239864 Religious Systems and Identity Formation in the USA (S) (SoSe 2012)

“Every religious tradition has transformed itself in the face of the traumatic experiences of the last two hundred years or more. Colonialism, industrialization, nationalism, revivals of religion, new religions, world wars, revolutions, and social transformations have not left faith unaffected and have drawn on religious and anti-religious forces to reshape our world” (Crawford 7).

With a sharp view on recurrent cultural pictures of United States religions such as the polygamous Mormon husband, and the premise that religion and cultural values are highly intertwined, this course provides a compact, student-oriented insight into the different dimensions of American religious systems in relation to identity formation.

As a belief’s organization, teachings, and rituals create multifaceted influences that can shape an individual’s life so much that even conversion is an option, those diverse traditions brought to the continent from all other continents of the world must have received a reshaping in the ‘New World’ context themselves that created a cultural space unique to the United States of America. This course aids the analysis of this peculiar space, with a focus on highly current cultural, literary, and media developments.

Literaturangaben

• "The Miraculous Day of Amalia Gómez" by John Rechy, published in 1991