CFP for 2013 Nordic Network of Media and Religion Seminar

The 2013 Nordic Network of Media and Religion Seminar seeks to explore connections between knowledge belief and power in the media and religion context. This event will be held 29th – 31st October 2013, at the Sigtuna Foundation in Sweden.

They are particularly interested in examining power-knowledge-belief dynamics. The event seeks to explore how and in what ways media can empower people religiously, but also how power is embedded in technology, and how do we as scholars handle and analyze this relationship between power, belief and knowledge. Amongst the questions it intends to discuss are the following:
In what ways do media represent and/or define knowledge and belief?; Which tacit beliefs prevail in research of media and religion?; What characterizes mediated practices of knowledge and/or belief?; How is knowledge and belief shaped by religion and/or media and what are the consequences for the consumption/practices of media/religion?; How does media empower individual religiosity? ; Are belief and knowledge treated as synonyms by religious- and media actors?; How can different media technologies help religious elites control practices/beliefs in lay people?; What characterizes media(ted) dialogues about knowledge and/or belief?

Please send your abstract (max 400 words) to maf@fafomail.no by June 13th, 2013.

The confirmed keynote speaker is Dr. Christine Hine. Hine’s main research centres on the sociology of science and technology, including ethnographic studies of scientific culture, information technology and the Internet. She has also taken a lead role in promoting discussion of methodologies for sociological understanding of the Internet. For more info see:
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/sociology/people/christine_hine/

Accommodation and Food
Sigtunastiftelsen's generous contribution to the Network of Media and Religion, covers accommodation and food for a maximum of 25 network members for the next network seminar. Priority will be given to network members who have participated in previous network seminars, those who apply early, and those who send an abstract. Late cancellations may be liable to a fee to cover accommodation costs and minimize economic loss for the Sigtuna Foundation.

Travel
Participants must arrange for and pay for their own travel.

The Steering Group Consists of: Katja Valaskivi (Finland), Marta Axner (Sweden), Henrik Reintoft Christensen (Denmark), Árni Svanur Daníelsson (Iceland), Line Nybro Petersen (Denmark), Mona Abdel-Fadil (Norway, Network Coordinator)