The religious traditions of African Americans from Colonial times to the present; major religious movements, personalities, and ideas and their relationship to various aspects of American culture.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students: Additional readings and a research paper along with more extensive examinations to reflect the additional responsibilities.
Athena Title
African American Religious His
Prerequisite
Third- or fourth-year student standing or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered every odd-numbered year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to identify the origins and chief points of developments of major African American religious groups in American history and explain their significance.
By the end of this course, students will be able to identify major African American religious personalities in American history and their impact in religion and culture.
By the end of this course, students will be able to enumerate, categorize, and compare the variety of religious institutions, movements, and ideas among African Americans.
By the end of this course, students will be able to list major points of contact and describe the extent of mutual influence between African American religious developments and broader movements for social, political, and economic change in the United States.
By the end of this course, students will be able to acquire a more in-depth understanding of contemporary Black and non-Black America as influenced by historical religious ideas, institutions, and movements associated with the African American experience in the United States.
Topical Outline
1. Introduction: Philosophy and Methodology
2. The African-European Encounter in Colonial America, 1619-1775
3. Evangelical Awakenings and African Americans, ca. 1730 - ca. 1830
4. Rise and Early Development of Independent Congregations, Denominations, and other Ecclesiastical Bodies, ca. 1750 - ca. 1865
5. Religion among Enslaved African Americans, ca. 1800-1865
6. African American Religion and Social Change, 1783-1865: Focus on Slavery
7. From Emancipation through World War I, 1865-1918
8. African American Religion during Decades of Increased Urbanization, 1915-1954
9. An Age of Rapid Social Change and Rising Black Consciousness, 1953-1968
10. African American Religion in the Post-Civil Rights Era, 1966-Present
11. Summary and Reflections
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Social Awareness & Responsibility
The capacity to understand the interdependence of people, communities, and self in a global society.
