This course is an introduction to major books from both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Particular attention has been given to literary techniques, issues resulting from translation from the original Hebrew and Greek, and the different historical periods that produced and are reflected in the Bible. Investigation of the Bible as influence in later narrative, philosophic, and artistic traditions.

This course examines the development of the western intellectual tradition from the fall of the Roman Empire through the High Middle Ages. Our basic premise will be that the triumph of Christianity in the west was not the inevitable outcome it might appear from hindsight. Our attention will therefore be focused not only on the development of Christian thought and practice, but on its challengers as well. The core themes of the course include the emergence of a uniform Christian orthodoxy in late antiquity; the development of monastic practice and its attendant intellectual traditions; and the geographical spread of Christian beliefs. Working in opposition to those trends were other forces, which we will also address in our readings. In particular, we will consider the persistence of northern paganism; the rise of Islam; the solidification of a separate Byzantine orthodoxy; indigenous heretical movements; and the ambiguous position of Jews in all of European society.

This course explores how our views of Jewish history have been formed and how this history can explain the survival of the Jews as an ethnic/religious group into the present day. Special attention is given to the partial and fragmentary nature of our information about the past, and the difficulties inherent in decoding statements about the past that were written with a religious agenda in mind. It also considers complex events in Jewish history -- from early history as portrayed in the Bible to recent history, including the Holocaust.

Spiritual, magical, and "occult" aspects of human behavior in anthropological and historical perspective: magic, ritual curing, trance, spirit possession, sorcery, and accusations of witchcraft. Material drawn from traditional nonwestern societies, medieval and early modern Europe, and colonial and contemporary North America.

Short Description:
The book examines the work of Terence Grieder, an early pre-Columbian art historian of wide-ranging interests and often provocative stances. His students and other intellectual descendants discuss his major ideas through examples drawn from their own work. The work of those he mentored is in the end the most important testament to his continuing influence in the field.

Word Count: 77114

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This course provides an exploration of colonial and postcolonial clashes between theories of healing and embodiment in the African world and those of western bio-medicine. It examines how Afro-Atlantic religious traditions have challenged western conceptions of illness, healing, and the body and have also offered alternative notions of morality, rationality, kinship, gender, and sexuality. It also analyzes whether contemporary western bio-medical interventions reinforce colonial or imperial power in the effort to promote global health in Africa and the African diaspora.

This course provides an introduction to major political, social, cultural and intellectual changes in Europe from the beginnings of the Renaissance in Italy around 1300 to the outbreak of the French Revolution at the end of the 1700s. It focuses on the porous boundaries between categories of theology, magic and science, as well as print. It examines how developments in these areas altered European political institutions, social structures, and cultural practices. It also studies men and women, nobles and commoners, as well as Europeans and some non-Europeans with whom they came into contact.

Word Count: 22667

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A Book of Two Hundred 100-Word Stories

Word Count: 22538

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A Book of Two Hundred 100-Word Stories

Word Count: 23973

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A Book of Two Hundred 100-Word Stories

Word Count: 23991

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Word Count: 22603

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

A Book of Two Hundred 100-Word Stories

Word Count: 22360

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

This Womanist Praxis Academy is an expansion of WWC's Resource Corner GoogleDrive folder and our community education workshop materials. We invite others to contribute to this growing curriculum so information is accessible to all those who need it.

Myth, Metaphor, and Mystery

Short Description:
A deep exploration of the fundamental symbols, ceremonies, rituals, and transformative narratives of the world's great wisdom traditions and mythological systems. With special attention paid to their relevance to the modern world.

Long Description:
Using insights from the fields of anthropology, depth psychology, religious studies, world literature, and archaeology, we explore the living knowledge of the world’s great wisdom traditions and what they can teach us about how to live more meaningful, integrated lives in the modern world.

This project was funded by the MHCC Foundation OER Grant Program and published by MHCC Library Press. MARC record available at the end of the book.

Word Count: 9947

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Word Count: 48995

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)