The following books each have a local authorship (in part or in whole), and are suitable for a variety of tastes and needs in this season and beyond.
Blessed are the media makers: A tool for educators
Reviewed by John Bonar
Imagine if a teacher brought students to the school library and allowed them to read anything they wished without ever asking them a single question or demanding that students think critically about what they were reading.
Preposterous! What teacher would ever do such a thing? But what if I were to tell you that a very similar scenario is played out in our schools every day?
Consider this: Catholic educators at all levels now utilize unprecedented amounts of media in their classrooms. Spurred on by seminars and new theories in education, we show films to reinforce concepts or utilize popular music as prompts for creative writing. Braver souls require students to incorporate various media into their classroom projects and presentations. The very adventurous create original media like websites, music or blogs with their students.
All of these ideas have great potential: they motivate students and create relevance within the curriculum. At the same time, they lack a crucial element.
Now consider this: young people view up to 3,000 discrete advertisements a day, and easily spend as many hours absorbing, downloading, or creating some kind of media as they do on their homework. The media permeate every aspect of our lives and create a culture that both affirms and contradicts the values we model and teach. Our students grow up in and contribute to media culture, yet lack the ability to think critically about what they see, hear and do. If we take seriously our vocation to prepare students for their future, then the need for media education becomes obvious.
Fortunately, we are not alone in this daunting task thanks to the collaborative efforts of Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary Sister Gretchen Hailer and Daughter of St. Paul Sister Rose Pacatte. Their latest offering, "Media Mindfulness: Educating Teens About Faith and Media" (St. Mary's Press, 152 pp., $24.95) presents a comprehensive, integrated curriculum that evaluates media objectively in light of our call to live out the Gospel.
Sisters Hailer and Pacatte (a.k.a. "Sister Catechist and Sister Media") successfully combine their considerable expertise into a convenient and user-friendly resource. Their main premise is that we can learn to integrate media literacy and our life in Jesus Christ in order to study any medium we choose from books to blogs, popular music to popular culture.
This integration results in what the authors term "media mindfulness": critical thinking about media combined with Gospel values. This compelling approach honors the Catholic teaching that media are gifts from God, gifts which offer both promise and peril. In this light, we are called to discern rather than denounce, to respond rather than react.
The authors offer a number of creative tools to guide students as they discuss, discern, explore and create media. Particularly useful is the idea that any medium is a constructed reality designed to transmit values, a concept that permeates the entire work. Also helpful is the Strategy of Media Mindfulness used to analyze the different forms of media in today's popular culture.
Educators will also appreciate the accessibility and consistency of the text. Every chapter begins with a Scripture reflection relevant to the medium being studied and an introduction to the objectives and values of that medium. Then the medium is deconstructed technically and historically while introducing the perspectives of society and the Church. Chapters conclude with a comprehensive list of resources and activities along with creative prayer suggestions that integrate the medium studied.
Sister Catechist and Sister Media have done a great service to educators and the Church at large. They teach us about media the way that Jesus would. Like Jesus, they remind us that we all like a good story. Today's media are the new storytellers.
Too often, Catholics have knee-jerk reactions to the media. Calls for boycotts or censorship diminish our credibility and stand in opposition to Jesus' invitation to engage the world and culture we live in. If we are to be "light for the world and salt of the earth," those of us with "eyes to see and ears to hear" cannot remain ignorant nor can we hope that the media will go away. We can, however, become media mindful and use what we learn to inform and inspire the next generation of authors, performers, and studio executives.
John Bonar is a campus minister and teaches theology, psychology and math at Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra.
Addressing our challenges: Insightful and reflective works
Reviewed by Mike Nelson
In a world and Catholic society often marred by division, three recent books --- all with Southern California connections in one way or another --- offer an array of thoughtful insights and reflections for those interested in seeking to build a stronger world and Catholic community.
Being Catholic in a Culture of Choice
By Thomas P. Rausch, SJ. Liturgical Press (Collegeville, Minn.). 119 pp. $19.95.
