This course explores entanglements of religion and politics in Cold War American life. In the Cold War, America confronted a shadowy communist enemy, whose influence was believed to pose a deadly threat to cherished pillars of American life. New and complex political conditions arose as the government sought to contain the perceived spread of communism at home and abroad. This course considers how Americans invoked religious concepts and ritual structures to conceptualize and respond to this shifting political landscape. While this course will examine some institutional developments in the landscape of American religion and politics, we will focus primarily on engaging critical theories and methods in the study of religion. By expanding the scope of religion outside the boundaries of religious institutions, we will identify religious dynamics in seemingly secular political constructs, including the diabolical magic of brainwashing, the sacred value of state secrecy, priesthoods of national security, and a ritual exorcism of the Pentagon. Students will analyze scholarly works, films, and primary sources—including public speeches and testimonies, historical news reports, and declassified government documents—to track various Cold War entanglements of religion and politics.
- Teacher: Shelby King
In this course, we explore communities and practices that have been considered “unorthodox,” “irreligious,” “superstitious,” and “weird”—from Mormons and Scientologists to the Jonestown Peoples Temple and Satanists. This course does not argue that there is such a thing as “bad religion” but focuses instead on the ways in which critics and outsiders have located particular religious groups and practices beyond the margins of “real” or acceptable religion. As we track various constructions of “bad religion” in America from the 19th century to the present day, we will consider what certain fears and fantasies of religious “others” can reveal about historical developments and cultural concerns surrounding gender, sexuality, race, and ethnicity. In addition to secondary sources, students will read, analyze, and discuss primary sources, popular culture productions, and news media as influential sites of religious theorizing, construction, and contestation in American history.
- Teacher: Shelby King