Course Syllabus

“Religion today is much more a public, commodified, therapeutic and personalized set of practices than it has been in the past.  At the same time, the media … are collectively coming to constitute a realm where important projects of ‘The self’ take place – projects that include spiritual, transcendent, and deeply meaningful ‘work.’ … religion and media are increasingly converging … on a common turf: the everyday world of lived experience.” S. Hoover

“I suspect that [the de-institutionalization of religion] is not a de-institutionalization at all, but a re-institutionalization of religious faith within the institutions of commercial mass media.” P. Horsfield

“Images … [are not] …ancillary illustrations to the ‘real’ nature of religion as theology, creed, sermon, or clergy. Instead, images and the manner in which they are used are primary forms of evidence – visual evidence; they are, materially speaking, religion at work.” D. Morgan

REQUIRED READING:

Mahan,  Jeffrey H., Media, Religion and Culture: An Introduction forthcoming, Routledge (Do not need to purchase. selected chapters posted on Canvas. Note: Work in progress, not for distribution or citation outside class)

Morgan, David, ed., 2008, Key Words in Religion, Media and Culture, New York: Routledge. (Do not need to purchase. selected chapters posted on Canvas. Note: Copyrighted work, not for distribution outside class)

Purchase and read ONE of the following (to be discussed Week Five). Sign up for the appropriate reading group at the Choose Your Additional Reading tab below:

• Campbell, Heidi A., 2012, Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds, New York: Routledge. (Examines the ways that different religious of the world are engaging new media such as cell phones, video games and blogging.)$34.95 (paper)  ISBN 978-0-415-67611-3
• Ward, Pete, 2011, Gods Behaving Badly: Media, Religion and Celebrity Culture, Waco: Baylor University Press (Examines the “veneration” of celebrities to explore how religion interacts with popular culture and draw a distinction between religion and Para-religion.) $24.95 (paper) ISBN  9781602581500
• Sumiala, Johanna, 2013, Media, and Ritual: Death, Community and Everyday Life, London: Routledge.(Uses a study of the rituals surrounding death to develop an anthropology of media and to explore the mediatization of ritual.) $34.95 paper ISBN: 978-0-415- 68433-0 (paper) 978-0-203-09487-7 (ebook)

See Taylor Library's list of online book sellers for purchasing options.

Instructor Information
Learning Goals
Requirements and Grades
Required Readings
Policies
Choose Your Additional Reading
Course Outline 
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