Fall 2026 Courses
Religious Dimensions of Human Experience
RLST 1620 - 010 | 3.0
Aun Hasan Ali, MW 1:25pm-2:15pm, Miramontes Baca Education Bldg 157
Surveys different approaches to the study of religion. Students will grow familiar with key thinkers, texts, and movements that shape how we understand religious phenomena. Students will also examine critiques of how religion is studied. In the end, students will have gained insight into significant aspects of religious life, belief, and practice that will empower them to navigate a world in which religion is increasingly relevant.
A&S Core: Ideals and Values
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
CMCI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Lower
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Jewish History to 1492
RLST/JWST/HIST1818-001| 3.0
Jamie Meyers,TTH 2:00–3:15,HUMN 250
Focuses on Jewish history from the Biblical period to the Spanish Expulsion in 1492. Studies the origins of a group of people who call themselves, and whom others call, Jews. Focuses on place, movement, power/powerlessness, gender, and the question of how to define Jews over time and place. Introduces Jews as a group of people bound together by a particular set of laws; looks at their dispersion and diversity; explores Jews' interactions with surrounding cultures and societies; introduces the basic library of Jews; sees how Jews relate to political power.
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
CMCI Core: Diversity & Global Cult-NonCMCI
CMCI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Lower
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Music General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Global History of Holocaust and Genocide
RLST/JWST/HIST1830-001| 3.0
Thomas Pegelow Kaplan,TTH 11:00–12:15,Clare Small Arts and Sciences 207
Examines the interplay of politics, culture, psychology and sociology to try to understand why the great philosopher Isaiah Berlin called the 20th century, "The most terrible century in Western history." Our focus will be on the Holocaust as the event that defined the concept of genocide, but we will locate this event that has come to define the 20th century within ideas such as racism, imperialism, violence, and most important, the dehumanization of individuals in the modern world.
A&S Core: Historical Context
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
CMCI Core: Diversity & Global Cult-NonCMCI
CMCI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Lower
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Music General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
RLST/JWST 1900-001 | 3.0
Samuel Boyd,MWF 11:15-12:05,HUMN 1B80
Examines the content of the Hebrew Bible and critical theories regarding its development. Explores the development of these texts, as well as their foundational role for rabbinic literature and the New Testament. Assesses the enduring influence of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in world literature and culture (such as in art and music).
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
CMCI Core: Diversity & Global Cult-NonCMCI
CMCI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Lower
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Music General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Islam
RLST 2202-001 | 3.0
Aun Hasan Ali,MWF10:10-11:00,Miramontes Baca Education Bldg 157
Introduces students to foundational Islamic concepts, texts, core practices, historical narratives and intellectual, spiritual and literary traditions. Topics covered include: the figure of Muhammad; the Quran; the emergence of distinct Muslim identities; Hadith; Sharia; Islamic theology; Islamic philosophy; science in Islamic civilization; Islamic mysticism; the impact of colonialism and modernity on the Muslim world; gender and sexuality; and political Islam.
A&S Core: Ideals & Values
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity-U.S. Perspective
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Business General Education: Diversity-U.S. Perspective
CMCI Core: Diversity & Global Cult-NonCMCI
CMCI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Education General Education: Diversity-U.S. Perspective
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Lower
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Music General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Music General Education: Diversity-US Perspective
The Muslim World, 600–1250
RLST/ARAB 2320-001 | 3.0
Brian Catlos, TTH 9:30–10:45, HUMN 1B80
Focusing on the history of the Muslim World in the age of the caliphates (650-ca1200 CE), this course takes an interdisciplinary, comparative approach to the development, tracing the evolution of Islamic religion, society and culture from the era of pre-Islamic Arabia through the “Golden Age of Islam.”
A&S Core: Human Diversity
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity–Global Perspective
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Abrahamic Religions
RLST/JWST 2600-001 | 3.0
Samuel Boyd,MWF 12:20–1:10,HUMN 135
In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Abraham is described as a founding figure. In recent times, the label “Abrahamic Religions” has become increasingly important both as a way to describe the origins and beliefs of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and as a means for finding common ground in political and religious discourse. Yet in each religion Abraham is also used in strikingly different ways and for distinct purposes. In this course, we will look at these three religious traditions and how each one imagines Abraham. In particular, the focus will be on how each religion uses Abraham to construct foundational stories of a special relationship to God, stories that ultimately serve to promote religious identity over time.
Asia Content
A&S Core: Ideals & Values
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
CMCI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Lower
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Arts & Hum: Ways of Thinking
Yoga: Ancient and Modern
RLST 2612-001 | 3.0
Loriliai Biernacki,TTH 2:00–3:15,HUMN 150
Addresses the history and philosophy of yoga, beginning from its earliest articulations in Vedic India 1200 BCE up to contemporary understandings of yoga. Examines yoga's historical evolution from a primarily mental practice to a bodily centered practice. Looks at the shifts yoga undergoes as it becomes popular in the modern West.
A&S Core: Human Diversity
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
CMCI Core: Diversity & Global Cult-NonCMCI
CMCI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Lower
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Music General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Paganism to Christianity
RLST 2614 / CLAS 2610-001 | 3.0
Celene Lillie,MWF 11:15-12:05,HUMN 1B90
Offers a cultural history of Greek and Roman religion. Students read ancient texts in translation and use evidence from archaeology to reconstruct the shift from paganism to Christianity in antiquity. No Greek or Latin required.
