Pop Goes Religion

Catalog description

Taught by GTU. Past courses in popular culture at seminaries have focused mainly on pedagogical aspects of using popular culture in churches. This course will attempt to explore a rationale/theology for studying popular culture in a religious context, as well as offer an in-depth survey uninhibited by notions of pragmatism, practicality, or usefulness. Once students become skilled exegetes of popular culture, drawing unforeseen relationships between genres, theories, and theologies, they will be better prepared to apply this knowledge to specific fields like homiletics, youth ministry, and religious education. Students will be expected to integrate themes and theories discussed in class, as well as demonstrate original thinking in development of new themes and theories for a rapidly developing field of cultural studies.