The "Field" of Religious Studies

Catalog description

This seminar examines the intertwined roots of religious studies and area studies. Both fields emerged as byproducts of colonization and missionary endeavor, and both received newfound legitimacy in the context of the Cold War and the subsequent War on Terror. Examining the spaces and places that have constituted “the field” of religious studies, this course historicizes the non-confessional academic study of religion while simultaneously highlighting the theological assumptions that have implicitly informed area studies.