Lynn Schofield Clark is Assistant Research Professor at the
University of Colorado's School of Journalism and Mass
Communication and co-editor of Practicing Religion in the Age of
the Media: Explorations in Media, Religion, and Culture (2002). A
former television producer and marketing professional, Clark has
provided volunteer leadership with young people for more than
fifteen years. She currently teaches critical/cultural studies
approaches to media, and is Director of the Teens and the New Media
@ Home Project.
"Astonishingly well-grounded in literary, oral, and media sources,
offfering many insights into contemporary social experience. A
warning about the degree to which entertainment media shape
contemporary religious ideas and practices, a surprising --not to
say alarming--assessment of the spiritual state of America's
youth." --Reet Hiiemae
"This book is of interest to those interested in adolescent
culture, media studies, or popular religion. It is well-written,
solidly researched contribution to the previously named fields."
--Religious Studies Review
"Astonishingly well-grounded in literary, oral, and media sources,
offering many insights into contemporary social experience. A
warning about the degree to which entertainment media shape
contemporary religious ideas and practices, a surprising -- not to
say alarming -- assessment of the spiritual state of America's
youth." --Reet Hiiemae
"This book is of interest to those interested in adolescent
culture, media studies, or popular religion. It is well-written,
solidly researched contribution to the previously named fields."
--Religious Studies Review
"Goes a long way towards putting religion and spirituality in a
context with media interpretation and communicative practice.. the
writing weaves popular culture, theory, and the stories of the
teens in a way that is engaging and accessible to those experienced
in the field, as well as to students."-- Journal of
Communication
"What Wade Clark Roof did for understanding Baby Boomer
spirituality with A Generation of Seekers, Clark does with this
insightful, well-written... introduction to the spiritual lives of
a new generation...engaging and fast-paced."--Publishers Weekly
"Intelligently written, this study will interest both scholars and
casual readers"--Library Journal
"...provides a number of intriguing insights into teen spirituality
and a solid understanding of the central role of religion in
American culture"--The Washington Post Book World
"Working at the interstices of adolescence, spirituality, and the
media, Lynn Schofield Clark finds, among other things, that popular
interest in the supernatural can be attributed to the resurgence of
evangelicalism in recent decades. It is a most provocative thesis,
and From Angels to Aliens makes for a fascinating book.--Randall
Balmer, author of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the
Evangelical Subculture in America
"This is an important study for two reasons, one, it helps us to
better understand the world of the supernatural as seen through the
eyes of teenagers, and two, it sheds new insight on the crucial
role of the media in the formation of supernatural beliefs-even on
the part of those who resist media influence. Highly recommended
for general readers, and not just for academics who study religion
and the media." --Wade Clark Roof, J.F. Rowny Professor of
Religion
and Society, University of California at Santa Barbara
"In this subtle and focused study Lynn Schofield Clark addresses
one of the most significant linkages in contemporary social
experience--religion, mass media, and the youth audiences addressed
by both. The connecting point is the fluid notion of 'the
supernatural.' Clark shows just how complex these topics come to be
in any attempt to understand how 'teens' work to define their own
beliefs in a world flooded with images and symbols yet still
structured by
categories such as the family, economic conditions, and peer
groups. This book is valuable for sociologists of religion, media
studies scholars, and students of 'youth culture.' Even more
important, it
should direct the attention of these groups to topics too often
neglected or dismissed as trivial."--Horace Newcomb, Lambdin Kay
Distinguished Professor for the Peabodys, Director of the Peabody
Awards Program
"A truly unique book, From Angels to Aliens uses solid empirical
evidence to spin out an engaging story about adolescence and media
culture, with an ironic twist about traditional evangelicalism
unintentionally promoting a broad cultural fascination with the
supernatural and the occult." --Christian Smith, Professor of
Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and
Director of the National Study of Youth and Religion
