Religion, Media, and Popular Culture
(Spring 2006)
Religious Studies 530
Professor John
Schmalzbauer
Office: Strong Hall
263
Missouri
State University
Email:
jschmalzbauer@missouristate.edu
Phone:
836-5918
Course
Description
This course explores the relationship between religion
and American popular culture in four areas: 1) Film; 2) News; 3) Popular Music;
and 4) Tourism. It pays special
attention to the influence of different religious sensibilities on the
media. This class also uses popular
culture to explore the changing boundary between the sacred and the secular in
American life. As much as possible, an
effort is made to relate the study of religion and popular culture to
Springfield and the greater Ozarks region.
Course
Goals
1. Discern the subtle influence of religion on American
popular culture
2. Investigate the boundary between the sacred and the
secular
3. Understand the centrality of religion to popular
culture in the Ozarks
4. Give students experience in doing research on religion
and popular culture
Required
Books and Electronic Reserve Readings
S. Brent Plate, ed., Re-Viewing the Passion: Mel Gibson’s Film and Its Critics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004).
Mark Silk, Unsecular Media: Making
News of Religion in America (University of Illinois Press, 1998).
Peter Manseau and Jeff Sharlet, Killing the
Buddha: A Heretic’s Bible (Free Press, 2004).
Teresa L. Reed, The Holy Profane:
Religion in Black Popular Music (University Press of Kentucky, 2003).
Troy Messenger, Holy
Leisure: Recreation and Religion in God’s Square Mile (Temple University
Press, 1999).
Timothy K. Beal, Roadside
Religion: In Search of the Sacred, the Strange, and the Substance of Faith
(Beacon Press, 2005).
Electronic Reserve Readings: These readings will be
posted on the Meyer Library ERES webpage.
They are an essential part of the class. They are not optional. To access electronic reserve readings,
please: 1) Go to http://library.missouristate.edu/;
2) Click on ERserves/Course Reserves; 3) Type in
“Schmalzbauer.” The password to access
readings is “Schmalzbauer” (note capital letter “S”).
Attendance
Policy: Attendance is required at all class meetings. The only acceptable excuses for absences are
emergencies (please contact the instructor in such cases).
Class
Participation (25 points total): Students
will be evaluated on their participation in class discussions. Students will be assessed on their familiarity
with the readings.
Discussion
Questions (25 points total): Once in
the semester, each student will be required to come up with three focusing questions for class
discussion. One of the questions must address the main point or thesis of the author.
Sign up for a time slot during the first week of classes.
Examinations
(600 points total; 300 points each): There
will be two examinations in this course.
They will test students only on the units leading up to the
examination. Examinations will be a mixture
of matching, multiple choice, short
answer and essay questions. They
will be held on Friday February 24 and Monday April 24.
Research
Paper Project: Students will complete a 12-15 page research
paper focusing on religion and popular culture in the Ozarks. Papers may explore: a) Religion and Popular
Music; b) Religion and Tourism; c) Religion and News (or some combination of
the three).
Papers must incorporate original research drawing on one
or more of the following techniques: one-on-one interviews, field observations,
or analysis of primary sources (newspaper stories, videos, sound recordings,
books or documents from libraries/archives, etc.).
Students completing interview-based papers must
conduct at least one taped interview (two taped interviews for graduate
students) of one hour or more.
Students completing field observation-based papers
must conduct at least two two-hour visits to the research site or sites
(three site visits for graduate students).
Students completing papers based on primary sources
must analyze at least fifteen sources (thirty sources for graduate
students).
Students who exceed these requirements or combine
these methodologies will receive extra credit.
Step One: Meeting with
Instructor on Topic and Method of Data Collection (10 points): Students
must meet with Professor Schmalzbauer about their research topics and methods
of data collection by March 17. You must bring a one page description of your topic and method(s) of data collection
to the meeting. Professor Schmalzbauer
will make suggestions on scholarly books/articles to read for background. You may need to schedule an additional
meeting or email the instructor about your methods of data collection (questionnaire,
field observations, etc.). Professor
Schmalzbauer will guide you in developing a solid research strategy.
Step Two:
Submit Human Subjects Application to Institutional Review Board
All students doing interviews or observations of human
beings must submit a human subjects application to the
Institutional Review Board at Missouri State University by Tuesday March 30. Professor
Schmalzbauer must approve your IRB application (by email or in person) prior to
your submitting it. If you are not
interviewing or observing living individuals, you do not need to complete this
step of the research process. Human subjects
applications must include a copy of your interview questionnaire and/or a list
of things you will be observing at your field site(s). Applications must indicate that taped
interviews will be donated to Missouri State University.
Step Three:
Data Collection
As soon as your research project is approved by the
Institutional Review Board (this can take up to two weeks), you should promptly
begin your research. If you are doing
any research for your project that does not involve human subjects (library
research, for example), you can begin your data collection sooner.
