Religion: Religion and Pop Literature

See Schedule of Courses for specific titles.

Open to degree and PACE students; Special Topics sections cannot have CC designations.

This course will be an examination of popular religious fiction published in the United States. Thus, we will be looking at literature that is both popular—on the bestseller list—and religious—engaging with explicitly religious themes and issues. We will encounter texts that engage with evangelical Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, and the Nation of Islam, and we will ask how that literature can be situated in its historical contexts, and how it embraces or pushes against both established religious traditions and literary norms.

Class sessions will include lectures to help give students an historical overview and in-depth understanding of our materials, and small group work to give students the opportunity to talk through insights. Students are expected to have read and annotated texts before class, and come prepared to discuss materials with professor and colleagues.

Students will be evaluated through exams, in-class work, homework assignments, and participation.