Religious Studies (RELST)Arts and Sciences

Showing 29 results.

Course descriptions provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

Last Updated

  • Schedule of Classes - November 20, 2025 7:07PM EST

RELST 2155
The Invention of Religion

Religion is a term with a rich history but without a precise definition. Everyone can describe a religious idea or a religious experience even though there is no agreement about what it is that makes an ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HIST 2155, JWST 2155

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9992 RELST 2155   SEM 101

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Litvak, O

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 2204
Introduction to Quranic Arabic

This course is designed for students who are interested in reading the language of the Qur'an with accuracy and understanding. The first week (4 classes) will be devoted to an introduction of the history ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ARAB 2204, ASRC 2204, NES 2204

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  1394 RELST 2204   SEM 101

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Younes, M

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 2248
Buddhists in Indian Ocean World: Past and Present

For millennia, Buddhist monks, merchants, pilgrims, diplomats, and adventurers have moved around the Indian Ocean arena circulating Buddhist teachings and powerful objects. In doing so they helped create ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ASIAN 2248, HIST 2548

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 10312 RELST 2248   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Blackburn, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 2250
Introduction to Asian Religions

This course will explore religious traditions in South Asia (Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka) and East Asia (China, Japan, and Korea) including Hinduism, Buddhism (South Asian and East Asian), Sikhism, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: ASIAN 2250

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  1510 RELST 2250   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Boucher, D

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 10086 RELST 2250   DIS 201

  •  
    • F
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Boucher, D

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 10087 RELST 2250   DIS 202

  •  
    • F
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Boucher, D

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 2279
Chinese Mythology

Students will study Chinese myths from the earliest times. Focus will be on understanding how people have used myth to create and convey meaning, on examining the form Chinese myths take, and on considering ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ASIAN 2279

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 10187 RELST 2279   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • McNeal, R

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 2599
Medicine, Magic and Science in the Ancient Near East

This course explores the history of medicine and other sciences in the ancient Near East, broadly defined. In addition to medicine, the other scientific disciplines covered in this course include mathematics, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: BSOC 2599, JWST 2599, NES 2599

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 18583 RELST 2599   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW

    • Mokhtarian, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 2629
New Testament-Early Christian Literatures

This course provides a literary and historical introduction to the earliest Christian writings, especially those that eventually came to be included in the New Testament. Through the lens of the Gospel ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: CLASS 2613, JWST 2629, NES 2629

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  1343 RELST 2629   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Haines-Eitzen, K

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 2644
Introduction to Judaism

This course is an introduction to Jewish identities, values, and practices from the ancient to modern era. Organized thematically, it examines Judaism as a religious phenomenon, with a particular emphasis ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: JWST 2644, NES 2644

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  1413 RELST 2644   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Mokhtarian, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 2853
The Law in Jewish History

Before Jewish politics, Jewish identity and Jewish philosophy, there was Jewish law. No other institution is more important to the history of Judaism and to the Jewish way of life. In this lecture course, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HIST 2853, JWST 2853

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • 10010 RELST 2853   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Litvak, O

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 3150
Medieval Philosophy

A selective survey of Western philosophical thought from the fourth to the 14th century. Topics include the problem of universals, the theory of knowledge and truth, the nature of free choice and practical ... view course details

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Syllabi:

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: MEDVL 3210, PHIL 3210

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  4391 RELST 3150   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • MacDonald, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 3319
From Meditation to Mat, Cave to Cartoon: Yoga as Philosophy, Practice, and Public Performance

Fitness. Flexibility. Relaxation. Spirituality. These are just a sampling of the many buzzwords associated with groups of allied practices like Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness that have contemplative ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ASIAN 3319

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 10376 RELST 3319   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Bhattacharjee, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 3322
Gospel and The Blues: A Black Women's History I, 1900-1973

In her pathbreaking text Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Social Upheaval Saidiya Hartman writes that young Black women were radical thinkers who tirelessly imagined other ways ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •  4320 RELST 3322   SEM 101

  •  
    • T
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Dromgoole, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 3344
Introduction to Indian Philosophy

