Religion

The purpose of this seminar is to think about the origins of various religions, religious movements, peoples and texts through the concepts of “myth” and “history.” All communities have a notion of an origin myth—a story they tell themselves of how they came to be a people. We will study some of these myths, as well as try to contextualize what we think we know historically about these various groups and movements. Along the way we will develop our research, writing and critical thinking chops in preparation for and/or in tandem with your senior thesis projects (whatever your major!).