AMST 316
Sacred Cinema: Black Religion and the Movies Spring 2014
Division II
Cross-listed REL 265 / AFR 316
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

Although they represent different genres, what popular films Madea’s Family Reunion (2006), First Sunday (2008), The Princess and the Frog (2009) have in common is that they each offer complex and at times contradictory images of black religious expression in North America. These films, which present varied perspectives of African American experience, implicitly and explicitly engage themes inherent to the study of religion, such as the role of faith in decision-making processes and the use of religious tradition as a means of reinforcing or contesting socio-cultural norms. This course is as much about the use of film to study black religious expression as it is about the use of paradigms of religious thought to study the intersections of gender, race, and religion in film. We will study films of different genres to facilitate discussion about the various dimensions of black religious expression. Conversely, we will use images, metaphors, and teachings found in Religious Studies to discuss what appears on screen. Through interdisciplinary, critical approaches in Film Studies and Popular Culture Studies, this course will examine how black religious expression pervades modern cinema, and will offer constructive strategies for engaging in dialogue with this phenomenon.
The Class: Format: lecture/discussion
Limit: 13
Expected: 13
Class#: 3077
Grading: yes pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: evaluation will be based on class participation, film viewings, two review essays, and the completion of an original documentary/short film
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: Africana Studies concentrators, Religion majors
Distributions: Division II
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
REL 265 Division II AFR 316 Division II AMST 316 Division II
Attributes: REL Africa + African Diaspora Tradition Courses

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