GIS 339 MYSTICS, HERETICS, DOOMSDAYERS

An exploration of the notion of religious orthodoxy in the premodern era and the reasons that heterodox practices were considered so dangerous and so alluring. The course considers the three Religions of the Book during the period of approximately 700-1300 CE. Particular religious sects and concepts include Sufism and the notion of sainthood, Nizari Fedayeen, Cathars, Apostolic sects, Merkabah mysticism and the Hekhalot, Kabbalah, and apocalypticism (across all three religions). Students will make connections with contemporary experiences of orthodoxy/heterodoxy, fundamentalism, doomsday ideologies, and religious discrimination.