In the Americas, many enslaved Africans encountered the Christian god for the first time. This god was not just the creator and the ruler of the natural world, but, as Albert Raboteau writes, "the god of history": an agent in human affairs. No two modern institutions have so completely challenged Christianity as have African enslavement and the idea of race. This course examines the encounter between Christianity and slavery and the attempts of Christian philosophers and ordinary Christians to understand human bondage. It begins with a survey of early European Christian understandings of unfreedom, but focuses on the impact of the Atlantic slave trade and African enslavement in the Americas on Christian belief systems. Evaluation will be based on class participation and several essays. Enrollment limited. Preference to first-year students. Groups A and D

WILDER