Black Religion, Anguish, and Liberation

Catalog description

In this course, we will study the relationship between race, religion, and politics in the context of black strivings for liberation in the Americas, the trans-Atlantic, and so forth. We will examine how struggles against anti-black violence have been inspired by criticisms and re-interpretations of prevailing religious ideas and practices in addition to the creation of new conceptions of the sacred. We will focus on two different contexts/movements – anti-slavery/abolitionist movements and mid 20th century black freedom/decolonial struggles —considering in each case how religion is both an object of critique and a source of empowerment, agency, and resistance.