Religion and Irreligion

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Religion-and challenges to religion-are everywhere in the American cultural landscape, and in recent years American Studies scholars have expressed renewed interest in studying how religious and secular forces have made competing claims on the national imagination. In the early decades of the discipline, American Studies scholars highlighted the Puritan "errand into the wilderness" and the spiritual impact on U.S. culture. That began to change as new theoretical perspectives-poststructuralism, postmodernism, and postcolonial theory-combined with increasing attention to race, class, and gender. That shift, which led to an emphasis on power relations more than meaning making, nudged the study of religion to the disciplinary margins. Yet the situation changed again especially after 9/11, as religion's enduring significance in daily life and public culture seemed hard to deny. This senior seminar begins by tracing the history of American Studies, focusing on the ways scholars have studied religion. That discussion of diverse sources, methods, and themes will provide an angle of vision on the field, while other readings will prepare students to do their own research on a topic of their choice. There are lots of choices. it could mean exploring the religious history of your hometown. It might mean focusing on a particular religious traditon-from Catholicism in politics to Buddhism in popular culture-or analyzing challenges to religion-from feminist criticism within churches to affirmations of the atheism.