Courses offered in the Initiative provide students with the intellectual foundations necessary to engage in the practical dimensions of religion and globalization in specific situations around the world. The foundation course, RELG 331: Religion and Globalization, introduces students to a multi-disciplinary approach in which they can engage a variety of core topics, such as human rights, international development, health, environment, multiculturalism, gender, conflict, and education. Students participate in two small group modules that allow for concentration on specific topics and are given the opportunity to interact with world-renowned scholars in plenary sessions. Any undergraduate student is welcome to attend. Current BA students within the Faculty of Religious Studies may make use of these courses for their degree.
Additional courses engage students on specific issues, such as human rights and religious minorities. These courses reflect the diversity of expertise available within the faculty and across the university. Graduate students are encouraged to apply for opportunities offered in relation to RELG 331.
RELG 550 Comparative Religion: Religion and Foreign Policy: Investigating Religious Minorities and Human Rights,
Summer 2013, MTWThF, 9:05–4:55, 17 June-28 June
Instructors: Professor Daniel Cere, Professor Ellen Aitken and guest lecturers
RELG 550 Comparative Religion: Human Rights and Religious Minorities, Summer 2012, MTWThF, 9:05–4:55
Instructors: Professor Ellen Aitken, Professor Daniel Cere, Professor Arvind Sharma and guest lecturers
View our interactive documentary on McGill's Human Rights and Religious Minorities summer school course at Storify.com
RELG 331: Religion and Globalization, Fall 2012, MWF, 10:35–11:25
Instructors: Professor Daniel Cere, Professor Ellen Aitken and guest lecturers
This course will examine the evolving relations of religious traditions to the many faces of globalization. Religion is perceived, both theoretically and in practice, to be a "global" reality, and the "world religions" are now recognized as major players in an increasingly interconnected world. Each of the major world religious traditions has generated diverse internal responses to globalization. The course will offer a comparative and historical exploration of the distinctive ways in which the world’s religions are shaping (and are shaped by) the social, political, and economic dynamics of globalization. It will explore the tensions at play in globalization, modernization, secularization, and post-colonialism. The course will examine the multiple intersections of religion and globalization through a variety of themes and case studies: human rights, development, health, environmental sustainability, conflict and violence, pluralism, faith-based political mobilization, and the role of religion in the public sphere.
This course will be characterized by the following special features:
- A multi-faculty approach that enlists the expertise and participation of wide range of McGill professors and students. We welcome students from all of McGill’s faculties.
- A multi-religious approach that examines issues of globalization from the perspectives of Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Hindu, and Buddhist traditions.
- A multi-disciplinary approach in which students engage a variety of core topics, such as human rights, international development, health, environment, multiculturalism, gender, conflict, and education.
- A teaching approach that makes use of small group modules to address the core topics listed above. These modules will be led by teaching-fellows with expertise in the field. Students participate in two six-week modules over the duration of the semester. The modules allow students to examine specific case studies related to the broader themes of the course. Students will also have the opportunity to interact with their peers around the world in discussing the topics of this course.
- Students will be afforded the opportunity to interact with world-renowned scholars of religion and globalization through a series of plenary sessions. In addition, joint teaching sessions will be organized with the other affiliated universities in the international Faith and Globalization network.
- Finally, the course will provide students with the intellectual foundations necessary to engage the practical dimensions of religion and globalization in specific situations.
For further information please contact daniel.cere [at] mcgill.ca (Professor Cere) or Professor Aitken.
RELG 479: Christianity in Global Perspective, Winter 2013
Instructor: Professor Patricia G. Kirkpatrick and Professor Daniel Cere