RELST-349 American Scriptures--Methods
Can a secular nation have sacred texts? How do writings achieve that status, and what results? We’ll ask these questions of works dating from before the US’s founding to the current day. We’ll consider how and why groups have taken specific texts as authoritative and how these documents have shaped understandings of what it means to be human, live well, and be American, among other "big questions." Possible readings include essays, speeches, stories, and poems from the Declaration of Independence and The Book of Mormon to MLK’s "I Have a Dream" and Beyoncé’s performance of "Lift Every Voice."
Standard Course (40)
Credits
1
Cross Listed Courses
LIT-349
Prerequisite
Two courses in Literature (LIT) or Religious Studies (RELST), or consent of instructor
Offered
Fall
Notes
(History).