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American Religions

The field of American Religions within the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford offers a flexible and tailored approach to graduate training, recognizing that our students come with different interests and methodological orientations. American Religions students take courses within the Department; we also encourage students to range outside of the department to take courses, and even Ph.D. minors, in HistoryAnthropologyComparative Studies in Race and EthnicityAfrican and African American StudiesFeminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and the School of Education (among others). Students are required to take 2 courses outside their chosen field and courses with 5 different faculty members in Religious Studies during their first two years in the program. A typical course of study for an American Religions student in the Department of Religious Studies might include courses chosen from the following:

Theories & Methods Courses:

• Theories & Methods (ReligSt 304A & 304B) - REQUIRED
• Feminist Theory & the Study of Religion (ReligSt 344)
• Approaches to History (Hist 304)
• Theory & Methods for Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity (CSRE 300)


Applied Courses:

• Teaching Religious Studies (ReligSt 391) - REQUIRED
• Writing Religious History (ReligSt 371)
• American Religions in a Global Context Proseminar (ReligSt 359A) - REQUIRED FOR ARGC GRADUATE CERTIFICATE


Topical Courses:

• Constructing Race & Religion in America (ReligSt 346)
• Black Religion in America (ReligSt __)
• The Religions and Cultures of Enslaved People in America (ReligSt __)
• Defining the Moral Body: Sex, Race, and Gender in American Religious History (ReligSt __)
• Asian Religions in America; Asian American Religions (ReligSt 381)
• Religion and Madness (Anthro 349C)
• Church, State, and Schools in America (Educ 293)
• Knowing God: How People Learn Religion (Educ 231)
• Religion and War in America (Hist 354D)
• History of Conservatism (Hist 257E)
• Core in American History (Hist 351F) - ONE QUARTER REQUIRED FOR ARGC GRADUATE CERTIFICATE

 

For prospective students interested in the American Religions in a Global Context initiative, please see https://argc.stanford.edu/. But please be sure to include a paragraph in your personal statement indicating your interest in a Graduate Fellowship in American Religions.