Religion, TV, and Film (371-0-20)

Topic

The Spirit of Horses

Instructors

Sarah McFarland Taylor
847 4914361
Crowe hall, 4-144

Meeting Info

University Library 3322: Fri 12:00PM - 2:30PM

Overview of class

It is often said that in riding a horse "we borrow freedom." From winged Pegasus of Greek mythology, to mystical Kelpies of Celtic lore, to the Hippogriffs in Harry Potter, horses hold a special allure for humans that transcends cultures. This course explores the power of the sacred human-horse bond as represented in art, film, TV, and social media, while teaching techniques and tools for analyzing media and making your own media! We will start by looking historically and anthropologically at the co-evolution of humans and equids, investigating how the domestication of horses and the mutually shaping human-horse relationship radically changed the world. We will also learn how religion followed the path of horses across the globe. In fact, the history of religions, their spread, comingling, and influence can be told through the prism of human-horse partnerships over space and time. We will learn about horses in mythology and sacred symbol, divine horses with supernatural powers, and how horses become a mainstay of folklore on virtually every continent. We will read and listen to reflections on the ways horses help some people to think about, know, and experience God/the divine, and/or find existential meaning. We will explore horse religions and worship (old and new), the key role played by horses in many funerary rites, and learn more about peoples who know themselves as "the people of the horse." We will also learn about the use of horses in therapy programs for those mentally, emotionally, physically, and developmentally challenged, and the successful use of horse therapy to heal veterans and others coping with PTSD. Finally, we look at a variety of horse trainers and clinicians who approach horsemanship as a kind of sacred vocation, devotional path, and/or spiritual discipline. At the core of this course is investigating why and how it is that horses fascinate humans, capture so many hearts, and fuel our imaginations. In other words, "What is it about horses . . . ?" We learn about media by "doing media," so this course offers the chance to design and produce two media projects based on original research and analysis, examining works that mediate horses. There will also be a required class field trip to an equine therapy center. [No experience with horses necessary, though not recommended for students who are allergic to equines.]

*The course counts towards the Religion, Health and Medicine (RHM) and the Media, Technology, Journalism, and Religion (MTJR) religious studies major concentrations.

Learning Objectives

Content and learning goals for this course:
1. I would like students to come away from this course more curious about religions, religious and spiritual meaning-making, and to do so with a "wider angle lens" on what constitutes a "religion" and the role of religions in society and culture.
2. I would like students to come away with more knowledge about the complexity of human-horse relationships, the broader context of animals and their importance in religious myths, sacred symbol, spirituality, and folklore
3. I would like students to develop skills for "reading media" and analyzing media representations, especially (for the purposes of this course) ones concerning horses and their relationship to humans
4. I would like students to have a positive, and perhaps even surprising introduction to the study of religion and media, while gaining literacy in the formal and rhetorical elements of film and other forms of visual culture 5. I would like students to be able to recognize and engage both explicit and implicit religious thematics in mediated popular culture.
6. I would like students to explore and ponder their own pre-conceptions, imaginations, and attitudes toward equines and to bring these to bear on their textual analysis
7. I would like this course to empower students with mediamaking skills to explore topics of their own choosing, learning to "tell the story" of their own research and analysis in compelling ways that are translatable to a variety of professional settings beyond the classroom, especially within the context of our highly digitized, hypermediated culture.

Teaching Method

Class Materials (Required)

Required readings will be made available on Canvas or through links printed in the syllabus.

Class Attributes

Ethical and Evaluative Thinking Foundational Disci
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-Registration -- Reserved for Religion students.
Add Consent: Department Consent Required