RE220 Online Syllabus PDF

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Wilfrid Laurier University Department of Religion and Culture

RE220-OC Religion and Popular Culture © 2019 All Rights Reserved

Course Description and Aims The interaction of religion and popular culture is as old as these two categories themselves. But while it is relatively easy to pinpoint blatant interactions—Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks”, CBC’s Little Mosque on the Prairie, Deepa Mehta's Water, Bobble head figures of the Pope, Buddha and Moses—others are more subtle. As the introduction to our main course text, Religion and Popular Culture in America, points out, Christian sermons are shaped by the medium of television when preaching workshops advise ministers to “accommodate the televisioninfluenced attention span of seven or eight minutes between commercials” (Forbes and Mahan 2017, 1). David Chidester has problematized comfortable definitions of religion by suggesting that sports such as baseball, consumer products like Coca-Cola and music genres including rock and roll can be viewed as religion because they “do authentic religious work by negotiating what it means to be a human person in relation to transcendence, the sacred, or ultimate human concerns” (Chidester 2005, viii). Further, a close look at George Lucas’s magnum opus Star Wars (or Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings…) will illustrate how the story of the Skywalker family closely resembles what Joseph Campbell has dubbed the “hero’s journey,” a common archetypal myth found in religious texts and sacred stories around the world. The relationships between religion and popular culture are numerous, diverse, sometimes problematic and sometimes controversial. RE220 uses a range of disciplinary perspectives to examine the ways religious themes, symbols, icons and language are used in expressions of popular culture and also how religion itself is influenced by popular culture. Using the 4-part typology found in Forbes and Mahan’s Religion and Popular Culture in America (2017), this course will survey several kinds of interactions between religion and popular culture from diverse cultural and religious examples and across many media platforms and forms of popular culture. RE220 will challenge students to read popular culture “texts” through a critical lens that takes into account issues such as orientalism, appropriation, and racial, gendered, and sexual identities. This course will ask: 1. What is the function of religion when it shows up in popular culture? 2. How has popular culture shaped religion? 3. How do people use popular culture like religion to make meaning in their lives? 4. What, indeed, is religion and what is popular culture? 5. Are there ethical implications when western popular and consumer culture adopts, parodies or even ridicules religion? 6. How can an interrogation of this topic lead to a greater understanding of religion and religious people, of secular society and of popular culture itself?

The scholarship in this field is overwhelmingly American-centric. Most books on the topic include some sort of qualification in the title that tells the reader the primary focus of study is American popular culture (Authentic Fakes: Religion and American Popular Culture), American religion (God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture) or America itself (Religion and Popular Culture in America). Following this, “religion” often proves to be “Christianity,” and “America,” more often than not, is white, heterosexual and male. Given that this course is offered in Canada from a department of Religion and Culture that emphasizes diversity, an underlying theme of this course will be to interrogate the biases of scholars in the field and to expand the scope of religion and popular culture to include examples from Canada, from nonChristian traditions, from female points of view and from locales other than North America.

Course Learning Objectives At the end of this course you should be able to: 1. Evaluate popular culture texts through a critical framework drawing on critical social theory, Religious Studies and Cultural Studies 2. Apply the typology found in Forbes’ and Mahan's Religion and Popular Culture in America to examples of religion interacting with popular culture 3. Summarize key theories and terms in the fields of the study of religion and the study of popular culture 4. Identify general characteristics of world religions such as Christianity, Hinduism and Islam 5. Discuss the representation of non-dominant religions in western popular culture in relation to orientalism and appropriation 6. Describe and historicize the ways that defining national myths have developed in Canada

Course Tools and Learning Tools: 1. Forbes, Bruce David, and Jeffrey H. Mahan. Religion and Popular Culture in America. 3rd. ed. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 2017. 2. Macdonald, Sarah. Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure. New York: Broadway Books, 2002. 3. Additional readings. These can be accessed in the “Road Map” or under the “Getting Started” page on the website a. Clapp, Rodney. “Holiness and Hedonism” in Johnny Cash and the Great American Contradiction: Christianity and the Battle for the Soul of a Nation. Westminster John Knox Press. 2008. b. McLain, Karline. “Sequencing the Tales of the Goddess Durga” in India's Immortal Comic Books: Gods, Kings and Other Heroes. Indiana University Press: Bloomington, 2009. Pp. 87-113. c. Root, Deborah. “’White Indians’: Appropriation and the Politics of Display” in Borrowed Power: Essays on Cultural Appropriation, edited by Bruce Ziff and Pratima V. Rao. Rutgers University Press: New Jersey. 1997. Pp. 225-233.

