Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Welcome to LBAR 181!

Welcome to the LBAR 181 class blog. This blog provides an opportunity to explore issues raised in LBAR 181: Judaism, Islam & the Media being taught by Dr. Heidi Campbell at Texas A&M University this fall semester. Students will have an opportunity to respond to course themes here and additional information related weekly case studies will also be provided here.

This LBAR section is focused on investigating how Jewish and Muslim groups and communities interact and negotiate with the mass media. Beginning such an investigation requires self-reflection, considering how personal views of the media, popular culture and especially influence our own perceptions.

"For what you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing: it also depends on what sort of person you are." - C. S. Lewis in The Magician's Nephew

According to this quote it is important to be aware of who you are and what you believe... as it affect how you interact with the rest of the world. This is especially important when dealing with issues related to religion and mass media. In order to help you begin on this process of self-reflection, to become aware of how your own beliefs effect how you see other, start by taking the Belief-o-matic quiz. How do your responses match those who may subscribe to Islam or the Jewish faith?

7 comments:

Will said...

I was personally surprised at the difference between my beliefs and those of Reform Judaism and Islam. I was rated almost completely "mainstream to conservative protestant", which was actually closer to Islam.

Jessica said...

I was surprised that I came up 100% Orthodox Quaker followed by Mainline to Conservative Christian, but after reading the info on Quakers, I was not surpised. I felt like the answers to the questions could have been more accurate and that the site should not have had Christian advertisements all over it if it was to produce unbiased responses. Overall, the outcome was pretty accurate for me though.

Unknown said...

I wasn't too shocked when my results categorized me as 100% Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant. I was surprised the percentage was that high, but the category made sense. After spending fourteen years at a Baptist school, I knew all the "right" answers. One thing I think may be hard for anyone who has grown up in a particular religion is differentiating between what he has been taught and what he truly believes, especially if he is uncertain of the latter.

That's my two cents. =)

Kristen said...

I've taken this quiz before just last year, and I have actually changed a little. Before I was 100% New Thought, and now the quiz had me as 100% Unitarian Universalism. I think a combination of both describe me pretty accurately. I feel like just because I'm not Christian, then I'm an outcast. But I believe what I believe. I like being Unitarian because although my beliefs don't correlate much at all with Judaism or Islam, I am still willing to learn from them and seek a better understanding of different spiritual beliefs, and hopefully become closer to discovering my truth.

Cindy said...

I wasn't so suprised to find that my beliefs matched up 100% with Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant. I guess that growing up in a Christian home and going to a Baptist church taught me all the details of my religion. However, I was surprised that my beliefs matched up so closely to the Islamic faith. I didn't know the two religions were so alike.

Michele Ebbole said...

I was not surprised that I tied for Secular Humanism and Unitarian Universalist. I attended the Unitarian Fellowship here in town for a number of years. The church includes a variety of people with different beliefs such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Agnostics, and Atheists. I consider myself an Agnostic because I do believe in some type of higher force that started the scientific process of the big bang, but I believe science took over from there. I also believe that adhering to a certain religious book or guideline is not reliable since humans were involved in the process and interpretation of what they believed to be God's word.

Steve Bergson said...

Is this course being offered again? I'd like to learn more about it.

I was glad to see that Little Mosque on the Prairie weas mentioned in a blog post.