Sacred Stories

What do stories do? How do stories underlie who we are, where we are, or why our world is as it is? Ancient religious stories have been formative for western culture in all its expressions, lasting into our modern, secularized times. They underlie how we think about life, death, suffering, or joy. They sustain foundational categories of power, gender, sexuality, race and class. How do they work? This course will examine narrativity – the telling, sharing, and contesting of stories – as a means for constructing and maintaining religious identity, community, and world view. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim materials. Mini-lectures; in-class discussion.