Stefanie Knauss

Sex, Media and theology – a provocative mix. Reactions can vary from rejection to openness and curiosity. This volume follows the latter path: on the background of changes in contemporary sexual culture and theological developments in the reflection on sexuality, three media – internet, advertising and film – are analysed with respect of their representation of sexuality and their contribution to theological reflections on sex. This shows: sex in media is more than a provocation; it provides an inspiration for theological thinking about human beings, their relationships with others, and also with God.

Sexuality, Media and Theology

More than a Provocation

Alexander Darius Ornella

Michael Haneke is one of Europe's most successful and controversial film directors. Awarded the Palme d'Or and numerous other international awards, Haneke has contributed to and shaped contemporary auteur cinema and is becoming more and more popular among academics and cinephiles. His mission is as noble as it is provocative: he wants "to rape the audience into independence," to wake them up from the lethargy caused by the entertainment industry. The filmic language he employs in this mission is both highly characteristic and efficient, and yet his methods are open to criticism for their violence toward and manipulation of the audience. The aim of this book is to analyze critically Haneke's aesthetics, his message, as well as his ethical motivation from an interdisciplinary and intercultural perspective. Contributors to the book come from a variety of academic disciplines and cultural backgrounds-European and North American.

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Michael Haneke's Cinema

Fascinatingly Disturbing

Representations of sexuality in the media and their theologic reflection

More Than a Provocation

Hans-Günter Heimbrock

Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati

Trygve Wyller

Carla Danani

Hans-Joachim Sander

In democracies of advanced plurality, religion is a contested and powerful part of public discussions and practices. Today, religious difference is articulated and negotiated controversially in interaction with other spheres of society. While there are clear tendencies of increasing polarization, we also encounter moments of acknowledgement and appreciation of plurality. Facing these complexities and challenges of our time, this volume scrutinizes contested practices where religious difference matters. Committed to an interdisciplinary exchange between theology, the study of religion and political philosophy, this volume is grounded in the attention for concrete practices and phenomena as well as the conviction that difference is both a productive concept and an enriching experience. Exploring practices of shared places, sexuality, justice and the commitment to the human being in education, migration and violent conflicts, the volume as a whole contributes to the analysis of contested social and political practices in order to investigate the significance and role of religion in contemporary societies, and thus it further develops theoretical reflection about religion in contemporary research.

Contested Contemporary Issues

Religion and Difference

Carlos Mendoza-Álvarez

Becoming the Queer Body of Christ

Queer Theologies

Anna-Katharina Höpflinger

Als Basismedium der menschlichen Interaktion ist der Körper wesentlich für sozio-kulturelle Kommunikationssysteme, insbesondere für das Kommunikationssystem "Religion". Der Band untersucht dieses Systeme und die Rolle, die der Körper in deren Organisation spielt aus der Perspektive des "Concept of Body" sowie unter Rückgriff auf die Medien- und Kommunikationstheorie.

Body as a Medium in Religious Symbol Systems

Commun(icat)ing Bodies

Alexander D. Ornella

"From Once Upon a Time in the West to Moulin Rouge, fromGhanaian video-movies to Japanese Manga, from Christian symbolismin advertising to the mythic significance of female messiahfigures, from the relationship of the arts and theology to the role of theaudience in the meaningmaking process, the book provides a feast foranyone wanting to explore the interconnectivity of religion, mediaand society" -Robert Johnston, Fuller Theological Seminary

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Religion in a Post-secular Society

Reconfigurations

As a basic medium of human interaction, the body is fundamental to socio-cultural communication systems, in particular the communication system «religion». Over time, religious traditions – in all their various cultural and historical forms and incarnations – have developed elaborated symbolic systems with the body at their center. This volume proposes to study these systems and the role that body plays in their organization through the perspective of the concept of body as a medium and by drawing on media and communication theory. The papers collected in this volume explore this perspective in relation to different religious traditions, historical periods and theoretical as well as theological themes. They also engage in specific theoretical frameworks in order to discuss the scope and limitations of thinking of the body as a medium in religious symbol systems. Topics covered range from ancient mythology to contemporary Parsi rituals to the boundaries between body and technology.

As a basic medium of human interaction, the body is fundamental to socio-cultural communication systems, in particular the communication system of religion. This innovative and ground-breaking volume studies these systems and the role that the body plays in their organization through the perspective of the concept of body as a medium and by drawing on media and communication theory.

Stefanie Knauss

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