PSC/REL 395: Secularism (CRN 2032)
Kellan Klaus • MON/WED 2:30-3:45 pm • Smith 108
The political doctrine of secularism is classically understood as the institutional separation of religion from the governing apparatus of the modern nation-state. Ironically, this constituting principle of secular states requires state intervention in the religious lives of its body politic. This course explores how secular power regulates the boundary between private religion and public political life through ethnographic and historical studies of colonial governance, state law, and US empire. Topics include tolerance and British colonial law in the Indian subcontinent, minority rights of Coptic Christians and family law in Egypt, reconfigurations of French republicanism and Islamic life by “Muslim French” in secular France, and the efforts of transnational Islamist foreign fighters to transcend racial and cultural differences amid the “Global War on Terror.”
Photo credit: Feb 8, 2022 Associate Press, photo by journalist Altaf Qadri
REL 205: Introduction to Judaism (CRN: 2031)
Rabbi Jana De Benedetti • TUE/THR 1-2:15 pm • Smith 108
Judaism is considered the world’s oldest surviving monotheistic faith, with origins dating back almost 4,000 years. It is also a foundation for the history and traditions of Christianity and Islam, yet many people have had little opportunity to learn about Judaism, especially how it is practiced in the modern world. This course explores the history, culture, languages, demographics, holidays, foods, and traditions of the Jewish people, with an emphasis on what it means to be Jewish in today’s society. Students will encounter Judaism not simply as a religion, but as a diverse people, culture, and way of life.
Humanities Core
INSTRUCTOR:
RABBI JANA DE BENEDETTI
Rabbi Dr. Jana De Benedetti has been the Spiritual Leader and Rabbi at B'nai Zion Congregation since 2006. She has been teaching all aspects of Judaism, including music, language, Jewish studies, and Torah studies, since the mid-1970s. Dr. De Benedetti is active in the interfaith community. She is a regular on Red River Radio's program "About Faith."