Focus on Race

REL 1.12 Race and Religion

Where does the notion of "race" come from? This course considers the role religious source texts and religious ideologies have played in the social construction of racial categories– ideas that have been used to justify slavery, genocide, and colonial conquest for centuries. Through comparative anthropological, historical, literary, and theological readings (addressing Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Native American contexts) we will consider the dynamic interaction of religion with racial constructs, politics, economics, and science. This course will also challenge students to speak and write critically about contemporary racial justice struggles from a religious studies perspective.