CoursesReligion and the Global Future (New)
RELS 1370

Religion and the Global Future (New)

What role is religion playing in shaping the future of the globe? Has it made the world more or less dangerous? Can it help humanity address challenges like international conflict, climate change and poverty, or is it making those problems worse? The goal of this course is to help you address these questions in light of the scholarship on religion and its intersections with human social and economic well-being, governance, the environment, human rights, gender, technological development and other aspects of life that bear on the future of humanity.

 

A second goal of the course is to bring the study of religion into conversation with those seeking to improve the lot of humanity through government service, public policy, diplomacy and human rights work. Co-taught by a former government official with expertise in international relations (Harf) and a scholar of religion from Penn (Weitzman), the course is built around a series of public lectures led by experts in religious studies and public policy, and will include opportunities for dialogue across
the boundaries between academia, government, business, activism, and personal belief.
Marie Harf is the executive director of the Perry World House and before that, served ais a national security policy and communications strategist. She began her government career in the CIA and has since held a variety of senior roles in government and politics, including serving as a key member of Secretary John Kerry’s team during his tenure leading the State Department during the Obama Administration. Since leaving government service, she has taught at Georgetown’s Institute of Politics and Public Service and has worked as a political commentator on television and radio.
Steven Weitzman is a faculty member in Penn’s Religious Studies department, serving as the Abraham M. Ellis Professor of Hebrew and Semitic Languages and Literatures and as director of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies. Although most of his work focuses on Jewish Studies, he is also interested in the interconnections between religion and government as reflected in the book The FBI and Religion: Faith and National Security before and After 9/11 and in publications on the role of religion and spirituality in American military culture.

 

Related Content

Other Courses of Interest

PPE 4903

Policy Task Force on U.S.-China Relations (New)

Instructor(s)

TBD

Semester

Spring 2025

More than forty years after the normalization of relations between the United States and China, the relationship faces new and fundamental challenges with global implications. Designed as a policy task force, taught in coordination with a similar course to be taught at Tsinghua University in Beijing, this course will introduce students to the most pressing issues in U.S.-China relations –– including security, trade, climate, tech competition, and human rights. Each student will be required to complete a policy paper on some aspect of U.S.-China relations.

At the end of the course, students will travel to China to meet in-person with their Chinese counterparts at Tsinghua University, and to present their policy papers and recommendations to relevant interested Chinese audiences in Beijing and Shanghai. Travel to China will take place Wednesday, May 14 – Sunday, May 25, 2025.

Learn More
LGST 2600

Climate and Environmental Leadership in Action: Building a Sustainable Future (New)

Instructor(s)

TBD

Semester

Spring 2025

Climate change and environmental degradation pose some of the most complex challenges of our time. Building a sustainable future requires active and creative leadership by individuals, organizations, governments, and business firms.

Learn More