This course combines perspectives from the fields of geography, anthropology, performance studies, and religious studies to cultivate a deeper understanding of how communities produce, maintain, and legitimize sanctified spaces. Although course readings direct our attention toward U.S.-based case studies, we will also consider their transnational dimensions—how religious groups build belief across national boundaries. We will pay particular attention to the political and economic factors that facilitate the development of transnational sacred spaces. In some cases, our starting points are actually located outside of the United States. By expanding our horizons, we will be able to critically engage the idea that American religious spaces, and notions of American religion more generally, are produced primarily within the boundaries of the U.S. nation-state.
This syllabus was created for the Young Scholars in American Religion program.
Elaine PeñaAuthor
George Washington UniversityInstitution
Private College or University Institution Type
Syllabus Resource Type
Undergraduate Course Class Type
2012 Date Published
Religious Studies, American Studies, Anthropology, Other Discipline
Buddhism, Catholic, General Comparative Traditions, Islam, New Religious Movements, Other Traditions, Protestant Religous Tradition
Empire/Foreign Policy/Globalism, Region/Urban/Rural, Nationalism/War/Civil Religion Topics