FORM2254 · Education

Cross-cultural Perspectives on Religion and Education

Lynch School of Education & Human Development

This course examines the intersection of religiousexperience and education in and beyond schools. In the US, education and religionare typically seen asseparate spheres, divided by a firewall between thepublic and the private. In many other global cultures, this separation wouldseem absurd. Religion isexperienced not as a private sphere but as anever-present framework for living. In this course, we will examine therelationship of religion and education acrossmultiple cultural contexts andreligious traditions, asking: what kind of knowledge does religious educationimpart, and what kind of human/society is it meant toproduce in the world? Wewill consider how religion figures in educational projects of nation buildingand socio-economic development, frames the education ofcharacter, or mobilizesaction against injustice. Topics include how West African Islamic educationprompted resistance against the Atlantic slave trade, thetensions around Hindueducation in British colonial schools in India, and the gendered features ofHasidic Jewish schooling in Brooklyn, among others.