Special Topics interdisciplinary course, offered only in Fall 2018. Special Topics interdisciplinary course, offered only in Fall 2018.
RELIGION, MEDIA, AND APOCALYPSE
FALL 2018
RLST 37505; CRN 23559
1:10-2:25 TR; Smiddy 432
In this interdisciplinary seminar, we will use approaches from religious studies, media theory and cultural studies to consider the powerful role that apocalyptic thinking plays in human sense-making today. Regardless of what people believe about ultimate reality, apocalyptic thinking has long played a powerful role in defining who is “included” and who is not, informing a culture of violence that is increasingly popular in the media we consume. Starting with a basic understanding of ancient Jewish and Christian apocalypticism, we will move into contemporary expressions of transmediated apocalyptic thought moving from the most static to the most interactive: printed text; fictional and reality-based television; films; videogames; zombie fandoms; gun shows and alternate reality games; and finally, the role of the gun in contemporary apocalyptic rhetoric in American politics. We will end the course by exploring cosmopolitanism as an alternative perspective to the divisiveness of the apocalyptic vision. This course is based on the structure of a book Dr. Wagner has been working on called Gunning for God: Religion, Media, and New Apocalypticism.
Prerequisite: One religious studies course. Students who have not had a RLST class can submit an override form for consideration. Students with at least one communications class (Park School or H & S) will be admitted. Other overrides on a case-by-case basis. Email rwagner@ithaca.edu with questions.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20180404164155945