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Issues in History: History of Gossip in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity

An image in the style of comic pop art of a close up of a woman whispering into a man's ear

This course will explore the history of gossip throughout the history of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Gossip, or chatter about other people and their affairs, has been undervalued both as a historical force, but also as an object of study. We will thus be engaging in a relatively new intellectual adventure, reading old texts but with an eye to new ways of interpreting and understanding them. 

The course will show that even though gossip is often dismissed as unserious or harmful, few communities can function without it, and gossip has frequently been the motivator and guiding force behind things that are supposedly more “serious”. For instance, therapeutics, psychology, and politics have all secretly built upon the knowledge provided by gossip. 
  
In this course we will ask what “gossip” means, what it does, and how it has been understood in religious contexts. Beginning with an exploration of what gossip is, we will then move through a series of units covering: the role of gossip in the creation of religious movements; the demonization of gossip by religious authorities; the way gossip allows the creation of communities of resistance; and, finally the role of gossip in the formation of intellectual and theological cultures.  

Department of History, Queen's University

49 Bader Lane, Watson Hall 212
Kingston ON K7L 3N6
Canada

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Please note that the Department of History phone line is not monitored at all times. Please leave a voicemail or email hist.undergrad@queensu.ca and we will contact you as soon as we can.

Undergraduate

Graduate

Queen's University is situated on traditional Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe territory.