Religion & Philosophy: Africa

Catalog description

Examines the role of religious thought and cultural philosophies in conflict and peace in Africa. The class will begin as a survey of the history, cultures and religions of Africa. After which, several case studies will be presented that put specific North-African interpretations of Judaism, Islam, Christianity or traditionalist beliefs at the center of either conflict or consensus in this region. A final extended case study will examine the Somali, where one has a unity of language, culture and religion, but due to decades of civil wars, no functional state. These case studies will focus on the specific religious beliefs or practices that either endeared religious groups to each other or transcended religious denominations to provide concrete examples for the ways in which the proponents of faiths and secularity coexist or cause conflict in Africa.