INQ-110 | The Media & the Supernatural

Full Title: The Media and the Supernatural

Topic Description:

Harry Potter, Eclipse, The Da Vinci Code, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Blair Witch Project, Medium, and the Left Behind series are only recent illustrations of Americans’ longstanding fascination with the supernatural and the paranormal. Our course will examine this fascination within the broader context of the Information Age, with particular focus on New Media. We will also read and write about implications for current religious and spiritual practices, and for tendencies toward secularization (i.e., the weakening of the influence of religious institutions). Key questions: Why do many Americans (especially the young) claim to reject religion at the same time that they readily embrace spirituality? What do media representations of the supernatural reveal about the broader society, as well as about prevailing religious forces? Many of our inquiries will be assisted by techniques and terminology drawn from semiotics, a formal (but easily accessible) method for studying signs, symbols, codes, etc.

Counts as Global? No

Topic Approved: April 2009