Melissa Bartholomew, Diana Moore
Tuesdays, 3:00 pm - 4:59 pm

Beginning with the arrival of Europeans in lands now known as the United States and continuing to the present day, religion has been and remains a powerful force in sanctioning white supremacy, inspiring resistance, and cultivating moral imagination. In this seminar, we will adopt a critical race theory framework to explore a series of case studies focused on race and racism in the U.S. to examine the complex ways that religion functions in explicit and implicit ways to promote and mitigate systemic racism. Our assumption is that a nuanced understanding of the power of religion in particular social/historical contexts can yield fresh insights into the challenges and opportunities before us in these tumultuous times.

In the fall course, case studies will focus on the experiences of Indigenous peoples and Black people within the African Diaspora, and the spring course will focus on diverse immigrant communities while examining how “immigrant” is interpreted and defined in differing contexts and time periods. Students can enroll in one or both courses.