IST2135-1HY-FA15 - Religion and Popular Culture

The major objection to the orthodox Marxist analysis of culture and religion is not that it is wrong, but that it is too narrow, rigid and dogmatic. It views popular culture and religion only as instruments of domination, vehicles of pacification. It sees only their negative and repressive elements … [and] refuses to acknowledge the positive, liberating aspects of popular culture and religion, and their potential for fostering structural social change.

Cornel West, Prophecy Deliverance!

Iliff faculty photos 09 037.jpg

In this course, students have the opportunity to explore the interactions between religion and popular culture change within modern mass-mediated culture. The constructions of popular culture (mass market storytelling, sports, music, etc.) and the activity of the  audience (fandom and other forms of participation) are examined as forms of meaning making and cultural interpretation which may incorporate, challenge, change or replace traditional religion and its practices .

Jeffrey H. Mahan

Jeffrey H. Mahan, M.Div., Ph.D.
Professor of Ministry, Media and Culture
Ralph E. and Norma E. Peck Chair in Religion & Public Communication

I am available to respond to individual questions in several ways:

Email: jmahan@iliff.edu or message me through Canvas - Feel free to email me.  I will try to read and respond each day, though I will not typically respond over the weekend. 

Phone: 303-765-3192 (office)  If you do not reach me, please leave a message and I will get back to you when I am next in the office.  

Appointments:  I would be happy to schedule a face-to-face conversation or, we set a time for a phone consult.  Please email me to set an appointment. 

 

 

 

 

 


REQUIRED READING:

Forbes, Bruce David and Jeffrey H. Mahan, Eds. Religion and Popular Culture in America: Revised Edition. Berkley: University of California Press, 2005. 

(Choose one of the following, and sign up for it no later than Sept 15, There is room for six people per book so sign up early for maximum choice. You will find the link at the September 15 entry on the calendar at the base of the opening course page. It should be accessible now so you can sign up and get your choice of reading.)

Wagner, Rachel, Godwired: Religion, Ritual and Virtual Reality, London: Routledge, 2012. (Examines religion in digital space, especially the world of online gaming and asks religious studies questions about the worlds created in cyber space.)

Or, Garrett, Greg, Entertaining Judgement: The Afterlife in Popular Imagination, New York, Oxford University Press, 2015. (From the comforting connection to the dead of Field of Dreams to the anxieties of The Walking Dead this book reflects theologically on how the afterlife is portrayed in popular culture.

Or, Klassen, Chris, Religion and Popular Culture: A Cultural Studies Approach, Ontario: Oxford University Press, 2014. (Thinks about popular culture and its interactions with religion as cultural evidence and explores how attention to race, class, and gender and attention to dominant and subcultures can help understand popular images of religion.)

All these books should be available from Amazon or other sources. Please be sure to order in plenty of time.  

Religion and Popular Culture in America and your supplemental book are the only books you need to buy. There are other articles or book chapters assigned. For them pdf docs have been posted in the week that we will discuss the reading. 


Sept 14-18, Getting Started 

There is no assigned reading for this week. But several short activities to complete through the week. You will introduce you self, choose your additional reading assignment (if you haven’t already), review the online components of the syllabus, and watch and respond to the Instructor’s short video “What is popular culture and what does popular culture have to do with religion?”

Supplemental Activity: I encourage you to pay attention to the way you and others in your household engage with popular culture this week. What do you read, watch, follow, listen to, and play? Are religious practices or images included? What satisfactions does it provide? What generational, gendered, or cultural differences do you observe in your household or extended family? Where appropriate, bring your reflections into the class discussion.

 

Sept 21- 25, What do we mean by “religion” and by “popular culture?”

The assignments for this week are to read and watch the assigned materials, and to participate in the online discussion.

Watch: Instructor video: “The social function of popular culture”

Reading: Religion and Popular Culture in America, (hereafter, RPCA)

Forbes, “Introduction: Finding Religion in Unexpected Places,” (18 pgs.)

Chidester, “The Church of Baseball, The Fetish of Coca-Cola, and Potlatch of Rock and Roll” (17 pgs.)

Supplemental Activity: Consider watching a TV show from your childhood, or playing a video game or listening to music from your teen years, ng a popular novel that was once important to you, or visiting online fan sites for a celebrity you were once interested in. Were religious practices or images included? Think about how this is like and different from the popular culture you engage today. What satisfactions did it provide? What cultural norms and attitudes did it portray and what values did it encourage? Are there things about this material that continue to engage you? Are there things about it that distress you? Where appropriate, bring your reflections into the class discussion.

 

Sept 28 – Oct 2, Jesus in Popular Culture and in Popular Practice

The assignments for this week are to read and watch the assigned materials, and to participate in the online discussion.

