This is the first version of the 2023–24 General Catalog. Please check back regularly for changes. The final edition and the historical PDF will be published during the fall semester.
The minor is designed to focus on the intersection of religion and media and to build critical skills in cultural and media literacy. Students are educated on the vital role that religion and media play, historically and in contemporary society, by introducing interdisciplinary perspectives.
The undergraduate minor in religion and media requires a minimum of 18 s.h., including 12 s.h. in courses taken at the University of Iowa. Students must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.00 in all courses for the minor and in all UI courses for the minor. Coursework for the minor may not be taken pass/nonpass.
The departments of Religious Studies and Communication Studies collaborate to offer the minor in religion and media. The minor is administered by the Department of Religious Studies.
Students completing a communication studies major or a religious studies major also may complete this minor. Students may count up to 6 s.h. of coursework for the religion and media minor with other programs of study. Courses with GE CLAS Core status are excluded from this policy.
The minor in religion and media requires the following coursework. Students must complete at least 6 s.h. in communication studies coursework (prefix COMM) and at least 6 s.h. in religious studies coursework (prefix RELS).
| Requirements | Hours |
|---|---|
| Methods and Approaches in Media Studies Course | 3 |
| Methods and Approaches in Religious Studies Course | 3 |
| Themes of Religion and Media Courses | 6 |
| Religion and Media in Context Courses | 6 |
Methods and Approaches in Media Studies
These courses convey major methodological approaches to the study of media.
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| One of these: | ||
| RELS:1050/POLI:1050 | Big Ideas: Introduction to Information, Society, and Culture | 3 |
| COMM:1168 | Music and Social Change | 3 |
| COMM:1174 | Media and Society | 3 |
Methods and Approaches in Religious Studies
These courses convey major methodological approaches to the study of religion.
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| One of these: | ||
| RELS:1001 | Judaism, Christianity, and Islam | 3 |
| RELS:1015 | Global Religious Conflict and Diversity | 3 |
Themes of Religion and Media
These courses raise broad thematic questions about the relationship between religion and media in diverse historical, geographical, and social contexts.
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| At least 6 s.h. from these: | ||
| RELS:2182/CLSA:2482 | Ancient Mediterranean Religions | 3 |
| RELS:2272 | Gods and Superheroes: Mythologies for a Modern World | 3 |
| RELS:2930/COMM:2079 | Digital Media and Religion | 3 |
Religion and Media in Context
These courses engage specific historical, geographical, and cultural contexts in which a relationship between religion and media is important. They teach students to think about the way religion and media matter in everyday life.
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| At least 6 s.h. from these: | ||
| RELS:2260/GHS:2260 | Hard Cases in Healthcare at the Beginning of Life | 3 |
| RELS:2265/ASP:2265/GHS:2265 | Hard Cases in Healthcare at the End of Life | 3 |
| RELS:2877/SPST:2077 | Sport and Religion in America | 3 |
| RELS:3243/CLSA:3443 | Pagans and Christians: The Church from Jesus to Muhammad | 3 |
| RELS:3247/CLSA:3247 | Banned from the Bible: Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha | 3 |
| RELS:3745/AFAM:3245 | Twentieth- and Twenty-first-Century African American Religion: Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter | 3 |
| COMM:2080/RELS:2080 | Public Life in the U.S.: Religion and Media | 3 |
| COMM:2088 | Media and Democracy | 3 |