2022 Seminar: "On the Nature of Theology"

The 2022 Brauer Seminar, "On the Nature of Theology," was co-taught by Professors Willemien Otten and William Schweiker. The seminar explored historical, ethical, legal and theological conceptions of “nature” and extrapolating from these reflected on the “nature of theological reflection,” thus connecting the various meanings of the seminar’s title. The question of nature—human and non-human—is hotly debated today. This is true in the face of the global environmental crisis but no less so in important matters brought before the Supreme Court, which led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and could lead or the undoing of same-sex marriage, and are often grounded in appeals to “nature” and the natural. The topic has occupied thinkers throughout Western history ranging from natural law ethics, moral naturalism, definitions of the existence and essence of God and, for Christians, the “nature”, i.e., hypostatic union of the Christ, questions about creation and the natural order, and, of course, the possibility and task of natural theology. Even current questions about transhumanism and posthumanism find historical forerunners in ideas about theosis or divinization of human nature as well as in debates about resurrection and the possibility of mystical self-transcendence. Each of these topics implies something about nature and also about the nature and task of theological thinking. 

The seminar explored these matters with a focus on and shifting understanding of human and divine nature, sustained throughout by a deep interest in the question of “natural religion,” “natural law,” and “natural theology.” The purpose of the seminar was both to introduce students to the richness and complexity of the topic and to get some purchase on the history of Western thought in relation to contemporary questions. 

The seminar conference, "The Theology of Nature and the Nature of Theology," was held on March 30-31, 2022.

2018 Seminar: "Gender and Sexuality in the Study of Religion"
Faculty: Sarah E. Fredericks (Religious Ethics), Sarah Hammerschlag (History of Judaism; Philosophy of Religions; and Religion, Literature, and Visual Culture), and Angie Heo (Anthropology and Sociology of Religion)

The Jerald Brauer Seminar of Winter 2018 was taught by Professors Sarah E. Fredericks, Sarah Hammerschlag, Angie Heo. This team-taught, interdisciplinary graduate level course focused on gender and sexuality in the study of religion; providing theoretical concepts, tools and methods for students to analyze gender and sexuality across a variety of religious traditions, historical periods and literary genres. Divided into three parts - philosophy, anthropology and ethics, the course proceeded to the areas of specialty offered by participating faculty members. Topics covered included structuralist and poststructuralist approaches to sexual difference; political economy of sex; performativity theory; sexuality and postcolonial theory; law and secularism; and the relationship of gender and the environment. 

As a capstone to the course, a roundtable was held on Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 to focus on gender and sexuality in France. Invited speakers include Amy Hollywood, a leading gender theorist and a scholar of continental philosophy and medieval mysticism (Harvard); Mayanthi Fernando, an anthropologist of law and Islam (Santa Cruz); and Béatrice de Gasquet, a sociologist of contemporary Judaism (Paris Diderot). 

2015 Seminar: "Jewish and Christian Responses to Biblical Criticism"
Faculty: Jeffrey Stackert (Bible) and Paul Mendes-Flohr (History of Judaism)
Fellow: James L. Kugel (Harvard University; Bar Ilan University)

2014 Seminar:  "Intentionality and Belief"
Faculty: Daniel A. Arnold (Philosophy of Religions) and Ryan Coyne (Philosophy of Religions and Theology)

2013 Seminar: "Uncle Tom's Cabin: Lives and Afterlives"
Faculty: Catherine A. Brekus (History of Christianity and Religions in America) and Richard A. Rosengarten (Religion and Literature)
Fellow: David Reynolds (CUNY, Department of History)

2012 Seminar: "Translation"
Faculty: Wendy Doniger (History of Religions) and Jeffrey Stackert (Hebrew Bible)
Fellow: Stephen Mitchell

2011 Seminar: "The Case for Humanism" 
Faculty: Willemien Otten (Theology and the History of Christianity) and William Schweiker (Theological Ethics)

2008 Seminar: "The Buddha in Barcelona: Medieval Cosmopolitanism and the Transmission of Culture" 
Faculty: Matthew Kapstein (Philosophy of Religions and the History of Religions) and James T. Robinson (History of Judaism) 
Fellow: Charles Burnett (Warburg Institute, London)

2006 Seminar: "Religion and Violence in American Culture"
Faculty: W. Clark Gilpin and Martin E. Marty (History of Christianity)
Fellow: Harry Stout, Yale University)

2004 Seminar: "The Religious Quest for the Human: Jewish and Christian Reflections"
Faculty: Paul Mendes-Flohr (Modern Jewish Thought) and William Schweiker (Theological Ethics)

2003 Seminar: "The Western Legal Traditions and Religious Diversity"  
Faculty: Hans G. Kippenberg (History of Religions) and Winnifred Fallers Sullivan (Anthropology and Sociology of Religion) 
Fellow: Martha Minow (Harvard Law School)

2002 Seminar: "Biblical Theology"
Faculty: Tikva Frymer-Kensky (Hebrew Bible and the History of Judaism) and David Tracy (Theology and Philosophy of Religions)
Fellow: Stephen Geller (Jewish Theological Seminary, New York)

2001 Seminar: "Religion and Slavery: Theological and Historical Perspectives"
Faculty: Dwight N. Hopkins (Theology) and Catherine Brekus (History of Christianity)
Fellow: Willie Coleman (BT Forum)

2000 Seminar: "Sociology and the Study of Biblical Texts" 
Faculty: John J. Collins (Hebrew Bible) and Martin Riesebrodt (Sociology of Religion)
Fellow: Rainer Albertz (Theology, University of Münster).

1999 Seminar: "Strategies of Goodness: The New Testament and Ethics"
Faculty: William Schweiker (Theological Ethics) and Adela Yarbro Collins (New Testament)
Fellows: Wayne Meeks (New Testament, Yale University) and Lisa Cahill (Ethics, Boston College)

1998  Seminar: "Jewish and Christian Mysticism: Comparative Studies"
Faculty: Bernard McGinn (History of Christianity) and Michael Fishbane (History of Judaism)
Fellow: Louis Dupres (Philosophy, Yale University)

1997 Seminar: "Toward a Contemporary Jewish Theology"
Faculty: Michael Fishbane (History of Judaism) and Tikva Frymer-Kensky (Biblical Studies)
Fellow: A consultation of six international scholars

1996 Seminar: "Toward a History of Myth"
Faculty: Wendy Doniger (History of Religions) and Bruce Lincoln (History of Religions)
Fellow: Cristiano Grottanelli (History, University of Pisa)

1995 Seminar: "Religion and Families in America: Past and Present" 
Faculty: Don S. Browning (Ethics and the Social Sciences) and Martin E. Marty (History of Christianity)
Fellows: William Galston (Political Science, University of Maryland; Deputy Advisor on Domestic Policy, The White House) and John Witte (School of Law, Emory University)

1994 Seminar: "Experimental Lives in the American Renaissance" 
Faculty: David Tracy (Theology) and W. Clark Gilpin (History of Christianity) 
Fellow: David S. Reynolds (English and American Studies, City University of New York)

1993 Seminar: "Religion, Literature and Politics at Mid-Century" 
Faculty: Martin E. Marty (History of Christianity) and Mark L. Krupnick (Religion and Literature)
Fellow: David Hollinger (History, University of California at Berkeley)