This course will survey the rich and sophisticated tradition of Indian philosophical thought from its beginnings in the speculations of Upanishads, surveying debates between Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ASIAN 3344, CLASS 3674, PHIL 2540

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  1512 RELST 3344   LEC 001

  •  
    • MWF
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • McCrea, L

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 3420
Myth, Ritual, and Symbol

This course approaches the study of religion, symbols, and myth from an anthropological perspective. The centrality and universality of religion and myth-making in social and symbolic life has been fundamental ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ANTHR 3420

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 14435 RELST 3420   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Willford, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 3448
Islamic Mysticism

Sufism, popularly understood as Islamic mysticism, is a loose name given to a broad and diverse collection of beliefs, practices and groups that range and vary across time and space. Going from a small ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi:

  •  1447 RELST 3448   SEM 101

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Lawrence, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 3523
Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Racism

Islamophobia and Judeophobia are ideas and like all ideas they have a history of their own. Although today many might think of Islamophobia or Judeophobia as unchangeable---fear of and hatred for Islam ... view course details

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Syllabi:

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: JWST 3523, NES 3523

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  1430 RELST 3523   SEM 101

  •  
    • TR
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Brann, R

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 3778
Pharaohs and Fables

The figure of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh looms large in the modern imagination, whether as awesome demigod or awful despot. But how did these fabled kings portray themselves, and how were they seen by ... view course details

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Syllabi:

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ARKEO 3778, NES 3778

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  1462 RELST 3778   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Miller, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 4020
Buddhist Moderns: Visions of Human Flourishing

Do modern times (which are experienced and conceptualized in varied ways) pose distinctive problems and opportunities for Buddhists? How are Buddhist teachings drawn into forms of social and political ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ASIAN 4020, ASIAN 6020, RELST 6022

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 10358 RELST 4020   SEM 101

    • M
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Blackburn, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

RELST 4215
Topics in Medieval Philosophy

Advanced discussion of a topic in medieval philosophy. view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • Topic: Aquinas

  • 18143 RELST 4215   SEM 102

  •  
    • W
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • MacDonald, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 4714
Global Indigenous Religious Histories

This course uses an interdisciplinary approach to the study of religion to introduce students to Indigenous histories from a sample of locations around the world. The class is organized geographically ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 18354 RELST 4714   SEM 101

  •  
    • R
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Hale, T

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 4991
Directed Study

For undergraduates who wish to obtain research experience or do extensive reading on a special topic. Students select a topic in consultation with the faculty member who has agreed to supervise ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Project Session Full. 

  • 2-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  1386 RELST 4991   IND 601

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Formichi, C

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To apply: first discuss the Independent Study with the course supervisor, and then complete the online Independent Study form at https://data.arts.cornell.edu/as-stus/indep_study_intro.cfm.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Project Session Full. 

  • 2-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  1387 RELST 4991   IND 602

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Boucher, D

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To apply: first discuss the Independent Study with the course supervisor, and then complete the online Independent Study form at https://data.arts.cornell.edu/as-stus/indep_study_intro.cfm.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Project Session Full. 

  • 2-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  1388 RELST 4991   IND 603

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Brann, R

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To apply: first discuss the Independent Study with the course supervisor, and then complete the online Independent Study form at https://data.arts.cornell.edu/as-stus/indep_study_intro.cfm.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Project Session Full. 

  • 2-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  1389 RELST 4991   IND 604

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Law, J

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To apply: first discuss the Independent Study with the course supervisor, and then complete the online Independent Study form at https://data.arts.cornell.edu/as-stus/indep_study_intro.cfm.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Project Session Full. 

  • 2-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  1390 RELST 4991   IND 605

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Haines-Eitzen, K

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To apply: first discuss the Independent Study with the course supervisor, and then complete the online Independent Study form at https://data.arts.cornell.edu/as-stus/indep_study_intro.cfm.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Project Session Full. 

