American religious communities have often been cast as technological laggards, whether willfully ignorant or generally backwards. Such narratives, fueled by stories about religious leaders condemning cultural trends conceal the ways religions have in fact innovated in the media sphere. Ranging from the time of the earliest printing presses to contemporary social media platforms, this course reframes the question of American religions and media technologies by asking the following questions: How have media technologies shaped religious practice, identity, and belonging? Were religious critiques of mass media valid, particularly around questions of access,
constraints, and consumption? And how have religious groups experimented with communications technologies to reimagine their use, message, and audience? These moments of technological encounter reveal how religious communities have not only worked with media technologies, but have driven much of what makes these technologies innovative and modern.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM
