Religious Narratives in American Identity

In this course we will examine American literary works spanning from the colonial to the modern period that in one way or another address religion and national identity as those entities have changed over time. This course is explicitly cross-disciplinary, combining insights from history and the study of literature to shed light on the way religion has shaped how Americans understand themselves and their nation. Starting with the colonial and moving through to the modern period, this course will examine such themes as exceptionalism, innocence, election, social concern, and freedom as they were expressed in mainstream and non-mainstream religious contexts.

 

This syllabus was created for the Young Scholars in American Religion program.

Link to Resource