DESCRIPTION: This course will engage students in a two-way dialogue between pop culture and theology, with particular emphasis upon music, movies, TV, art, fashion, and sports. Students will develop a biblical, theological, and historical understanding of these art forms and a critical understanding of the advertising, consumerism, and celebrity that drives pop culture.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will develop critical grids for evaluating pop cultural products. Students will find points of contact (Anknüpfungspunkte) between God and popular culture. Students will sharpen their skills as interpretive leaders for church, ministry, and therapeutic settings. Students will engage in public theology, joining the broad conversation regarding faith and culture.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Ministry in a postmodern context must contend with the rising impact of technology and entertainment. This course will equip students to think critically and theologically about pop culture. Special attention will given to finding God in pop cultural art forms and crafting compelling and creative online responses to issues of race, gender, economics and justice.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will utilize lectures, discussions, pop cultural forms, and student input. The class will meet weekly for three-and-a-half-hour sessions for ten weeks.

REQUIRED READING/VIEWING:

Detweiler, Craig, and Barry Taylor, A Matrix of Meanings. Baker Academic, 2003.

During, Simon, ed. The Cultural Studies Reader. Routledge, 1993.

Lynch, Gordon. Understanding Theology and Popular Culture. Blackwell Publishing, 2005.

Stevens, Tim. Pop Goes the Church. Power Publishing, 2008.

One book tied to the art form/discipline chosen for students' research project.

Current issues of magazines, newspapers, online publications.

Selected recordings and events including movies, art exhibit and/or fashion show, a sporting event.

1. Class attendance and participation (10%).

2. Ten journal entries corresponding to class/chapters in A Matrix of Meanings (10%).

3. Two online posts/reviews aimed at the general public, creating points of contact between theology and pop culture (20%).

4. Two 2-page book reviews (20%).

5. One 12-15 page research paper that concentrates upon one particular postmodern trend and one pop cultural form. Special emphasis will be placed upon the practical ministry application of the research (a sermon series, a Bible study guide, a Young Life talk) (40%).