tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45786386719716136552024-02-08T04:14:24.666-08:00Gandy ThoughtsThoughts on life, faith, class and what I ate for breakfast.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-74851989701156384962008-03-17T11:55:00.001-07:002008-03-17T11:55:59.577-07:00Week 10- Final Outline of PaperThe final outline of my paper is viewable at: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; "><a id="publishedDocumentUrl" class="tabcontent" target="_blank" href="http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfxckhzr_5g2m67mdj" style="color: rgb(17, 42, 187); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px !important; ">http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfxckhzr_5g2m67mdj</a></span>gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-46813274355299847472008-03-14T21:47:00.000-07:002008-03-14T21:51:20.417-07:00Week 10- Classmate Response to Jason Heppner's blogJason I think you concluded on the right note. I have to confess that I got really depressed and confused by all the lingo in the Barker book. How can a person be sure of anything if culture and language constructs our own little personal realities, often shutting out the realities of others? At the end of the day, we have to love. Jesus is the one who can, who should, and who desires to shape our reality. Jesus is all about love. As for what this love looks like? Well I think scripture helps in figuring this out, but I also think we need to not forget the Holy Spirit of God... God's Spirit is with us, surely the Spirit will have something to say to us as to how to love in the midst of all our jumbled and ambiguous cultures. gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-68458929458650284402008-03-12T21:26:00.000-07:002008-03-12T21:28:22.055-07:00Week 10- Wednesday ReflectionI am going to miss this class. I did get a bit tired of the circuit of culture, as I was hoping that we would talk a bit more about other aspects of cultural studies. However, overall this was an excellent course. I think that we all need more teaching on how to live out faith in a postmodern world. The postmodern has come whether anyone likes it or not, and we must love Jesus and love those around us in the midst of the culture that we analyzed throughout this course.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-32218839451617793662008-03-10T22:45:00.000-07:002008-03-10T22:49:07.565-07:00Week 10- Monday Class ReflectionThe analysis of popular culture is extremely important. One aspect that was mentioned today, bricolage, is a vital concept to understanding much of what happens today. A movie is not self-contained, it refers back to former movies, the archetypes of the genre, and even ancient or classical literature and drama. We truly live in a day of hypereality.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-14460239199248445142008-03-10T10:36:00.000-07:002008-03-10T10:37:42.473-07:00Week 9- Second Draft of Outline for Final PaperYou can view the second draft of the outline for my paper at this url: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; "><a id="publishedDocumentUrl" class="tabcontent" target="_blank" href="http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfxckhzr_4gd7sqgc6" style="color: rgb(17, 42, 187); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px !important; ">http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfxckhzr_4gd7sqgc6</a></span>gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-44124870858418281152008-03-09T17:38:00.000-07:002008-03-09T17:52:09.961-07:00Week 9- Cobb Chapter 9 (Life Everlasting)Cobb's chapter concerning the life everlasting notes that popular culture producers are moving beyond the traditional American hesitation to discuss matters of death. Currently, the popular culture is full of depictions of heaven, hell, and/or purgatory; but more importantly of the concept of the wandering spirit who seeks to finish the business left undone during life. I think Cobb does a good job of revealing the great value in much of the cultures' hopes for a new direction in society that will lead to a better eschatological end. gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-29420192463486990582008-03-09T17:31:00.000-07:002008-03-09T17:38:19.327-07:00Week 9- Bevans Chapter 9 (Conclusion)Stephen Bevans has written his volume out of a conviction that all theology is contextual and out of a conviction that the contemporary theological scene is one that must advocate for pluralism (Bevans 1994: 112). Bevans thus offers several models, or tools, by which to engage in contextual theology, but he does not expect that any one should be applied universally. I think the praxis model's emphasis on reflective action will prove to be especially effective for the purposes of my final paper. gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-62359533204018852002008-03-08T16:34:00.001-08:002008-03-08T16:39:37.245-08:00Week 9- Response to Annie McLaren's BlogAnnie I think you have highlighted one of the great tragedies of our time. I think the "sexual revolution" has led our society to a greater openness concerning sexuality, but not a greater understanding of it. This is most evident with girls who feel that perhaps flaunting their bodies as a tool of manipulation or a way to engage in the freedom of expression is a liberating experience. In fact, these girls are submitting themselves as slaves to cultural expectations and bind their identities to fleeting material objects (certain clothes, makeup, etc...). When will our culture look for true beauty, such as that in the face of a wise wrinkled elderly woman?gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-28991991348237347982008-03-05T21:16:00.000-08:002008-03-05T21:19:18.472-08:00Week 9- Wednesday Class ReflectionClass was both fascinating and disgusting today. I felt like one of the most insightful comments of the class time came from the classmate who was aghast at the fact that WE are the audience. The marketers and manipulators of "cool" are not preying upon anyone that we can call the "other"; they prey upon me- and I like it. May God grant me the grace to stand strong against such a formidable enemy.