Faculty Profile

Peter Schadler

Associate Professor of Religion (2017)

Contact Information

schadler@dickinson.edu

East College Room 211
717-254-8369

Education

  • B.A., St. John's College, 2001
  • M.St.Oxon, University of Oxford, St. Hugh's College, 2004
  • D.Phil.Oxon, University of Oxford, University College, 2011

2025-2026 Academic Year

Fall 2025

HIST 101 The Age of Faith
Cross-listed with RELG 209-01. This survey course will study the development of European civilization during the period c.400 to 1500 with special attention to the rise of the papacy and religious conflict. It will consider the impact of such events as the decline of the Roman Empire, the Germanic invasions, the development of Christianity and the Church, the emergence of feudalism, the expansion of Islam and the Crusades, and the creation of romantic literature.

RELG 101 Religion: What it is
The course introduces students to methods in the study of religion and to major world religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The approach in the course is comparative and interdisciplinary.

RELG 209 The Age of Faith
Cross-listed with HIST 101-01.

RELG 312 Stories Christian Tradition
(e.g., Contemporary Roman Catholic Thought; Medieval Mysticism; Christianity in Crisis; Augustine of Hippo; Eastern Orthodoxy) Prerequisite dependent upon topic.

HIST 500 Independent Study

RELG 550 Independent Research

Spring 2026

JDST 107 Jews/Christians/Pagans in Time
Cross-listed with RELG 107-01.

RELG 107 Jews/Christians/Pagans in Time
Cross-listed with JDST 107-01.

RELG 111 From Abraham to Al-Qaeda
Cross-listed with HIST 219-01 and MEST 200-01. Part of the Sicily Mosaic.

MEST 200 From Abraham to Al-Qaeda
Cross-listed with HIST 219-01 and RELG 111-01. Part of the Sicily Mosaic. This course will survey relations between Jews, Christians, and Muslims, from their origins up to the present day, with heavy attention to the premodern period, and to those areas under the political control of Muslims. We will, however, also consider the relations between these three in the modern period, and how the beliefs of these three groups have coincided and collided to generate specific tensions between them.

HIST 219 From Abraham to Al-Qaeda
Cross-listed with MEST 200-01 and RELG 111-01. Part of the Sicily Mosaic.This course will survey relations between Jews, Christians, and Muslims, from their origins up to the present day, with heavy attention to the premodern period, and to those areas under the political control of Muslims. We will, however, also consider the relations between these three in the modern period, and how the beliefs of these three groups have coincided and collided to generate specific tensions between them.