Introduction to Black Religions in the Americas

Description

This course will both introduce students to the themes of Black religions formed in and through the Americas, and specific traditions, for example Santería, Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism. The Americas are formed in and through Black Atlantic. The phrase the Black Atlantic centers the forced movement of enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas and Europe as the center of a set of complex forces: European global expansion, land expropriation, indigenous extermination and, of course African enslavement. The term aptly captures the shifting geographies we call the Americas. Africans were not solely objects of dehumanizing subjugation and property. Africans co-created the new world of the Americas through material practices, traditions of knowledge, and meaning making summed up in religion. Students will read scholarly articles and engage multi-sensory sources and first-person accounts of both themes and traditions. All resources will be provided in class or via Moodle. Books for purchase are not required. Offering: Crosslisting Grading: OPT Credits: 1.00 Gen Ed Area: SBS-RELI Identical With: RELI177 Prereq: None