Gardens of the Gods: the History of Religion & Paradise
Spring Semester only
| 3 credits
| Elective
Majors:
History
and
Religious Studies
Religion has been at the core of cultures and civilization around the world since the rise of the first civilization, the Minoans, in c.3.000 BCE. The belief systems are as varied as the societies that developed them, but one often overlooks the shared significant status that plants and gardens play in nearly every religion. This course explores the diverse uses of plants and gardens within the world's major religions and belief systems. Along with understanding both the functionality and utilization of plants and gardens by individual religions, this course will also inform students about humanity's complex interrelationship with deities, nature, and garden art.
Instructors
-
Toby Musgrave
Ph.D. (Garden History, Reading University, UK, 1996). B.Sc. (Horticulture, Reading University, UK, 1990.) Independent lecturer on garden and plant history since 1994. Author of seven books and numerous magazine and newspaper articles on the subjects of garden and plant history and design. With DIS since 2010.
