Spiritual But Not Religious: The History of American Spirituality

AMST 256 / REL 256

This course explores the meaning of “Spiritual but not religious” in America from a historical and cultural studies angle. The course’s central argument is that despite the expression’s seeming ephemeral nature, there is a definable and traceable “Spiritual But Not Religious” tradition i…

Evangelicalism & Christian Nationalism: From Spiritual Freedom to Political Crisis

AMST 379 / REL 379

This seminar aims to guide students through the complex cultural and political histories of Evangelicalism in America, from the colonial revivals of George Whitefield to the antebellum abolitionists, to the rise of the Christian Right, and current discourses around Christian Nationalism. This histor…

Senior Thesis

REL 458

Research for and writing of the senior thesis, under the direction of a member of the department. Majors writing a regular thesis register for REL 457 in the fall semester or REL 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both REL 457 in the fall semester and 458 in the…

Saints & Gangsters: Hip-Hop, Black Religion, and Realness

AFR 279 / MUS 279 / REL 279

What does it mean to embody the role of the saint and the gangster? Or what does it mean to hold ultimate commitments to conflicting senses of reality? This seminar is dedicated to the history, analysis, and interpretation of these conflicts in secular and sacred music in the context of African Amer…

Religion, Race, & Colonialism: An Introduction to Religious Studies

REL 140

"Religion” is a concept directly tied to, and embedded in, practices of empire, race, conquest, and colonization. And yet we also use “religion” and related terms to describe the ways of knowing, living, and being that are most deeply meaningful to countless persons and communities worldwide. …