1REL

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

Office Hours: Tu 11:30-12:30

W 12:30-1:30
Th 1:30-2:30
By appointment, too
Email:etthurma@sewanee.edu

Office Phone: x1351

Home: 463-2015

What Well Think About: Course Description and Goals

Welcome to REL 114. This course invites you to explore the
complex, fascinating, and reciprocal relationship between those areas
of public and private life we have come to call religion and popular
culture. We will spend our time together this semester defining these
terms, and the conceptual and material domains to which they refer,
by closely examining select examples of the interrelationships between
them. We will also stress the importance of disciplined reflection and
dialogue when interpreting religion and popular culture as two of
the most pervasive and influential social practices in the world today.
To that end, we will acquaint ourselves with the various theoretical
approaches that fall under the capacious interdisciplinary umbrella of
cultural studies, including but not limited to Marxists, feminist, and
postcolonial concepts and questions. By the end of the course, you will
have a conceptual toolkit for studying the various ways in which
religion competes with, grows out of, influences, and is influenced by
popular culture.
As your guide through this sprawling terrain, Ill have more than
my fair share to say about both religion and popular culture and
the methods we use to study them. Yet above all, this course invites
you to read think about these practices for yourself. You will have the
opportunity and the responsibility of engaging key critical concepts in
the study of religion, as well as examples of popular culture that
may be familiar or obscure, but often just plain fun, as we read
material for class, complete writing projects, and participate in class
discussions. To summarize our specific goals, then, in this class we will:

begin to define religion and popular culture and the

multiple kinds of relationships between these spheres

begin to think critically about the pervasive influence of

popular culture in the construction of collective and personal
identity

begin to think critically about religion by exploring the

ways it influences and is influenced by popular culture

learn and begin to use the intellectual tools of Religious

Studies by mastering key concepts from the field of Cultural
Studies and applying them to examples of popular religious
life and thought

reflect on the significance of the meaning-making roles of

religion and popular culture for communities and individuals,
including the student
What Well Read: Required Texts

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.

 prepare for class. Most class sessions will be based on

assigned readings listed in the syllabus. By preparing your
readings and responses before class you will maximize your
ability to understand what is going on in the classroom and
your ability to participate in discussions. Even if no assigned
readings are listed on the syllabus, you should come to class
ready to ask questions and join a discussion in light of what
you have read for previous class meetings. And you should
always remember to bring your reading material and
notes to each class.
check Blackboard regularly. We will have a Blackboard site
for this course. I will post there copies of: the course syllabus;
readings not in your text book or online; all class handouts;
guidelines for required assignments (see below); and exam
review guides. If you discover that a particular item is
missing from the site, please let me know at once.
think, think again, and think some more. Most of the
ideas presented in the readings and in class will likely be
unfamiliar and hence challenging. We will work through these
new ideas together and the best way to do that is to consider
them patiently, thoughtfully, and honestly.
talk, listen, and talk some more. Good discussions come
from good dialogue. Good dialogue involves your willingness
to make a point or ask a question, your ability to listen closely
and respectfully to others, and your desire to continue the
conversation by reframing your point or raising more
questions.
pledge all of your work according to the Honor Code.
Students, in turn, can expect me to attend class, set an example of
enthusiastic engagement with our topic, demonstrate my concern for
students academic struggles, and be available to provide guidance
and support as best I can.
With these expectations in mind, the following list of course
requirements constitute the basis for the formal evaluation of student
learning and performance. Students will receive a final grade based on
each the following activities:
Participation (10%): Everyone is expected to participate by
completing reading and writing assignments and joining in

conversation. So, dont be afraid to talk! While regular

contributions to discussions might allow you to get by, you are
more likely to impress your classmates and your professor by
engaging directly others ideas and by pressing us to more
complex thinking with new insights. Not always easy, I know, but
worth the effort. You dont always have to be profound, but you
do need to be present, lest repeated absences hurt this part of
your grade. Participation, though, may at times also include more
formal components such as short (ca. 1 page) writing
assignments or reflections.
Response Papers (5 @ 5% each = 25%): Most weeks you will
write a short (500 words max.) response paper on the
course materials, including the examples of religion and pop
culture discussed on Wednesdays. These short responses ought
to take into account theories presented in course materials, as
well as ideas discussed in the lectures and class discussions, and
be framed as a response to other interpretations of the same
pop culture phenomena. To that end, we will begin the writing
process in class on Wednesdays, either by addressing a specific
prompt or by engaging a presentation by your classmates (see
below). Papers are to be uploaded to the Blackboard
course site no later than 5PM on Fridays. Late papers will be
penalized. Overall, you will write a total of 10 response papers,
but you will select only your 5 best to be graded (3 of which
must be selected by mid-term).
Wednesday Presentation (10 %): Most Wednesdays we will
have student presentations on the days course materials,
focusing in particular on the examples of religion and pop
culture assigned for that day. With a classmate, each
student will present one time during the semester and the
presentation should consist of a brief introduction and a
more extended discussion among the class. To that end, each
pair of presenters must (1) meet with me ahead of time to
go over their plans and discussion questions and (2) prepare a
1-page, double-sided handout for the class that lists their
names, the key readings, key points, and discussion questions.
Final Paper and Group Presentation: (15% + 15% = 30%):
With a group of three classmates, each student will (1)
present on an example of religion and popular culture of their
choice and (2) write a 5-page paper on that example. Final
presentations and papers are due the last 2 weeks of class. More
details provided later.

