Fall 2021

Religion, Democracy, and American Culture

Listed in: American Studies, as AMST-217

Faculty

Francis G. Couvares (Section 01)

Description

[Pre-1900] The United States has inscribed the separation of church and state into its constitutional order, and yet Americans have for two centuries been more deeply committed to religious faith and practice than any other people in the Western world. This course endeavors to explore that paradox. Topics addressed include the changing meanings of "the city on a hill"; the varieties of millennial belief and utopian community; the relationship between religion, ethnicity, and gender; religious political activism, including abolition, prohibition, anti-war and anti-abortion movements; and the limits of religious tolerance from movements against Catholics and Mormons to recent warnings of a "clash of civilizations" with Muslim cultures.

Limited to 25 students. Fall semester. Professors Couvares.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis on discussion, reading, written work, critical analysis, and at least one field trip; and exposure to various American Studies readings, ranging from the colonial era to the present; and the use of various methods, including interpreting historical, sociological and other scholarly work, as well as poems, novels, photographs, and paintings. Students with documented disabilities who will require accommodations in this course should be in consultation with Accessibility Services and reach out to the faculty member as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations can be made in a timely manner.
AMST 217 - L/D

Section 01
Tu 08:30 AM - 09:50 AM CHAP 101
Th 08:30 AM - 09:50 AM CHAP 101

This is preliminary information about books for this course. Please contact your instructor or the Academic Coordinator for the department, before attempting to purchase these books.

ISBN Title Publisher Author(s) Comment Book Store Price
America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity Princeton University Press Wuthnow, Robert Amherst Books TBD
Head and Heart: American Christianities Penguin Press Wills, Gary Amherst Books TBD
Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion Basic Books Larson, Edward Amherst Books TBD
Go Tell It On The Mountain Vintage (Reprint) Baldwin, James Amherst Books TBD
The Madonna of 115th Street: Faith and Community in Italian Harlem Yale University Press Orsi, Robert Amherst Books TBD
The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th Century America Oxford University Press Johnson, Paul & Wilentz, Sean Amherst Books TBD

These books are available locally at Amherst Books.

Offerings

2024-25: Not offered
Other years: Offered in Spring 2016, Spring 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2021