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-1685471402353308412008-03-03T23:02:00.000-08:002008-03-03T23:07:07.646-08:00Week 9- Monday Class ReflectionThe class ended on a particularly intriguing note. The concept of the carnival to describe the imagining of a different set of power structures is a useful analogy. Much of what my church and my missions organization needs is a bit of creativity and lighthearted brainstorming about what could be if we would only let our old power relationships go by the wayside.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-86409574103184656192008-03-03T11:03:00.000-08:002008-03-03T12:04:20.702-08:00Week 8- First Draft Outline of PaperI will e-mail this outline to you Wess. You can also view it at the following URL:<br /><a id="publishedDocumentUrl" class="tabcontent" target="_blank" href="http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfxckhzr_0f5sxrphg">http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfxckhzr_0f5sxrphg</a>gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-1820455055905465452008-03-03T10:56:00.001-08:002008-03-03T11:03:41.888-08:00Week 8- Bevans Chapter 8 (Transcentdental Model)The transcendental model is slightly more ambiguous than the previous models and contains a great deal of overlap with other ways of doing contextual theology. Bevans proposes that the transcendental model is more concerned with the process of doing theology than with the product or results of that theology. That is, the transcendental theologian is both highly aware of their own position as theologizing subject and that which one has been converted to and with (traditional Christian theology, liturgy, specific Christian thinkers). The self's wrestling with the new thoughts produces an authentically contextualized theology.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-2377845445723249042008-03-03T10:49:00.000-08:002008-03-03T10:56:01.535-08:00Week 8- Cobb Chapter 8 (Salvation)The Cobb discussion of the salvation theme in popular culture covers a wide range of cultural arenas. One theme explored that was uncharted territory in my mind, is the mystical ascent that is portrayed in some Van Morrison songs and Moby's music. The tragedy of the seeking of salvation in popular culture is that the "Savior" is often so shallow (a girl, youthful carelessness, the unencumbered self).gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-8961716799201716222008-03-03T10:26:00.000-08:002008-03-03T10:34:09.990-08:00Week 8- Classmate Post on Harmony's blog for Week 8 Wednesday Class reflectionSomewhat of a Disagreement:<br />"People need to go out into their communities and bring people in and just be social with them. Churches need to have the intent of understanding and simply being kind and loving—without the intent of getting something in return."<br /> I don't really disagree with you that much Harmony, but I do think the above statement can be critiqued and moderated. For instance, Professor Bolger has made a good case during class that our intention as Christ followers is not merely to "bring people in", but is in many ways to enter into their reality and in this way bring our community to the "people". There needs to be real discussion about how helpful it is to the people we "reach" and to ourselves to extract individuals from their world to bring them into ours. <br />EXTENDED THOUGHTS:<br />Also, I don't know that the mandate to simply be "kind and loving" sufficiently describes Christ's commands to us. It seems that much of what we are called to do is to avoid the temptation of simply being "nice" and to act as prophets who challenge the status quo and call for repentance. Of course, our crying out for repentance needs to happen after we have repented ourselves and while we are pursuing relationship with the community around us; but at some point we have to become "not so nice" and wake people up to their own self-destructive behavior.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-89897060950399613612008-02-27T21:24:00.000-08:002008-02-27T21:30:06.465-08:00Week 8- Wednesday Class ReflectionThis was an especially helpful class in the way that Caputo bridges cultural studies theory to Christian ministry. While I don't know if the concept of an undeconstructable truth is philosophically sound, it is pragmatically useful. We do aim towards "Truth", "Forgiveness", "Love", and "Justice"... all of us do.<br />EXTENDED THOUGHTS:<br /> I think the weakness in our talk today was a lack of recognition of the important place that tradition and culture plays in defining what these undeconstructable truths mean.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-60889980507334701272008-02-25T22:45:00.000-08:002008-02-25T22:50:50.716-08:00Week 8- Monday Class ReflectionThe concept of deconstruction is too often presented in church circles as a demon. I think ministers are afraid that in the case that their congregants become skilled in the art of deconstructing myths that they might turn this tool against the scripture or against the minister's own presentation of the gospel.