CLARK, Lynn Schofield

PERSONAL: Married; children: two. Education: Westminster College, B.A.; United Theological Seminary, M.A.; University of Colorado, Ph.D.

ADDRESSES: Offıce—School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Box 478, University of Colorado, 1171 University Ave., Boulder, CO 80309. E-mail— [email protected].

CAREER: Teacher and writer. Director of Teens and the New Media; University of Colorado, Boulder, assistant research professor, 1999—; former television producer and marketing professional.

MEMBER: Academic Advisory Board for the Pew Internet and American Life Project, International Study Commission on Media, Religion, and Culture, International Communication Association Popular Communication Division (chair).

AWARDS, HONORS: Louisville Institute Dissertation Fellow, 1997-98; nominee to the Harvard Society of Fellows, 1998; best scholarly book award, National Communication Association Ethnography Division, 2003.

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with Stewart M. Hoover) Practicing Religion in the Age of the Media: Explorations in Media, Religion, and Culture, Columbia University Press (New York, NY), 2002.

From Angels to Aliens: Teenagers, the Media, and theSupernatural, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2003.

(With others) Media, Home, and Family, Routledge (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Lynn Schofield Clark is an assistant research professor whose area of focus includes new media, popular culture, religion, and television. She works with teens of different backgrounds to study how the electronic media plays a role in their spiritual identities. The first book that Clark worked on, Practicing Religion in the Age of the Media: Explorations in Media, Religion, and Culture, focuses on how the religious practices that people engage in take place more and more within various media outlets and the effect that this may have on religion in America. In a review for American Studies International, Carolyn Frenger noted, "This book provides an excellent primer about the way popular religious practices are mediated, how religion interprets mass media and vice versa."

Clark's first solo work, From Angels to Aliens: Teenagers, the Media, and the Supernatural, has garnered quite a bit of attention. Clark has been asked to speak on PBS and BBC-Radio. Her research has also been cited in numerous periodicals. From Angels to Aliens explores teen religious beliefs and spirituality in media-dominated America. Clark dismisses the belief, held by some conservatives, that stories such as Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are corrupting the youth . . . enticing them to the occult. She told Wendy Kale in an interview for the ColoradoDaily, "In all those stories the hero is called to be something bigger than themselves and to go beyond their personal strengths. My research shows that those storylines are giving young people significant opportunity to see how life can be different and hopeful." "In this objective ethnological study, complete with a formal methodology, Clark obtains the reactions of teens themselves and categorizes them . . . to find out just what influence the media have on teenagers," noted James F. DeRoche in a review for Library Journal. InFrom Angels to Aliens, Clark states, "We must completely reexamine what young people mean—and what they may believe—when they identify themselves as 'spiritual' or 'religious.'"

Clark told CA: "I've wanted to be a writer since I was nine years old. At that point, though, most of my stories were fictional accounts of miraculous rescues made by cats (yes, I actually kept those stories. Writers are pack rats.).

"Who has influenced my work? I try to model my writing style after Stephanie Coontz and Judith Stacey, among others. I think they are terrific writers and both are able to contribute to important discussions through their work and their accessible language. I also admire public intellectuals who are intrigued by the way that people practice and live their religion, such as Bill Moyers, Martin Marty, and Andrew Greeley, and people who argue for the importance of understanding the media in the context of everyday life, like Henry Jenkins, Robert Thompson, and Sonia Livingstone.

"I am driven by a love for learning and a belief in its transformative power. I think that because of globalization, learning to appreciate the worldviews of others is going to be increasingly important in the next decade. As religions plays a key role in cultural beliefs and practices, and as the media both shape and represent religion, we need to know more about how religion, culture, and the media intersect in people's everyday lives.

"I've learned that writing is easy; communicating ideas is much more difficult. For me, I feel like I'm a 'good writer' when I figure out how to translate an idea or theory into a story that makes sense to people. Narrative is like a second language to academic writers, and I feel like I'm still learning that second language.

"I love it when undergraduate and graduate students tell me that I have given expression to ideas they've sensed but maybe haven't found in academic analyses elsewhere, and I hope that as a result, those young people will gain confidence in expressing their own views and experiences. Ultimately, I hope that my books encourage compassion and understanding on the part of parents and teachers for those young people they are trying to reach, teach, and positively influence. I especially hope that I can introduce 'mainstream' readers to those young people who are marginalized from the middle class and who greatly need advocates and social policies that more accurately consider their dreams, aspirations, and potential contributions."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Studies International, February, 2003, Carolyn Frenger, review of Practicing Religion in the Age of the Media: Explorations in Media, Religion, and Culture, pp. 241-242.

Library Journal, May 1, 2003, James F. DeRoche, review of From Angels to Aliens: Teenagers, the Media, and the Supernatural, p. 118.

Publishers Weekly, April 28, 2003, review of FromAngels to Aliens, p. 65.

ONLINE

ChristianityToday,http://www.christianity.com/ (October 26, 2003), "Are Evangelicals Fueling Teen Fascination with the Powers of Darkness," an interview with Lynn Schofield Clark.

ColoradoDaily,http://www.coloradodaily.com/ (November 5, 2003), Wendy Kale, review of From Angels to Aliens.

Lynn Schofield Clark Home Page,http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~clarkl/ (June 1, 2004).