The UNF Book Club will meet in the 2018 Summer Term
The book selection is Do The Gods Wear Capes? Spirituality, Fantasy, and Superheroes by Ben Saunders
Brash, bold, and sometimes brutal, superheroes
might seem to epitomize modern pop-culture at its most melodramatic and
mindless. But according to Ben Saunders, the appeal of the superhero is
fundamentally metaphysical - even spiritual - in nature. In chapter-length
analyses of the early comic book adventures of Superman, Wonder Woman,
Spider-Man, and Iron-Man, Saunders explores a number of complex philosophical
and theological issues, including: the problem of evil; the will-to-power; the
tension between intimacy and vulnerability; and the challenge of love, in the
face of mortality. He concludes that comic book fantasies of the superhuman
ironically reveal more than we might care to admit about our human limitations,
even as they expose the falsehood of the characteristically modern opposition
between religion and science. Clearly and passionately written, this insightful
and at times exhilarating book should delight all readers who believe in the
redemptive capacity of the imagination, regardless of whether they consider
themselves comic book fans
-derived from Amazon.com
The 2018 Summer Book Club discussion meeting
will be held on Wednesday, July11 from 11:00 a.m.. to 12:00 p.m. in the Carpenter Library,
Room 2405.
Registrants will receive
the discussion questions one week before the Book Club meeting.
