What is Religion? Santeria, Oprah, and the First Amendment (FYS)
RELI 151F
Spring 2021
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
AFAM 141F |
Were the people who drank the Kool-Aid at Jonestown brainwashed, or did they die for a noble cause? How did Santeria practitioners get the right to perform animal sacrifice? How do Black religions in the Americas view chosenness? Is Oprah a religious leader? What exactly does the First Amendment protect? This class will introduce you to the ways in which we study religion--and race--by reading critical case studies about Jonestown, Oprah, Santeria, and freedom of religion court cases. This is not a survey of world religions, and once you've taken What is Religion?, you'll know why we don't teach that at Wes. You will also have a critical set of intellectual tools for understanding the role of religion in the contemporary world. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS RELI |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (CJST-MN)(RELI-MN)(RELI) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 75% - 89% |
| SECTION 01 | | Special Attributes: FYS |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Michael Barnett, ed. Rastafari in the New Millennium. [selections]
David Chidester, SALVATION AND SUICIDE (Indiana, 2003). ISBN: 025321632X
Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (Supreme Court case)
Griffith, Marie R. and Barbara D. Savage, eds, WOMEN AND RELIGION IN THE AFRICAN DIASPORA: KNOWLEDGE, POWER, AND PERFORMANCE, (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006) [selections]
Lofton, Katherine, OPRAH: GOSPEL OF AN ICON
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Examinations and Assignments:
Weekly short response papers; Three five-page essays dealing with scholarly evidence and argumentation. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Attendance and participation are required. |
| Instructor(s): McAlister,Elizabeth Times: ..T.R.. 08:50AM-10:10AM; Location: DWNY200; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: X | JR major: X | | |
| Seats Available: 1 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: X | JR non-major: X | SO: X | FR: 15 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 1 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 1 |
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