A&S Core: Ideals & Values
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
CMCI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Lower
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Religion, Psychedelics, and Shamanism
RLST 2619-001 | 3.0
Loriliai Biernacki,TTH 12:30–1:45,Hellems Arts & Sciences Bldg E1B05
From ancient India’s tradition of using the hallucinogenic plant Soma to Patañjali’s early yoga tradition proposing herbs (oṣadhi) as a means to enlightenment to 21st century mestizo shamans in Peru offering ayahuasca medicine retreats—the use of mind-altering hallucinogenic substances has played an expansive role in the generation of religious and mystical experience and the subsequent structure of religious praxis. This class focuses on tracing out the religious elements of this history.
Women and Religion
RLST/WGST 2800-001| 3.0
Celene Lillie,MWF10:10-11:00,HUMN 135
What is a woman? What is religion? How does the answer to one inform the answer to the other? In this course, we will explore a range of literature from ancient Greek and Roman mythology to first and second century Jewish and Christian writings alongside contemporary readings from Buddhist, Muslim, Indigenous, and Christian traditions. To frame these explorations, we will engage theories of gender and religion, particularly the ways in which they intersect with race, class, and violence.
A&S Core: Human Diversity
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity-U.S. Perspective
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Diversity-U.S. Perspective
CMCI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Education General Education: Diversity-U.S. Perspective
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Lower
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Music General Education: Diversity-US Perspective
Arts & Hum: Lit & Humanities
Christian Traditions
RLST 3000-001 | 3.0
Brian Catlos,TTH 11:00 - 12:15,Engineering Center ECCR 1B55
Serves as an introduction to the academic study of Christianity, understood in its historical context, beginning with its most remote Mesopotamian origins and through to beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. Coverage is global, but "Western" Christian tradition are emphasized, as is the evolution of doctrine, ritual and institutions in relation to social, cultural and political factors.
- Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
- Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
- CMDI Core: Humanitites and the Arts
- Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
- Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
- Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Upper
- Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
- A&S Core: Historical Context
Judaism
RLST/JWST 3100-001 | 3.0
Elias Sacks, TTH 12:30–1:45, HUMN 1B90
What is Judaism? What beliefs and practices have been associated with this tradition, and how have these ideas and customs developed over time? Is there such a thing asJudaism, or should we speak instead of variousJudaisms? This course will explore such questions, surveying Jewish belief, practice, and literature from the biblical period to the present day. We will encounter diverse voices and explore the changing contexts in which these voices have emerged, paying special attention to the relationship between the beliefs that Jews have held and the rituals that Jews have performed. We will consider specific topics such as forms of worship associated with Jewish life; Jewish views on religious diversity, race and Judaism in the contemporary United States; and attempts to reimagine inherited beliefs in light of developments such as the Holocaust. Exploring these topics will also lead us to reflect more broadly on the nature of religion.
Asia Content
A&S Core: Historical Context
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
CMCI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Upper
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Women, Gender, Sexuality in Jewish Texts and Traditions
RLST/HEBR 3202/WGST 3201-001 | 3.0
Celene Lillie, Ѱ¹12:20–1:10, HUMN 125
Reads some of the ways Jewish texts and traditions look at women, gender and sexuality from biblical times to the present. Starts with an analysis of the positioning of the body, matter and gender in creation stories, moves on to the gendered aspects of tales of rescue and sacrifice, biblical tales of sexual subversion and power, taboo-breaking and ethnos building, to rabbinic attitudes towards women, sexuality and gender and contemporary renderings and rereadings of the earlier texts and traditions.
A&S Core: Human Diversity
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
CMCI Core: Diversity & Global Cult-NonCMCI
CMCI Core: Humanitites and the Arts
Education General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Upper
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Music General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Foundations of Buddhism
RLST 3300-001| 3.0
Dan Hirshberg TTH2:00 - 3:15, HUMN 1B80
This course provides an introduction to Buddhist thought and practice in the variety of its historical and cultural contexts. We begin with the story of the Buddha, his teachings, and the early Buddhist community in India. We then trace the expansion of the Theravada to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia with a focus on the role of images and relics in Buddhist ritual and kingship. Next, we consider the rise of Mahayana in India including the bodhisattva ideal, key doctrinal concepts of emptiness and buddha nature, the cosmology of buddha lands, and the Buddhist path in Mahayana contexts.
Asia Content
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
CMCI Core: Humanitites and the Arts
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Upper
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Women in Buddhism
RLST/WGST 3750-001| 3.0
Holly Gayley, TTh 11am-12:15pm, HUMN 1B90
Explores diverse representations of the female in Buddhist literature and the social realities of actual women in Asian historical contexts. Through case studies that traverse Buddhist Asia, we delve into monastic views of the female body, philosophical analyses of the emptiness of gender, idealized images of the feminine in Buddhist tantra, and contemporary issues such as the nun's revival moment.
Asia Content
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
CMDI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Upper
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
God and Politics
RLST/JWST 4170/5170-001 | 3.0
Elias Sacks, Th 3:30pm - 6:00 pm, HUMN 270
Explores the relationship between religion and politics. Examining traditions such as Judaism and Christianity, this course considers diverse ways in which ancient, medieval and modern sources have imagined the role of religion in civic life. Some topics include the status of religious minorities, the nature of religious freedom and contemporary debates surrounding issues such as torture, sexuality and climate change.
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
CMDI Core: Humanitites and the Arts
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Upper
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Topics in Buddhism: Buddhist Ethics
RLST 4240/5240-001 | 3.0
Holly Gayley, T 3:30pm - 6:00 pm, HUMN 270
Examines in depth central themes, schools of thought and movements in Buddhism, such as Theravada in Southeast Asia, Mahayana and Tantrayana thought, Zen and Buddhism in America. Department enforced prerequisite: RLST 2610 or RLST 2620 or RLST 3300 or instructor consent.
Asia Content
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
CMDI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Upper
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities