R&L Logo R&L Logo
  • GENERAL
    • Browse by Subjects
    • New Releases
    • Coming Soon
    • Chases's Calendar
  • ACADEMIC
    • Textbooks
    • Browse by Course
    • Instructor's Copies
    • Monographs & Research
    • Reference
  • PROFESSIONAL
    • Education
    • Intelligence & Security
    • Library Services
    • Business & Leadership
    • Museum Studies
    • Music
    • Pastoral Resources
    • Psychotherapy
  • FREUD SET
Cover Image
Hardback
share of facebook share on twitter
Add to GoodReads

The Last of Us and Theology

Violence, Ethics, Redemption?

Edited by Peter Admirand - Contributions by Peter Admirand; Ryan Banfi; Adam B. Banks; Pavol Bargár; Daniel J. Cameron; Rebecca Chapman; Jerry Hourihane Clancy; David K. Goodin; Amy M. Green; Matthew C. Millsap; David O'Connor; Robert Grant Price; Ched Spellman; Tijana Rupcic and Flora x. Tang

With a catastrophic fungal pandemic, the post-apocalypse, a moral quest despite societal breakdowns, humans hunting humans or morphed into grotesque infected, The Last of Us video games and HBO series have exhilarated, frightened, and broken the hearts of millions of gamers and viewers. The Last of Us and Theology: Violence, Ethics, Redemption? is a richly diverse and probing edited volume featuring essays from academics across the world to examine theological and ethical themes from The Last of Us universe. Divided into three groupings—Violence, Ethics, and Redemption?—these chapters will especially appeal to The Last of Us fans and those interested in Theology and Pop Culture more broadly. Chapters not only grapple with theologians, ethicists, and novelists like Cormac McCarthy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Martin Buber, and Paul Tillich; and theological issues from forgiveness and theodicy to soteriology and eschatology; but will help readers become experts on all things fireflies, clickers, Cordyceps, and Seraphites. “Save who you can save” and “Look for the Light.”

  • Details
  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • TOC
  • TOC
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Features
Lexington Books / Fortress Academic
Pages: 250 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½
978-1-9787-1635-3 • Hardback • June 2024 • $110.00 • (£85.00)
Series: Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture
Subjects: Religion / Theology, Games & Activities / Video & Electronic, Religion / General

Peter Admirand is associate professor of theology, a Deputy Head of School, and Director of the Centre for Interreligious Dialogue at Dublin City University.

List of Figures

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Giraffes and Shamblers

Peter Admirand

Part 1: Violence

Chapter 1: Separating the ‘Sci’ from the ‘Fi’: The Ominously Real World of Fungal Pathogens, and the Possibilities of Asthma, Illness, and Outbreak

David O’Connor and Jerry Hourihane Clancy

Chapter 2: Ellie, Abby, and the Hospital Missions in The Last of Us Part II

Amy M. Green

Chapter 3: The Theologies of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Albert Schweitzer in Dialogue with the Moral Landscape of The Last of Us

David K. Goodin

Chapter 4: Everything Happens for a Reason: ‘Pastor’ David, Epistemic Harm, and Religious Trauma Syndrome

Daniel J. Cameron

Chapter 5: Facing the Apocalypse: The Religious Cult of the Seraphites in The Last of Us Part II

Tijana Rupčić

Part 2: Ethics

Chapter 6: On Relationality, Human Beings, and Clickers

Robert Grant Price

Chapter 7: Genesis in Lincoln, MA: The Creation of Bill and Frank in “Long, Long Time”

Ryan Banfi

Chapter 8: Turning Reconsidered: Sam and Henry and the Futility of Nonviolence amidst Racism and Runners

Adam B. Banks

Chapter 9: The Road and The Last of Us: Failed Fathers at the End of the World

Peter Admirand

Part 3: Redemption?

Chapter 10: God’s (Non)Presence, Interdependence, and Hope in The Last of Us: A Theological Reflection

Pavol Bargár

Chapter 11: The Last of Us and Eschatology for a Post-Apocalyptic World

Flora x. Tang

Chapter 12: Carrying the Fire and Finding the Fireflies: Hope, Despair, and Godtalk in the Dystopian Stories of Naughty Dog and Cormac McCarthy

Matthew C. Millsap and Ched Spellman

Chapter 13: “Save Who You Can Save”: Soteriology in The Last of Us

Rebecca Chapman

Conclusion: “Too Much Faith in Humanity?”

Peter Admirand

About the Contributors

Peter Admirand has organized a wonderful volume and a worthy addition to the Theology, Religion and Pop Culture Series. It covers important themes in The Last of Us, like hope, faith, meaning, love, and redemption. The essays are thoughtful and well-written, drawing on thinkers like Dostoyevsky, Buber, Levinas, Foucault, and Tillich to help the reader make sense of the philosophical and religious themes prevalent in the video games and HBO series. Fans of the source material will most certainly walk away with a deeper appreciation of the theological themes in Naughty Dog’s work.


— Charles Joshua Horn, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point and editor of The Last of Us and Philosophy: Look for the Light


In a world where the borders between film, television, video games and pop culture are as porous as ever, it becomes imperative to unpack the deep resonances we find between culture and theology, especially where they are highly relevant and profoundly appealing. This bountiful collection of essays assembled by Peter Admirand on the phenomenon of The Last of Us captured my attention as fully as the way my son is swept away for hours by video games.


— Colby Dickinson, Loyola University Chicago


It is hard to write a book about theology and ethics in relation to a video game/TV series/cultural phenomenon that is played and experienced by millions of people. Academic books like to “tie it all together.” Narrative video games and narrative television tend to diffusion, shifting and spreading like fungal infections into each person’s life and story. The Last of Us: Violence, Ethics, Redemption? manages to open up our interpretations instead of shutting them down. In so doing, these chapters remind us that our best theologizing and moral reasoning always happens in relation to the stories that absorb us most.


— Kathryn Reklis, Fordham University


Even those of us less familiar with The Last of Us can appreciate the contribution this anthology makes to the study of theology in and through popular culture. It compiles a group of authors diverse in background and approach who fearlessly navigate the grim moral dystopia of The Last of Us with pressing questions for our own world, and who then raise important and incisive implications for the demands of ethics and the possibilities for redemption.


— Matthew Ichihashi Potts, Harvard University


10/3/2024 - Author Peter Admirand discusses The Last of Us and Theology: Violence, Ethics, Redemption? on "Conversations from the Classroom Podcasts" with Dr. David Kennedy

Link: https://www.dcu.ie/mdcce/conversations-classroom-podcasts



The Last of Us and Theology

Violence, Ethics, Redemption?

Cover Image
Hardback
Summary
Summary
  • With a catastrophic fungal pandemic, the post-apocalypse, a moral quest despite societal breakdowns, humans hunting humans or morphed into grotesque infected, The Last of Us video games and HBO series have exhilarated, frightened, and broken the hearts of millions of gamers and viewers. The Last of Us and Theology: Violence, Ethics, Redemption? is a richly diverse and probing edited volume featuring essays from academics across the world to examine theological and ethical themes from The Last of Us universe. Divided into three groupings—Violence, Ethics, and Redemption?—these chapters will especially appeal to The Last of Us fans and those interested in Theology and Pop Culture more broadly. Chapters not only grapple with theologians, ethicists, and novelists like Cormac McCarthy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Martin Buber, and Paul Tillich; and theological issues from forgiveness and theodicy to soteriology and eschatology; but will help readers become experts on all things fireflies, clickers, Cordyceps, and Seraphites. “Save who you can save” and “Look for the Light.”

Details
Details
  • Lexington Books / Fortress Academic
    Pages: 250 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½
    978-1-9787-1635-3 • Hardback • June 2024 • $110.00 • (£85.00)
    Series: Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture
    Subjects: Religion / Theology, Games & Activities / Video & Electronic, Religion / General
Author
Author
  • Peter Admirand is associate professor of theology, a Deputy Head of School, and Director of the Centre for Interreligious Dialogue at Dublin City University.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • List of Figures

    Acknowledgments

    Introduction: Giraffes and Shamblers

    Peter Admirand

    Part 1: Violence

    Chapter 1: Separating the ‘Sci’ from the ‘Fi’: The Ominously Real World of Fungal Pathogens, and the Possibilities of Asthma, Illness, and Outbreak

    David O’Connor and Jerry Hourihane Clancy

    Chapter 2: Ellie, Abby, and the Hospital Missions in The Last of Us Part II

    Amy M. Green

    Chapter 3: The Theologies of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Albert Schweitzer in Dialogue with the Moral Landscape of The Last of Us

    David K. Goodin

    Chapter 4: Everything Happens for a Reason: ‘Pastor’ David, Epistemic Harm, and Religious Trauma Syndrome

    Daniel J. Cameron

    Chapter 5: Facing the Apocalypse: The Religious Cult of the Seraphites in The Last of Us Part II

    Tijana Rupčić

    Part 2: Ethics

    Chapter 6: On Relationality, Human Beings, and Clickers

    Robert Grant Price

    Chapter 7: Genesis in Lincoln, MA: The Creation of Bill and Frank in “Long, Long Time”

    Ryan Banfi

    Chapter 8: Turning Reconsidered: Sam and Henry and the Futility of Nonviolence amidst Racism and Runners

    Adam B. Banks

    Chapter 9: The Road and The Last of Us: Failed Fathers at the End of the World

    Peter Admirand

    Part 3: Redemption?

