REL 286
The Bible & US Borders: Latinx Encounters Fall 2024
Division II
Cross-listed LATS 285

This course seeks to understand migration in the current historical, social and political moment, especially on the US-Mexico border. We will explore migration and borders through the lenses of history, politics, and religion, with particular focus on the Christian Bible and its influence, both positively and negatively, in the understanding of recent migration experiences on the USA-Mexico border. For example, we analyze instances of and reflections on migration in the Bible, in light of various interpretations and applications emerging today in debates over migration, including by politicians and “Christian nationalists.” The perspectives of Latinx communities in the USA with regard to border politics and policies will be front and center in this course. The Bible, monographs and essays on Bible, borders, migration, and religion, especially from Latinx authors and thinkers, will constitute the readings for the course, along with recent data, policies, and reports on the border and “border security.” Who is coming to the US-Mexico border and why, and what does religion and biblical interpretation have to do with how the US government and US people think and act on the border?