ANTH 043F. Culture, Power, and Religion in Africa

In this course, we will explore the powerful interplay between religion, politics, and culture in Africa. Students engage in exploration of a wide range of topics designed to provide a historical and geographical overview of religious practices in different regions of sub-Saharan Africa. In our readings and in class discussions, we will pay close attention to how worldviews and systems of meaning shape actions and attitudes, and explore how differing systems of meaning have shaped relationships of power in both historical and contemporary contexts. Throughout the course, we will consider the usefulness of the concept "religion" itself, as we examine how daily practices that emerge in and through religious practices in Africa transcend Western distinctions between "religion," "politics," "economics," and "society."
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology

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