    Chapter 10: God’s (Non)Presence, Interdependence, and Hope in The Last of Us: A Theological Reflection

    Pavol Bargár

    Chapter 11: The Last of Us and Eschatology for a Post-Apocalyptic World

    Flora x. Tang

    Chapter 12: Carrying the Fire and Finding the Fireflies: Hope, Despair, and Godtalk in the Dystopian Stories of Naughty Dog and Cormac McCarthy

    Matthew C. Millsap and Ched Spellman

    Chapter 13: “Save Who You Can Save”: Soteriology in The Last of Us

    Rebecca Chapman

    Conclusion: “Too Much Faith in Humanity?”

    Peter Admirand

    About the Contributors

Reviews
Reviews
  • Peter Admirand has organized a wonderful volume and a worthy addition to the Theology, Religion and Pop Culture Series. It covers important themes in The Last of Us, like hope, faith, meaning, love, and redemption. The essays are thoughtful and well-written, drawing on thinkers like Dostoyevsky, Buber, Levinas, Foucault, and Tillich to help the reader make sense of the philosophical and religious themes prevalent in the video games and HBO series. Fans of the source material will most certainly walk away with a deeper appreciation of the theological themes in Naughty Dog’s work.


    — Charles Joshua Horn, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point and editor of The Last of Us and Philosophy: Look for the Light


    In a world where the borders between film, television, video games and pop culture are as porous as ever, it becomes imperative to unpack the deep resonances we find between culture and theology, especially where they are highly relevant and profoundly appealing. This bountiful collection of essays assembled by Peter Admirand on the phenomenon of The Last of Us captured my attention as fully as the way my son is swept away for hours by video games.


    — Colby Dickinson, Loyola University Chicago


    It is hard to write a book about theology and ethics in relation to a video game/TV series/cultural phenomenon that is played and experienced by millions of people. Academic books like to “tie it all together.” Narrative video games and narrative television tend to diffusion, shifting and spreading like fungal infections into each person’s life and story. The Last of Us: Violence, Ethics, Redemption? manages to open up our interpretations instead of shutting them down. In so doing, these chapters remind us that our best theologizing and moral reasoning always happens in relation to the stories that absorb us most.


    — Kathryn Reklis, Fordham University


    Even those of us less familiar with The Last of Us can appreciate the contribution this anthology makes to the study of theology in and through popular culture. It compiles a group of authors diverse in background and approach who fearlessly navigate the grim moral dystopia of The Last of Us with pressing questions for our own world, and who then raise important and incisive implications for the demands of ethics and the possibilities for redemption.


    — Matthew Ichihashi Potts, Harvard University


Features
Features
  • 10/3/2024 - Author Peter Admirand discusses The Last of Us and Theology: Violence, Ethics, Redemption? on "Conversations from the Classroom Podcasts" with Dr. David Kennedy

    Link: https://www.dcu.ie/mdcce/conversations-classroom-podcasts



ALSO AVAILABLE

  • Cover image for the book Theology and Tolkien: Constructive Theology
  • Cover image for the book The Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram: Co-Creator of the Integral Yoga
  • Cover image for the book A Theology of Power and Privilege: An Evangelical Perspective on Race
  • Cover image for the book Triune Well-Being: The Kenotic-Enrichment of the Eternal Trinity
  • Cover image for the book Holy Body: Gender and Sexual Difference in Theological Anthropology and Ecclesiology
  • Cover image for the book Progressive Rock, Religion, and Theology
  • Cover image for the book Theology of the Soul: A Pauline Perspective on Cultural, Philosophical, and Traditional Concepts
  • Cover image for the book Children, Theology, and Bioethics: Beyond Autonomy
  • Cover image for the book Theology, Religion, and Dungeons & Dragons: Explorations of the Sacred through Fantasy Worlds
  • Cover image for the book An Advaitic Modernity?: Raimon Panikkar and Philosophical Theology
  • Cover image for the book Theology and Tolkien: Practical Theology
  • Cover image for the book Theology and the Blues
  • Cover image for the book The Freedom of Christian Theology: New Studies in Dialogue with Eberhard Jüngel
  • Cover image for the book Re-embodying Pastoral Theology: Ritual Care for Moral Injury in Veterans
  • Cover image for the book The Spirit and the Song: Pneumatological Reflections on Popular Music
  • Cover image for the book Originalism in Theology and Law: Comparing Perspectives on the Bible and the Constitution
  • Cover image for the book Geoliturgy and Ecological Crisis: The Spiritual Practice of Caring for Creation
  • Cover image for the book The Architecture of Blame: The End of Victimage and the Beginning of Justice
  • Cover image for the book Questing through the Riordanverse: Studying Religion with the Works of Rick Riordan
  • Cover image for the book A Theology of Traumatic Affect: A Political and Religious Engagement
  • Cover image for the book Centering Hope as a Sustainable Decolonial Practice: Esperanza en Práctica
  • Cover image for the book The Goldilocks God: Searching for the via media
  • Cover image for the book Theology, Religion, and The Office: Beauty in Ordinary Things
  • Cover image for the book Unconscious Christianity in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Late Theology: Encounters with the Unknown Christ
  • Cover image for the book Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination
  • Cover image for the book The Unfractured Faith of Erik Routley: From Brighton to Princeton
  • Cover image for the book Bonhoeffer’s Religionless Christianity in Its Christological Context
  • Cover image for the book Religion, Theology, and Stranger Things: Studies from the Upside Down on Evil, Ethics, Horror, and Hope
  • Cover image for the book Augustine’s Apocalyptic Political Theology in the Evil Saeculum
  • Cover image for the book Luther after Derrida: The Deconstructive Drive of Theology
  • Cover image for the book Credit and Faith
  • Cover image for the book Theology and H.P. Lovecraft
  • Cover image for the book Theology and Horror: Explorations of the Dark Religious Imagination
  • Cover image for the book Theology and the DC Universe
  • Cover image for the book Theology and Vampires
  • Cover image for the book Theology and the Avett Brothers
  • Cover image for the book Theology, Religion, and Dystopia
  • Cover image for the book Marveling Religion: Critical Discourses, Religion, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe
  • Cover image for the book Virtual Communion: Theology of the Internet and the Catholic Sacramental Imagination
  • Cover image for the book Bob Dylan and the Spheres of Existence
  • Cover image for the book Postcolonial Practice of Ministry: Leadership, Liturgy, and Interfaith Engagement
  • Cover image for the book Martin Luther King: A Religious Life
  • Cover image for the book African Personality and Spirituality: The Role of Abosom and Human Essence
  • Cover image for the book African Pentecostal Theology: Modality, Disciplinarity, and Decoloniality
  • Cover image for the book Women's Work: The Transformational Power of Faith-Based Community Organizing
  • Cover image for the book Dumitru Staniloae’s Trinitarian Ecclesiology: Orthodoxy and the Filioque
  • Cover image for the book Zygmunt Bauman and Pope Francis in Dialogue: The Labyrinth of Liquid Modernity
  • Cover image for the book Cuban Feminist Theology: Visions and Praxis
  • Cover image for the book Black Theology and The Black Panthers
  • Cover image for the book Theology and Tolkien: Constructive Theology
  • Cover image for the book The Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram: Co-Creator of the Integral Yoga
  • Cover image for the book A Theology of Power and Privilege: An Evangelical Perspective on Race
  • Cover image for the book Triune Well-Being: The Kenotic-Enrichment of the Eternal Trinity
  • Cover image for the book Holy Body: Gender and Sexual Difference in Theological Anthropology and Ecclesiology
  • Cover image for the book Progressive Rock, Religion, and Theology
  • Cover image for the book Theology of the Soul: A Pauline Perspective on Cultural, Philosophical, and Traditional Concepts
