I was very pleased to recently be awarded a course development grant at University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) where I work.  The purpose of the grant is to encourage faculty to develop new courses (in any field) that promote the mission of the university.  At UDM, that means a course that somehow integrates the Jesuit, Mercy, Catholic, Urban, Justice mission.  Not an easy task!  Eight of us applied and I received 1 of the 2 grants awarded.  If I may pause to brag for a minute–I was the only non-tenured professor to apply and, I believe, the only adjunct instructor to ever be awarded this grant.  Pretty cool!

The course I am developing is (no shock here) focused on popular music and religion.  I have already been doing some reading and thinking about this course, and it is my hope that R&T readers could help me with suggestions.  If you were taking a course about the religious and spiritual flavors of popular music, what would you like to see/hear?

Here are a few thoughts and questions I hope to address this summer.  Feel free to respond if you have other ideas.

1. I am well acquainted with rock music and a number of other related styles (metal, punk, prog, etc.), but I will need to study Hip Hop and the ever-growing body of scholarship related to Hip Hop and Religion.  Since a few of my esteemed R&T colleagues are experts in this area, I am confident that they will be able to point me in the right direction! (less than subtle hint for Monica, Daniel and Rachel, especially!)

2. A course on popular music and religion/spirituality needs to include a LOT of listening to recorded music and live performances!  What if I require students to attend at least 1 live performance during the semester–perhaps focused on a style of

music they do not normally listen to?  I could offer a rubric to help them observe the religious and spiritual themes found in the performance–they would then write a paper addressing these themes.

3.  Since popular music is (obviously) an integral part of popular culture in the U.S., this course should spend some time investigating the notion of “culture.”  These investigations could introduce some sociological, theological and philosophical perspectives about culture from a broad spectrum of writers.

4. I devoted 1 chapter of my book to what I termed a “theo-musical” autobiography.  The point of this was to reflect on the significan role music has played throughout my life.  By doing this I was able to make some connections between my musical passion and my yearnings to connect with something beyond myself.  If I offered the students some guiding questions, I could see this being a valuable exercise for them.

5. Since this course is being taught in Detroit, a visit to the Motown museum and a discussion of race, politics and music in the 60s is a must.

What else do you think should be included in this course?  Too bad Joey Ramone isn’t around anymore–he could be a guest lecturer.

Dave Nantais, Detroit, MI

 

5 Comments »

1. 

   I would recommend every student be required to purchase the full King’s X discography, and discuss the relevant issues involving the cardinal virtues, sin, sexuality, and the implications involved if Mr. Bulbous ever came home.

   Comment by Paul — June 5, 2012 @ 8:25 am

2. 

   I agree, Paul–along with the complete Iron Maiden discography (minus the 2 albums with Blaze Bayley!

   Comment by Dave Nantais — June 5, 2012 @ 8:31 am

3. 

   That is awesome Dave!! I will be excited to hear how things are coming along. I am still trying to complete my dissertation on rock music and pastoral care and not having much luck with my chair. I still continue to push. I am now in Afghanistan serving Soldiers with extreme combat stress. And yes, you guessed it, I am using rock music, mostly alternative, to help the Soldiers find spiritual strength. Keep up the good work Dave! – Troy

   Comment by Troy Allan — June 5, 2012 @ 9:35 am

4. 

   Dave, I would love to teach, and even more to enroll in, such a course. I think your bent toward on-site, self-involving, experiential learning is ideal for a class like this. One idea I would have would be to start students off right away giving a theological analysis of music in an open-ended, non-directive way, and see what they come up with. Then revisit the assignment later in the course, once they have theories and examples with which to work, and have them do the assignment (or something similar) again, and see what they now notice musically and theologically, and ask them to reflect on the difference. I think teaching students to look at the theology-music relationship as an involvement in contested forms of experience and knowledge (in both music and theology) is crucial for entering the discussion in some depth. I taught a course at Boston College ten years ago titled “Popular Culture, Theology, and Ministry,” and it is probably the most popular (no pun intended) course I’ve ever taught. I would love to reprise it at Fordham, and would like to learn from what you end up putting together.

   Comment by Tommy Beaudoin — June 5, 2012 @ 7:44 pm

5. 

   Great suggestions, Tom–thank you very much!

   Comment by Dave Nantais — June 6, 2012 @ 6:59 am

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