Chicago area museums, and the opportunity to design their own exhibit. | ||||
| REL 318-20 | Buddhist Literature in Translation | Terrone | ||
REL 318-20 Buddhist Literature in Translation | ||||
| REL 318-22 | Religion and Culture in the People's Republic of China (RLP) | Terrone | ||
REL 318-22 Religion and Culture in the People's Republic of China (RLP)This course will examine the role of religion in post-1980’s China with an emphasis on the political implications of the practice of religion in the People’s Republic of China. Students will read various forms of literature and policy documents to assess the extent to which Marxist theory is central to the interpretation of “religion” in Communist China. Primary sources will include Chinese constitutional articles, white papers, and editorials in English translation. Secondary sources will cover a wide range of interpretations and perspectives on the position of religious institutions and religious practices in the PRC. The first part of this course will investigate the expression of religiosity under Communism in China; the rehabilitation of Confucian values; the constitutional protection of religion and religious belief in China; the relationship between ethnicity and religious policies; the Sinicization of religion; and the administration of the five officially accepted religious traditions in the People’s Republic of China (Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Islam). The second part of the course will focus on the recent cases related to the Muslim Uyghurs of Xinjiang and the Tibetan Buddhists of Western China. The class will explore some of the most controversial issues related to these two ethnic minorities including terrorism, religious violence, nationalism, assimilation, foreign influence, and soft power. The course format will consist of both lectures and discussions, during which students will be encouraged to exercise critical thinking and lead in-class presentations. Students will analyze various types of documents, critically evaluate content and concepts, and endeavor to synthesize the information and communicate it effectively and thoroughly. The course counts towards the Religion, Law, and Politics (RLP) major concentration. | ||||
| REL 339-20 | Jewish Texts as Media (MTJR) | Schwartz | ||
REL 339-20 Jewish Texts as Media (MTJR) | ||||
| REL 339-21 | Reading the Talmud | Wimpfheimer | ||
REL 339-21 Reading the Talmud(Winter 2027, Professor Barry Wimpfheimer) | ||||
| REL 339-22 | *NEW Course" Talmudic Logic | Wimpfheimer | ||
REL 339-22 *NEW Course" Talmudic Logic(Spring 2027, Professor Barry Wimpfheimer) | ||||
| REL 349-20 | Christianity: Theology and Mysticism | Helmer | ||
REL 349-20 Christianity: Theology and Mysticism | ||||
| REL 349-21 | Eastern Christian Missions and Missionaries | Ivanov | ||
REL 349-21 Eastern Christian Missions and Missionaries(Winter 2027, Professor Sergey Ivanov)
| ||||
| REL 349-22 | Christianity, Identity, and Violence: Martyrdom in Antiquity and Beyond | Helmer | ||
REL 349-22 Christianity, Identity, and Violence: Martyrdom in Antiquity and Beyond(Winter 2027, Professor Virginia Burrus)
| ||||
| REL 351-20 | Islamic Law | Ingram | ||
REL 351-20 Islamic Law(Winter 2027, Professor Brannon Ingram) | ||||
| REL 360-20 | Race, Religion, & Digital Humanities | KB Dennis Meade | ||
REL 360-20 Race, Religion, & Digital Humanities(Fall 2026, Professor KB Dennis Meade)
| ||||
| REL 369-20 | What is Christian Nationalism (RLP) | Bielo | ||
REL 369-20 What is Christian Nationalism (RLP)(Spring 2027, James Bielo) | ||||
| REL 371-20 | Religion, Film, TV: The Spirit of Horses (RHM, MTJR) | Taylor | ||
REL 371-20 Religion, Film, TV: The Spirit of Horses (RHM, MTJR)(Fall 2026, Professor Sarah Taylor) | ||||
| REL 379-20 | Religions of the Caribbean (RLP) | KB Dennis Meade | ||
REL 379-20 Religions of the Caribbean (RLP)(Fall 2026, Prof. Dennis Meade) | ||||
| REL 379-21 | Comparative Sacrifice: Belief and Ritual | Elsen | ||
REL 379-21 Comparative Sacrifice: Belief and Ritual(Fall 2026, Sarah Eisen) | ||||
| REL 379-22 | Mediating Religion (MTJR) | Hamid | ||
REL 379-22 Mediating Religion (MTJR)(Winter 2027, Professor Usman Hamid) | ||||
| REL 379-23 | Sacred space in the ancient Mediterranean | Eisen | ||
REL 379-23 Sacred space in the ancient Mediterranean(Spring 2027, Sarah Eisen) Religion permeated every aspect of life in the ancient Mediterranean. Even though it was believed that one could encounter the gods anywhere, some places were more sacred than others, and over time the concept of a sanctuary formed. This course will investigate sacred spaces in the ancient Mediterranean, with a focus on Greece and Rome. We will ask: what made one place more sacred than others? What activities and rituals occurred in a sanctuary? How can we recognize a sanctuary archaeologically, and how were they discussed in ancient literature? By investigating ancient sacred spaces, students will explore the social, political, and economic realities and imaginations of religious spaces as they effected polities, empires, and interconnected cultures. | ||||
| REL 379-24 | Religions in a burning world | Orsi | ||
REL 379-24 Religions in a burning world(Spring 2027, Professor Robert Orsi)
| ||||
| REL 440-20 | Readings in Tibetan literature | Jacoby | ||
REL 440-20 Readings in Tibetan literature(Winter 2027, Professor Sarah Jacoby) This course explores a variety of Tibetan-language genres of writing such as history, poetry, philosophy, doctrine, narrative literature, and more, with attention to their form and content. All course readings are in Tibetan, presuming at least an intermediate ability to read Tibetan. Students will focus on Tibetan-English translation techniques while broadening their knowledge of Tibetan literary genres. Course readings will vary depending on enrolled students' specific areas of interest. | ||||
| REL 471-20 | Graduate Seminar: Embodiment, Materiality, Affect | Molina | ||
REL 471-20 Graduate Seminar: Embodiment, Materiality, Affect(Fall 2025, Professor Michelle Molina) | ||||
| REL 471-22 | Graduate Seminar: US Religious History | Orsi | ||
REL 471-22 Graduate Seminar: US Religious History(Winter 2027, Professor Robert Orsi) | ||||
| REL 471-23 | Graduate Seminar: Queer and Transgender Studies in Religion | Schwartz | ||
REL 471-23 Graduate Seminar: Queer and Transgender Studies in Religion | ||||
| REL 476-20 | Graduate Seminar: Studies in Islam | Hamid | ||
REL 476-20 Graduate Seminar: Studies in Islam | ||||
| REL 481-1 | Graduate Seminar: Contemporary Theories of Religion | Ingram | ||
REL 481-1 Graduate Seminar: Contemporary Theories of Religion | ||||
| REL 482-20 | Graduate Seminar: Feminist Theory and the Study of Religion | Jacoby | ||
REL 482-20 Graduate Seminar: Feminist Theory and the Study of Religion | ||||