Theories of Religion and Media

Instructor: Jeffrey Mahan
E-mail: jmahan@liff.edu

Course Synopsis: Intended for Joint PhD, DMIN, MTS or MA students, and for other Masters students with some background in media and/or interest in the critical theory that underlies the emerging conversation about media, religion and culture.

Are the changes in religion’s location, the nature of religious identity and community, and the nature of religious authority that are developing in the digital age something new in the history of religion? Or, has religion always been rooted in its mediations and have religion and media changed and adapted in relationship to each other? This course explores the discourses at the interface of communications, cultural and religious studies on the mediation of religion in contemporary digital culture and in the history of religion and carry out independent research.

Syllabus and Assignments

Readings : Students will purchase or borrow before the beginning of the quarter Media, Religion and Culture: An Introduction, Jeffrey H. Mahan, Routledge, 2014. We will discuss it during the first two weeks.

There will be essays and book chapters from work in the field assigned in other weeks. These will  be posted in the calendar.

Contacting the Instructor : Please reach out if you have questions or concerns. Email is usually the quickest way to reach me ( jmahan@iliff.edu ) and often a good place to address basic questions. I am also happy to set a time for phone call, a call in Zoom (where we can see each other), or to meet in my office if you are on campus. It is my goal to respond to email within 24 hours, though I don't usually respond over the weekend. If you think I have missed a message, please follow up.

The Course Summary below is still under construction.