The Faithful Citizen: Popular Christian Media and Gendered Civic Identities: 10 (Studies in Rhetoric & Religion) - Softcover

Kristy Maddux (author)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 160258253X ISBN 13: 9781602582538

Publisher: Baylor University Press, 2010

Synopsis

For decades, American popular media have instructed audiences about their roles and significance in the public sphere. In The Faithful Citizen , rhetorical critic Kristy Maddux argues that popular Christian media not only communicate avenues for civic engagement but do so in profoundly gendered terms. Her detailed interrogation of popular Christian movies, books, and television shows--the Left Behind series, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, Amazing Grace , 7th Heaven , and the blockbuster The Da Vinci Code --exposes five competing models of how Christians should behave in the civic sphere as their gendered selves. What emerges is a typology that insightfully reveals how these varying faith-based models of engagement uniquely shape public discourse and influence the larger picture of contemporary politics.

About this title

Review:

The historical, political, social, and theoretical contexts [Maddux] intertwines throughout each chapter connect material and discursive realities in ways that either capture important debates or speak back to them in important ways. And Maddux cogently depicts how ideas about Christian civic participation, gender, and popular media are woven together to create a story about what kinds of bodies and behaviours make someone a true 'citizen.'

--Amanda Rossie, The Ohio State University "Journal of Religion and Popular Culture "

[Maddux] presents an interesting reading of contemporary culture and offers a methodology for a more careful consideration of the interaction between media and religion.

--Paul A. Soukup, Santa Clara University "Communication Research Trends "

Maddux is a clear writer doing bread-and-butter analysis of important works that obviously have had an influence on public life.

--Brian Jackson, Brigham Young University "Rhetoric Review "

About the Author:

Kristy Maddux is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland. Her work has been published by many journals, including Rhetoric & Public Affairs , Critical Studies in Media Communication , Philosophy & Rhetoric , Feminist Media Studies , and Women's Studies in Communication . She lives in the greater Washington, D.C., area.

About this edition

• Publisher: Baylor University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 160258253X
• ISBN 13: 9781602582538
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 200