Lynn Schofield Clark
Encyclopedia
Lynn Schofield Clark, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in Media, Film, and Journalism Studies at the University of Denver
. She is a prize-winning author of several books and articles on media
in the lives of U.S. young people and their families. Clark’s main contributions are in the areas of family media studies
and the mediatization
of world religions.
Clark’s work draws upon a variety of scholarly disciplines in the humanities
and social sciences, and she has published in media studies, sociology
, religious studies
, theology
, and American studies. She is also Director of Graduate Studies and Director of the Edward W. and Charlotte A. Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media at the University of Denver. She was co-director of the first International Conference on Religion, Media, and Culture in 1996 and continues to serve on the Board of these biannual events. She is also a member of the academic advisory board for the Pew Internet & American Life project. She recently oversaw a class parody production of the popular television show The Office
, which allowed her to apply her expertise on technology's use in higher education. The video has since gone viral.
and attended Williamsville North High School
. She received her BA from Westminster College in 1986, her MA from United Theological Seminary
(Dayton, OH
) in 1990, and her PhD from the University of Colorado at Boulder
in 1998. Before joining the University of Denver faculty in 2006, she served as Assistant Research Professor and Associate Director of the Center for Media, Religion, and Culture at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She served as Visiting Professor at the University of Copenhagen
’s Department of Media and Film Studies during the winter of 2009.
She is married to filmmaker Jon Clark, and they have two children, Jonathan and Allison.
, 2003), analyzed how young people of different religious backgrounds - and with no religious backgrounds at all - made meaning of popular culture
’s representations of the supernatural
, based on their religious understanding. She introduced the term “the dark side of evangelicalism
” to draw attention to the ways that popular culture such as horror film
s and apocalyptic video games draw upon Christianity
’s historic narratives of demon
s, hell
, and the afterlife
, often in ways leaders of religious conservative movements reject in spite of the perennial interest these stories garner among young people. Basing her findings on the differing ways in which young people respond to popular cultural stories of the supernatural, Clark argued against the media effects perspective. Instead of people taking media alternatives more seriously than those of religion
, popular media narratives reflect and contribute to ongoing challenges to traditional religious authority as lived out in everyday life. The book received the Best Scholarly Book Award of 2003 by the National Communication Association
’s Ethnography
division. As the first book on contemporary lived religion in the U.S. that explored the role of popular culture in young peoples’ lives, the book was reviewed in Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly
, Christianity Today
, Christian Century, and in several academic journal
s.
Clark is also co-author of Media, Home, and Family (Routledge, 2004). This book contributed to family media studies through its focus on the discursive practices of parent
s. The book introduced the phrase the “accounts of the media” to describe the fact that parents both give stories or accounts about how they wish their family set and followed rules governing media use, and how these stories are always inflected by parents’ senses that they are accountable as parents for establishing and following through on such rules.
Clark is also editor of Religion, Media, and the Marketplace (Rutgers, 2007). In that book, she introduced the concept of “religious lifestyle brand
ing” as a means of discussing the products produced for religiously affiliated young people (such as Hindu nation
-sponsored campus bhangra parties, Muslim
pop music
, KewlJu t-shirt
s, and fashion magazine-like Bible
s) that are meant to give young people a way to identify themselves religiously. Clark and contributors point out that such processes of identification are never divorced from sources of power – sometimes at the level of the commercial industries, sometimes at the level of the nation-state – that would benefit from those identifications.
Clark is also co-editor of Practicing Religion in the Age of the Media (Columbia University Press
, 2002), and has had articles appear in the Journal of Communication, Critical Studies in Media Communication, New Media & Society, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
, and in several other journals and edited volumes.
approaches to the role of media in the relationships between parents and their teenage and preteen
children) and the mediatization of world religions. She is recognized as a contributor to studies of the mediatization of religion, and has written on how online fan groups reinforce norms of religious understandings.
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
. She is a prize-winning author of several books and articles on media
Media (communication)
In communications, media are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data...
in the lives of U.S. young people and their families. Clark’s main contributions are in the areas of family media studies
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
and the mediatization
Mediatization
Mediatisation is the loss of imperial immediacy. Broadly defined it is the subsumption of one monarchy into another monarchy in such a way that the ruler of the annexed state keeps his sovereign title and, sometimes, a measure of local power...
of world religions.
Clark’s work draws upon a variety of scholarly disciplines in the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
and social sciences, and she has published in media studies, sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, religious studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
, theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, and American studies. She is also Director of Graduate Studies and Director of the Edward W. and Charlotte A. Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media at the University of Denver. She was co-director of the first International Conference on Religion, Media, and Culture in 1996 and continues to serve on the Board of these biannual events. She is also a member of the academic advisory board for the Pew Internet & American Life project. She recently oversaw a class parody production of the popular television show The Office
The Office
The Office is a popular mockumentary/situation comedy TV show that was first made in the UK and has now been re-made in many other countries, with overall viewership in the hundreds of millions worldwide. The original version of The Office was created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. It...
