About the lecture

In this module, we look at the origins of the Second Great Awakening in the United States. The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival that was shaped by the American experience in the Revolution. The American Revolution challenged the traditional monarchical political system and inspired many Americans to challenge other areas of traditional authority, such as religion. The Second Great Awakening should be seen as an effort by ordinary Americans to disestablish state churches and take back control of their own worship.

About the lecturer

Susan Curtis in Emeritus Professor of History and American Studies at Purdue University. She specialises in the History of American culture, religion, and race relations; and is the author of four books - A Consuming Faith:  The Social Gospel and Modern American Culture (1991): Dancing to a Black Man's Tune:  A Life of Scott Joplin (1994); The First Black Actors on the Great White Way (1998); and Colored Memories:  A Biographer's Quest for the Elusive Lester A. Walton (2008).