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Showing posts with label Cyndi Brandenburg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cyndi Brandenburg. Show all posts
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Religion and the Economy a la Steve Colbert
Here is an interesting and entertaining clip that highlights some of the connections between the Secular and the Sacred and Capitalism and Democracy.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Lewis Black and the Superbowl Take 2: The Ritual
I think this is more relevant to our discussion today than Geoff's post, and definitely contains less profanity!! We'll watch in conjunction with Cal's post on Friday.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Is gay the new black?
After watching Geoff's Keith Olbermann's post and reflecting on yesterday's inauguration (including invocation by Rick Warren), I thought perhaps it was worth revisiting this question. It seemed to circulate particularly vigorously after last November's election (especially in regards to the vote on California's Proposition 8 which essentially overturned legal gay marriage by amending the State Constitution to prohibit it). I recommend This story, by Michael Joseph Gross, which ran in The Advocate on November 16th. It explains some interesting similarities and differences between the civil rights fight of African Americans and gay people.
But once we start talking about marriage (straight, gay or otherwise), we venture in the territory of the secular and the sacred in numerous ways. How do we define and explain the institution of marriage in contemporary American culture? Is it a social contract, a spiritual contract, a personally defined contract, or something else? Why can the same Scripture be applied to these questions, yet result in such divergent answers? As we explore questions such as these during the semester, I suggest we all read this piece entitled "Our Mutual Joy" by Lisa Miller, which appeared in the December 15, 2008 issue of Newsweek. Meanwhile, I encourage you to think about and comment on your views regarding marriage today--and how you see the face of marriage in the future . . .
But once we start talking about marriage (straight, gay or otherwise), we venture in the territory of the secular and the sacred in numerous ways. How do we define and explain the institution of marriage in contemporary American culture? Is it a social contract, a spiritual contract, a personally defined contract, or something else? Why can the same Scripture be applied to these questions, yet result in such divergent answers? As we explore questions such as these during the semester, I suggest we all read this piece entitled "Our Mutual Joy" by Lisa Miller, which appeared in the December 15, 2008 issue of Newsweek. Meanwhile, I encourage you to think about and comment on your views regarding marriage today--and how you see the face of marriage in the future . . .
Monday, January 19, 2009
Formal Blog Post Instructions
For your formal blog posts, you will be responsible for writing about the two specific weeks that you signed up for, plus a third week of your choosing. To do this, reflect on the week’s discussions and readings and think about what interests you or matters to you most. Then, create a post that will lead the class into a related conversation. In some respects, this assignment is pretty open. You have a lot of freedom to write about what you like. Feel free to bring in ideas from Core 240, last year’s Core courses, your professional studies, etc. What I do expect is that you show me well-explained complex connections that reveal how you see content presented in this class connecting to other people, events, and ideas.
Because this is both a blog post and an academic exercise, the following elements are REQUIRED and will be ASSESSED:
1. You must specifically spell out your own thinking about the course content and its connections to your post in clear language that can be understood by a public audience
2. You must refer to and cite course readings in your post, using at minimum the author’s last name.
3. You must include a link to the Course Readings post in our class blog so that outside readers can access the full citations in MLA format.
4. You must find and include link(s) to external web-based content (articles, web pages, blogs, videos, music, etc.) that illustrates and/or illuminates your ideas and fuels further conversation. In my experience, some of the best conversation starters come in the form of an embedded YouTube video.
5. You must provide a citation/description of your linked outside content and clearly explain how it connects to your ideas from class.
6. The writing in your post should be free from spelling and grammatical errors.
Because this is both a blog post and an academic exercise, the following elements are REQUIRED and will be ASSESSED:
1. You must specifically spell out your own thinking about the course content and its connections to your post in clear language that can be understood by a public audience
2. You must refer to and cite course readings in your post, using at minimum the author’s last name.
3. You must include a link to the Course Readings post in our class blog so that outside readers can access the full citations in MLA format.
4. You must find and include link(s) to external web-based content (articles, web pages, blogs, videos, music, etc.) that illustrates and/or illuminates your ideas and fuels further conversation. In my experience, some of the best conversation starters come in the form of an embedded YouTube video.
5. You must provide a citation/description of your linked outside content and clearly explain how it connects to your ideas from class.
6. The writing in your post should be free from spelling and grammatical errors.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Madonna Pepsi Commercial
In 1989, Pepsi unveiled this advertisement, but only showed it once in the United States because Madonna's MTV video version was too controversial. Watching this led to some interesting discussion about the sacred and the secular in marketing decisions.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Labels
For the purposes of this class, it is critical and required that you use the "labels" feature to identify each post as your own. This will help the instructor quickly find your posts for assessment purposes. To do this, after typing in the post itself, add YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME to the labels box that appears just below the text box.
You should also use labels to add key words which will help other readers find your post if it relates to a topic they are interested in. Separate each label with a comma. When finished, go ahead and publish your post, but be sure to view your published work to be sure your full name appears in the right location on the blog. Notice that when viewing the blog, you can see a list of labels in alphabetical order on the right side of the screen. You can click on any label item (which might be an individual author's name) to pull up all the posts that have been so tagged.
Here is an example of what to type in the label box: Cyndi Brandenburg, instructions, labels, key words
Check out this post's labels to see how it looks.