Step Four:
Oral Presentation on Research Paper Projects (80 points)
Each student must make one oral presentation based on research for the paper. These presentations will be held between
April 26 and May 10. The instructor will
pass out a sign-up sheet for time slots.
Presentations should be 10 minutes in length (no longer and no shorter).
The presentation should not attempt to summarize your
entire paper. Rather, it should present
your analysis of a single piece of evidence.
This might be an excerpt from an interview, a primary document from a
library, a video clip, a photograph, or field notes from an observation of a
single event.
Step Five:
Meeting with Instructor on Research Paper Outline (10 points)
Students must meet with Professor Schmalzbauer by May 10 to discuss the structure and
argumentation of their research papers.
You should bring a one page
outline of the research paper to the meeting.
Step Six:
Turn in Research Paper (250 points)
Papers are due on May
17 in Strong Hall 263 (under the door is fine). If a paper relies on interviews or
observations, the student must submit a copy of his/her human subjects application plus any signed consent forms connected
with the paper. If a student
completes an interview, she/he must also submit a copy of the tape.
Grading: Grades will be calculated using the following point
system:
Class Participation: possible 25 points
Discussion Questions: possible 25 points
Examinations: possible 600 points (300 points each)
Research Paper Meetings with Instructor: possible 20
points (10 points each)
Research Paper Oral Presentation: possible 80 points
Research Paper: possible 250 points
Total Possible: 1000 points
The following grading scale will be used:
A=90-100%
B=80-89%
C=70=79%
D=60-79%
F=Below 60%
If a student is on the border of a grade, the
instructor will take into consideration the overall performance of the student,
class participation, and amount of improvement.
Academic
Honesty Policy: Missouri State
University is a community of scholars committed to developing educated persons
who accept the responsibility to practice personal and academic integrity. You are responsible for knowing and
following Missouri State University’s student honor code, Student Academic Integrity Policies and Procedures, available at www.missouristate.edu/provost/AcademicIntegrity.html
and also available at the Reserves Desk in Meyer Library. Any student
participating in any form of academic dishonesty will be subject to sanctions
as described in this policy.
Non-Discrimination
Policy: Missouri State University is
an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution, and maintains a grievance
procedure available to any person who believes he or she has been discriminated
against. At all times, it is your right
to address inquiries or concerns about possible discrimination to Jana Estergard, Equal Opportunity Officer, Siceluff
Hall 296, (417)836-4252. Other types of
concerns (i.e., concerns of an academic nature) should be discussed directly
with your instructor and can also be brought to the attention of your
instructor’s Department Head.
Policy on
Disability Accommodations: To request
academic accommodations for a disability, contact Katheryne
Staeger-Wilson, Director, Disability Services,
Plaster Student Union, Suite 405, (417)836-4192 or (417)836-6792 (TTY), http://www.missouristate.edu/disability/. Students are required to provide
documentation of disability to Disability Services prior to receiving
accommodations. Disability Services
refers some types of accommodation requests to the Learning Diagnostic Clinic,
which also provides diagnostic testing for learning and psychological
disabilities. For information about
testing, contact Dr. Steve Capps, Director, Learning Diagnostic Clinic,
(417)836-4787, http://www.psychology.missouristate.edu/ldc/.
Religion at
a State University: Consistent with
Supreme Court decisions regarding the teaching of religion at public
institutions (Abington v. Schempp 1963), this course
approaches the study of religion and media from a non-confessional
standpoint. We will focus on describing
and analyzing the place of religion in American popular culture, rather than
arguing for one religious tradition or another.
Students are free to express or not to express their own beliefs in
class. Students will be evaluated
strictly on the quality of their written work and class participation, not
their religious views.
Cell Phone
Policy: Consistent with university
policy, the use of cell phones in class is prohibited. Cell phones must be
turned to “silent” mode during class.
Office
Hours: Monday 4-5 p.m.; Tuesday 2-5 p.m.;
Thursday 10:00-12:00 a.m.; Friday 3-5 p.m.
Introducing
Religion, Media and Popular Culture
Wednesday
January 18: Defining Religion
Friday
January 20: Defining Media
Reading: James Carey, “A Cultural Approach to
Communication,” 13-36. Electronic Reserve.
Web Reading: Bob Craig, “Two Models of Communication”
Diagram.
http://www.colorado.edu/communication/meta-discourses/Theory/models.html
Unit I:
The Religious Imagination and the Movies
Monday
January 23: Protestant versus Catholic Approaches to Visual Culture
Reading: Andrew Greeley, The Catholic Imagination, 1-52. Electronic Reserve.
Required
Film: The Passion of the Christ,
7:00 p.m. in Strong 301
Wednesday
January 25: Mel Gibson’s Catholicism and The Passion of the
Christ
Reading: David Morgan, “Catholic Visual Piety and The Passion of the Christ,” 85-96 in Re-Viewing the Passion.
