Spring 2019/Pasadena
CH568
Clarke
CH568: HISTORY OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE (4 Units: 160 hours). Clifton Clarke.
DESCRIPTION: An introduction to the history of religious movements and institutions of African Americans from the period of slavery to the present. Topics in this course will include Christianity in Africa; African religions in America; religion of the slaves; the development of the black church; the rise of black Protestant denominations; the development of religious movements among African Americans outside Protestantism (e.g., Catholicism, Judaism, and Islam); the relationship between religion and culture; race relations in American church life; gender relationships within African American religion; politics in black American churches; religious aspects of civil rights movements; and the modern role of religion in African American life.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of taking CH568, students will (1) acquire knowledge of the history of the African American religious tradition; (2) understand the social and historical contexts of slavery, racism, gender, and civil rights that have shaped the history of the African American religious tradition; (3) understand the diversity of beliefs and practices of African Americans and how those cultural practices have shaped American religion broadly; (4) understand theological and other types of development occurring within the African American religious and church tradition today; and (5) increase their critical skills and knowledge in the field of African American religion through the assigned readings, discussions, presentations, and exams.
COURSE FORMAT: This class meets once per week for three hour sessions for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction. The course will consist of lectures, readings, presentations, and discussions and will include 10 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours.
REQUIRED READING: 1200 pages required.
Fulop, Timothy E. and Albert J. Raboteau. African-American Religion: Interpretive Essays in History and Culture. Routledge, 1997. ISBN: 978-0415914598, Pub. Price $42.95. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [200 pp. assigned].
Gilkes, Cheryl Townsend. If It Wasn’t For the Women: Black Women’s Experience and Womanist Culture in Church and Community. Orbis Books, 2001. ISBN: 978-1570753435, Pub. Price $24.00 [200 pp. assigned].
Raboteau, Albert J. Slave Religion: The “Invisible Institution” in the Antebellum South. Updated edition. Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN: 978-0195174120, Pub. Price $19.99. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [300 pp. assigned].
Sernett, Milton C., ed. African American Religious History: A Documentary Witness. 2nd ed. Duke University Press, 1999. ISBN: 978-0822324492, Pub. Price $32.95. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [200 pp. assigned].
Wilmore, Gayraud S. Black Religion and Black Radicalism: An Interpretation of the Religious History of African Americans. 3rd ed. Orbis Books, 1998. ISBN: 978-1570751820, Pub. Price $32.00 [300 pp. assigned].
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH4 requirement in the 120 MDiv and 80 MAT Programs (Fall 2015). Option to meet requirement in African American Church Studies emphasis.
FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes, Take-home.