"Astonishingly well-grounded in literary, oral, and media sources, offfering many insights into contemporary social experience. A warning about the degree to which entertainment media shape contemporary religious ideas and practices, a surprising --not to say alarming--assessment of the spiritual state of America's youth." --Reet Hiiemae "This book is of interest to those interested in adolescent culture, media studies, or popular religion. It is well-written, solidly researched contribution to the previously named fields." --Religious Studies Review "Astonishingly well-grounded in literary, oral, and media sources, offering many insights into contemporary social experience. A warning about the degree to which entertainment media shape contemporary religious ideas and practices, a surprising -- not to say alarming -- assessment of the spiritual state of America's youth." --Reet Hiiemae "This book is of interest to those interested in adolescent culture, media studies, or popular religion. It is well-written, solidly researched contribution to the previously named fields." --Religious Studies Review "Goes a long way towards putting religion and spirituality in a context with media interpretation and communicative practice.. the writing weaves popular culture, theory, and the stories of the teens in a way that is engaging and accessible to those experienced in the field, as well as to students."-- Journal of Communication "What Wade Clark Roof did for understanding Baby Boomer spirituality with A Generation of Seekers, Clark does with this insightful, well-written... introduction to the spiritual lives of a new generation...engaging and fast-paced."--Publishers Weekly "Intelligently written, this study will interest both scholars and casual readers"--Library Journal "...provides a number of intriguing insights into teen spirituality and a solid understanding of the central role of religion in American culture"--The Washington Post Book World "Working at the interstices of adolescence, spirituality, and the media, Lynn Schofield Clark finds, among other things, that popular interest in the supernatural can be attributed to the resurgence of evangelicalism in recent decades. It is a most provocative thesis, and From Angels to Aliens makes for a fascinating book.--Randall Balmer, author of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America "This is an important study for two reasons, one, it helps us to better understand the world of the supernatural as seen through the eyes of teenagers, and two, it sheds new insight on the crucial role of the media in the formation of supernatural beliefs-even on the part of those who resist media influence. Highly recommended for general readers, and not just for academics who study religion and the media." --Wade Clark Roof, J.F. Rowny Professor of Religion and Society, University of California at Santa Barbara "In this subtle and focused study Lynn Schofield Clark addresses one of the most significant linkages in contemporary social experience--religion, mass media, and the youth audiences addressed by both. The connecting point is the fluid notion of 'the supernatural.' Clark shows just how complex these topics come to be in any attempt to understand how 'teens' work to define their own beliefs in a world flooded with images and symbols yet still structured by categories such as the family, economic conditions, and peer groups. This book is valuable for sociologists of religion, media studies scholars, and students of 'youth culture.' Even more important, it should direct the attention of these groups to topics too often neglected or dismissed as trivial."--Horace Newcomb, Lambdin Kay Distinguished Professor for the Peabodys, Director of the Peabody Awards Program "A truly unique book, From Angels to Aliens uses solid empirical evidence to spin out an engaging story about adolescence and media culture, with an ironic twist about traditional evangelicalism unintentionally promoting a broad cultural fascination with the supernatural and the occult." --Christian Smith, Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Director of the National Study of Youth and Religion
Evangelical Christian preachers say that the media have always taught immorality and that now they are teaching witchcraft, superstition, and Satanism. Is this all true? A former television producer and marketer, Clark (journalism, Univ. of Chicago) hopes to persuade us that it is not. Admittedly, while flipping through the TV channels or browsing the movie marquees you see Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, The Fellowship of the Ring, Left Behind, and much more. But, the author argues, the obsessions on parade here are identical to those of Evangelical Christianity, which has long shown interest in such topics in its own literature and preachings. In this objective ethnological study, complete with a formal methodology, Clark obtains the reactions of teens themselves and categorizes them as traditionalists, mystics, seekers, experimenters, and resisters to find out just what influence the media have on teenagers. She concludes that teenagers today display the same deep religiosity and curiosity about religion that have always characterized Americans. We have no cause for alarm. Intelligently written, this study will interest both scholars and casual readers. For all libraries.-James F. DeRoche, Alexandria, VA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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