CROSSROADS IN CULTURAL STUDIES
Fourth International Conference
June 29 - July 2, 2002, Tampere, Finland
Is Nothing Sacred?: Critical Analysis of the Use of
Religion in North American Popular Culture
Organiser: Naomi Goldenberg
Häger, Andreas (Åbo Akademi
University, Finland) BAROQUE 'N' ROLL - DOES POPULAR EQUAL PROFANE?
This paper deals with three distinctions that are central to the discussion on
religion and popular culture: sacred/profane, high/low and European/American.
Many of the recent observations on the relations between religion, media and
popular culture comment on the changing distinction between "sacred"
and "profane" in the religiosity of today. The sacralization of such
popular phenomena as Elvis and Star Trek seemingly tempts the conclusion that
the distinction between sacred and profane has become blurred. In my paper, I
raise the question whether this conclusion may be influenced by notions on the
boundaries between "high" and "low" culture, and between
European and American culture. Is religious sentiment expressed through the
music of Bach or Mozart perceived to be more sacred than the same sentiment
expressed through the music of Elvis? If this is the case, why is it so? These
questions are examined through analyses of some recent American writings on
religion and popular culture, both in and out of the academic circles.
Bishop, Kathleen (Drew University, USA)
"KEEPIN' IT REAL:" HIP HOP CULTURE AND THE MORAL LIFE OF URBAN GIRLS
Religion reveals itself differently in oral culture but oral culture is too
often ignored in the contemporary study of religion. Using examples from rap
lyrics, interviews with urban teenage girls and imagery from popular hip-hop
culture, this paper will make the case that the hip-hop phenomenon qualifies as
an oral culture and performs many of the same functions as a religion. This
paper will focus on the way identities and moral values are negotiated in the
world of hip-hop, especially as they relate to gender. The urban girls who were
the subjects of ethnographic research I conducted in a Newark, New Jersey high
school looked to prominent female rappers for validation and identification. In
hip-hop culture, the life stories of the artists can be as valuable as the art
that they produce, especially for adolescent girls in search of usable cultural
texts. Because hip-hop divas and high school girls alike fashion their
identities in the face of racism and misogyny, cultural values such as
"keepin' it real" and self-respect rise to the level of spiritual
virtues.
Martin, Wendy (University of Ottawa,
Canada) NEW AGE RAGE: SPIRITUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE AS SOCIAL PROTEST
Spirituality in the Workplace emerged as a dominant trend in management theory
during the mid-1980's. Primarily taking the form of seminars and retreats led by
'management gurus' and 'spirituality consultants,' these events were designed to
use various spiritual practices as a source of motivation to produce loyal,
efficient and productive employees. More recently, Spirit at Work (as it is
often called) has become less of a management strategy aimed at increasing
profitability, and more of an employee-led movement aimed at integrating private
spiritual beliefs with public roles and institutions. Moreover, these movements
appear to be challenging the dominant beliefs and practices of business culture.
In this paper, I examine the ways in which Spirit at Work Movements are used to
integrate and reproduce, or subvert and transform hegemony. Most notably, I
examine how Spirit at Work Movements are used as forms of resistance and social
protest.
Valkeakari, Tuire (University of
Helsinki, Finland) "THE GOSPEL OF THE GOOD NEWS OF THE BLUES": THE
SECULAR AND THE SACRED IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN EXPRESSIVE CULTURE
This presentation addresses African-American spirituals and the blues as both
separate and deeply interconnected cultural orientations that paved the way for
the late-twentieth-century black American novel's performative identity. This
paper emerges from my work in progress on African-American novelists'
utilization and modification of the language of the "sacred" for
secular as well as newly defined spiritual purposes in the latter half of the
twentieth century. My selected authors draw from the linguistic and thematic
repository of the sacred and the ancient to portray the secular and the
(post)modern: while narrating and interrogating American nationhood and
selfhood, they include religious materials in the contents of their literary
melting pots, conjuring novel, surprising mixtures from familiar ingredients. As
a genre, the contemporary African-American novel frequently blurs the
distinction between "high culture" and "popular culture," as
my approach suggests, by mixing elements from both (alleged) cultural realms in
ways that do not conform to any traditional generic expectations.
Goldenberg, Naomi (University of Ottawa,
Canada) GODDESSES OF THE SOPRANOS: EXPLORING POLITICS AND GENDER IN
REPRESENTATIONS OF MYTH AND RELIGION IN THE TELEVISION SERIES
Images of female divinity abound in the popular US television series about the
sorrows and triumphs of a New Jersey Mafia family. This paper will trace the
Greco-Roman and Hindu narrative traditions that animate characterizations of the
women in Tony Soprano's life. The Mafia in the series will be discussed as a
shadow image of the state in which men dominate but women exercise peculiar
power both to sow disorder and to dispense wisdom. Parallels with the depiction
of real women in recent US political dramas will be pointed out. The portrayal
of women as goddess figures will be contrasted with the use of men to symbolize
Judaism and Christianity in the series. The paper will argue that, in regard to
gender and religion, this otherwise highly original product of popular culture
is conservative in the extreme.
|