 Mid-Term Exam: (10%): There will be an exam on ----on the

important terms and concepts from the first half of the semester.
A review guide will be handed out later in the semester.
Final Exam (15%): There will be a comprehensive final exam on
the important terms and concepts from the first and second
halves of the semester. A review guide will be handed out later in
the semester.

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

Wed. 1/20: Culture Goes Pop

1. David Morgan, Preface: Popular Culture and Historical
Analysis, in
Visual Piety: A History and Theory of Popular Religious
Images, xi-xv
2. Holt Parker, Toward A Definition of Popular Culture,
History and
Theory 50 (2011): 147-70
3. Gilbert Rodman, Cultural Studies: What It Is, in Why
Cultural
Studies, 35-66
4. Rutger de Graaf, Popular Culture: Reflection or
Illusion?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ocL609F9rNQ (ca. 5 min.)

5. Rutger de Graaf, Cultural Studies: Birmingham and

Toronto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=3dK4k4SaMVU
Week 2: The How
Mon. 1/25: 1. Bruce Forbes, Finding Religion in Unexpected
Places, in
Religion and Popular Culture in America, 1-20
2. Chris Klassen, Religion and Popular Culture, 728
Wed. 1/27: Finding Religion in Sewanee and Beyond
1. Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, Introduction
and
Yes/No/Okay, But, in They Say/I Say: The Moves
That Matter in Academic Writing, 1-16 and 55-67

Religion In Popular Culture

Week 3: Ms. Marvel: Muslim, Immigrant, Teenager, Superhero
Mon. 2/1: 1. Religion and Popular Culture, 133-52
2. Stuart Hall, The Work of Representation, in
Representation:
Cultural Representations and Signifying
Practices, 15-29
3. Stuart Hall, Representation and the Media:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTzMsPqssOY
4. Kambiz GhaneaBassiri, Islamophobia in
American History, in
Islamophobia in America, 53-74
5. George Gene Gustines, Mighty, Muslim and
Leaping Off the
Page Marvel Comics Introducing a Muslim Girl
Superhero, New York Times, Nov. 5, 2013:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/books/marvelcomics-introducing-a-muslim-girl-superhero.html?
_r=1&
6. [Optional]: Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood
Vilifies a People:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKD3CnPJNOE
Wed. 2/3: 1. Ms. Marvel #1:
http://marvel.com/comics/issue/49089/ms_marvel_2014_1

2. [Recommended]: Hannah Berry, How to

Read Comics: A
Beginners Guide:
http://www.booktrust.org.uk/news-andblogs/blogs/booktrust/387
3. Rubina Ramji, Representations of Islam in
American News
and Film: Becoming the Other, in Mediating
Religion: Conversations in Media, Religion, and
Culture, 65-72
4. Mark Silk, Islam and the American News Media
PostSeptember 11, in Mediating Religion: Conversations
in Media,
Religion, and Culture, 73-79
5. A. David Lewis, The Muslim Superhero in
Contemporary
American Popular Culture, 1-12
Week 4: Hollywood, Jews, and Roman Catholics
Mon. 2/8: 1. Religion and Popular Culture, 29-49
2. Neil Gabler, An Empire of Their Own, 1-7
3. Hollywood: An Empire of Their Own:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2YZws9xYEQ
Wed. 2/10: 1. Alex McGregor, The Catholic Church and
Hollywood:
Censorship and Morality in 1930s Cinema, 1-43
2. Mel Gibson, Interview, with Diane Sawyer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPQjHiVaDmE
3. Gary Oldman, Interview, Playboy:
http://genius.com/David-hochman-playboy-interview-gary-oldmanannotated
4. Gary Goldman, Letter to the Anti-Defamation
League:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/garyoldmanmakes-inevitable-apology-for-melgibson-comments-in-playboy-interview-9561257.html
Week 5: Yoga, Inc.
Mon. 2/15: 1. Mad Men, The Carousel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRDUFpsHus
2. Karl Marx, The Fetishism of Commodities and the
Secret
Thereof, in Capital: Volume One, 89-95.

