DOI

https://doi.org/10.25772/R292-B185

Defense Date

2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Media, Art, and Text

First Advisor

Richard Fine

Second Advisor

Noreen Barnes

Third Advisor

Clifford Edwards

Fourth Advisor

Lynda Weaver-Williams

Abstract

"We are in the world, but not of the world," a maxim frequently spoken in evangelical Christian culture, provides insight into how these individuals view their relationship with secular culture. They presume to share the same temporal plane with secular culture, but do not participate in it. In this dissertation, I explore whether the division between evangelical Christian culture and secular culture is as clear as this aphorism implies. To facilitate this investigation, I examine media Christian content creators created for an American evangelical Christian young adult audience in the early twenty-first century, specifically focusing on novel-length fiction, comics and graphic novels, and video games. Guided by a methodology informed by structuralist and poststructuralist theories, I uncover patterns in these media. I conclude that the boundaries between evangelical Christian culture and secular culture are less distinct than might first appear, which indicates significant contact and influence between these cultures.

Rights

© The Author

Is Part Of

VCU University Archives

Is Part Of

VCU Theses and Dissertations

Date of Submission

5-8-2017

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