In shedding light on what has happened, and is happening, to our Catholic identity, Father Tom Rausch's latest work offers a concise overview of our modern Catholic society, drawing upon both a number of recent studies and his own classroom experience as T. Marie Chilton Professor of Catholic Theology at Loyola Marymount University.
The studies --- by Dean Hoge, James Davidson, the Universities of Notre Dame and North Carolina, and the National Catholic Reporter --- all have something to useful say about how younger Catholics in particular have not had the same, certainly not as "religiously intense" (that is, Catholic) upbringing as preceding generations. In synthesizing these studies, Father Rausch notes with some concern that among the contributing factors to this issue is the lack of continuing religious education and formation among today's Catholic adults:
"As an educated community, most Catholics take it for granted that they need to continue to read and study in their chosen fields. But the sorry fact is that most adult Catholics today read very little to keep themselves current in their faith, and so have little to pass on to their children. And how many parents take the time to read to their children before they retire?"
Yet while Father Rausch laments the loss of intrinsically Catholic family traditions practiced at home (like gathering by the Christmas tree, amidst the opening of presents, to pray and offer thanks to God), he refuses to engage in simplistically condemning any "segment" of Catholic society --- liberal or conservative, progressive or traditional --- for the problems that exist.
There are merits and limitations in all approaches to passing on the faith, and "Being Catholic" assesses them in a critical but balanced and even optimistic tone that is much needed in today's often tempestuous Church community.
If resolving the challenges of practicing and passing on the Catholic faith to future generations means first understanding where we are and how we got there, Father Rausch's book is an essential read for anyone seriously committed to meeting those challenges.
The Sky Is Crying
Edited by Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan. Abingdon Press (Nashville). 219 pp. $29.
"Why," the book cover asks, "do racial/ethnic minorities and the poor bear the brunt of both natural and political disaster?"
In response, and in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, some 20 contributing writers offer their insights, both specifically directed to the aftermath situation and the general treatment by American society of its poor and marginalized. Essays include such provocatively titled chapters as Doll Kennedy's "Myths and Media: A Sociological Reflection" (by) that laments the dehumanization of black Americans --- and certainly the contrasting plight of black and white "victims" as portrayed in the media--- and Toni Dunbar's "Crossing Many Waters" which plaintively asks:
"What if, from the destruction of Katrina and Rita, could arise a new determination to end the invisibility of the poor and to reshape an infrastructure that maintains --- and benefits from --- an underclass? What if we hold accountable those people and organizations who consider the elderly, voiceless and infirm expendable?"
In "Mañana Is Too Late to Learn How to Love," Tidings columnist Cecilia Gonzales-Andrieu, recently named to the faculty at Loyola Marymount University, presents a compelling plea for followers of the Gospel to realize that working toward building the kingdom of God in the future means practicing Gospel values in the here and now:
"If we take mañana truly seriously, as contained inside today, we can make it truly beautiful. Our pleading to our gracious God of 'your kingdom come' will not be passive, but infused with our witness of possibility because we know it."
The Treasure of Guadalupe
Edited by Virgilio Elizondo, Allan Figueroa Deck, SJ, and Timothy Matovina. Rowman & Littlefield (Lanham, Md.). 120 pp. $14.95.
The editors (the latter two former professors at LMU) are also three of the 15 authors of essays featured in this collection that offers a variety of ways to reflect on the message of the Patroness of the Americas, and on the example of discipleship embodied by St. Juan Diego. The essays include the 1999 homily of Pope John Paul II, delivered upon the proclamation of the apostolic exhortation "Ecclesia in America" at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
Although some of the chapters are particularly suited for the seasons of Advent and Christmas, there is much to be learned from each piece --- e.g., Sister Verónica Méndez' painful description of the night hundreds of Las Posadas celebrants were confined to a small "downstairs" church in Chicago, while the larger "upstairs" church held all of seven little old ladies for the regularly scheduled novena to St. Jude, a sign that, the homilist said sadly, "We have not yet arrived."
