Course Description
The origins, growth, and current practices of religion in the American South. The interaction between religion and other aspects of Southern culture, such as racial and gender concerns, education, Darwinian science, temperance, and politics.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Additional readings and a research paper along with more extensive examinations to reflect the additional responsibilities.
Athena Title
SOUTHERN REL HIST
Prerequisite
Junior or senior standing or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered every even-numbered year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
a) examining the manner in which Southern religion differs from and compares with other expressions of American religion; b) investigating the nature and impact that evangelicalism has had upon Southern religion and culture; c) investigating the relationship between religion and other aspects of culture and politics in the South; d) understanding the influence and impact that Southern religion has had upon the rest of the nation; e) examining the relationship between, and comparing, white and African American expressions of religion in the South; f) gaining an appreciation for the diversity of Southern religious life; g) examining the rise of fundamentalism in the South; h) discovering the nature and importance of an academic approach to the study of religion. Communicate Effectively through Writing To strengthen skills in written composition, analysis, and presentation by means of projects such as essays, papers, reports, and examinations. Communicate Effectively through Speech To strengthen skills in oral expression, analysis, style, and interaction by means such as class reports, class discussion, and oral examinations. Computer Literacy To enhance and facilitate computer literacy by the use of word processing, the web, email, and OASIS through research, preparation, and presentation of work such as oral class reports and completion of written assignments. Critical Thinking To foster critical thinking by engaging in activities such as classroom discussion and debate, essay examinations, and oral presentations. Moral Reasoning (Ethics) To assist in the continued development of moral and ethical reasoning and reflection by encouraging creative thinking regarding individual and community concerns and needs, the challenging of prejudices and stereotypes, and examining rational and ethical bases of constructive social interactions.
Topical Outline
I. Introduction: The Course II. Background of American Religions III. The Colonial Phase, ca. 1607 -- ca. 1783 IV. The Rise and Growth of Evangelicalism in Colonial and National Phases, ca. 1720 -- ca. 1860 V. Evangelical Southern Society: Institutions, Plantation Missions, Interracial Contacts, ca. 1800 -- ca. 1860 VI. Southern Black Religion in the National Phase, ca. 1800 -- ca. 1861 VII. The Slavery Issue and Southern Christians, ca. 1780 -- ca. 1861 VIII. Civil War and Reconstruction: Issues and Eras, ca. 1837 -- ca. 1880 IX. Selected Developments in Post-Civil War South, ca. 1865 -- ca. 1930 X. Rise of the Modern South, ca. 1930 - Present XI. Conclusion
Syllabus