Christianity & Media

Catalog description

This course offers an opportunity to explore the relationships between Christianity and the wide variety of modes of communication that we refer to as "media." In the course, students will engage in two basic tasks. First, students will engage in the descriptive task of identifying the current state of the media with respect to religion. How are religions and religious issues portrayed in various media? How do Christians understand and use media for their various purposes? Second, the class will engage in the normative task of judging the social and moral worth of the various modes of communication using the resources of the discipline of Christian social ethics. Does the current media landscape support human flourishing and the just society? If so, what should be done to ensure that this continues? If not, how might it be shaped so that it supports such development?