Seminar in Black Religion and Culture Studies

3 credits · Divinity School

As an emergent field, Black Cultural Studies is interdisciplinary and has greatly developed since the late 1960s from a few Black Studies programs and departments at a few notable universities, Yale leading the way in the early 1970s. The conversation has grown with the increase in student enrollments in black philosophy, black queer studies, and women's studies programs, on the one hand, and traditional theological studies, on the other. Black Religion and Culture Studies appears most appropriate as a rubric of study. It best captures the ambiguities of history, culture, and religion signified by the larger discourse on the Black Atlantic. The discourse includes not only the North American, but also Caribbean and Brazilian diaspora cultures and Black Britannia. Black Religion and Culture Studies displays a concerted methodological interest in bringing Black Culture Studies into conversation with the study of black religion as defined by Charles H. Long with a focus on the history of religions approach and phenomenological hermeneutics. [3] Mr. Anderson