Watch: Instructor Video, “Popular Culture as Myth”

Reading: (RPCA)

Mahan, Jeffrey, “Celluloid Savior: Jesus in the Movies,” in The Journal of Religion and Film, April, 2002, (8 pgs.) available on Canvas

Morgan, David, “Reading the Face of Jesus,” in Visual Piety, (27 pages) available on Canvas

Supplemental Activity: I encourage you to supplement your reading by watch a film or television show about the life of Jesus. There are of course many. Among them: King of Kings (silent 1927, or 1961), The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (Italian, 1964), Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979) , The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Passion of the Christ (2004), or perhaps one of Jesus appearances on the South Park TV show. Alternatively, you might visit a church and look for pictures of Jesus? Where does he appear, what sort of pictures are used? In either case, think about how Jesus is presented. What material from the gospel accounts is included and what is left out? What is the message of this Jesus? What do people need to do to follow him? Where appropriate, bring your reflections into the class discussion.

Due: Research Proposal

Reminder: By email or other online communication, organize your additional reading panel and set an online meeting for next week to plan for your Oct 17 presentation. Finish reading your book if you haven’t yet done so.

 

Oct 5 – 9, Story Worlds 

I have reduced the reading, and thus the discussion responsibilities, to allow time for your book groups to discuss the book, and plan for your Gathering Days’ presentations.

Watch: Instructor Video, “American Cultural Religion”

Reading:

Beal, Timothy K., Chapter One, “Biblical Recreation” in Roadside Religion. (24 pgs.) available on Canvas

Planning time for Gathering Days presentations. Meet online with your group to finalize planning for your class presentation. 

 

Oct 16, Gathering Days, 1:00 TO 5:00 PM

TBA

Reading: Review (RPCA) Forbes, “Introduction: Finding Religion in Unexpected Places,” (18 pgs.)

 

Oct 17, Gathering Days, 9:00AM to Noon

Student Presentation: Wagner, Godwired

Student Presentation: Garrett, Entertaining Judgement

Student Presentation: Klassen, A Cultural Studies Approach

 

Oct 19 – 23, Religion in Popular Culture

Watch: Instructor Video, “The Social Function of Popular Culture”

Reading:

(RPCA) Part One Intro. (2 pgs.)

(RPCA) Iwamura, “The Oriental Monk in American Popular Culture.” (13 pgs.) (Session Six Notes)

(RPCA) Hulsether, “Like a Sermon” (15 pgs.)

bell hooks, “Madonna: Plantation Mistress or Soul Sister” Available on Canvas.

Supplemental Activity: Consider watching the Madonna video “Like a Prayer” on UTube and reflecting on it in light of the Hulsether and hooks essays. Or, watch one of the examples of the oriental monk cited by Iwamura. Reflect on the examples in light of the readings, and the readings in light of your viewing. Where appropriate, bring your reflections into the class discussion.

 

Oct 26 - 30, Popular Culture in Religion

Watch: Instructor Video, “Is there religion unshaped by culture?”

Reading:

(RPCA) Part Two: Intro (2 pgs.) and

(RPCA) Romanowski, “Evangelicals and Popular Music” (20 pgs.)

(RPCA) Hoover, “The Cross at Willow Creek” (12 pgs.)

Supplemental Activity: Reflect on a specific local religious community, the way they organize and decorate their space, worship, teach children, invite new participants, and engage their community. Do you see ways that their practice is shaped by their interactions with popular culture? Where appropriate, bring your reflections into the class discussion.

 

Nov 2 - 6, Popular Culture as Religion

Watch:

Instructor Video, “Consumption or Prosumption?”

Early fan video, Son of Star Wars, Posted on Canvas.

Reading:

(RPCA) Part Three: Intro (2 pgs.)

(RPCA) Jindra, “It's About Faith in Our Future” (14 pgs.)

(RPCA) Price, “Sports as Popular Religion” (18 pgs.)

Supplemental activity: Reflect on your own relationship with popular culture, that of your family and friends. Can you identify places where people relate to popular culture as though it were a religion they practice or believe in? What is added to our understanding of both religion and popular culture by thinking about them in this way? Does this seem an adequate understanding? Why so, or why not? Where appropriate, bring your reflections into the class discussion.

 

Nov 9-13, Religion and Popular Culture in Dialogue

Watch: Instructor Video, “Can religion improve popular culture? Can popular culture approve religion?” 

Reading:

(RPCA) Part Four: Intro (2pgs)

(RPCA) Pinn, “Rap Music and Its Message” (17 pgs.)

Supplemental activity: Think of religious critiques of popular culture that you have observed in your life. What concerns were being raised? What understanding of religion and its role in society was being enacted? Have such critiques been effective? Why or why not? Where appropriate, bring your reflections into the class discussion.