You should also use labels to add key words which will help other readers find your post if it relates to a topic they are interested in. Separate each label with a comma. When finished, go ahead and publish your post, but be sure to view your published work to be sure your full name appears in the right location on the blog. Notice that when viewing the blog, you can see a list of labels in alphabetical order on the right side of the screen. You can click on any label item (which might be an individual author's name) to pull up all the posts that have been so tagged.
Here is an example of what to type in the label box: Cyndi Brandenburg, instructions, labels, key words
Check out this post's labels to see how it looks.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Course Texts
Armstrong, Karen. A History of God. New York: Ballantine Books, 1994.
Brooks, Michael. "Born believers: How Your Brain creates God." New Scientist. February 4, 2009.
Davies, Norman. Europe: A History. New York: HarperPerennial, 1998.
Deresiewicz, William. "The End of Solitude." The Chronicle Review. January 30, 2009.
Fischer, David Hackett. Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Herbert, Wray. "Is Fraud Contagious?" Newseek Web Exclusive. March 12, 2009.
"In God's Name." The Economist. London: November 3, 2007.
Lewis, Anthony. "A New National Scripture." The New York Times. January 18, 2009.
Lilla, Mark. The Stillborn God: Religion, Politics, and the Modern West. New York: Vintage Books, 2008.
Linden, David J. The Accidental Mind. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 2007.
Mahler, Jonathan. "The Soul of the New Exurb." The New York Times. March 17, 2005.
McDannell, Colleen. Material Christianity: Religion and Popular Culture in America. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.
Miller, Lisa. "Our Mutual Joy." Newsweek. December 15, 2008.
Smith, Kevin, Dir. Dogma. Perf. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. 1999. DVD.
"Stop in the Name . . ." The Economist. London: Novermber 3, 2007.
The Western World Philosophy. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2008.
Wolfe, Alan. "Pew in the Pews." The Chronicle of Higher Education. Washington: March 21, 2008.
Wolfe, Alan. The Transformation of American Religion: How We Actually Live Our Faith. New York: Free Press, 2003.
Brooks, Michael. "Born believers: How Your Brain creates God." New Scientist. February 4, 2009.
Davies, Norman. Europe: A History. New York: HarperPerennial, 1998.
Deresiewicz, William. "The End of Solitude." The Chronicle Review. January 30, 2009.
Fischer, David Hackett. Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Herbert, Wray. "Is Fraud Contagious?" Newseek Web Exclusive. March 12, 2009.
"In God's Name." The Economist. London: November 3, 2007.
Lewis, Anthony. "A New National Scripture." The New York Times. January 18, 2009.
Lilla, Mark. The Stillborn God: Religion, Politics, and the Modern West. New York: Vintage Books, 2008.
Linden, David J. The Accidental Mind. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 2007.
Mahler, Jonathan. "The Soul of the New Exurb." The New York Times. March 17, 2005.
McDannell, Colleen. Material Christianity: Religion and Popular Culture in America. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.
Miller, Lisa. "Our Mutual Joy." Newsweek. December 15, 2008.
Smith, Kevin, Dir. Dogma. Perf. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. 1999. DVD.
"Stop in the Name . . ." The Economist. London: Novermber 3, 2007.
The Western World Philosophy. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2008.
Wolfe, Alan. "Pew in the Pews." The Chronicle of Higher Education. Washington: March 21, 2008.
Wolfe, Alan. The Transformation of American Religion: How We Actually Live Our Faith. New York: Free Press, 2003.
Quick Help Links
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Welcome to the 2009 Class Blog for COR 230-05
Throughout this semester, our class studying the Secular and the Sacred will create blog posts that elaborate upon course content and connect to other materials through links to outside sources such as articles and videos. We will use these posts weekly as a launching point for in class discussions, so it is important that you create posts that you think are interesting and relevant.
Your blogging contribution will consist of a minimum of 3 formal posts (each worth 5%of your total class grade). You will sign up in class to post for two specific weeks during the semester. Your third post will occur whenever you decide, as long as it is completed prior to course week 13. Detailed instructions and requirements for the formal blog posts can be found here. Of course, you are welcome and encouraged to blog more frequently if you wish!
You will also be graded on your blog participation--this means the frequency and thoughtfulness with which you respond to other students' posts (using the comments feature) as well as completion of occasional informal assigned posts (such as your introduction post, which was due on Tuesday, January 20th). Your active participation in the blog is worth an additional 5% of your total class grade.
Although it is a required course component, I hope you will approach this blog as an opportunity to show your unique perspective on the material we read and discuss, to be creative, and to personalize what we are doing in class in a way that interests and excites you. Have fun, and remember, you are literally writing for the whole world to read!
Your blogging contribution will consist of a minimum of 3 formal posts (each worth 5%of your total class grade). You will sign up in class to post for two specific weeks during the semester. Your third post will occur whenever you decide, as long as it is completed prior to course week 13. Detailed instructions and requirements for the formal blog posts can be found here. Of course, you are welcome and encouraged to blog more frequently if you wish!
You will also be graded on your blog participation--this means the frequency and thoughtfulness with which you respond to other students' posts (using the comments feature) as well as completion of occasional informal assigned posts (such as your introduction post, which was due on Tuesday, January 20th). Your active participation in the blog is worth an additional 5% of your total class grade.
Although it is a required course component, I hope you will approach this blog as an opportunity to show your unique perspective on the material we read and discuss, to be creative, and to personalize what we are doing in class in a way that interests and excites you. Have fun, and remember, you are literally writing for the whole world to read!
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