Recommended Text The Tales of Durga. Amar Chitra Katha Vol. 514. Bombay: India Book House Pvt. Ltd, 2000. You will have a reading on this Hindu comic book in Lesson 7. You will find it helpful to read the comic. You can purchase hard copies on the web, though sometimes these are hard to

come by. I suggest purchasing an e-version of the book and reading it on your smartphone, tablet or computer. You can do this cheaply here: http://www.amazon.com/Tales-DurgaAmar-Chitra-Katha/dp/8175081295 or here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/tales-ofdurga/id461049312?mt=11.

Assignments Group Discussion Board (5 posts x 2% each) Reading Quizzes (4 x 5%) Pop culture analyses (2 x 20%) Midterm (Online) Final Exam (Online)

10% 20% 40% 10% 20%

Participation in Discussion Board: 10% In order to encourage you to participate weekly in the course and to assist in building online community, this course will have a discussion component managed through MyLearningSpace’s Discussion board. Students will automatically be divided into small discussion groups. You will find discussion questions at the end of lessons 1,3,7, 9 and 11 based on the lesson notes and readings. There will be a link taking you to the discussion board at the end of the corresponding lesson. You are to respond to each question and to comment on at least one fellow group member’s post. Your mark will be based on a) the frequency of your responses and b) I will randomly select one week to read the content of your posts. Keep your discussions brief: a few thoughtful sentences or a paragraph is fine. When a discussion is assigned at the end of a lesson, you have until the end of that week to participate. However, I require that you not only post your own comment but also comment on a peer's post in order to receive full marks. As such, posting near the end of the due date is unfair to other group members as it does not give them a chance to comment on your post. So, to "inspire" you to post early, I will deduct 0.5 marks (from a possible 2 marks per discussion) from any student that waits until the last 2 days to post their comment. The discussion board closes at 11:00pm on the final night of each week a discussion is assigned. Reading quizzes: 4x 5% = 20% There will be four quizzes spaced throughout the term. These will be found on MyLearningSpace and will test you on one assigned reading for that lesson. Quizzes 1, 2, and 4 will feature 20 multiple choice questions, quiz 3 will feature a mix of matching, multi-select and multiple choice. The quizzes are designed to ensure that you do not fall behind on readings. The time allowed for each quiz will be 20 minutes, which means that you will need to be familiar with the course material before attempting the quiz. Each quiz will be available (to be accessed only once) during a three-day period, ending at 11:00pm on the final night of each week a quiz is assigned. Check your assignment schedule below for the exact date of each quiz. Pop culture analyses 2 x 20% = 40% You will complete two assignments throughout the term. Each assignment should be doublespaced and about 1000-1400 words (4-5 pages) long, submitted electronically using the MyLearningSpace dropbox. There are detailed instructions for each assignment posted on MyLS under Resources – Content – Assignments.

1. Pop Culture Analysis #1: Popular Culture as Religion (Due Lesson 4) 2. Pop Culture Analysis #2 Orientalism in Western Popular Culture (Due Lesson 12) Midterm: 10% You will be able to view the exam starting at the end of week 6 (under “Quizzes”). The exam will randomly choose questions for each student. You can expect the following kinds of questions: multiple choice, short answer, fill in the blank, true/false, ordering questions and matching questions. The exam will be available (to be accessed only once) during a two-day period, ending at 11:00pm on the final night of week 6. Check the Due Date sheet for exact dates. Take-home final exam: 20% The exam will be available (to be accessed only once) during a two-day period at the end of term (under “Quizzes”). See due date document for exact dates. It is based on all course materials. The exam will randomly choose questions for each student. You can expect the following kinds of questions: multiple choice, multi-select, true/false, ordering questions, matching questions, fill in the blank and short answers. Some longer questions (matching, multi-select, ordering) may be graded as “all or none.” Late submissions will not be accepted.

Style Guide All written assignments must be formatted using the Chicago Manual of Style notesbibliography system (use footnotes instead of endnotes). Assignments at a glance: Lesson 1: online discussion Lesson 2: online quiz on all readings from Weeks 1 & 2 Lesson 3: online discussion Lesson 4: Pop Culture Analysis #1 Lesson 5: online quiz (Lesson 5 readings & material on Bagger Vance (film/course notes) Lesson 6: midterm on all course material up to and including Lesson 6 Lesson 7: online discussion Lesson 8: online quiz on Holy Cow Lesson 9: online discussion Lesson 10: online quiz on all readings for Lesson 10 Lesson 11: online discussion Lesson 12: Pop Culture Analysis #2 Take Home Exam: See Due Date sheet on MyLS for exact dates

Course Policies You are required to read through the Course Policies document under the Table of Contents tab. This is where you will find my policies on late submissions (only with a medical note), extra credits (I don’t offer them), starting the class late, and what to do if you suffer technical difficulties while trying to complete an assignment online.

