REL 141 African Gods

Long before Marvel brought us Black Panther, the traditions and gods of Africa played an outsized role in our conception of religion and the world. But who were these gods? This course investigates the religions and deities of Africa before the advent of Christianity and Islam, and examines what happens to the gods of others when they migrate to the African continent. Throughout the class we will examine how Africans of the past debated the nature of knowledge and how encounters between traditions on the African continent shaped our understanding of religion itself.

Credits

4 sh

Course Types

African/African-American Studies Elective; Interreligious Studies Elective

Course Outcomes

1. Students will demonstrate their ability to think critically about the socially constructed nature of that which can be categorized as “religious.”
2. Students will recognize and describe breadth and diversity within particular constructions of religion.
3. Students will recognize and explain ways in which “religion” has cultural, political, and economic significance and/or ways in which cultural, political, and economic phenomena have religious significance.
4. Students will produce nuanced reflections on ways that religious traditions and religious communities have interacted with other religious traditions and communities throughout history.