Spring 2020/Fuller Online

YF521

Howell

YF521: YOUTH AND FAMILY MINISTRY IN A CULTURE OF DIGITAL RELATIONSHIPS (4 units: 160 hours). Bradley Howell.

DESCRIPTION: This course provides a background to the psychosocial, technological and spiritual reasons for the almost universal adoption of the Internet and social media among adolescents. The course will provide an understanding of adolescent social media use, theological implications for youth and family ministry and historical and contextual responses of the Church to mediated communication. This course is designed to help the student think theologically about social media concerns and practices of youth, families and Christian communities, providing practical tools to enable the student to design a theologically informed social media strategy in a local ministry context.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon the successful completion of this course, students will have (1) demonstrated an ability to critically analyze and interpret social media’s influence and effect on adolescents and their families; (2) communicated a theology and philosophy of social media informed by a ministry of adoption into a local church body; (3) demonstrated an awareness of the unique social media ministry needs of early, middle and late adolescents; (4) successfully applied the exegetical method learned in the course to digitally mediated communicative communities.

RELATIONSHIP TO PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES: Addresses MAICS Area of Interest Class “Students will have demonstrated capacities to pursue vocations that engage the mission of God globally.” Addresses the MDiv PLO that states “Students will have demonstrated capacities to engage diverse cultural contexts for transformational discipleship, mission, and ministry.” Addresses the MATM/MAT PLOs that state “Students will have demonstrated capacities for historically informed theological and ethical reflection.”

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. 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: 1,289 pp. required.

Adams, Paul. Grouped: How Small Groups of Friends Are the Key to Influence the Social Web. New Riders, 2011. ISBN: 978-0321804112, Pub. Price $29.99 [168 pp. assigned].

Crouch, Andy. The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place.Baker Books, 2017.ISBN:978-0801018664, Pub. Price $15.99 [224 pp. assigned].

Detweiller, Craig. Selfies: Searching for the Image of God in a Digital Age. Brazos Press, 2013. ISBN: 978-1587433986, Pub. Price $19.99. [242 pp. assigned].

Ito, Mizuko, danah boyd, Henry Jenkins. Participatory Cutlure in a Networked Era. Polity, 2015. ISBN:978-0745660714, Pub. Price $19.95 [160 pp. assigned].

Powell, Kara, Brad Griffin, Art Bamford. Every Parent’s Guide to Navigating our Digital World. Fuller Youth Institute. 2018. ISBN: 978-0991488070, Pub. Price $15.99[143 pp assigned].

Twenge, Jean M., iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared forAdulthood—and What That Means for the Rest of Us. Atria Books, 2017. ISBN: 978-1501151989, Pub. Price $27.00 [352 pp. assigned].

RECOMMENDED READING: See course syllabus.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. Weekly instruction will include Prezi presentations that incorporate both audio and video material. Additionally, each week there will be related readings, video, research and case studies along with guided questions and directions from which students will focus their assignments and various forum works. [20 hours].
2. 250-word (or optional 3-minute video) weekly forum posts and 250-word replies (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1,2,3&4] [20 hours].
3. 1,289 pages of required reading that will inform and be graded within your weekly forum work. [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1,2&3] [63 hours].
4. A 1,500-word interpretive research paper that provides a critical analysis of a specific social media concern. (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1] [15 hours].
5. A 1,500-word theological research paper that processes a social media concern through a practical theology model taught in class. (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2] [15 hours].
6. A 500-word ministry proposal essay that proposes a faithful ministry praxis. (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3] [5 hours].
7. A 2,000-word Signature Assignment that identifies the relevant elements of the critical analysis that leads to a clear theological reflection of digitally mediated communicative communities. (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #4] [22 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the C2 requirement in the 120 MDiv and 80 MATM Programs (Fall 2015).

FINAL EXAMINATION: No.

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.