ME515/615:
Communicating Christ through Narrative and Song (4 units)
DESCRIPTION:
The whole world communicates! And not only in written form.
In an age of electronic media, communicators rely heavily on oral communication
forms, the soft media. Communicating to predominantly oral peoples, whether
literate or non-literate, requires investigating oral communication
technologies, among them storytelling, songs, and proverbs. These are
investigated with four goals in mind: to understand our audience and their
perceptions of the world, to discover effective ways to communicate to oral
peoples, to create and develop oral resources for communicating Christ, and to
design strategies for doing oral communication in Christian witness.
LEARNING
OUTCOMES:
· Gain
understanding of the impact and role of orality among literate, semi-literate,
and non-literate peoples.
· Develop skills in discovering,
analyzing and interpreting oral communication forms within varying cultural
contexts.
· Explore ways of using proverbs,
story, and songs in Christian worship, witness, and spiritual formation.
· Learn a method for working with
groups to develop appropriate and relevant oral forms, i.e. composing songs in
groups, for communicating the Gospel.
· Design and present a contextualized
Christian event that communicates a biblical message through oral forms.
COURSE FORMAT: This class meets one
evening each week for 3 hour sessions. Lectures,
in-class group presentations, audio and videoclips, and class discussions
create an interactive class format.
REQUIRED READING: If you have read
any of the required texts for another course, please select an alternative text
from the recommended reading list or a book approved by the instructor.
Healey Joseph, MM and Donald Sybertz, MM Towards an
African Narrative Theology. Nairobi, Kenya: Paulines Publications, Africa,
1996.
King, Roberta R. A Time to Sing: A Manual for the African Church. Nairobi,
Kenya: Evangel Publishing House, 1999.
King, Roberta R. Syllabus and Readings in Oral Communication. Pasadena,
CA: Fuller Theological Seminary, 2000.
Klem, Herbert. Oral Communication of the Scriptures. Pasadena, CA:
William Carey Library, 1978.
Rhoads, David. Mark as Story: An Introduction to the Narrative of a Gospel.
2nd Edition. Fortress Press, 1999.
Steffan, Tom A. Reconnecting God’s Story to Ministry: Crosscultural
Storytelling at Home and Abroad. La Habra, CA: Center for Organizational
and Ministry Development, 1996.
RECOMMENDED
READING:
Boomershine,
Thomas E. Story Journey: An Invitation to the Gospel as Storytelling.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1988.
Finnegan,
Ruth. Literacy & Orality: Studies in the Technology of Communication.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Graham, William A. Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the
History of Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
Ong, Walter J. Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. New
York: Routledge, 1988.
Sample, Tex. Ministry in an Oral Culture: Living with Will Rogers, Uncle
Remus, & Minnie Pearl. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press,
1994.
Van Engen, Charles, Nancy Thomas, and Robert Gallagher, eds. Footprints of
God: A Narrative Theology of Mission. Monrovia, CA: Marc, 1999.
ASSIGNMENTS:
· Four
critical evaluations of various oral communication formats: 500 words each.
· Group project.
· 3000 to 3750 word term paper or
project.
· ThM Students: Term paper or project
will be 3750 to 5000 words.
PREREQUISITES:
None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM:
Elective. Course fits well into the anthropology or communication
concentrations, as well as the postmodern, urban areas, and children-at-risk.
Required for the Global Worship Concentration.
FINAL
EXAM: None.