[...]... Journal of Religion and Film 9(2) Watkins, Gregory J 1999 ‘‘Seeing and Being Seen: Distinctively Filmic and Religious Elements in Film. ’’ Journal of Religion and Film 3(2) Wright, Melanie J 2006 Religion and Film: An Introduction London: Tauris part i Establishing Shot Viewing the Field of Religion and Film This page intentionally left blank 1 What Are We Teaching When We Teach ‘ Religion and Film ’?... (2003); and The Religion and xiv contributors Film Reader (2007) He is also managing editor of Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art, and Belief Gregory J Watkins is a lecturer and resident fellow in the Program in Structured Liberal Education at Stanford University He is the author of ‘‘Seeing and Being Seen: Distinctively Filmic and Religious Elements in Film ’ ( Journal of Religion and Film. .. into Hollywood Spec´ taculars’’ and ‘‘Calling the Shots: Directing Salome’s Dance of Death.’’ William L Blizek is professor of philosophy and religion at the University of Nebraska at Omaha He is a founder of the Journal of Religion and Film and a former cochair of the AAR Group on Religion, Film, and Visual Culture He is presently preparing Companion to Religion and Film for Continuum Books of London... former associate professor of religion at Bowdoin College, she served as chair of the religion department and taught courses in the philosophy of religion, Western religious thought, religion and culture, and film and the visual arts Her publications include Religious Imagination and contributors xiii Language in Emerson and Nietzsche (1994) and more than a dozen articles and chapters in books She also... as Problem and Opportunity in the Use of Film for Teaching Theology and Religion Clive Marsh, 155 9 Women, Theology, and Film: Approaching the Challenge of Interdisciplinary Teaching Gaye Williams Ortiz, 165 PART III The Religious Studies Approach 10 Seeing Is Believing, but Touching’s the Truth: Religion, Film, and the Anthropology of the Senses Richard M Carp, 177 11 There Is No Spoon? Teaching The... California at Los Angeles Teaching Religion and Film This page intentionally left blank Introduction: Teaching Religion and Film Gregory J Watkins The study of religion has always been both vexed and blessed by the fact that it is a ‘‘field’’ and not a ‘‘discipline.’’ While those of us working in religious studies have rarely been able to defend our scholarly pursuits except from the standpoint of a discipline... terrain of religion and film Establishing Shot: Viewing the Field of Religion and Film The volume starts with an orientation to the field and then presents a chapter about one of the most important current topics in theoretical work In chapter 1, ‘‘What Are We Teaching When We Teach Religion and Film ?’’ Blizek and Desmarais report on a survey of four general approaches to the use of film in a class on religion: ... help a teacher navigate those reactions 6 teaching religion and film Conrad Ostwalt’s chapter, ‘ Teaching Religion and Film: A Fourth Approach,’’ has in the background Ostwalt’s own early and foundational contribution to the field as coeditor, with Joel Martin, of Screening the Sacred: Religion, Myth, and Ideology in Popular American Film (1995) As Ostwalt and Martin saw it then, there were at least... and the understanding they gain about religion generally Another significant contributor to the field (especially as editor of Representing Religion in World Cinema [2003] and The Religion and Film Reader [2007]), S Brent Plate pursues a project similar to Lyden’s and finds an integral connection between religion and the cultural activity of moviegoing Drawing on the theoretical work of Peter Berger and. .. Postperennialism, and the Spiritual Logic of Late Capitalism Gregory Grieve, 189 12 Teaching Film as Religion John C Lyden, 209 13 Filmmaking and World Making: Re-Creating Time and Space in Myth and Film S Brent Plate, 219 14 Introducing Theories of Religion through Film: A Sample Syllabus Gregory J Watkins, 233 PART IV The Values Approach 15 Touching Evil, Touching Good Irena S M Makarushka, 253 16 Teaching . xi Introduction: Teaching Religion and Film Gregory J. Wat kins,3 PART I Establishing Shot: Viewing the Field of Religion and Film 1. What Are We Teaching When We Teach ‘ Religion and Film ’? William. Blizek and Michele Desmarais,17 2. Teaching Religion and Film: A Fourth Approach Conrad Ostwalt,35 PART II Film and the Teaching of Religious Traditions 3. Teaching Biblical Tourism: How Sword -and- Sandal. 189 12. Teaching Film as Religion John C. Lyden, 209 13. Filmmaking and World Making: Re-Creating Time and Space in Myth and Film S. Brent Plate, 219 14. Introducing Theories of Religion through Film: