MTS Colloquium

Amy Erickson, Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible and Director of the MTS Program

“By gaining greater knowledge of how others think, we can become less certain of the knowledge we think we have, which is always the first step to greater understanding.” -- Julian Baggini

The purpose of this course is three-fold: One, to give students a solid grounding in the basic issues involved in the academic study of religion, by addressing the question, “What is religion and how should we study it?” Two, to examine the various consequences of our response to this question, in order to more sharply define our own theoretical and practical positions as active scholars and teachers in the field. Three, to help students formulate a viable MTS Thesis project.

The purpose of this course is three-fold: One, to give students a solid grounding in the basic issues involved in the academic study of religion, by addressing the question, “What is religion and how should we study it?” Two, to examine the various consequences of our response to this question, in order to more sharply define our own theoretical and practical positions as active scholars and teachers in the field. Three, to help students formulate a viable MTS Thesis project.

Click on the links below for more details on each assignment.

Weekly Posts: 30%

First Poster/Discussion Starter: 20%

Final Paper: 50%

Books

Jon D. Levenson, Inheriting Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012).

Elaine Pagels, Why Religion? A Personal Story . New York: HarperLuxe, 2018