Anthropology 358 - American Christianity:History and Culture

Institution:

Reed College

Subject:

Description:

Full course for one semester. This course will ask to what degree American Christianity is a religious, social, and cultural phenomenon that, while perhaps not sui generis, has distinctive traits that mark it as a properly bounded anthropological research object in and of itself. In the past, North American Christianity has not been thought through as fully by anthropologists as it possibly could have been; recently, however, in part as a corrective measure to this oversight, in part as a reaction to the increased visibility that religiously informed conservative political movements have enjoyed over the past 30 years, and in part as a realization of the importance that American Christianity has had on Christian practiceworldwide, anthropologists have begun to produce a more thorough documentation of North American Christian life. This anthropological work has been supplemented by sociological ethnographies, as well as by material from historians who have either been influenced by anthropological approaches, or who have taken cultural material as their object. This course will survey this literature, addressing topics that will include language use, the American Apocalyptic Imaginary, conversion narratives, Christian subjectivity, and finally the distinctive relationship between politics and religion in the American public sphere that marked the last quarter of the 20th century, and which promises to be a force in the 21st century as well. Prerequisite: Anthropology 211 or consent of instructor. Conference. Not offered 2009-10.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.reed.edu

Phone Number:

(503) 771-1112

Regional Accreditation:

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Calendar System:

Semester

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