Looking back at January

Despite only existing for 11 days, we've been busy at RS Matters. Four articles have been published, and our Twitter feed has been active, promoting internet and newspaper articles, radio programmes and TV programmes of interest as well as retweeting tweets written by interesting people, papers, groups and organisations.

We began with 50 Years of Bond and Cultural Stereotypes, which examined how the film series has made use of cultural stereotypes to set a scene. As the article notes, some stereotypes work better than others, whilst some have had distinctly racist overtones. Is this the fault of the filmmakers and scriptwriters, or is this something that audiences need to respond to a culture different to their own?

On Monday 23, we announced that RS Matters was now on Twitter (Follow RS Matters on Twitter!). We also published our aims for the site: RS Matters is a resource for secondary school students, encouraging pupils to study RS, Philosophy and associated topics, both at school and university level. Commenting on the article, religionandmore showed interest, but wondered who ‘we’ were. We responded: ‘We’ are students from the University of Edinburgh, aiming to pass on our enthusiasm for these subjects onto others.

On Friday 27, we remembered the tragic events of the Holocaust and encouraged our readers to acknowledge Holocaust Memorial Day (Always Remember, Never Forget). If you missed it, we encourage you to have a look at the Speak Up, Speak Out campaign. Please click here for more information.

Saturday 28 saw the publication of The Magic of Mountains, an examination into the role of mountains within religious belief. Looking at the examples of Kangchenjunga, the Niyamgiri Hills, Mount Sinai, Mount Ararat and Mount Hira, it was posited that maybe mountains make one feel closer to the divine and increased feelings of spirituality. This may go some way to explaining the frequent mentions of mountains within religious literature. We would welcome your comments and suggestions on this topic.

So, what’s coming up in February?

Well, hopefully more articles from students, either from students here at Edinburgh, or from other institutions. Articles in the pipeline are diverse, ranging from examining press ethics in the light of the Leveson Inquiry and the use of religion within professional wrestling – two examples proving how wide-ranging the fields of religious studies, philosophy and ethics are. We will continue informing schools about RS Matters, encouraging students to read the blog and to contribute their material. If you wish to contribute an article, please e-mail it to: rsmattersblog@gmail.com. We will strive to publish all articles that come in, provided they have not been written to intentionally cause offence. We welcome all points of view and articles about any aspect of religion and philosophy.

Have a great February and continue to enjoy RS Matters!

MB, Editor