IST1005-1-FA14 - Seeing & Believing: Religion & Film

Tuesdays 8:30-12

Instructors:

Sophia Arjana, MA, MTS, PhD

Visiting Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies

Office: I- 301 Email: sarjana@iliff.edu          Office Phone: 720-226-3124

Jeffrey Mahan, MDiv, PhD

Professor of Media, Religion and Culture

Ralph E. and Norma E. Peck Chair in Religion and Public Communication

Office:  I-410  Email: jmahan@iliff.edu Office Phone: 720-226-3629

Course Description:

A first year introductory course is a required in the MTS, MDiv, MASC, and MAPSC. The purpose of these courses is to:

• Expose incoming students to the relevance of the academic, interdisciplinary study of religion and theology so they recognize from the first year of study that theological/religious studies disciplines work together to generate significant knowledge that matters to the world.
• Expose students in a collaborative way to the critical questions and issues that focus the research of the faculty.
• Provide a core first year experience and orientation to academic skills necessary for success at the graduate level.

Seeing and Believing uses the aesthetic, theological, and cultural study of film as a lens through which to think about the practice and definition of religion. Drawing on presentations of Islam, Buddhism and Christianity as core examples, the course is concerned with how artists construct images of particular religions, religious practices and ways of life, and the way scholars attempt to define religion more broadly. The course is also designed to build the core analytical, research and writing skills that are central to the graduate study of religion and which are necessary to be a successful student at Iliff.

Learning Goals:

The course introduces theories and methods in the study of religion and theology, and provides learning experiences able to support the following learning outcomes for students: Students identify and describe characteristic approaches to the academic study of religion related to at least four of the six curricular areas identified in the core curriculum.

1. Students demonstrate critical reading skills, such as the capacity to identify the thesis of a text, its methodology, the contextual situation of the author’s argument in a larger discourse, the contours of its argument, and the implications of its constructive work.
2. Students demonstrate the capacity to write a brief, thesis-driven paper drawing on textual resources with appropriate academic citation and a writing style appropriate to the genre.
3. Students are able to identify appropriate academic resources through library research in order to address a research question of significance to them.
4. Students engage in critical, respectful, and constructive academic dialogue and reflection in a diverse cultural setting (the classroom).
5. Student motivation, curiosity, and commitment to the engaged academic study of religion and theology increases.

Course Expectations:

Students are expected to attend every class, except for cases of illness or family emergency. It is not possible to pass the class if you miss more than two classes. Assigned readings and films should be completed before class meetings. Late work will receive a one grade reduction per day and no late work will be accepted after three days past the due date.

Readings and Films:

Reading Assignments:  The reading assignment for this course can be found on the course Canvas site. They must be read in advance of the session for which they are listed .

Viewing Assignments: The assigned films are available from Netflix and may be available from other rental or online sources. They must be viewed in advance of the session for which they are listed .

You will need to have access outside of class to a source for the films assigned for pre-class viewing. They are available through Netflix. For most students this is the easiest way to have reliable access to the films. Netflix charges start at about $9.00 a month. Most of them are not offered by Netflix for “click and play” video streaming on your computer or television, you will usually need to order mail delivery of a DVD. You can also find them through other rental or online sources.

Even if you have seen a film in the past, please view each film in the week or two before the class discussion so that your impressions are fresh. In some cases there are several films available with similar titles so pay attention to the directors and dates to be sure you come to class ready to discuss the appropriate film.

Course Outline:

Week One: Introductions

Readings: David Chidester, “The Church of baseball, the fetish of Coca-cola, and the potlatch of rock and roll,” Bruce Forbes, “Introduction,” in Religion and Popular Culture in America

Handout: Some Definitions of Religion

Brief Lecture: (Arjana) What is “religion” and who created it?

Brief Lecture: (Mahan) “Jesus in the Movies”

Screen in Class: Jesus of Montreal 1989, dir. Denys Arcand (show first hour)

Week Two: Approaching the Narrative Text

Readings: Roy Anker, “Narrative” in The Routledge Companion to Religion and Film

Screening (Part 2) and Discussion of Jesus of Montreal : How are differing understandings of Jesus, Christianity, and the church explored? How are these presented cinematically?

