Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest religions and has been the religion of the Persian Empire throughout antiquity. It has influenced immensely the development of other religions attested in Asia and the Mediterranean in the pre-modern period. Unlike other faiths professed in the ancient world, Zoroastrianism has survived to this day, and Zoroastrian communities exist in India and Iran, as well as in Europe and North-America. In fact, many believers in the Best Religion now live in Southern California. Zoroastrian religious tenets developed in constant dialogue with other traditions, during our classes we will see how this happened in the various historical periods.

The aim of the course is to introduce the history of the Zoroastrian community from beginnings to the present day while discussing its religious beliefs seen from an historical point of view. The main text that will be used is Mary Boyce’s Zoroastrians. Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Other points of view will be introduced in class.
Days: TU TH  12:30-01:50 PM

This course covers the most important themes in the history of Armenians and Armenia in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries and does so within a regional (i.e., Middle East and Caucasus) and global context. This course will have a strong thematic approach as we proceed from imperial rule in the nineteenth century through twentieth-century genocide, brief independence, sovietization, and independence again, culminating in the Velvet Revolution, and most recently the war over Artsakh/Karabakh. As we explore this history, we will focus on Armenians as imperial and national subjects in ancestral lands as well as transimperial and transnational subjects in a diaspora that has had a complex relationship with the idea and reality of homeland.
Days: MO WE  09:30-10:50 AM

Minorities in the Muslim World

This seminar explores minoritized populations in the Muslim world, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa. It will examine the politicization of religious difference and its relationship to the state, citizenship, and secular equality.  Beginning with the early modern period, this course follows the trajectories of minoritized populations from Morocco in the west to Iran in the east—Copts, Druze, Armenians, Bahá’í, and Jews, among others.

We look at how European imperialism impacted religious minorities. For instance, imagine, from one year to the next, being defined as French, when just last week you were Jewish and Algerian. How did minoritized populations navigate the challenges of modernity including the creation of artificial borders, economic exploitation, and the imposition of European cultural and legal systems? How did new ideas about equality and belonging change the legal status of those living under Islamic rule as well as how did the rise of Zionism and Arab nationalism change the social and political landscape? Through cinematic, literary, anthropological, and historical texts, this course examines broader questions of changing notions of difference, shifting social hierarchies, language, ethnicity, belonging, and mobility.

Same as Rel Std 130
Days: TU TH  05:00-06:20 PM

Minorities in the Muslim World

This seminar explores minoritized populations in the Muslim world, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa. It will examine the politicization of religious difference and its relationship to the state, citizenship, and secular equality.  Beginning with the early modern period, this course follows the trajectories of minoritized populations from Morocco in the west to Iran in the east—Copts, Druze, Armenians, Bahá’í, and Jews, among others.

We look at how European imperialism impacted religious minorities. For instance, imagine, from one year to the next, being defined as French, when just last week you were Jewish and Algerian. How did minoritized populations navigate the challenges of modernity including the creation of artificial borders, economic exploitation, and the imposition of European cultural and legal systems? How did new ideas about equality and belonging change the legal status of those living under Islamic rule as well as how did the rise of Zionism and Arab nationalism change the social and political landscape? Through cinematic, literary, anthropological, and historical texts, this course examines broader questions of changing notions of difference, shifting social hierarchies, language, ethnicity, belonging, and mobility.

Same as History 132H
Days: TU TH  05:00-06:20 PM

Emphasis/Category: World Religious Traditions (Category 1)

Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest religions and has been the religion of the Persian Empire throughout antiquity. It has influenced immensely the development of other religions attested in Asia and the Mediterranean in the pre-modern period. Unlike other faiths professed in the ancient world, Zoroastrianism has survived to this day, and Zoroastrian communities exist in India and Iran, as well as in Europe and North-America. In fact, many believers in the Best Religion now live in Southern California. Zoroastrian religious tenets developed in constant dialogue with other traditions, during our classes we will see how this happened in the various historical periods.

The aim of the course is to introduce the history of the Zoroastrian community from beginnings to the present day while discussing its religious beliefs seen from an historical point of view. The main text that will be used is Mary Boyce’s Zoroastrians. Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Other points of view will be introduced in class.
Days: TU TH  12:30-01:50 PM