This course will examine the writing of Emily Dickinson, both her poetry and her letters. We will consider the cultural, historical, political, religious, and familial environment in which she lived. Special attention will be paid to Dickinson's place as a woman artist in the nineteenth century. The class will meet at the Dickinson Museum (280 Main Street in Amherst and accessible by Five College bus). Enrollment is limited to ten students.

Seminar on Joyce's major texts excluding Finnegan's Wake. Beginning with Dubliners, the seminar will consider recent trends in critical theory as they pertain to Joyce's work. Half the semester will be spent on a careful reading of Ulysses. Students will be responsible for seminar reports as well as a midterm paper (7-10 pages) and a final paper (15-20 pages).

If all is fair in love and war, are there rules for the game of power and seduction? As we move through the golden ages of absolute power in Spain, France, and Italy, will we witness a change for women? Students will explore such questions as they read plays by Tirso de Molina, Jos' Zorilla, Moli're, Beaumarchais, Goldoni; Mozart's opera Don Giovanni, and film versions of Dangerous Liaisons and Casanova's Memoirs.

This course is an introduction to the study of religion, assessing the nature of religion and methodological approaches through an examination of subject matter drawn from numerous traditions.

An examination of the documents, trial records, historical responses, and continuing scholarship on this woman who was admired by her friends, scorned by her church, and banished from the early Boston community. Two hundred years later she was used by Nathaniel Hawthorne as the model for Hester Prynne in THE SCARLET LETTER. Students will read primary materials and write a number of critical and evaluative papers.

This course examines Islamic religious beliefs and practices from the origins of Islam to the present, focusing on such central issues as scripture and tradition, law and theology, sectarianism and mysticism. Attention will be given to the variety of Islamic understandings of monotheism, prophethood, dogma, ritual, and society.

This course provides a critical introduction to the writings contained in the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Old Testament). It investigates the social and historical context of the ancient Israelites, examines a range of ancient Near Eastern literature, and introduces the principal methods of biblical studies. Participants will read much of the Hebrew Bible as well as select non-Israelite sources.

This course will explore religious attitudes towards nature and the environment. After an introductory section about the environmental movement and the contemporary environmental crisis, we will examine writings about nature by Native Americans, Christians, and Buddhists. We will consider, among other questions, how well the different religious attitudes towards nature help or hinder efforts to address environmental problems.

A religious, cultural, and political history of one of the Western world's most enduringly important cities.