RELG 355. Deities in Motion: Afro-Diasporic Religions

A survey of Afro-Atlantic diasporic religions including Vodou, Candomblé, Orisha, and Santería/Regla de Ocha and exploration of the dynamics of the African religious diaspora. Issues of authenticity and authority, ancestrality, race, gender, transnationalism, and problematic (mis)representations in Western society. Focus on the role of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in forming these Atlantic societies and themes such as conceptions of divinity/ies, syncretism, divination, and spirit “possession”. How diverse populations can come together to reproduce cultural and religious systems under oppressive conditions.