Religion and Emotion in the U.S.: “Feeling Some Type of Way”

Catalog description

This course explores religion, religious experience, and identity in America through the lens of emotion, taking as its premise that religion and emotion are and have been intertwined in ways generative and destructive throughout U.S. history. Students will examine this relationship through a series of units that explore emotional “binaries,” such as Love and Hate; Shame and Pride; Anxiety and Calm; and Grief and Joy. During each unit, students will have the opportunity to explore how a particular emotion and its purported opposite have shaped religious experiences, beliefs, practices, institutions, and peoples in the U.S.