AFR 311
Black Ministerial Imaginations: Griots, Athletes, and Maestros
Last Offered Spring 2011
Division II
Cross-listed REL 311
This course is not offered in the current catalog

In one of the most memorable lines from the classic Souls of Black Folk, W. E. B. Du Bois described the Black minister as “the most unique personality developed on U. S. soil.” This course will draw from Du Bois’s social-psychological portrait of the minister to explore how the ministerial personality appears across a number of social arenas beyond the religious sphere, including politics, sports, and music. We will investigate the complex social dynamics of race and gender surrounding Black ministerial expressions, such as Barack Obama’s campaign for the U.S. presidency; Mike Singletary’s career as a Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears, motivational speaker, and Head Coach for the San Francisco 49ers; and John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme.”