Religion, Race, and Nation

Catalog description

Religion, race, and nation are categories of identity to which we all relate in some way, but it is difficult to say just what, exactly they areas especially when, as for example in the case of Jewish identity, it is unclear where one ends and the other begins. Why do these categoriesâ eligion, race, national matter so much? How do we define and distinguish them? What do they mean? Where do they come from? How have they changed, across global and historical contexts? How are they implicated in questions of political power, social justice, and cultural representation? This lecture course gives students a basis in the analytical tools necessary for asking and answering these and related questions, by drawing on theories and methods from the humanities as well as the social sciences. We will attend especially, but not exclusively, to two complex historical cases of religious, racial, and national identity from the 18th to the 21st centuries: (1) Jewish identity in Germany and in the United States, and (2) Black identity in America. These cases will be examined separately as well as in their numerous intersections, parallels, and tensions.