  • 2-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  1391 RELST 4991   IND 606

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Monroe, L

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To apply: first discuss the Independent Study with the course supervisor, and then complete the online Independent Study form at https://data.arts.cornell.edu/as-stus/indep_study_intro.cfm.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Project Session Full. 

  • 2-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  1385 RELST 4991   IND 607

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Golestaneh, S

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To apply: first discuss the Independent Study with the course supervisor, and then complete the online Independent Study form at https://data.arts.cornell.edu/as-stus/indep_study_intro.cfm.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

RELST 4995
Senior Honors Essay I

RELST 4995 is the first course in the Honors two-part sequence. The Honors Program is open to Religious Studies majors who have done superior work and who wish to devote a substantial part of their senior ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Multi-Term

  •  1335 RELST 4995   IND 601

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Formichi, C

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To request a permission number, contact Ayla Hodges at ayla.hodges@cornell.edu.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Multi-Term

  •  1336 RELST 4995   IND 602

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Golestaneh, S

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To request a permission number, contact Ayla Hodges at ayla.hodges@cornell.edu.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Multi-Term

  •  1337 RELST 4995   IND 603

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Haines-Eitzen, K

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To request a permission number, contact Ayla Hodges at ayla.hodges@cornell.edu.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Multi-Term

  •  1338 RELST 4995   IND 604

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Law, J

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To request a permission number, contact Ayla Hodges at ayla.hodges@cornell.edu.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

RELST 4996
Senior Honors Essay II

RELST 4996 is the second course in the Honors two-part sequence. The Honors Program is open to Religious Studies majors who have done superior work and who wish to devote a substantial part of their senior ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  1405 RELST 4996   IND 601

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Formichi, C

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To request a permission number, contact Ayla Hodges at ayla.hodges@cornell.edu.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  1406 RELST 4996   IND 602

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Golestaneh, S

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To request a permission number, contact Ayla Hodges at ayla.hodges@cornell.edu.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  1407 RELST 4996   IND 603

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Haines-Eitzen, K

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To request a permission number, contact Ayla Hodges at ayla.hodges@cornell.edu.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  1408 RELST 4996   IND 604

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Law, J

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To request a permission number, contact Ayla Hodges at ayla.hodges@cornell.edu.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

RELST 6020
Latin Philosophical Texts

Reading and translation of Latin philosophical texts. view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: LATIN 7262, MEDVL 6020, PHIL 6020

  • 1-2 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  4454 RELST 6020   SEM 101

    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • MacDonald, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

RELST 6022
Buddhist Moderns: Visions of Human Flourishing

Do modern times (which are experienced and conceptualized in varied ways) pose distinctive problems and opportunities for Buddhists? How are Buddhist teachings drawn into forms of social and political ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one seminar and one independent study. Combined with: ASIAN 4020, ASIAN 6020, RELST 4020

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 10361 RELST 6022   SEM 101

  •  
    • M
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Blackburn, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 10362 RELST 6022   IND 601

  •  
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Blackburn, A

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

RELST 6210
Topics in Medieval Philosophy

Graduate seminar covering a topic in medieval philosophy. view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi:

  • Topic: Aquinas

  •  4449 RELST 6210   SEM 102

  •  
    • W
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • MacDonald, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 6448
Islamic Mysticism

Sufism, popularly understood as Islamic mysticism, is a loose name given to a broad and diverse collection of beliefs, practices and groups that range and vary across time and space. Going from a small ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •  1451 RELST 6448   SEM 101

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Lawrence, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 6714
Global Indigenous Religious Histories

This course uses an interdisciplinary approach to the study of religion to introduce students to Indigenous histories from a sample of locations around the world. The class is organized geographically ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 18355 RELST 6714   SEM 101

  •  
    • R
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Hale, T

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

RELST 6836
Gandhi's Politics

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is arguably the most consequential anti-imperialist, the most sophisticated advocate of non-violence, and one the shrewdest political tacticians in modern history. He was also ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one seminar and one independent study. Combined with: GOVT 4000, GOVT 6836

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 15598 RELST 6836   SEM 102

  •  
    • R
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Livingston, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  6584 RELST 6836   IND 602

  •  
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies