Spring 2015/Fuller Online

TC530

Barsotti

TC530: THEOLOGY AND FILM (4 Units: 160 Hours). Catherine Barsotti.

DESCRIPTION: This course will engage with a theology of culture by focusing on one particular aspect: theology and film. The course will (1) view, discuss, and analyze a multicultural and global selection of films, (2) provide the student methodological and critical perspectives for engaging culture, both from the humanities and the social sciences, (3) explore theological and biblical perspectives foundational to theology and film criticism, and (4) provide contextual approaches for Gospel articulation and invitation.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will be able to (1) articulate the relationship between theories and practices for sympathetic engagement with culture as expressed in the media, (2) engage appreciatively and critically in film interpretation, (3) explore and construct possible theological and biblical approaches for engaging with our contemporary culture, (4) articulate something of the presence and purposes of God in human culture, and (5) describe approaches for Gospel demonstration, articulation and invitation through the use of film in their Christian witness and discipleship.

COURSE FORMAT: This course will be delivered online over a ten-week period aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar. Students are required to interact with the course material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning. Course content is communicated through required readings/viewings, video lectures, and written materials. Weekly discussions, assignments, and lectures are focused on a series of particular films and a range of critical readings. During online discussions, students will typically (1) discuss the movies, (2) consider aspects of the nature of film and/or theology, (3) use selected critical and theological approaches to culture, (4) enter into theological criticism with the film, and (5) explore missional possibilities within this engagement.

REQUIRED VIEWING AND READING: 1,288 total number of pages required.

Fifteen films: Decalogue I (Poland); Crimes and Misdemeanors; Stranger than Fiction (German/Swiss/USA); Moulin Rouge (Australia); UP; American Beauty; Little Miss Sunshine; Run Lola Run (Germany); Babel (Mexico/France/USA); Okuribito (Departures, Japanese); Spirited Away (Japanese) [optional]; Water (Indian); The Lunchbox (Indian); Calvary (Ireland/UK); Tree of Life; The Adjustment Bureau.

The following texts:

Boorstin, Jon. Making Movies Work. Silman-James Press, 1995. ISBN: 978-1879505278, Pub. Price $19.95 [224 pp.].

Ecclesiastes (multiple readings during the quarter) [50 pp.].

Johnston, Robert. Reel Spirituality. 2nd ed. Baker, 2006. ISBN: 978-0801031878, Pub. Price $25.00 [290 pp. assigned].

________. Useless Beauty. Baker, 2004. ISBN: 978-1610978293, Pub. Price $22.00 [190 pp. assigned].

Villarejo, Amy. Film Studies: the basics. 2nd ed. Routledge, 2013. ISBN: 978-0415584968, Pub. Price $21.80 [184 pp.].

Class reader (approx. 350 total pages): critical essays and chapters by bell hooks, Catherine Barsotti, Kutter Callaway, Ellen Davis, Joel Green, Gordon Lynch, Clive Marsh, William Placher, Kathryn Tanner, and others.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. Weekly Video lectures and summary announcements from the professor [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2, 3, 4 and 5]. [15 hours].

  2. 250-word weekly forum posts and 250-word weekly forum responses by the students (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2 and 3]. [20 hours].

  3. DLA through facilitation of a movie group in a ministry context [This assignment is related to learning outcome #5]. [5 hours].

  4. 1,288 pp. of required reading [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2, 3, 4 and 5]. [51 hours]

  5. Viewing the assigned movies. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2, 3]. [35 hours].

  6. Quiz on Boorstin, Making Movies Work - (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [1 hour].

  7. Quiz on Villarejo, Film Studies: the basics - (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1 and 2]. [1 hour].

  8. One 500-word (2-page) critical review of Johnston, Reel Spirituality - (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2, 3 and 4]. [5 hours].

  9. One 750-word (3-page) report on facilitation of a movie group (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #5]. [7 hours].

  10. 2,500-3,000 word (10-page) paper on a film(s) (approved by the instructor) bringing the movie(s) into dialogue with Ecclesiastes, whether letting the film shed light on the biblical text, using the biblical text to critique the movie, or otherwise engaging in dialogue (35%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2, 3, 4 and #5]. [20 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH5, C2, or C3 requirement in the 120 MDiv program. Meets the culture (CULT) requirement in Cultural Literacy for MA programs; meets the MACL in Integrative Studies requirement for an interdisciplinary course (IDPL). Option to count in the Theology and Arts or Worship and Music Ministry, or Worship, Theology, and the Arts, or Youth, Family, and Culture emphases.

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.

For your convenience, order these texts online through the Archives Bookshop.