George Brown (1835-1917) was many things during his long life; leader in the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Australasia, explorer, linguist, political activist, apologist for the missionary enterprise, amateur anthropologist, writer, constant traveller, collector of artefacts, photographer and stirrer. He saw himself, at heart, as a missionary. The islands of the Pacific Ocean were the scene of h…
German-born Gerhard (Gershom) Scholem (1897–1982), the preeminent scholar of Jewish mysticism, delved into the historical analysis of kabbalistic literature from late antiquity to the twentieth century. His writings traverse Jewish historiography, Zionism, the phenomenology of mystical religion, and the spiritual and political condition of contemporary Judaism and Jewish civilization. Scholem…
This module will provide students with an introduction to religion as an academic discipline. The module Learning Unit will familiarize students with the difficulties of defining religion as an academic category, explore academic theories for understanding individual religious impetus, and provide a definitional criteria for the term ‘World Religion.’ From there, the student will analyze th…
A deep exploration of the fundamental symbols, ceremonies, rituals, and transformative narratives of the world's great wisdom traditions and mythological systems. With special attention paid to their relevance to the modern world. Written for Community College and undergraduate level courses through an equity, diversity, and inclusion lens. Western myths are included but not centered.