Students doing the course for four credits must complete an independent research topic and write an additional term paper. An intensive 10-week series of lectures, workshops and field trips designed to introduce students to the Religion and Culture of India. Lectures on, and visits to, the Gandhian Peace Foundation, the Taj Mahal, the Tibetan community in Bylakuppe, the Jain center in Sravanabelagola, Sufi and Sikh sites in New Delhi, Buddhist centers at Bodh Gaya and Hindu sites in Varanasi, among others. A thematic exploration of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Field trips include visits to St. George's monastery, Qumran, the Wailing Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Israeli Museum, Synagogues, the Mount of Olives and the Via Dolorosa among others.
Students write weekly responses to the readings, lectures and events.
Those doing the course for four credits will attend a five session unit on Archeology or Fundamentalism and write an additional term paper. The creation of collective memory and national identity in Israel and Palestine. Lectures and presentations on history, women's issues, education, refugee camps and settlements, the environment and Hamas, among others. Students will live in Bethlehem for ten days as part of the course. Students doing the course for four credits will attend a five session unit on 'An Introduction to the Cultures of the Middle East Through Film' and write an additional term paper.