Lecture: (Arjana) Religious Narratives

Academic Literacy Skills: Academic Reading Tutorial Writing Center Director, Elizabeth Coody (previewing, deep reading, critical reading), 1 hr

** Assignment: Choose a discussion topic for weeks 8 and 9

Week Three: Film as Visual Text

Reading: Bordwell and Thompson, “The Significance of Film Form,” from Film Art: An Introduction

Film to see in advance: Of Gods and Men , 2010, dir. Xavier Beauvois

Lecture: (Mahan) Film Grammar

Handout: History of Algerian Civil War [on Canvas]

Discussion: Of Gods and Men , the cinematic text and examination, and Christianity and Islam

Academic Literacy Skills: Library Research with Mary Olson, Taylor Library, 1 hr [Students look for resources relevant to their topic]

**Brief Assignment: Building and Applying Research and Writing Skills (due next week) – THIS IS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF YOUR RESEARCH

Week Four: Heroes and Superheroes: Making Culture Sacred

Readings: Heroes and Superheroes: Robert Jewett and John Lawrence, in The Routledge Companion to Religion and Film, [Superman and other heroes, Documentary on Star Trek fans – 5 minutes]

Burka Avenger (introductory remarks on Muslim superheroes and super-heroines)

Academic Literacy Skills: Thesis writing, and introduction to the Writing Center by Writing Center Director, Elizabeth Rae Coody, 1.5 hr

Guest Lecture: Elizabeth Rae Coody on Comic Strips and Superheroes

In-Class Teamwork, 30 minutes

** Assignment: 3-4 page research report – submit on Canvas

Week Five: Hollywood/Constructing Worlds

Online Lecture (Arjana): Iran Factsheet

Online Lecture (Arjana): The Captivity Narrative

Readings: Glenn Frankel, “The Prisoner (Texas, 1861-1871),” in The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend

Film: The Searchers

Lecture: (Mahan) The Aesthetics of the Hollywood World View

Lecture: (Mahan) John Ford’s The Searchers : Race, Religion, and the Construction of the American West

Film: The Separation of Nader and Simin , 2011, on Netflix A Separation dir. Asghar Farhadi

Week Six: Alternatives to the Hollywood Narrative

Readings: Ella Shohat and Robert Stam, “The Imperial Imaginary” and “The Esthetics of Resistance” (posted on Canvas)

Academic Literacy Skills: Writing Center, Organizing and editing our work, Elizabeth Coody, 1 hr

Film: Children of Heaven , 1997, dir. Majid Majidi

** Assignment Due: 4-5 page paper [Bring to class for peer reviewing]

Week Seven: Narrating the Other and a Feminist Response

Readings: Reading: Ella Shohat, “Gender and Culture of Empire: Toward a Feminist Ethnography of the Cinema”

Film: Tabu (1931), dir. F.W. Murnau

Screen in Class: Blessings: Tsoknyi Nangchen Nuns of Tibet

Lecture and Slideshow: (Arjana) Monstrous Depictions of the Other

Lecture: (Mahan) Types and Stereotypes

Paper Due: Submit on Canvas

Week Eight: Religion & Film Scholarship Projects

Groups: Monsters, Religion & Film

Week Nine: Religion & Film Scholarship Projects

Groups: Gender, Muslims & Film

Week Ten: Reflections

Reading: Talal Asad, “The Construction of Religion as an Anthropological Category”

Discussion: (Mahan and Arjana) Asad

Remarks: Religion and Popular Culture (Mahan)

TV Episode: “The Simpson’s Christmas Special” [Shown in class]

Closing discussion of course

** Assignment Due: Film Reflection Paper

Assignment Schedule and Grading:

Week Two: Choose a discussion topic from the list.

Week Three: Your first assignment—Building and Applying Research and Writing Skills—is a multi-part assignment designed to develop academic research and writing skills and to prepare you for the group discussions in weeks eight and nine.

Week Four: Following the Academic Literary Skills session on Week Three, find three scholarly articles relevant to the discussion topic you selected in Week Two. Prepare a research report that identifies your sources (author and journal), describes the field or approach of the author, obvious methodological, cultural or theological assumptions or biases , and summarize the thesis and/or key insights of each of your articles. What did you find particularly interesting, surprising, or limiting in the author’s argument?

Submit this report to Canvas. This is an ungraded assignment but the instructors will provide you with feedback.

Week Five: Write a 4 – 5 page essay on some aspect of your topic with a clear thesis and conclusion, and which shows how your thinking is informed by, or argues with, each of your sources. Bring a printed double space d copy of your essay, and a red pen or pencil to class for editing with a partner during the Academic Literary Skills session.

Week Seven: Submit your essay on Canvas. (25% of the final grade)

Week Eight or Nine: Team Scholarship Presentations - Your research and writing should provide a background for a wider discussion of the topic.  (25% of the final grade, a group grade will be assigned and shared by the group)

Week Ten: Film Analysis Write a 4 – 5 page paper on one of the films shown in class, which discusses it as a narrative and visual text, and which addresses the religious content of the film, and or offer a theological critique of the film.  Due: Week Ten, post on Canvas (25% of the final grade)

Participation: You will receive a grade for participation that reflects your presence, the evidence of your preparation for class, and your thoughtful engagement in discussion and activities.  (25% of the final grade)