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.

REL 17 African Religions of the Americas (Identical to AAAS 83.05)

This class introduces the history and practices of African-derived religious traditions as they have developed in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Black American communities in the United States. These religious systems will be discussed with reference to their mainstream representation (as "voodoo") and analyzed according to the more complex realities of their practitioners' everyday lives. Three themes to be explored in each tradition include 1) gender identity; 2) racial identity and resistance; and 3) aesthetics. Open to all classes.

REL 54 African American Religion and Culture in Jim Crow America (Identical to AAAS 22.10)

Jim Crow segregation in the United States compelled many African American men and women to use their bodies—their hands, feet, and voices—to create sacred scenes, sounds, and spaces to articulate their existence in America. This seminar focuses on religious production to explore African American culture in the post-Civil War era. Students will analyze a variety of sources, including music, visual art, film, religious architecture, sermons, food, theater, photography, and news media. 

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.