Due: Research papers

           

Nov 16 -20, Christmas as Popular Culture

Watch: Instructor Video, “Some thoughts about Christmas, popular culture, and religious practice”

Reading:

Forbes, Bruce David, Christmas: A Candid History [Posted in Canvas)

Chapter 3, “Christmas is Like a Snowball” (21 pgs.)

Chapter 5, “And then there was Money” (24 pgs.)

Supplemental activity: Reflect on your own Christmas practices, both in your childhood and today? What is religious about your holiday practices? How does this season help us think about the complex relationships between religion and popular culture? Where appropriate, bring your reflections into the class discussion.

Closing Canvas Discussion

Due: Application paper 


ASSIGNMENTS, DUE DATES and GRADES:

1) Follow an example of popular culture: Choose a specific example popular culture that is of interest to you. This might be something you were interested in as a child, that you follow today, or simply something you would like to explore to understand more fully. It could by a series of books (Harry Potter), a TV show, a movie or genre of movies, a form of popular music, or a fan activity. It could be overtly related to religion or seemingly secular. Give yourself permission to reread, watch, listen or explore the activity. Don’t think of this as requiring additional theoretical or historical research but as the course unfolds consider how what you are learning might provide ways to think about your chosen example and, where appropriate, bring your insights into the conversation. Counts as part of the participation grade.

2) Supplemental Activity: Weeks other than Gathering Days there will  be a suggested "supplemental activity," an invitation to engage a particular form of popular culture or to reflect on your own of or others participation in popular culture. These are not required or graded, though they will sometimes enrich your reading or engagement with the instructor's reflections. 

3) Research Proposal: A one-page proposal for the research paper and thematically connected but separate application should: A) indicate the relationship between religion and popular culture you will be exploring, B) indicate the form of popular culture you intend to study, C) suggest key questions you expect to raise, D) indicate resources from course reading and/or supplemental readings you expect to draw on, and E) an indication of the application project within which you will apply the learning s of your research paper. DUE: Sept 29. (Ungraded, but I will respond with comments and suggestions.)

5) Panel Presentation: Each class member will be part of a small group that will make a class presentation focused on the addition reading you slected. 60 minutes will be allocated for presentation, structured discussion and feedback from the instructor and class. Remember that the class will not have read the authors you are presenting. See the Guidelines for Panel Presentation. 

Sign up for your book by September 15; Be sure to have read the book by October 1st so that your group can begin consulting about the presentation which will be made on October 17. 25 pts.

6) Research Paper:10- 12 pgs. Prepare a paper that demonstrates and reflects on one of the four relationships between religion and popular culture suggested by Forbes and Mahan. Possibilities include analysis of a particular text, genre, object, or activity, an analysis of a religious critic or critical approach, or another topic agreed upon in advance with the instructor. The paper should demonstrate both your own creative reflection and the way that your reflection is informed by your reading and research. Careful attribution and footnoting should distinguish between the two. Due Nov 13, turn in on Canvas. 25pts.

7) Application: (8-10 pgs) Develop a plan for using the understandings you have developed in researching and writing your paper in some public forum. This might take the form of a religious education curriculum for youth or adults, a community group discussion series, sermon series, college or seminary course proposal, a mass media production plan, or other expression appropriate to the vocation in church, community or academy for which you are preparing. Typically it would include a description of the event that could be used in publicizing it that addresses what is covered, the teaching style, and why the intended audience should be interested in the topic, as well as a teaching plan that outlines the program, and a more developed example of one session, sermon, etc. Due: Nov 19, turn in on Canvas. 25 pts.

8) Participation: Iliff’s model of interactive online education is dependent on your engaged, timely and substantive participation. 25 pts. 

Engaged participation demonstrates your grasp of the course readings, the instructor’s posts and the class discussion, and your ability to apply what you are learning to relevant examples (including particularly the example you chose in item one above) and to your own cultural context. 

Timely posting is necessary to advance the class discussion. Late posts will be graded down. Failing to post constitutes absence and more than three absences in the quarter may be grounds for failure.

Substantive conversation happens when we work as a community of learners to deepen our thinking about the questions, themes and theories, raised in the class. A key evidence of a substantive contribution is that it adds something to the conversation. Don't feel limited by the posted questions, don't repeat what others have already said or simply tell us that you agree or disagree with the author, instructor or classmate.  Tell us what you think and why, and tease out the implications of your responses.

Final Grades: There are 100 pts available, 25 for each of the three major assignments and 25 for participation.

A: 100 pts

A-: 92 pts

B+: 88 pts

B:  84pts

B-: 80 pts

C+:76 pts

C:  72 pts

C-: 68 pts

D:  60 pts


Bibliography:

Aichele, George and Richard Walsh, eds., Screening Scripture: Intertextual Connections between Scripture. Trinity Press, 2002.