Reading: Diane Apostolos-Cappadona,
“On Seeing The Passion: Is There a Painting
in This Film? Or Is This Film a
Painting?” 97-108 in Re-Viewing
the Passion.
Turn in Catholicism Passion Worksheet
Friday
January 27: Is The Passion of the Christ Anti-Semitic?
Reading: Marvin Perry and Frederick M. Schweitzer, “The
Medieval Passion Play Revisited,” 3-19 in Re-Viewing
the Passion.
Reading: National Conference of Catholic Bishops,
“Criteria for the Evaluation of Depictions of the Passion,” 181-190 in Re-Viewing the Passion.
Turn in Anti-Semitism Passion Worksheet
Monday
January 30: Evangelical and Fundamentalist Reactions to The Passion
Reading: Neal King, “Truth at Last: Evangelical
Communities Embrace the Passion of the Christ,” 151-162 in Re-Viewing the Passion.
Web Reading: “The Animated Crucifix” (fundamentalist
polemic against The Passion).
http://www.letgodbetrue.com/todaysworld/passion.htm
Web Reading: David Neff, “The Passion of Mel Gibson:
Why Evangelicals are Cheering a Movie with Profound Catholic Sensibilities”
(evangelical defense of The Passion)
http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/commentaries/passion-passionofmel.html
Discussion: Compare fundamentalist and evangelical
reactions to The Passion
Unit II:
The Religious Imagination and Popular Music
Wednesday
February 1: Pentecostalism and Jazz
Reading: Harvey Cox, “Music Brought Me to Jesus.” 139-157. Electronic Reserve.
Friday
February 3: Religion and Black Popular Music, Part I
Reading: Teresa Reed, The Holy Profane: Religion in Black Popular Music, 1-38.
Monday
February 6: Religion and Black Popular Music, Part II
Reading: Teresa Reed, The Holy Profane: Religion in Black Popular Music, 89-112.
Reading: Steve Turner, “Hallelujah, I Love Her So,”
37-51 in Hungry for Heaven. Electronic Reserve.
Wednesday
February 8: Religion and Black Popular Music, Part III
Reading: Teresa Reed, The Holy Profane: Religion in Black Popular Music, 113-160.
Friday
February 10: Baptists, Pentecostals, and the Rise of Rock n’ Roll
Reading: Steve Turner, “Crying in the Chapel,” 17-36
in Hungry for Heaven: Rock n’ Roll and
the Search for Redemption. Electronic Reserve.
Reading: Stephen R. Tucker, “Pentecostalism and
Popular Culture in the South,” 68-80.
Electronic Reserve.
Monday
February 13: Country Music and Southern Evangelicalism
Reading: Bill C. Malone, “With My Friends at the Old
Country Church,” 89-116 in Don’t Get
Above Your Raisin’: Country
Music and the Southern Working Class. Electronic Reserve
Wednesday
February 15: Saturday Night vs. Sunday Morning
Reading: Gene Veith and
Thomas Wilmeth, Honky
Tonk Gospel: The Story of Sin and Salvation in
Country Music, 71-88; 135-154. Electronic Reserve.
Friday
February 17: Gender, Salvation, and Sexuality in Country Music
Reading: Maxine L. Grossman, “Jesus, Mama, and the
Constraints on Salvific Love in Contemporary Country
Music,” 83-115. Electronic Reserve.
Discussion: Methodology of analyzing song lyrics
(compare Grossman and Veith/Wilmeth)
Wednesday
February 22: Religion and Popular Music in the Ozarks
Reading: Collection of News-Leader articles on Springfield radio and television musicians.
Electronic Reserve.
Reading: Wayne Glenn, The Ozarks’ Greatest Hits. Page through copies in
Religious Studies mail room.
Special Guest: Wayne Glenn, KTXR-FM
Friday
February 24: Test #1
Unit III:
The Religious Imagination and Tourism
Monday February
27: The Sacred and the Secular at a Christian Theme Park
Reading: Thomas O’Quinn and Russell Belk, “Heaven on
Earth: Consumption at Heritage Village, USA.” Electronic
Reserve.
Discussion: Methodologies of interviewing and field
observation
Wednesday
March 1: Religion and Recreation in Nineteenth-Century America
Reading: Troy Messenger, Holy Leisure: Recreation and Religion in God’s Square Mile, ix-27.
Discussion: Methodologies of performance studies
Friday March
3: Sacred Time and Sacred Space
Reading: Troy Messenger, Holy Leisure: Recreation and Religion in God’s Square Mile, 29-60.
Monday March
6: Religious Tourism in the Ozarks and Beyond
Reading: Aaron Ketchell, “The Hills ‘Will Give You
Great Treasure’: Ozark Tourism and the Collapse of Sacred and Secular,” 73-80. Electronic Reserve.