  • Cover image for the book Children, Theology, and Bioethics: Beyond Autonomy
  • Cover image for the book Theology, Religion, and Dungeons & Dragons: Explorations of the Sacred through Fantasy Worlds
  • Cover image for the book An Advaitic Modernity?: Raimon Panikkar and Philosophical Theology
  • Cover image for the book Theology and Tolkien: Practical Theology
  • Cover image for the book Theology and the Blues
  • Cover image for the book The Freedom of Christian Theology: New Studies in Dialogue with Eberhard Jüngel
  • Cover image for the book Re-embodying Pastoral Theology: Ritual Care for Moral Injury in Veterans
  • Cover image for the book The Spirit and the Song: Pneumatological Reflections on Popular Music
  • Cover image for the book Originalism in Theology and Law: Comparing Perspectives on the Bible and the Constitution
  • Cover image for the book Geoliturgy and Ecological Crisis: The Spiritual Practice of Caring for Creation
  • Cover image for the book The Architecture of Blame: The End of Victimage and the Beginning of Justice
  • Cover image for the book Questing through the Riordanverse: Studying Religion with the Works of Rick Riordan
  • Cover image for the book A Theology of Traumatic Affect: A Political and Religious Engagement
  • Cover image for the book Centering Hope as a Sustainable Decolonial Practice: Esperanza en Práctica
  • Cover image for the book The Goldilocks God: Searching for the via media
  • Cover image for the book Theology, Religion, and The Office: Beauty in Ordinary Things
  • Cover image for the book Unconscious Christianity in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Late Theology: Encounters with the Unknown Christ
  • Cover image for the book Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination
  • Cover image for the book The Unfractured Faith of Erik Routley: From Brighton to Princeton
  • Cover image for the book Bonhoeffer’s Religionless Christianity in Its Christological Context
  • Cover image for the book Religion, Theology, and Stranger Things: Studies from the Upside Down on Evil, Ethics, Horror, and Hope
  • Cover image for the book Augustine’s Apocalyptic Political Theology in the Evil Saeculum
  • Cover image for the book Luther after Derrida: The Deconstructive Drive of Theology
  • Cover image for the book Credit and Faith
  • Cover image for the book Theology and H.P. Lovecraft
  • Cover image for the book Theology and Horror: Explorations of the Dark Religious Imagination
  • Cover image for the book Theology and the DC Universe
  • Cover image for the book Theology and Vampires
  • Cover image for the book Theology and the Avett Brothers
  • Cover image for the book Theology, Religion, and Dystopia
  • Cover image for the book Marveling Religion: Critical Discourses, Religion, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe
  • Cover image for the book Virtual Communion: Theology of the Internet and the Catholic Sacramental Imagination
  • Cover image for the book Bob Dylan and the Spheres of Existence
  • Cover image for the book Postcolonial Practice of Ministry: Leadership, Liturgy, and Interfaith Engagement
  • Cover image for the book Martin Luther King: A Religious Life
  • Cover image for the book African Personality and Spirituality: The Role of Abosom and Human Essence
  • Cover image for the book African Pentecostal Theology: Modality, Disciplinarity, and Decoloniality
  • Cover image for the book Women's Work: The Transformational Power of Faith-Based Community Organizing
  • Cover image for the book Dumitru Staniloae’s Trinitarian Ecclesiology: Orthodoxy and the Filioque
  • Cover image for the book Zygmunt Bauman and Pope Francis in Dialogue: The Labyrinth of Liquid Modernity
  • Cover image for the book Cuban Feminist Theology: Visions and Praxis
  • Cover image for the book Black Theology and The Black Panthers
facebook icon twitter icon instagram icon linked in icon NEWSLETTERS
ABOUT US
  • Mission Statement
  • Employment
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility Statement
CONTACT
  • Company Directory
  • Publicity and Media Queries
  • Rights and Permissions
  • Textbook Resource Center
AUTHOR RESOURCES
  • Royalty Contact
  • Production Guidelines
  • Manuscript Submissions
ORDERING INFORMATION
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • National Book Network
  • Ingram Publisher Services UK
  • Special Sales
  • International Sales
  • eBook Partners
  • Digital Catalogs
IMPRINTS
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • Lexington Books
  • Hamilton Books
  • Applause Books
  • Amadeus Press
  • Backbeat Books
  • Bernan
  • Hal Leonard Books
  • Limelight Editions
  • Co-Publishing Partners
  • Globe Pequot
  • Down East Books
  • Falcon Guides
  • Gooseberry Patch
  • Lyons Press
  • Muddy Boots
  • Pineapple Press
  • TwoDot Books
  • Stackpole Books
PARTNERS
  • American Alliance of Museums
  • American Association for State and Local History
  • Brookings Institution Press
  • Center for Strategic & International Studies
  • Council on Foreign Relations
  • Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
  • Fortress Press
  • The Foundation for Critical Thinking
  • Lehigh University Press
  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Other Partners...