RELG238

This course looks to the way that religious communities have created and used different spaces in the greater Chicago area, paying attention to Chicago as a specifically urban place. We focus on both neighborhoods and sacred spaces themselves, including the architectural forms of these spaces. We examine the effects of immigration and urban change on neighborhoods and congregations. This course covers a diverse range of historical and living communities, drawing from the tools of religious studies, history, urban studies, and architectural studies. It also includes numerous field site visits, with much of the instruction taking place on location in Chicago's sacred spaces. No prerequisites.