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-60800441343865702532008-02-24T15:44:00.000-08:002008-02-24T16:01:22.400-08:00Week 7- Barker Chapter 14 (Cultural Politics)Barker rehashes the history of Cultural Studies as a post-disciplinary field highly influenced by Marxism and ending up in a post-structuralist, post-modern, and anti-representationalist consensus. Interestingly, Barker advocates a Cultural Studies that understands all language games as fictional and all transcendent/universal truth non-existent, and yet continues to be socially active and advocating for a "revolution in thinking (Barker 2003: 430). To bridge this gap, Barker points to the neo-pragmatism of Tony Bennett and Rorty. <br /><br />Extended Thoughts:<br /> It is at this point that I have to get off of the post-modern, post-structuralist train. Barker seems to advocate a hit and miss operation of advocating for a better world and the ending of oppression. Barker points to the values of multiculturalism (appreciation of difference) as the key to a better future. However, I don't think that he has provided the kind of philosophical conviction or basis to counter those who do not appreciate diversity and difference. What of those points of view that are sadistic and hate-filled; are we to "appreciate" them? At the end of the day I just don't think that declaring all language as "fictional" paves the road towards fighting evil. If one cannot define evil then how is one to fight it?gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-24721525839690807232008-02-24T15:33:00.000-08:002008-02-24T15:42:53.622-08:00Week 7- Response to Brett Yee's BlogI think you have hit on a key point Brett. While I can not travel all the way down the post-structuralist, anti-foundationalist, anti-representationalist route, I do agree in large part that the language we use does not correspond to objective reality in any one-to-one manner. That is, our language is a socially agreed upon construct that is valid only among those who are in the in-group. I think that this fact holds promise for our work in theology, because we can always fine tune our doctrinal statements and understandings of God while always being humble in that we are not there yet.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-45271471314682640022008-02-23T21:42:00.000-08:002008-02-23T21:49:29.873-08:00Week 7- Bevans Chapter 7 (Synthetic Model)The Synthetic Model is the moderation of all previous models. Bevans identifies this model as a "dialectic" or "dialogical" model, meaning that the intention is to conversate with the target culture and allow for a give and take between the gospel message and local cultural forms (Bevans 1994: 83). Bevans provides some case studies but the model does seem to blur into the translation model a bit.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-85085724534480972792008-02-23T21:38:00.000-08:002008-02-23T21:42:22.099-08:00Week 7- Barker Chapter 13 (Youth)The concept of "adolescence" is largely culturally derived. Barker presents the trend of cultural studies in first identifying youth culture as a subculture of resistance and then coming to a place of demythologizing the concept of resistant subcultures. I think Barker is right to question the concept of resistance, or at least to locate this resistance in personal subjectivity. Perhaps youth feel they are resisting society's expectations, but the media and the culture industry thrive on this concept of "resistance" and make billions of dollars on the commercialization of rebellion.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-76405640506794450962008-02-23T21:29:00.000-08:002008-02-23T21:38:18.698-08:00Week 7- Cobb Chapter 7 (Sin)While popular media is not always clear about what exactly has gone wrong with society, most mediums agree that something is in error. Cobb identifies the genre of "Jeremiad", a denouncing of the sins of the people complete with a warning and demonstration of judgment. This genre is found in social films and books as well as the post-apocalyptic (Cobb 2005: 218). Cobb also identifies the Gothic as a despairing of the sinfulness of the world.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-7463957328593424302008-02-20T18:22:00.000-08:002008-02-20T18:25:26.407-08:00Wednesday Week 7- Class ReflectionThe praxis model was especially interesting to me. I think it is a must to have built-in to one's theories, a call for action. I am not an academic and the praxis model makes me feel good about that. It was good for Bolger to point out the ambiguities between the different models as well during class.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-13631886500691193392008-02-18T12:34:00.001-08:002008-02-18T12:39:08.978-08:00Week 6- Cobb, Chapter 6 (Human Nature)Popular culture presents a varied and confused understanding of the human being. In some cases humans are shown to lead meaningless lives in the midst of a dark and ever-changing universe. Ultimate purpose is ruled out. Therefore, it seems best that humans simply enjoy the simple mundane things and simply be "happy" (Disneyland is the epitome of this longing). Perhaps, above all, the human is a consumer. There are some faint echoes of the beauty and dignity of humanness, especially in our portrayals of the man-machines who wish only to be more human-like.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-43833336912485646282008-02-18T12:12:00.000-08:002008-02-18T12:17:31.947-08:00Week 6- Barker Chapter 12 (Spaces and Places)Urban studies is directly reliant on cultural studies. The concentration of global power within a few major global centers makes understanding the urban landscape imperative if one wants to understand Western and global culture. Particularly interesting is the decline of the publicly-funded park or gathering place. The ubiquitous nature of transnational companies has led to the integration of the market and the public gathering square in the shopping mall. With the onset of the information revolution, the urban center has become somewhat less important.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578638671971613655.post-32428605687833437432008-02-18T12:00:00.000-08:002008-02-18T12:11:58.493-08:00Week 6- Barker, Chapter 11 (Television and Audience)Barker focuses on television as the "major form of communication in most western societies" (Barker 2003: 315). While there was a time where television distribution could be described as hegemonic, the rise of the internet, the use of cable and satellite, and the newly arrived Middle-Eastern and Asian news networks challenge the concept of an American dominated single-minded television monopoly. Furthermore, it is important to recognize that a television audience will always actively re-interpret whatever message is conveyed by the screen.gandymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309290007442425325noreply@blogger.com0