MyLS Dropbox instructions and policy for late submissions Please see the instructions for each assignment for its corresponding late policy. Assignments

will not be accepted 1 week after the due date. If you fail to submit your assignment by the time the dropbox closes you must email me and ask me to reopen your Dropbox. ***For electronic assignments please follow these instructions: • Save your assignment as a Word document with your last name as the filename (e.g. hagermanassignment1.doc) • All assignments will electronically be checked for plagiarism

Writing Tutorials Online tutorials for help with research, writing and citations are available through the WLU Writing Centre (http://www.wlu.ca/writing) and Laurier Library (http://library.wlu.ca/tutorials).

LECTURE AND READING SCHEDULE Module 1: Thinkers, Theories and Trajectories LESSON 1: THE FIELD OF RELIGION & POPULAR CULTURE Assignment: Online Discussion Reading: Forbes, Bruce David. “Introduction” in Religion and Popular Culture in America. Clanton, Dan W. Jr. “The Origin(s) of Superman: Reimagining Religion in the Man of Steel” in Religion and Popular Culture in America. LESSON 2: THE VARIOUS RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE RELIGIOUS & THE POPULAR Assignment: Reading Quiz #1 Reading: • Michael J. Gilmour. “Arcade Fire’s Parodic Bible.” Journal of Religion and Popular Culture Volume 21: Special Edition – Religion and Popular Culture in Canada (2009). (this online journal article can be found under Getting Started - Library Course Readings) • Arjana, Sophia Rose. “Monstrous Muslims: Historical Anxieties and Future Trends” in Religion and Popular Culture in America. Watch: • Little Mosque on the Prairie. (Season 4 Episode 16, “Keeping the Faith”), available to stream at http://www.cbc.ca/littlemosque/episodes.php?sid=4&eid=416

Module 2: Working Through Forbes and Mahan’s Typology LESSON 3: THE MONOMYTH AND ORIENTALISM (RELIGION IN POPULAR CULTURE) Assignment: Online Discussion Reading: • Iwamura, Jane Naomi. “The Oriental Monk in American Popular Culture” in Religion and Popular Culture in America. • Read the Wikipedia entry for Joseph Campbell’s monomyth theory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell#Monomyth) • Sered, Danielle. “Orientalism.” Postcolonial Studies @ Emory. Fall 1996.

https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/postcolonialstudies/2014/06/21/orientalism/ (this is an overview of Edward Said’s concept of Orientalism) LESSON 4: THE AUTHENTIC SWING (POPULAR CULTURE AS RELIGION) Assignment: Pop Culture Analysis #1 Reading: • Price, Joseph L. “The ‘Godding Up’ of American Sports” in Religion and Popular Culture in America • Weeks, Carly. “Holy Hockey Sticks!” Globe and Mail, Oct. 24, 2008. (this online article can be found under Getting Started - Library Course Readings) • Watch: The Legend of Bagger Vance LESSON 5: THE USE OF POP CULTURE BY RELIGIONS (POPULAR CULTURE IN RELIGION) Assignment: Reading Quiz #2 Reading: • Forbes, Bruce David. “Christmas is Like a Snowball” in Religion and Popular Culture in America. • Grieve, Gregory Price. “Meditation on the Go: Buddhist Smartphone Apps as Video Game Play” in Religion and Popular Culture in America. LESSON 6: MORAL DEBATES IN POPULAR CULTURE (RELIGION & POPULAR CULTURE IN DIALOGUE) Assignment: Midterm Reading: • Pinn, Anthony. “Rap Music and its Message: On Interpreting the Contact between Religion and Popular Culture” in Religion and Popular Culture in America. • Gandhi, Shreena Niketa. “Yoga in Popular Culture: Controversies and Conflicts” in Religion and Popular Culture in America. • Begin reading Sarah Macdonald’s Holy Cow. Module 3: Critical Issues: Nationalism, orientalism, appropriation, decolonization, identity politics (representing race, gender, sexuality), globalization, transnationalism and diaspora. LESSON 7: INDIA’S IMMORTAL COMIC BOOKS Assignment: Online Discussion Reading: • McLain, Karline. “Sequencing the Tales of the Goddess Durga” in India's Immortal Comic Books: Gods, Kings and Other Heroes. Indiana University Press: Bloomington, 2009. 87113. (This chapter is available under "Getting Started -- Additional Readings") • Continue reading Holy Cow. Recommended: • The Tales of Durga. Amar Chitra Katha Vol. 514. Bombay: India Book House Pvt. Ltd, 2000.

