Fall 2017/Pasadena

TH553

Clarke

TH553: RACE, RELIGION, AND THEOLOGY IN AMERICA (4 Units: 160 hours). Clifton Clarke.

DESCRIPTION: What is the relationship between theology and race? How does our understanding of racial identity and experience of racism inform and shape our theological traditions, religious institutions and religious practices? In this course students will engage in critical theological reflection from the perspectives of African American, Asian American, and Latino/a and Native America theologies, as a critique to racialized hegemonic Euro-American theologies. Students will gain new theological perspectives that challenges the notion that ‘white theology’ is normative and supra-contextual.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Having successfully completed the requirements for this course, students will have demonstrated the ability; (1) to identify the influence of white euro-American and colonial hegemonic theologies and its racialized underpinnings; (2) understand how white interest, privilege and power influence theological hermeneutics and biblical doctrine; (3) to construct African American, Asian American, Native American and Latino/a theologies, as a critique to ‘white racialized euro-centric theologies; (4) to reformulate theological discourse to contribute to racial justice.

COURSE FORMAT: This class meets once per week for three hour sessions for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion plus 10 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours.

REQUIRED READING: 1050 pages required.

Carter, J. Kameron. Race: A Theological Account. Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0195152791, Pub. Price $38.95 [150 pp. assigned].

Jennings, Willie James. The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origin of Race. Yale University Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0300171365, Pub. Price $27.50 [200 pp. assigned].

Kidwell, Clara; Homer Noley and George E. Tinker eds. A Native America Theology. Orbis Books, 2001. ISBN: 978-1570753619, Pub. Price $24.00 [150 pp. assigned].

Lee, Sang Hyun. From a Liminal Place: An Asian America Theology. Fortress Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0800696689, Pub. Price $29.00 [150 pp. assigned].

Rodriguez, Rubén Rosario. Racism and God-Talk. New York University Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0814776117, Pub. Price $27.00 [200 pp. assigned].

Choose one of the following additional required texts:

Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow. The New Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-1595586438, Pub. Price $19.95.

Cone, James H. The Cross and the Lynching Tree. Orbis Books, 2011. ISBN: 978-1626980051, Pub. Price $25.00.

Davis, Angela. Women, Race and Class. Random House, 1981. ISBN: 978-0394713519, Pub. Price $16.95.

Delgado, Richard & Stefancic, Jean. Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. NYU Press, 2001. ISBN: 978-1479802760, Pub. Price $19.00.

Park, Andrew Sung. Racial Conflict and Healing: An Asian-American Theological Perspective. Orbis Books, 1996. ISBN: 978-1608990498, Pub. Price $25.00.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Brown, Michael K. et al. Whitewashing Race: The Myth of a Color-Blind Society. University of California Press, 2003. ISBN: 0520244753, Pub. Price $28.95.

Chan, Sucheng. Asian Americans: An Interpretive History. Simon and Schuster, 1991. ISBN: 978-0805784374, Pub. Price $39.00.

DuBois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. Dover Publishing, 1903, 1989. ISBN: 978-0486280417, Pub. Price $5.00.

Dyson, Michael Eric. Race Rules: Navigating the Color Line. Random House, 1997. ISBN: 978-0679781561, Pub. Price $12.99.

Emerson, Michael O. and Christian Smith. Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America. OUP, 2000. ISBN: 978-0195147070, Pub. Price $19.99.

Hays, J. Daniel. From Every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race. IVP, 2003. ISBN: 978-0830826162, Pub. Price $25.00. [200 pp. assigned].

Montagu, Ashley. Man’s Most Dangerous Myth, The Fallacy of Race. Alta Mira Press, 1997. ISBN: 978-0803946484, Pub. Price $39.00.

Ransby, Barbara. Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement. The University of North Carolina Press, 2005. ISBN: 978-0807856161, Pub. Price $35.00.

Tatum, Beverly Daniel. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity. Harper Collins, 1997. ISBN: 978-0465060689, Pub. Price $17.27.

Tinker, George. American Indian Liberation: A Theology of Sovereignty. Orbis Books, 2008. ISBN: 978-1570758058, Pub. Price $22.00.

Volf, Miroslav. Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation. Abingdon Press, 1996. ISBN: 978-0687002825, Pub. Price $28.99 [200 pp.].

West, Cornel. Race Matters. Vintage Books, 1993. ISBN: 978-0679749868, Pub. Price $15.00.

Wu, Frank. Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White. Basic Books, 2003. ISBN: 978-0465006403, Pub. Price $19.99.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. 1,050 pages of required reading. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1,2,4] [70 hours].

2. Attendance and participation in discussions (10%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1,2,4] [30 hours].

3. Completion of one book review from the additional required reading list that you selected, consisting of 5 pages double-spaced (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1,2,3] [15 hours of DLAs].

4. Group Presentation on how a selected film engages race and racism from an African American, an Asian American, a Latino/a, or Native American experience. The goal is to identify the subtext and implicit (or explicit) theological message portrayed in the film (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1,2,3] [15 hours].

5. This capstone assignment requires you to write a 12-page double-spaced paper, drawing upon 10-12 separate reference sources, exploring a key aspect of theology from the perspective of either an African American, Asian American, Latino/a or Native America perspective. The paper will engage critical scholarship from within the relevant perspective and must challenge a white euro-American normative approach on the said issue (50%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2,3,4] [30 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None. Auditors to complete all assignments.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH4 requirement in the 120 MDiv Program.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.