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HarvardX: HDS2825x Religion, Conflict and Peace

Religion, Conflict and Peace Syllabus

Professor Diane L. Moore

Harvard Divinity School

HarvardX

Part One: Introduction to the Religious Literacy Method

Session 1: Introduction to Religious 

    • Distinction between Devotional Assertions and Study of Diverse Devotional Assertions
    • Religions are Internally Diverse
    • Religions are Living Traditions that are Shaped by Social and Historical Contexts
    • Religions are Embedded in Social, Political, and Cultural Life

Session 2: Introduction to Cultural Studies 

    • Situated Perspectives and Understanding the Role of Interpretation
    • Understanding the Dynamics of Social Power and Marginalization

Session 3: Introduction to Typologies of Violence and Peace 

    • Direct Violence and Direct Peace
    • Structural Violence and Structural Peace
    • Cultural Violence and Cultural Peace

Part Two: Religious and Secular Nationalism

Session 4: Religious and Secular Nationalism 1 

    • Understanding Religious and Secular Forms of Nationalism
    • Israel/Palestine
    • Northern Ireland
    • Atalia Omer and the Hermeneutic of Citizenship

Session 5: Religious and Secular Nationalism 2 

    • The Former Yugoslavia 
    • Brazil

Session 6: Religious and Secular Nationalism 3 

    • India
    • Sri Lanka

Session 7: Religious and Secular Nationalism 4 

    • United States
    • France

Session 8: Mid-Term Synthesis Exercises 

Part Three: In-Depth Case Studies

Session 9: Neoliberalism, Peace Journalism, and Syria 

    • Introduction to Neoliberalism
    • Introduction to Peace Journalism
    • Case Study on Syria 1

Session 10: Syria 2 

    • Case Study on Syria 2

Session 11: Nigeria 1 

    • Case Study on Nigeria 1

Session 12: Nigeria 2 

    • Case Study on Nigeria 2

Session 13: Myanmar 1 

    • Case Study on Myanmar 1

Session 14: Myanmar 2 

    • Case Study on Myanmar 2

Session 15: Synthesis Exercises 

Session 16: Summary, Conclusion and Evaluation 

Though you can engage with the course material at any pace you wish, staying to this general schedule will provide the richest learning experience possible because you will be interacting with peers who are moving through the course at the same pace.