LESSON 8: WEST MEETS EAST Assignment: Reading Quiz #3 Reading: • Phillips, Richard. “An Interview with Deepa Mehta.” World Socialist Website, 1999. (this online article can be found under Getting Started - Library Course Readings) • Finish reading Sarah Macdonald’s Holy Cow LESSON 9: THE DISNEYFICATION OF RELIGION Assignment: Online Discussion Reading: • “Jesus, CEO: America's most successful churches are modelling themselves on businesses.” The Economist, Dec 20, 2005. (this article can be found under Getting Started - Library Course Readings) • Johnson, Jessica. Megachurches, Celebrity Pastors, and the Evangelical Industrial Complex in Religion and Popular Culture in America. LESSON 10: HOLINESS AND HEDONISM Assignment: Reading Quiz #4 Reading: • Hay, Fred J. “The Sacred/Profane Dialectic in Delta Blues: The Life and Lyrics of Sonny Boy Williamson.” Phylon Vol. 48, No. 4 (1987): 317-326. (this online journal article can be found under Getting Started - Library Course Readings) • Clapp, Rodney. “Holiness and Hedonism” in Johnny Cash and the Great American Contradiction: Christianity and the Battle for the Soul of a Nation. Westminster John Knox Press. 2008, 43-62. (This chapter is available under "Getting Started -- Additional Readings") LESSON 11: CANADIAN MYTHOLOGIES Assignment: Online Discussion Reading: • Francis, Daniel. “The Story of Canada” (p9-14) and “The Ideology of the Canoe: The Myth of Wilderness” (p128-151) in National Dreams: Myth, Memory, and Canadian History (1997) (this e-book can be found under Getting Started - Library Course Readings) LESSON 12: WRAP UP Assignment: Pop Culture Analysis #2 Reading: • Root, Deborah. “‘White Indians’: Appropriation and the Politics of Display” in Borrowed Power: Essays on Cultural Appropriation, edited by Bruce Ziff and Pratima V. Rao. Rutgers University Press: New Jersey. 1997, 225-233. (This chapter is available under "Getting Started -- Additional Readings") UNIVERSITY POLICIES: Academic Integrity/Misconduct (cheating): Laurier is committed to a culture of integrity within

and beyond the classroom. This culture values trustworthiness (i.e., honesty, integrity reliability), fairness, caring, respect, responsibility and citizenship. Together, we have a shared responsibility to uphold this culture in our academic and nonacademic behaviour. The University has a defined policy with respect to academic misconduct. You are responsible for familiarizing yourself with this policy and the penalty guidelines, and are cautioned that in addition to failure in a course, a student may be suspended or expelled from the University for academic misconduct and the offence may appear on their transcript. The relevant policy can be found at Laurier's academic integrity website (http://www.wlu.ca/homepage.php?grp_id=1865) along with resources to educate and support you in upholding a culture of integrity. Ignorance of Laurier’s academic misconduct policy is not a defense. Plagiarism: Wilfrid Laurier University uses software that can check for plagiarism. Students may be asked to submit their written work in electronic form and have it checked for plagiarism. Accessible Learning: Students with disabilities or special needs are advised to contact Laurier’s Accessible Learning Centre (http://waterloo.mylaurier.ca/accessible/info/home.htm) for information regarding its services and resources. Students are encouraged to review the Calendar for information regarding all services available on campus. All materials in this course are copyrighted The educational materials developed for this course, including, but not limited to, lecture notes and slides, handout materials, examinations and assignments, and any materials posted to MyLearningSpace, are the intellectual property of the course instructor. These materials have been developed for student use only and they are not intended for wider dissemination and/or communication outside of a given course. Posting or providing unauthorized audio, video, or textual material of lecture content to third-party websites violates an instructor’s intellectual property rights, and the Canadian Copyright Act. Recording lectures in any way is prohibited in this course unless specific permission has been granted by the instructor. Failure to follow these instructions may be in contravention of the university’s Code of Student Conduct and/or Code of Academic Conduct, and will result in appropriate penalties. Participation in this course constitutes an agreement by all parties to abide by the relevant University Policies, and to respect the intellectual property of others during and after their association with Wilfrid Laurier University....