Reading: Aaron Ketchell, “‘I Would Much Rather See a
Sermon Than Hear One’: Experiencing Faith at Silver Dollar City,” 1-37. Electronic Reserve.
Special Guest: Aaron Ketchell, University of Kansas
**Required Lecture: Aaron Ketchell, 4:30 p.m.
(Location TBA)**
Wednesday
March 8: Sacred Bodies and Gender in Ocean Grove
Reading: Troy Messenger, Holy Leisure: Recreation and Religion in God’s Square Mile, 63-98.
Friday March
10: Ocean Grove as Jerusalem
Reading: Troy Messenger, Holy Leisure: Recreation and Religion in God’s Square Mile, 99-132.
Monday March
13: Research Methods and Human Subjects Protections
Reading: “Human Subjects Protection” webpage for
Missouri State University
http://srp.missouristate.edu/SRP%20Human%20Subjects.htm
If your project will include interviews and/or
observations of people, complete the National Institutes of Health On-Line
Human Subjects Training Program at http://cme.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/learning/humanparticipant-protections.asp
Wednesday
March 15: Roadside Religion, Part I
Reading: Timothy K. Beal, Roadside Religion: In Search of the Sacred, the Strange, and the
Substance of Faith, 1-24.
Friday March
17: Roadside Religion, Part II
Reading: Timothy K. Beal, Roadside Religion: In Search of the Sacred, the Strange, and the
Substance of Faith, 25-70.
**Students
must meet with instructor by March 17 to discuss research paper topics**
**March 21:
James Goff on Religion and Country Music at Evangel, 5-7 p.m. (Optional)**
Monday March
27: Roadside Religion, Part III
Reading: Timothy K. Beal, Roadside Religion: In Search of the Sacred, the Strange, and the
Substance of Faith, 71-116.
Wednesday
March 29: Roadside Religion, Part IV
Reading: Timothy K. Beal, Roadside Religion: In Search of the Sacred, the Strange, and the
Substance of Faith, 135-158.
Reading: Aaron Ketchell, “The Precious Moments Chapel:
Suffering, Salvation, and the World’s Most Popular Collectible,” 27-33.
Electronic Reserve.
**Students
doing interviews or observations must submit IRB applications by March 30**
Unit IV:
The Religious Imagination and News
Friday March
31: Are the News Media Secular?
Reading: Mark Silk, Unsecular Media: Making News of Religion in America, 4-43.
Monday April
3: News as Religious Narrative
Reading: Mark Silk, Unsecular Media: Making News of Religion in America, 49-56.
Wednesday
April 5: Identifying Topoi in the News, Part I
Reading: Mark Silk, Unsecular Media: Making News of Religion in America, 57-90. Bring an article
to class that relates to one of the topoi.
Friday April
7: Identifying Topoi in the News, Part II
Reading: Mark Silk, Unsecular Media: Making News of Religion in America, 91-132. Bring an
article to class that relates to one of the topoi.
Monday April
10: Religious Belief and Professional Journalism
Reading: John Schmalzbauer, “Journalism and the
Religious Imagination,” 110-145 in People
of Faith: Religious Conviction in American Journalism and Higher Education. Electronic Reserve.
Discussion: Methodology of narrative analysis.
Wednesday
April 12: Experimental Narratives in Religion News, Part I
Reading: Peter Manseau and
Jeff Sharlet, Killing
the Buddha: A Heretic’s Bible.
Monday April
17: Experimental Narratives in Religion News, Part II
Reading: Peter Manseau and
Jeff Sharlet, Killing
the Buddha: A Heretic’s Bible.
Reading: Look over the articles at http://www.killingthebuddha.com/
Wednesday
April 19: Experimental Narratives in Religion News, Part III
Reading: Peter Manseau and
Jeff Sharlet, Killing
the Buddha: A Heretic’s Bible.
Reading: Look over the articles at http://www.therevealer.org
Friday April
21: Religion and News in Springfield
Special Guests: Brian Lewis and Linda Leicht, News-Leader. Read at least five stories from each. Search for “Leicht” at www.news-leader.com. For Lewis columns click on “Columnists.”
Monday April
24: Test #2
Wednesday
April 26: Student Presentations
Projects 1-3
Friday April
28: Student Presentations
Projects 4-6
Monday May
1: Student Presentations
Projects 7-9
Wednesday
May 3: Student Presentations
Projects 10-12
Friday May
5: Student Presentations
Projects 13-15
Monday May
8: Student Presentations
Projects 16-18
Wednesday
May 10: Student Presentations
Projects 19-21
**Students
must meet with instructor by May 10 to discuss outline of research paper**
**Research
Paper Due May 17 in Strong Hall 263**