Jeannette Rodriguez, theology and religious studies chair at the University of Seattle, makes an especially compelling point of expressing the poignancy and universality of La Virgen's message:
"Guadalupe has touched the hearts of many who have suffered because of violence, war, poverty, marginalization and isolation. She is also present to us as we struggle through our fears and despair. She urges us and the smallest of her children to guard in our hearts the certainty of her love and compassion for us."
Celebrating the work of local pioneer in art and religious life
Reviewed by Hermine Lees
Come Alive! The Spirited Art of Sister Corita
By Julie Ault: Four Corners Books (London, England). 128 pp. $29.95.
"Come Alive!" truly and precisely describes this extraordinary abundant book on the art of Sister Corita Kent, the joyful revolutionary who extolled creativity in her many forms of art and expression.
In this exuberant volume, measuring 9 ½ x 11 ¼ inches filled with extraordinary color reproductions, artist Julie Ault has not only captured the significant aspects of Corita's life and personality but has also created a marvelous overview of a period that resonated in the field of art, politics and religion.
A native of Iowa, Frances Kent moved with her family to Hollywood in the early 1920s, graduated from Catholic Girls High School in 1936 and then joined the Immaculate Heart Sisters, taking the name Sister Mary Corita. For the next 32 years of teaching and art exploration, she achieved a level of recognition in the field of contemporary art both as a nun (an unheralded role) but particularly as "one of the most innovative and unusual pop artists of the 1960s."
Her life spanned a turbulent period of wars, protests, upheavals and incredible changes --- themes intensely etched in her art. That explosive period forms the essence of Ault's book that explores the issues, techniques and unique vision that Corita captured in the incredible output of her work.
Intensely researched, the author diligently encapsulates the spirit of the creative artist using quoted reflections from the many individuals who knew the artist personally. In particular Ault credits the efforts of Sister Magdalen Mary ("Sister Mag"), head of the Immaculate Heart College Art Department, as the main impetus behind Corita.
"It was under her influence," Ault notes, "that the secular and the sacred were redefined according to her engagement with vernacular culture as creative terrain. A radical and innovative educator herself, Sister Mag influenced Corita profoundly."
In 20 pages of text, amply illustrated, the author clearly delineates the personal struggles of the artist, yet acknowledges the prodigious volume of her work --- a feat that included innovative teaching, photography and a revolutionary use of serigraphy. Explaining that artistic medium, Ault quotes Corita:
"I'm a printmaker ... since it enables me to produce a quantity of original art for those who cannot afford to purchase high-priced art. I hope they will give people a lift … more fun out of life."
To illustrate that vibrant, colorful period of mixing advertising slogans and poetry in print that Corita made manifest, there are more than 90 illustrations --- many reproduced for the first time. Among those illustrations are 50 full-size pages of Corita's most famous prints reproduced using day-glo inks to mimic the originals as closely as possible.
A year before Corita's death in 1986 (at age 68), the U.S. Postal Authority published the famous "Love" stamp in an edition of 700 million (one of the largest issues ever printed).
In addition, the book contains "The Colors of Corita Kent," a 12-page essay from Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan, a close friend of the artist. In his inimitable style, he writes of her skill, courtesy and art: "She was neither an art historian nor a philosopher. She saw life as redemptive, rewarding … she kept offering forms of the joy that finally prevails. Her art followed the course of life, as a shadow follows a form."
Seldom does an art book offer both stimulating text and amazing color reproductions. This is a volume to treasure and measure others by. As one of Corita's serigraphs says: "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." A reception and book signing for "Come Alive!" will be held March 7, 7-9 p.m. at the Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles; (310) 443-7076. Additionally, author Julie Ault, Samuel Eisensetin, Baylis Glascock, Helen Kelley and Lorraine Wild will participate in a film screening and panel discussion on March 11, 1 p.m., at the American Film Institute, 2021 N. Western Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 466-2157. |