Baugh, Lloyd, Imagining the Divine: Jesus and Christ-Figures in Film. Kansas City: Sheed and Ward, 1997.

Clark, Terry Ray and Dan W. Clanton, Jr., eds., Understanding Religion and Popular Culture, London: Routledge, 2012. 

Dyson, Michael Eric, Between God and Gangsta Rap: Bearing Witness to Black Culture. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Evans, Christopher Hodge and William R. Herzog, The Faith of 50 Million: Baseball, Religion and American Culture. Presbyterian Publishing Corp, 2002.

Flesher, Paul V., and Robert Torry, Film & Religion, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007.

Forshey, Gerald, American Religious and Biblical Spectaculars, Westport: Praeger, 1992.

Frykholm, Amy Johnson, Rapture Culture: Left Behind in Evangelical America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Garrett, Greg, Entertaining Judgement: The Afterlife in Popular Imagination, New York, Oxford University Press, 2015.

Goethals, Gregor, The Electronic Golden Calf. Cambridge: Cowley Publications, 1990.

Jewett, Robert, Saint Paul at the Movies. Louisville: Westminister/John Known Press, 1993.

Johnson, Robert K., Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2000.

Klassen, Chris, Religion and Popular Culture: A Cultural Studies Approach, Ontario: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Lyden, John C., Film as Religion: Myths, Morals and Rituals, NY: New York University Press, 2003.

MacDannell, Colleen, Material Christianity (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1995.

Mazur, Eric Michael and Kate McCarthy, God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture. New York: Routledge, 2001.

Miller, Vincent J., Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture, New York: Continum, 2009.

Morgan, David, Visual Piety. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. 

Morgan, David, (2007) The Lure of Images: A history of religion and visual media in America. New York: Routledge.

Nachbar, Jack & Kevin Lause, eds. Popular Culture: An Introductory Text. Bowling Green, The Popular Press, 1992.

Pinn, Anthony B. Noise and Spirit: The Religious and Spiritual Sensibilities of Rap Music. New York: New York University Press, 2003.

Pinsky, Mark I. The Gospel According to the Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World’s Most Animated Family. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.

Mitchell, Jolyon and S. Brent Plate, The Religion and Film Reader. New York: Routledge, 2007.

Romanowski, William D., Eyes Wide Open: Looking For God in Popular Culture. Grand Rapids: Brazos Books, 2001.

Sample, Tex, White Soul: Country Music, the Church and Working Americans. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996.

Schultze, Quentin J., Redeeming Television. Downers Grove: Intervarsity, 1992.

Scott, Bernard Brandon, Hollywood Dreams & Biblical Stories. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1994.

Wagner, Rachel, Godwired: Religion, Ritual and Virtual Reality, London: Routledge, 2012.

Ward, Pete, Gods Behaving Badly: Media, Religion and Celebrity Culture, Waco: Baylor University Press, 2012. 

Weisenfeld, Judith, Hollywood Be Thy Name: African American Religion in American Film, 1929 – 1949. Berkley: University of California Press, 2007.

________________________

Policies:

Incomplete Policy: Students who believe their situation justifies it may apply for an incomplete following the process outlined in the Masters Student Handbook.

Notification of Academic Integrity Standards: (from the Iliff Master’s Student Handbook) Academic integrity lies at the foundation of academic progress. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, acts of fraud and deception on an examination or class assignment, acts of forgery or unauthorized alteration of any official academic record or document and attempt to gain credit for work that one has plagiarized from the work of another person. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course or any other at Iliff School of Theology and there are serious consequences to students who engage in it. For more information on these and other rules regarding academic progress at Iliff consult the Master’s Student Handbook available on My Iliff.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):  Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs.  Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor to initiate the process of requesting accommodations.  The advising center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303-765-1146.

 





Technology Issues : If you need assistance with Canvas email, contact support@iliff.edu or call them at 303-909-9321. Please leave a message and the staff will get back to you as soon as possible. They are typically available 8:30AM - 7:00ish in the Mountain Time Zone.

DateDayDetails
Sep 16, 2015WedChoose your Additional Reading/Panel Presentationdue by 05:59AM
Sep 16, 2015WedIntroductionsdue by 05:59AM
Sep 16, 2015WedSyllabus Reviewdue by 05:59AM
Sep 17, 2015ThuInstructor remarks, What is popular culture and what does popular culture have to do with religion?due by 05:59AM
Sep 18, 2015FriIntroduction Responsesdue by 05:59AM
Sep 19, 2015SatWhat is popular culture . . . , responsesdue by 05:59AM
Sep 30, 2015WedPost your Research and Application Proposaldue by 05:59AM
Oct 06, 2015TueGuidelines for Panel Presentationdue by 05:59AM
Nov 14, 2015SatPost your Research Paperdue by 06:59AM
Nov 20, 2015FriPost your Application Projectdue by 06:59AM