Courses - Fall 2025
RELS
Religious Studies
RELS120
Islamic Civilization
Cross-listed with: HIST120.
Credit only granted for: HIST120 or RELS120.
Introduction to society and culture in the Middle East since the advent of Islam: as a personal and communal faith; as artistic and literary highlights of intellectual and cultural life; and as the interplay between politics and religion under the major Islamic regimes.
RELS170
Cross-listed with: CLAS170.
Credit only granted for: CLAS170 or RELS170.
Additional information: This course cannot be taken for language credit.
What are myths and why do we tell them? What powers do myths have? We will tackle these questions by looking at the enduring and fascinating myths from ancient Greece and Rome. In addition to studying how they shaped ancient societies, we will also look at their modern influence and reflect upon the power that myths still hold in our contemporary world. Taught in English.
RELS225
Religions of the Ancient Near East
Cross-listed with: HIST219I, JWST225.
Credit only granted for: JWST225, HIST219I, RELS225, or RELS219A.
Formerly: RELS219A.
Introduction to ancient Near Eastern religious systems and mythology, from the third millennium BCE through the fourth century BCE. Particular emphasis on Mesopotamia and ancient Israel.
RELS230
Inventing Traditions: The Making of Rabbinic Judaism
Cross-listed with: HIST281, JWST230.
Credit only granted for: HIST281, JWST230, RELS219C or RELS230.
Formerly: RELS219C.
Introduces the dramatic literary and cultural (as well as political and demographic) innovations that reshaped Judaism in late antiquity. Examines the fundamental works and genres of rabbinic literature and the religious movement that produced them. Special emphasis on the rabbinic uses of "tradition" to enhance authority and legitimacy, and to foster group identity.
RELS274
Jerusalem in Antiquity: The History of Sacred Space in a Holy City
Cross-listed with: JWST274.
Credit only granted for: JWST274, RELS274, JWST289J or RELS289J.
Formerly: JWST289J, RELS289J.
Examines the complex history of Jerusalem's status as a holy city, with a focus on constructions of sacred space in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
RELS319K
Special Topics in Religious Studies; The Roman Empire in Late Antiquity
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with HIST319C. Credit only granted for RELS319K or HIST319C.
Explores a famous historical conundrum Edward Gibbon (d. 1794) defined as The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. What historical forces, operating between the third century and the seventh, brought the high Classical civilization of the Greeks and Romans to an end? Was it the invasions of Germans and other barbarian peoples? The bubonic plague or climate disasters? Do we think our own societies and governments would respond to similar challenges? Or, was Gibbon wrong, and Rome never really "fell?"
Explores a famous historical conundrum Edward Gibbon (d. 1794) defined as The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. What historical forces, operating between the third century and the seventh, brought the high Classical civilization of the Greeks and Romans to an end? Was it the invasions of Germans and other barbarian peoples? The bubonic plague or climate disasters? Do we think our own societies and governments would respond to similar challenges? Or, was Gibbon wrong, and Rome never really "fell?"
RELS429M
Advanced Topics in Religious History
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with HIST329M. Credit will be only granted for HIST329M or RELS429M. A global history of the first dynasty of Islam, from their Arabian origins to Syria and Iberia, with a focus on how the Umayyads wanted to memorialize themselves while questioning the construction of historical narratives in medieval Islam.
RELS430
Prerequisite: Must have completed one JWST course or one RELS course; or permission of ARHU-Meyerhoff Program & Center for Jewish Studies.
Cross-listed with JWST430.
Credit only granted for: JWST430 or RELS430.
A study of the Dead Sea Scrolls in their ancient and modern settings, and in terms of contemporary scholarly interpretations of their meaning. Interpretations of the historical significance of these documents, their connections to ancient Jewish sectarian movements, and their implications for our understanding of Judaism, Christianity, and the history of the Bible.
RELS499
Independent Study in Religious Studies
Credits:
1 - 3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Flagship Institution of the University System of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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301.405.1000
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