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Academic Year 2003/2004

Religion in U.S. America
RELI 222 FA
Crosslistings:
AMST 220

This course is an introduction to religion in the United States, with an emphasis on the diverse cultural influences that have informed spiritual and religious life for Americans. The course materials are aimed at acquainting you with some of the major themes in American religion, taking into account the perspectives of actors who have been traditionally underrepresented in U.S. society. We will study religion and the colonial project, slave religion, revivalism and the Great Awakening, Mormons and Millerites, Afro-Christianity, Fundamentalism, and selected U.S. Catholicisms and Judaisms, as well as new immigrant religions (Santeria/Lukumi, Rastafari). We will be interested in asking why the U.S. has generated new religious traditions and what the effect of this dynamic has had on American life.

MAJOR READINGS

Catherine L. Albanese, AMERICA: RELIGIONS AND RELIGION
Nancy Ammerman, BIBLE BELIEVERS
Robert Orsi, MADONNA OF 115th STREET
Cherry, GOD'S NEW ISRAEL
Karen McCarthy Brown, MAMA LOLA: A VODOU PRIESTESS IN BROOKLYN
Sherry Reynolds, THE RAPTURE OF CANAAN

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Weekly response papers, attendance, three critical essays, and a final exam.

COURSE FORMAT: Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS RELI    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-19-2004

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