FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Renison Professor Douglas E. Cowan Launches New Book, “Sacred Space”
WATERLOO, Ontario (October 14, 2010) – On Thursday November 25, 2010, 4:00 pm, at the University of Waterloo Bookstore, Renison Professor Douglas E. Cowan will celebrate the launch of his new book, Sacred Space: The Quest for Transcendence in Science Fiction Film and Television. Cowan is a Professor of Religious Studies at Renison University College.
This book explores the trust that humans have in something greater than themselves, and how this hope for a greater power is manifested in science-fiction cinema and television of today. It draws on popular examples such as Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, and Stargate
SG-1 to reveal religious ideas present in these media.
“I think that sci-fi has a lot more to tell us about the quest for transcendence that many critics have given it credit for,” says Cowan. “That, and it's way cool. I mean, come on, it has monsters and spaceships and phasers. What's not to like?”
This is Cowan’s tenth book and his second on religion and film, the first of which, Sacred Terror: Religion and Horror on the Silver Screen, was published in the fall of 2008. Cowan says that he’s always had an interest in science fiction.
“I've always been a sci-fi geek. From the moment I saw the first episode of Star Trek or read by first copy of Dune, I've been hooked. Indeed, as a kid I remember getting in trouble a lot because I often let my Saturday chores slide so I could be in front of the TV for Star Trek every Saturday. As a sociologist of religion and popular culture, I like the topic because it's largely underexplored or explored, in my opinion, poorly.”
Cowan plans to use Sacred Space as the text for his Religion and Film class in Winter 2011.
An interview with Dr. Cowan, conducted by The Atlantic can be found at: http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/09/what-god-and-battlestar-galactica- have-in-common/63326/
Published by Baylor University Press, “Sacred Space” is available online at http://www.baylorpress.com/Book/248/Sacred_Space.html.
Contact: Kari Pasick Stewart
Renison University College 519.884.4404 ext. 28638 kpstewar@renison.uwaterloo.ca
www.renison.uwaterloo.ca
