Death, Dying, and Beyond Unit
Theme: The Last of Us and Postmodern Moral Ambiguities
Sunday, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Grand Hyatt-Lonestar Ballroom, Salon B (2nd Floor)
Gregory Grieve, UNCG, Presiding
Screening both the television show and the videogame, this session will analyze the moral ambiguities presented in the Last of Us franchise. *The Last of Us*(Naughty Dog 2013) is an action-adventure game in which the main character, Joel, is tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across the post-apocalyptic United States. *The Last of Us* (HBO 2023) is also an award-winning post-apocalyptic television show. When comparing *The Last of Us* video game to *The Last of Us* television show, one of the most prominent moral ambiguities is whether it is morally justifiable for characters in the story to commit morally reprehensible acts to ensure their own survival and that of their loved ones. The panel will also focus on how moral ambiguities are played out differently in television and video game formats. The Last of Us’ moral ambiguities are significant because they focus on how we all face unclear ethical choices in the uncertainty of the post-modern world.
Panelists:
John Borchert, University of North Carolina At Greensboro
Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, University of Bremen
S. Brent Plate, Hamilton College
Zhange Ni, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Kathrin Trattner, University of Bremen
Sociology of Religion Unit
Theme: Numbers and Narratives: Quantitative Studies of Religion across Diverse Populations, Purposes, and Global Contexts
Monday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
San Antonio Convention Center-Room 302B (Ballroom Level)
Hannah Gruenenthal, University of Bremen
Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, University of Bremen
Religion and State in Times of Crisis. Religious Organizations and their Claim for Significance in Secularized Societies during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The relationship between religion and the state has come to the fore during the pandemic also in secularized countries, mainly due to the impact lockdown restrictions have had on public religious gatherings, but also due to the role religious organizations played in advocating or undermining state restrictions and vaccination. The role of religion in societies in crisis gives insights into the processes of secularization. As part of the Trans-Atlantic Platform-funded project ‘The Changing Role of Religion in Societies Emerging from COVID-19’, we have analyzed documents produced by multiple religious organizations in Germany (Roman Catholic Church, Evangelical Church of Germany, Muslim communities, and Anthroposophical Society) as well as secular journalistic press media between March 2020 and March 2023. The documents were analyzed with a mixed-methods approach (qualitative content analysis and text mining). In this paper, we answer the question, how do religious organizations perceive their role in society and how are they perceived by the public? How do they engage with individuals, public actors, and the state? Do processes of secularization change in times of crisis?