3. Richard Santana and Gregory Erickson,

Consuming Faith:
Advertising, the Pornographic Gaze and Religious
Desire, in Religion and Popular Culture: Rescripting
the Sacred, 50-66.
Wed. 2/17: 1. Yoga, Inc.:
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/yoga_inc
2. Jeremy Carrette and Richard King, Spirituality
and the
Privatisation of Asian Wisdom Traditions, in Selling
Spirituality, 87- 122
3. Andrea Jain, Selling Yoga, 42-72

Popular Culture in Religion

Week 6: From Prophets to Profits on the TV
Mon. 2/22: 1. Religion and Popular Culture, 73-92
2. Pradip Thomas, Whither Televangelism, in
Global and Local
Televangelism, 234-46
3. Denis Bekkering, From 'Televangelist' to
'Intervangelist':
The Emergence of the Streaming Video Preacher
Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 23/2 (2011):
101-19
Wed. 2/24: 1. Joel Osteen, Gods Resurrection Power, Sermon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUdXxseXzkI
2. John Oliver, Televangelists:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y1xJAVZxXg
3. Philip Luke Sinitiere, Preaching the Good
News Glad: Joel
Osteens Tel-e-vangelism, in Global and Local
Televangelism,
87-107
4. Katja Rakow, Religious Branding and the
Quest to Meet
Consumer Needs: Joel Osteens Message of Hope,
in Religion and the Marketplace, 215-39

Week 7: The Digital Umma

Mon. 2/29: 1. Religion and Popular Culture, 173-90
2. Gary Bunt, The Digital Umma, in A
Companion to the Muslim
World, 291-310
3. Akil Awan, The Real Vs. The Virtual/Media Jihad,
in
Radicalisation and Media, 47-65
4. [Optional] The Islamic State:
https://news.vice.com/video/the-islamic-state-full-length
Wed. 3/2: 1. Dabiq #12: Just Terror:
http://www.clarionproject.org/docs/islamic-state-isis-isil-dabiqmagazine-issue-12-just-terror.pdf
2. ISIS, Revolutionary Romance and the
Seduction of Social
Media:http://www.arabmediasociety.com/?
article=892
3. Christoph Gunther, Presenting the Glossy
Look of Warfare in
Cyberspace The Islamic States Magazine Dabiq
CyberOrient, 9/1 (2015):
http://www.cyberorient.net/article.do?articleId=9538
4. Abu Mohammed, A Day in the New Raqqa:
http://www.raqqa-sl.com/en/?p=1598
5. David Remnick, Telling the Truth About
ISIS and Raqqa, The
New Yorker, 11/22/15:
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/telling-the-truth-about-isisand-raqq

Press Pause

Week 8:
Mon. 3/7: **Mid Term Exam**
Wed. 3/9: Final Presentation Planning Day

Popular Culture as Religion

Week 9: Sports: The Apotheosis of America
Mon. 3/21: 1. Joseph Price, An American Apotheosis: Sports as
Popular
Religion, in Religion and in Popular Culture in
America, 195-212

2. Craig Forney, The Sports of American Civil

Religion, in The
Holy Trinity of American Sports, 1-24
3. Lincoln Allison, Sport and Nationalism, in
Handbook of
Sports Studies, 344-355
Wed. 3/23: 1. Bull Durham, The Church of Baseball:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECnlL4RY8PQ
2. Friday Night Lights, Coach Gaines on Being
Perfect:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-iPiN_YHjY
3. Clip about Sports and Community: TBA
4. Clip about Sports and Nationalism: TBA
5. Fox News Super Bowl 2008:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nuo67-cSOHE
6. Thomas Dailey, Believing in Baseball, Logos:
A Journal of
Catholic Thought and Culture 6/2 (2003): 63-83
7. Michael Butterworth, Ritual in the Church of
Baseball:
Performing Patriotism in the Ballpark, in Baseball
and the Rhetorics of Purity, 29-51
8. Joseph Price, The Super Bowl as Religious
Festival, in From
Season to Season, 137-140
9. Michael Butterworth, Fox News, Super
Bowl XLII, and the
Affirmation of American Civil Religion, Journal of
Sports and
Social Issues 32/2 (2008): 318-323
Week 10: The Religious Life of Lady Gagas Little Monsters
Mon. 3/28: 1. Religion and Popular Culture, 153-171 and 87-88
2. http://ladygaga.wikia.com/wiki/Lady_Gaga
3. Joli Jensen, Fandom as Pathology, in The
Adoring Audience,
9-29
4. Mark Duffett, Fan Community, in
Understanding Fandom,
235-54
Wed. 3/30: 1. Little Monsters:
http://ladygaga.wikia.com/wiki/Little_Monsters_(fan)
2. Manifesto of Little Monsters:

