Winter 2020/Fuller Online

ME515

King

ME515: GLOBAL STORYTELLING AND SONG (4 Units: 160 Hours). Roberta King.

DESCRIPTION: The whole world communicates! And not only in written form. In an age of electronic and social media, communicators rely heavily on oral communication forms (soft media). Communicating to predominantly oral peoples, whether literate or non-literate, rural, urban, or transnational, requires investigating oral communication technologies, among them storytelling, songs, and proverbs. The goal of the course is to learn how to effectively contextualize the Gospel and theology via oral arts forms. It proceeds by investigating how to understand our audience and their perceptions of the world through local art forms with a view to creating and developing culturally appropriate oral resources for Christian worship, witness, evangelism, and spiritual formation.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) Gain understanding of the significance, impact and role of orality among literate, semi-literate, and non-literate peoples; (2) develop skills in discovering, analyzing and interpreting oral communication forms within varying cultural contexts; (3) explore ways of using proverbs, story, and songs in Christian worship, witness, evangelism, and spiritual formation; (4) learn a method for working with the Scriptures in groups to develop appropriate and relevant oral forms, i.e., composing songs in groups, for communicating the Gospel; and (5) design and present a contextualized Christian event that communicates a biblical message through oral forms.

RELATIONSHIP TO PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES: Addresses MAICS Area of Interest Class PLO4 “Students will have demonstrated capacities to pursue vocations that engage the mission of God globally.”

COURSE FORMAT: This course will be conducted online on a ten-week schedule aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar for a total of 40 instructional hours, which is outlined below in the assignment and assessment section. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning.

REQUIRED READING: If you have read any of the required texts for another course, please select an alternative text from the recommended reading list or a book approved by the instructor. 1,050 total pages required.

Moon, W. Jay. African Proverbs Reveal Christianity in Culture. Pickwick, 2009. ISBN: 978-1606085530, Pub. Price $28.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [175 pp. assigned]. https://search-ebscohost-com.fuller.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1289036&site=ehost-live

Moreau, A. Scott, Contextualization in World Missions: Mapping and Assessing Evangelical Models. Kregel Publications, 2012. ISBN:978-0825433894, Pub. Price $28.99. [260 pp. assigned]. No E-book available. https://fuller.on.worldcat.org/oclc/690088668

Schrag, Brian. Creating Local Arts Together: A Manual to Help Communities Reach Their Kingdom Goals. William Carey Library, 2013. ISBN: 978-0878084944, Pub. Price $24.99. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [150 pp. assigned]. https://search-ebscohost-com.fuller.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1289036&site=ehost-live

Steffen, Tom A. Reconnecting God’s Story to Ministry: Cross-cultural Storytelling at Home and Abroad. Center for Organizational and Ministry Development, 2005. ISBN: 978-1932805062, Pub. Price $14.99 [201 pp. assigned]. No E-book available. https://fuller.on.worldcat.org/oclc/57710240.

Readings in Oral Communication and the Scriptures on Canvas eReserves [132 pp. assigned]

CHOOSE ONE: Read a minimum of 132 pp. from a selected work below.

De Neui, Paul, ed. Communicating Christ through Story and Song: Orality in Buddhist Contexts. William Carey Library, 2008. ISBN: 978-0878085118, Pub. Price $19.99 [320 pp. assigned] https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/fuller/detail.action?docID=5756162.

King, Roberta R. A Time to Sing: A Manual for the African Church. Evangel Publishing House, 1999. ISBN: 978-9966200990, Pub. Price $22.95 (available from Dr. King) Also available as an e-book. [150 pp. assigned].

Sedmak, Clemens. Doing Local Theology: A Guide for Artisans of a New Humanity. Orbis, 2002. ISBN: 978-1570754524, Pub. Price $28.00 [182 pp. assigned]. https://fuller.on.worldcat.org/oclc/50004033

Willis, Avery T., Jr., and Mark Snowden. Truth that Sticks: How to Communicate Velcro Truth in a Teflon World. 13NavPress, 2010. ISBN: 978-1615215317, Pub. Price $14.99 [240 pp. assigned].

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/fuller/detail.action?docID=5396146

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. 1,050 pp. of required reading. [60 hours].
  2. Instruction hours with class activities including video lectures, PowerPoint presentations,audio mp3 listening, etc. [20 hours].
  3. Seven 250-word weekly forum posts (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1-3] [7 hours].
  4. Seven 250-word weekly forum responses (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1-3] [7 hours].
  5. One autobiographical Faith Story: oral presentation based on storytelling and/or song with write-up: 1,250 words of 7-10 min video. (10%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1-3] [10 hours].
  6. Three critical evaluations of various oral communication formats: 500-words each. (15%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1-2] [6 hours].
  7. Group project in global storytelling and song with an assigned online group that includes a group summary paper (2,000 words) and an online presentation, i.e digital brochure, powerpoint/prezi/google slides. (35%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2-5] [30 hours].
  8. SIGNATURE ASSIGNMENT: A critical assessment paper that examines and applies approaches of orality and scripture-use presented in class for engaging a local context with the whole gospel. (2,000-2,500 words). (15%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome#1] [20 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None. Auditors must complete a minimum of 400 pages of reading and actively participate in the group project.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective. Option to count in the Global Arts and World Religions, Worship and Music Ministry, or Worship, Theology, and the Arts areas of interest.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.

NOTE: This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. Textbook prices are set by publishers and are subject to change. Copyright 2019 Fuller Theological Seminary.