Professor: James Breen
4.00 credits
CRN 36932: Monday & Wednesday, 12:00-1:20pm @ LAWR 230
The long history of religion and capitalism in the United States is more complex than you might believe. While some religious people and institutions have supported the growth of U.S. capitalism in various important ways since the eighteenth century, other Americans have drawn upon religious ideas to critique capitalism and offer radically different ways of living and working. In this course, we will explore how religious people, institutions, and ideas have contributed to and contested the growth of capitalism throughout U.S. history. We will also seek to deconstruct noxious religious stereotypes that have blamed the failures of industrial capitalism on specific religions. Students should expect to read scholarly articles and book chapters, watch documentaries, listen to podcasts, analyze poetry, examine numerous primary sources, and participate in lively class discussions.