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

Religion and Popular Culture in Dialogue

Week 11: Tim Tebows Manhood
Mon. 4/4: 1. Religion and Popular Culture, 93-112
2. Eric Anderson, Birth of the Jock, in 21st Century
Jocks, 25-36
3. Eric Anderson, Sport, Masculinity, and
Hegemonic
Oppression, in In the Game, 22-33
4. Sara Moslener, Dont Act Now!: Selling Christian
Abstinence in
the Religious Marketplace, in God in the Details:
American
Religion in Popular Culture, 197-218
5. True Love Waits:
http://www.lifeway.com/n/Product-Family/True-LoveWaits
6. Silver Ring Thing:
http://www.silverringthing.com/
7. Pure Freedom: http://purefreedom.org/
8. [Optional Viewing] Give Me Sex Jesus:
http://givemesexjesus.com/

Wed. 4/6: 1. Tim Tebow Links: TBA

2. Scott Strednak Singer, Tim Tebow: Advertising a
Sexually
Active Virginity, 1-14
3. Scott Strednak Singer, Virgin Evangelical
Athletes and the
Campaign to Make Abstinence Sexy:
http://ussporthistory.com/2015/02/26/virginevangelical-athletes-and-the-campaign-to-makeabstinence-sexy/
4. Emily Shire, Why We Love Tebows Virginity
Freak Show:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/01/wh
y-we-love-tim-tebow-s-virginity-freak-show.html
5. Timothy Muehlhoff, Faculty Column: Why
Tebows
Convictions About Virginity Matter:
http://chimes.biola.edu/story/2012/may/08/faculty-columnwhy-tebows-convictions-about-virgin/
6. Lynn Beisner, Does Christian Purity Culture Set
the Bar Too
High For Men?: http://goodmenproject.com/ethicsvalues/christian-purity-culture-set-bar-high-menshesaid/
7. David Schell, How Purity Culture Hurts Guys:
http://davidmschell.com/how-purity-culture-hurtsguys/
8. Historiann, This Feminist is Down with Tim
Tebow:
http://historiann.com/2012/01/14/this-feminist-isdown-with-tim-tebow/
9. Dianna Anderson, Back to Basics: Purity Culture,
Consent, and
the Double Standard:
http://diannaeanderson.net/blog/2014/5/back-tobasics-purity-culture-consent-and-the-doublestandard
10. Dianna Anderson, Purity Culture as Rape Culture:
Why the
Theological is the Political:
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2013/10/22/purityculture-as-rape-culture-why-the-theological-ispolitical/
Week 12: Kayne Wests God
Mon. 4/11: 1. Religion and Popular Culture, 113-32

2. Robert Tinajero, Hip Hop and Religion:

Gangsta Raps
Christian Rhetoric Journal of Religion and Popular
Culture
25/3 (2013): 315-32
3. Anthony Pinn, Rap Music and Its Message: On
Interpreting
the Contact Between Religion and Culture, in
Religion and Popular Culture in America, 252-69
4. [Optional] Timothy Michael Law, Anthony Pinn, and
Monica
Miller, Religion and Hip Hop: Grammar of the Real
World Interview:
http://marginalia.lareviewofbooks.org/religion-hiphop-grammar-real-world/
Wed. 4/13: 1. Kayne West:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanye_West
2. Kayne West, Jesus Walks: TBA
3. Kayne West, I Am a God: TBA
4. Kayne West, New Slaves: TBA
5. Kayne West, No Church in the Wild: TBA
6. Lauriel Cleveland, Kayne West God Complex,
CNN: TBA
7. Regina Bradley, Kayne Wests Sonic [Hip Hop]
Cosmopolitanism, in The Cultural Influence of Kayne
West, TBA
8. Monica Miller, God of the New Slaves: TBA
9. Monica Miller, No Church in the Wild: The
Youth's
Unrecognized Spirituality between Beats and
Rhymes: TBA
10. Anthony Pinn, End of the End: Humanism,
Hip Hop, and
Death, in Humanism: Essays on Race, Religion,
and Popular
Culture, 127-35

Presentations on Religion and Popular Culture

Week 13:
Mon. 4/18: TBA
Wed. 4/20: TBA

Week 14:
Mon. 4/25: TBA
Wed. 4/27: Looking Back: Pop Goes Religion?