Master of Arts in Religious Studies (A.M.R.S.)
The following are course selections from recent AMRS students:
Student A
Profession: journalist
Student A came to study at the Divinity School in order to come to a deeper understanding of religious issues in the modern world. Her particular interests in religion, politics and the history of Islam led to a broad course of study across the Divinity School.
Courses:
- DVSC 30300 – Intro to Constructive Studies in Religion
- HCHR 42600 - American Religious Historical Canon
- NEHC 30621 – Islamic Mid-East -1: 600-1150
- BIBL 32500 – Introduction to the New Testament
- DVSC 30100 – Intro to Religion and the Human Sciences
- RETH 50201 – Religion and the Political Order
- AASR 35000 – Modern Islam and Justice
- DVSC 30200 – Intro to Historical Studies in Religion
- RETH 31600 – Religion and the First Amendment
Student B
Profession: corporate litigation attorney
This successful, mid-career corporate litigator initially took courses at the Divinity School as part of her Master of Liberal Arts program in the University's Graham School for General Studies. Having enjoyed courses with Professors David Tracy and Paul Mendes-Flohr, she enrolled in the AMRS to explore questions of philosophy and contemporary Jewish thought. She is now teaching a course on religion and law in addition to her law practice.
Courses:
- HIJD 48200 - Leo Strauss and Judaism
- HIJD 44100 - Kant and Judaism
- RLIT 42200 - Music, Theology and Spirituality
- HIJD 43900 - Medieval Jewish Mysticism: Intro to the Book of Zohar
- DVPR 45801 – Understanding of God II
- DVPR 53500 – Levinas and Rosenzweig
- HIJD 50601 – Simmel and Weber on Modernity & Religion
- DVSC 30100 – Introduction to Religion and the Human Sciences
- DVSC 30200 – Introduction to Historical Studies in Religion
- DVSC 30300 – Introduction to Constructive Studies in Religion
Student C
Profession: global financial management
This current student is pursuing the AMRS one course at a time as he juggles a career in global financial management and credit education. He and his wife have established a micro-lending foundation for women in Kenya. His interests are broad, and the flexibility of the AMRS program allows him to maintain his career and nourish his interest in the study of religion as he pursues his philanthropic vision.
Courses:
- BIBL 32500 – Introduction to the New Testament
- DVPR 50004 – Nietzsche: Nihilism and Faith
- AASR 50081 – Pragmatism and Religion
- RLIT 44500 – Religion in European Enlightenment: Spinoza to Kant
Student D
Profession: foreign affairs professional
Student D is a young foreign service offer who came to the Divinity School to better understand the history of the three Abrahamic traditions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) as well as their modern contexts and issues. She has pursued an aggressive course of study and has written an additional research paper as the basis for her AMRS oral exam.
Courses:
- DVSC – Introduction to the Study of Religion
- HEBR 10501, 10502, 10503 – Introductory Modern Hebrew – 1, 2, 3
- HIJD 47200 – Modern Jewish Intellectual History
- NEHC 30255 – An Introduction to Shi'ite Islam
- DVSC 45100 – Reading course: focused topic of reading and research
- RETH 45800 - Politics, Ethics and Terror
- RETH 480702 – Monotheism and Its Discontents
- ISLM 30603 – Islamic Thought and Literature
- HIJD 45403 – The Sanctification of Space in Contemporary Israel
- ISLM 30603 – Islamic Thought and Literature – 3
- NEHC 30403 – Jewish History and Society III
Student E
Profession: armed forces chaplain
This army chaplain brought his family with him to pursue the AMRS degree while on leave from the armed forces. His course of study prepared him to return as a religious leader in a multi-faith religious environment, and as a teacher on world religions for the armed services.
Courses:
- DVSC 30400 – Introduction to the Study of Religion
- ENGL 33000 – Academic/Professional Writing
- RETH 43900 – Religion and Democracy
- RETH 46100 – Reinhold Niebuhr: Theology and Ethics
- RETH 50201 – Religion and the Political Order
- THEO 31100 – History of Theological Ethics 1
- NEHC 30503 – Islamic History and Society 3: The Modern Middle East
- RLIT 42301 - Aesthetics of Forgiveness: Imagining Forgiveness Artistically
- RETH 52900 – Advanced Seminar in Ethics
Student F
Profession: graduate student
Student F was interested in issues of gender in religious myth and literature. His course of study spanned Judaism, the ancient Near East and its context, the Hebrew Bible and Hindu mythology.
Courses:
- BIBL 31000 – Jewish Thought and Literature: Introduction to the Hebrew Bible
- BIBL 46600 – God's Mythic Problem in the Hebrew Bible
- DVSC 30400 – Introduction to the Study of Religion
- BIBL 51401 – Documentary Hypothesis
- HREL 42501 – Many Ramayanas
- NEHC 30405 – Jewish Thought and Lit II
- BIBL 43801 – Ritual, Cult and Magic in the Hebrew Bible
- NEAA 30051 – Method/Theory in Near Eastern Archaeology
- THEO 46603 – Topics in Midrash