, which allowed her to apply her expertise on technology's use in higher education. The video has since gone viral.
Biography
Clark grew up outside of Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
and attended Williamsville North High School
Williamsville North High School
Williamsville North High School is a public high school in the Williamsville Central School District of Williamsville, New York. The school offers a comprehensive program with multi-level instruction in many academic areas. The school is accredited by the New York State Board of Regents. During...
. She received her BA from Westminster College in 1986, her MA from United Theological Seminary
United Theological Seminary
United Theological Seminary is a United Methodist seminary in Trotwood, Ohio, United States, in the Dayton metropolitan area. Founded in 1869 by Milton Wright, it was originally sponsored by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ...
(Dayton, OH
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
) in 1990, and her PhD from the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
in 1998. Before joining the University of Denver faculty in 2006, she served as Assistant Research Professor and Associate Director of the Center for Media, Religion, and Culture at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She served as Visiting Professor at the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
’s Department of Media and Film Studies during the winter of 2009.
She is married to filmmaker Jon Clark, and they have two children, Jonathan and Allison.
Works
Clark’s first book, From Angels to Aliens: Teenagers, the Media, and the Supernatural (Oxford University PressOxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 2003), analyzed how young people of different religious backgrounds - and with no religious backgrounds at all - made meaning of popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
’s representations of the supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
, based on their religious understanding. She introduced the term “the dark side of evangelicalism
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
” to draw attention to the ways that popular culture such as horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
s and apocalyptic video games draw upon Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
’s historic narratives of demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s, hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
, and the afterlife
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
, often in ways leaders of religious conservative movements reject in spite of the perennial interest these stories garner among young people. Basing her findings on the differing ways in which young people respond to popular cultural stories of the supernatural, Clark argued against the media effects perspective. Instead of people taking media alternatives more seriously than those of religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, popular media narratives reflect and contribute to ongoing challenges to traditional religious authority as lived out in everyday life. The book received the Best Scholarly Book Award of 2003 by the National Communication Association
National Communication Association
The National Communication Association is the largest national organization to promote communication scholarship and education. A non-profit organization that has over 8,000 educators, practitioners, and students who work and reside in every state and more than 20 countries...
’s Ethnography
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
division. As the first book on contemporary lived religion in the U.S. that explored the role of popular culture in young peoples’ lives, the book was reviewed in Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, Christianity Today
Christianity Today
Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
, Christian Century, and in several academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
s.
Clark is also co-author of Media, Home, and Family (Routledge, 2004). This book contributed to family media studies through its focus on the discursive practices of parent
Parent
A parent is a caretaker of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is of a child . Children can have one or more parents, but they must have two biological parents. Biological parents consist of the male who sired the child and the female who gave birth to the child...
s. The book introduced the phrase the “accounts of the media” to describe the fact that parents both give stories or accounts about how they wish their family set and followed rules governing media use, and how these stories are always inflected by parents’ senses that they are accountable as parents for establishing and following through on such rules.
Clark is also editor of Religion, Media, and the Marketplace (Rutgers, 2007). In that book, she introduced the concept of “religious lifestyle brand
Lifestyle brand
A lifestyle brand is a brand that attempts to embody the values and aspirations of a group or culture for purposes of marketing.Each individual has an identity based on their choices, experiences, and background...
ing” as a means of discussing the products produced for religiously affiliated young people (such as Hindu nation
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
-sponsored campus bhangra parties, Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, KewlJu t-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s, and fashion magazine-like Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
s) that are meant to give young people a way to identify themselves religiously. Clark and contributors point out that such processes of identification are never divorced from sources of power – sometimes at the level of the commercial industries, sometimes at the level of the nation-state – that would benefit from those identifications.
Clark is also co-editor of Practicing Religion in the Age of the Media (Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by James D. Jordan and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fields of literary and cultural studies, history, social work, sociology,...
, 2002), and has had articles appear in the Journal of Communication, Critical Studies in Media Communication, New Media & Society, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion is a peer-reviewed journal, published by Wiley-Blackwell in the United States of America under the auspices of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, dedicated to publishing scholarly articles in the social sciences, including psychology,...
, and in several other journals and edited volumes.
Theoretical Contributions
Clark’s main contributions are in the area of family media studies (particularly in ethnographicEthnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
approaches to the role of media in the relationships between parents and their teenage and preteen
Preteen
Preadolescence is a stage of human development following early childhood and prior to adolescence. It may be defined as ending with the beginning of puberty or with the beginning of the teenage stage, the time frames in which adolescence is considered to begin. In terms of age in years,...
children) and the mediatization of world religions. She is recognized as a contributor to studies of the mediatization of religion, and has written on how online fan groups reinforce norms of religious understandings.