Am on my way to the 4th International Conference on Media, Religion and Culture. Louiseville, Kentucky is the site. The occasion is also the launch of a book co-edited by Peter Horsfield, Mary Hess and myself, "Belief In Media." The page for this book is under construction and will be finished soon (within days).
Adán
The Religious Communicators Council is holding their annual meeting in Birmingham, Alabama as it celebrates its 75th anniversary. The day prior, I'll attend the annual meeting of the NARA, North America Regional Association of the World Association for Christian Communication and hear Nancy Snow speak on "The Information War." Really looking forward to meeting other communications people.
AM
Was reminded about the Louisville Kentucky World Conference on Media, Religion and Culture when I read Jason's description of the paper he is submitting (Nov 12th entry). His blog led me to Jesus of the Week that features sightings and artifacts.
Adán
During the WACC meeting of the central committee here in Vancouver, BC, Canada, I presented a seminar about media from a cultural perspective, shifting away from instrumentalism. The discussions and friendships during this event are affirming.
As promised, these are the handouts in case you want to either read them online or download them:
Mary Hess, Ph.D. writes about the religious imagination and religious education. It is an invitation to not juse "use the media" but to rethink our education project.
Fabio Pasqualetti, Ph.D. maps out the aspects of digital culture that have implications for religious educators.
David Morgan, Ph.D. promotes the art of listening to and accompanying their congregations and parishioners. This checklist about how to listen, ethnography, relates to still images but can be modified for use with TV, movies and film.
The video, "The Child, the Slums and the Pot Lids" has a reference in an earlier log entry, June 23,.
Adán
I'm on the road, first to Rome for a meeting of the International Study Commission on Media, Religion and Culture. It is hosted by the Salesian Pontifical University and I will see my friend again, Fabio Pasqualetti who teaches there. With him and Mary Hess we led a seminar last April at MACC.
Fabio and his colleagues in the communications faculty will converse with the study commission members about higher education and the intersecting fields of media, religion and culture.
One of the highlights of this meeting is dialog with Eastern Europe scholars about icons, still art and media practice. Marko Rupnik, the Jesuit artist who designed and installed the walls and ceiling of the Redemptoris Mater chapel of the current pope will speak about his work and the chapel mosaics.
Among the participants is Borys Gudziak, the rector of the new Ukrainian University.
After this meeting all of us will go to Jyväskylä, Finland to attend the Sacred Media Conference July 10-13.
Happy Summer
Adán