Professional Documents
Culture Documents
114
Religion Goes Pop
Easter Term 2016
Classroom: Walsh-Ellet 206
Professor: Eric Thurman
Time: MW 2:00-3:15 PM
Office: Walsh-Ellet 207
There is one required text for this course: Chris Klassen, Religion
and Popular Culture: A Cultural Studies Approach (Oxford, 2014). Most
readings, however, are from other sources and will be placed on
Blackboard or are available online.
What Well Do: Expectations and Requirements
Most class sessions will be dedicated to lectures, discussions,
small group work, student presentations, or some combination thereof.
Since the success of these activities (and the course as a whole)
depends upon each of us taking responsibility for the learning that
goes on in the classroom, we need to be explicit about what
expectations you should have of yourself, each other, and me as your
professor.
During this class, I will expect students to:
attend all class sessions. Classroom interactions are the
foundation of your learning in this course. Life can interrupt
our plans, of course, and Ill make reasonable allowances for
absences (especially if you can inform me ahead of class
time). After three unexcused absences, however, your
participation grade will be lowered (see below) and a
letter will be sent to the Dean. So, you should plan on
being presentin body and mindat each class meeting.
Schedule of Events
Wed. 1/13: First Day: Jesus, Mary, and Johnny Cash: Introduction to
the Course
In Theory
Week 1: The What
Mon. 1/18: What We Talk About When We Talk About Religion
1. Bradley Herling, Preface and Beginnings in the Study
of
Religion, in A Beginners Guide to the Study of Religion,
vi-x and 1-21
2. Craig Martin, Studying Religion: Laying the
Groundwork, in A
Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion, 1-18
3. Timothy Beal, Introduction and Local Landscapes, in
Religion in
America: A Very Short Introduction, 1-28
Press Pause
Week 8:
Mon. 3/7: **Mid Term Exam**
Wed. 3/9: Final Presentation Planning Day
http://ladygaga.wikia.com/wiki/Manifesto_of_Little_Monsters
3. Lady Gaga Fan Letter:
http://www.billboard.com/articles/events/fan-army/6633505/ladygaga-fan-little-monster-fan-essay-army
4. Douglas Wolk, Monsters, Inc.:
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2071124,0
0.html
5. Melissa Click et al, Making Monsters: Lady Gaga,
Fan
Identification, and Social Media, Popular Music and
Society
36/3 (2013): 360-79
6. Jennifer Porter, Implicit Religion in Popular
Culture: The
Religious Dimension of Fan Cultures, Implicit
Religion 12/3 (2009): 271-80
7. Adrian-Melo Gellel, Traces of Spirituality in the
Lady Gaga
Phenomenon, International Journal of Childrens
Spirituality 18/2 (2013): 214-226
Week 14:
Mon. 4/25: TBA
Wed. 4/27: Looking Back: Pop Goes Religion?