Relig Spirituality in Africa

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

The course introduces students to the diverse expressions of religion in Africa. We will examine the various rituals, practices, aesthetics, material forms, and artistic expressions of Islam, Christianity, and traditional religions through a multidisciplinary and multi-methodological approach. We will particularly focus on religion's role in shaping collective identity and socio-political subjectivities in various colonial and post-colonial societies. We will study processes of transformations, adaptations, circulation, fluidity, and pluralism that shaped and still shape diverse forms of Christianity, Islam, and traditional religions both in the Continent and the Diasporas. Some examples include the Antonian movement of Kimpa Vita in colonial Congo, the rise of Pentecostalism in Nigeria and Ghana, Catholicism and traditional religions in Senegal and the Gambia, and the rituals, practices, and religious material culture (statue, sacred objects, paintings, music, and dances) of the Yoruba, Igbo, Akan, Fanti, Mancagnes, Manjago and Creole of West Africa among others.