RELS 146 - Religion and Horror (4)

What is horror in the American cinematic tradition, and why does religion feature so prominently? What is the relationship between religion and horror? What role do difference, race, and the unknown play in the construction of American religious horror? Organized around these framing questions, this introductory course examines the interplay of religion and horror in contemporary American film, giving attention to its seventeenth-century colonial Puritan roots and other formative sources. Grounded in an interdisciplinary religious studies approach, students will engage the above questions through sustained scholarly reflection on contemporary horror films. A principal aim of the course involves honing students’ ability to build defensible arguments in conversation with cinematic evidence and other scholars from such fields as history, phenomenology of religion, sociology of religion, psychology of religion, and horror studies. Every other year.