Welcome to COMM 480

Welcome to the Fall 2010 section of COMM 480. In this course we will explore three key areas of religious communication

(1) the relationship between new media and the coverage of religion

(2) the relationship between religious communities and the media and

(3) how media contribute to spiritual meaning making via lived and implicit religion.

This will involve studying how religious communities and institutions respond to and utilize different forms of media, as well as how media outlets present religious groups and ideas in various media products which shape ideas about popular religion.

This blog is a space where additional information and readings will be posted regarding in-class case studies and discussions. It is a forum for you to share your thoughts on issues and ideas raised in class. Welcome to the conversation.

Looking for in the Matrix

This week our case study will be looking at how the media contributes to the construction of Lived Religion through the movie The Matrix (1999) The Matrix trilogy was a box office smash and the first film quickly became a cult classic for its critique of technology, authority and its religious undertones. It has the subject of numerous books dealing with Philosophy, theology and popular religion. The film's creator's, the Wachowski brothers, consciously set out to create a postmodern spiritual narrative in which they weave images, metaphors and themes from Christianity/ Western Spirituality, Buddhism /Eastern Spirituality and Myth/ Greek Mythology into a deep, reflective story illustrating their own pic-n-mix spirituality. It also offers interesting conglomeration of competing interpretations of ideas related to human identity, existence and transcendence/the afterlife.

Case Study Discussion Questions:

- What are the different narratives Matrix people from different faith traditions and metaphysical positions have used to interpret The Matrix?
- What does the film illustrate about how media producers may contribute to the construction of popular or lived religion?
-What implications might this have for perceptions of religion in popular culture?

iPhone as the Jesus Phone & Cult of Mac: Implicit Religion in Popular Technology

This week we will be exploring a unique example of implicit religion within popular culture by looking at how the iPhone became framed as the "Jesus phone" by bloggers, then the press and then how religious imagery was embraced by Apple itself in its ad campaign for the iPhone. In order to understand this phenomenon we will read these events in light of the "Cult of Macintosh" ideology which promotes a number of religious-like myths about Mac technologies and its users. To learn more about the roots of the Jesus phone check out the tech blog gizmodo who coined the term and have discussed the cult of Mac. Also check out the blog iphonesavior.com which is dedicated the the so-called cult of the iphone.

Case Study Discussion Questions:

•Why do you think the iPhone was framed as the Jesus Phone?
•How did the Cult of Mac myths contribute to this framing?
•What does the “Jesus phone” tell us about the relationship between media technology and religion in popular culture?

The Kosher Cell Phone

This week we will explore birth of the kosher cell phone in Israel. The Kosher cell phone was developed in 2005 in response to the Ultra Orthodox community cry for phone technology that provide essential mobile services minus the problematic functions that might allow users access to questionable moral influences. Kosher cell phones have been stripped of video, web & sms access that might expose users to harmful content. They also bear a kosher symbol, indicating the devices are approved for use by a number of rabbis in their community. Besides the assigned reading, if you are interested in finding out more check out these recent articles: Kosher phone line to be launched, Partner to provide kosher cell phones and Israel's 'kosher' cell phone testing appetite for growth

Case Study Discussion Questions:

-Discuss briefly how the 4 categories of religious-social shaping of technology influence the emergence of the kosher cell phone?

-How does the Ultra Orthodox engagment and negotiation with the cell phone compare to the Amish response?

Bishop Fulton Sheen: Catholic televangelism

This past week's case study focused on an exploration Bishop Fulton Sheen as the first American televangelist. For your case study reflection consider the following questions...


Case Study Reflection Questions:

-How does Bishop Sheen's persona and use of television differ from or resonate with the Catholic theology of communication set forth in Communio et Progressio?

-What core values and traditions within Catholicism are central to their development of a response towards new forms of media?

Amish and the Cell Phone

This week's case study will focus on Amish response to the cell phone. The core reading is Howard Rheingold article on what learned about the Amish & their interaction with the cell phone in "Look Who's Talking" published in Wired. Also take a look at Time magazine's article and Textually.org on the same topic. For more background on the Amish response to technology see The Amish: Technology Practice and Technological Change. Based on these articles and the class discussion on Wednesday reflect on the following questions?

Case Study Reflection Questions:

-How does this history, tradition and core values of the Amish set the stage for their response towards new forms of media?

-How does the Amish response to the cell phone differ or resonate from Zimmerman's assessment of the Amish response and the Telephone?

Exploring Religious Community Online

For this week's case study we will be discussing some of on my own work on religion and the internet. The reading " Approaches to Religious Research in CMC" from Mediating Religion offers a preliminary report of my PhD research which culminated in a book called "Exploring Religious Community Online: We are one in the network". This provides insight into a 4 years study on how people use the internet to build Christian community online and the effect this participation has in the offline church involvement. For more info on the book check out this review.

Case Study Reflection Questions:

- Compare and contrast online and offline religious community. Can online religious community relations be authentic?
- Do you think the internet and religion online are transforming traditional ideas of religion? Do you think they are influencing traditional religious structures?
- Of the typologies discussed in “spiritualizing the Internet” which forms of religious use of the internet seem most potentially problematic?