Categories
Digital Event

[ABSTRACT] The Digital Age: A Challenge for Christian Discipleship?

The following abstract has been accepted for the inaugural European Conference on Social Media.
Note: Abstract submission now remains open til 6th January 2014.

http://stockfresh.com/image/1040262/social-network-backgound-with-media-icons
http://stockfresh.com/image/1040262/social-network-backgound-with-media-icons

In the twenty-first century churchgoing is no longer the ‘cultural norm’ for many in the UK. People don’t actively ignore the church: they don’t even think about it. For churches, websites and social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest have now effectively become the ‘front door’ to billions of digital users.  As Sara Batts research has shown us, many churches are finally starting to get that the online landscape is important, but still need convincing that something more radical is needed than a new website, as opportunities have arisen to embrace a more social ministry, where to ‘love your neighbour’ may include those from anywhere in the world.

The ‘digital age’ brings the opportunity for a wider range of voices to contribute to conversations: many online will engage with ‘church’ through their friends rather than formal Christian organisations. In 2010 ‘The BIGBible Project’ emerged to encourage those at all levels of the Christian sector to engage with digital culture, and to consider what this means for Christian communication practices, in a culture in which messages are both ephemerally ‘in the now’, and perpetually available.

Technologies have changed what is possible, and for many churches over the last few hundred years a model of passive, presentation-piece services has been adopted, heightened even more by a broadcast mode of media that we all got used to with the TV and the radio. Social media, however, offers much more space for questioning, and for congregations to actively engage with sermons through tweeting along, checking something on their online Bibles or Google, sharing photos of church activities, or being encouraged to continue discussions hyper-locally throughout the week through a Facebook group.

The BIGBible Project emphasises that disciples live at all times for God, whenever and wherever, and therefore all Christians need to take seriously their presence both online and offline. This paper will draw from over 2,000 contributions made to the The BIGBible blog, where over 120 Christians from across the ecumenical spectrum have contributed thoughts as to how discipleship is affected (and can affect, particularly behaviours) in the digital age and the digital spaces.

The Relevance of the Paper: According to the 2011 census, Christianity is the major religion in the UK. As a sector it offers an interesting case study of how longstanding faith groups are dealing with the challenges presented by the digital age, institutionally and individually.

Keywords: Social Media, Community, Engagement, Discussion, Christianity

Categories
Academic Digital Event

#ALTC2013: Abstract Accepted: Slow & Steady Wins The Race: Developing Digital Literacies

http://odhegroup.wordpress.com
http://odhegroup.wordpress.com

Organisational Developers (OD) within HE have responsibility for supporting organisational-level development within their institutions. Senior members are involved with strategic-level decision making on organisational initiatives such as restructuring the institution, managing change, or introducing new policies and therefore can have direct impact upon enabling or disabling opportunities for enhancing teaching and learning, including with digital technologies.

Anecdotal evidence suggested that many OD practitioners are not comfortable with digital literacies, leading to opportunities for the effective use of digital technologies to be missed or under-promoted, with a consequent detrimental impact on opportunities to facilitate new cultures of learning. Working with the Organisational Development in Higher Education Group (ODHEG) over the past two years, the anecdotal evidence has proved all too true. This presentation gives an insight into working with a group in which a significant number are unconvinced by the benefits that technology can bring to their working lives, or the wider learning culture. The author, supported by JISC funding, has sought to help the group gain confidence with digital literacies through a series of mostly face-to-face engagements, starting to incorporate some online materials.

This presentation gives an insight into the processes of slowly and steadily encouraging the group to take a more positive view of digital literacies, which may help others working with resistant learners. The tide started to turn as the group grew to understand the impact that digital technologies could have upon their work role, with mobile devices and apps that supported logistics, connections via Linked In, and over half the group voluntarily attending a session on Twitter. We have now reached the stage where the group is being encouraged to embrace the idea of sharing their expertise through digital technologies, and anticipate that the group will, in the longer term, be able to contribute much more effectively to organisational take-up of digital literacy initiatives.

Tags: DigitalLiteracies, Change, OrganisationalDevelopment, SeniorManagers, Attitude, LearnersInControl

Categories
Academic Digital

ABSTRACT: 'The Word & The World' @TRSChester

Conference ‘Call for Papers‘ (and yes, I am a day late, so no idea if it will considered or not)

iMass_RedName: Dr Bex Lewis, CODEC (Centre for Christian Communication in a Digital Age), Durham University

Paper Title: Engaging in Discipleship in a Digital Age

200 Word Abstract:

The ‘digital age’ brings the opportunity for a wider range of voices to contribute to conversations: many online will engage with “church” through their friends rather than formal Christian organisations. In 2010 “The BIGBible Project” emerged to encourage those at all levels of the Christian sector to engage with digital culture, and to consider what this means for Christian communication practices, in a culture in which messages are both ephemerally ‘in the now’, and perpetually available.

BIGBible emphasises that “disciples” live at all times for God, and therefore all Christians need to take seriously their presence both online and offline. The core definition of a disciple is given in John 13:35 “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (NRSV). How might this affect Christian behaviour online? This paper will draw from over 2,000 contributions made to the BIGBible site.

The paper will also consider how churches are moving from the broadcast, pew-focused and geographically localised ministry that has held sway for the last few centuries, and embracing a more social ministry, where to ‘love your neighbour’ may include those from another county (or even country), but also connects locally though hyper-local practice.

Required: PowerPoint projection

Likely Theme: Media, Public Life and Public Theology

Particularly inspired by: How established and emerging forms of media and mass communication shape the ways in which religious organizations and movements communicate with the wider public sphere

 

Categories
History

Abstract Accepted: Depicting Death at War

socrel

For: http://socrel.org.uk/call-for-papers-socrel-annual-conference-material-religion/ (accepted)

Abstract:

In the Second World War, the second ‘total war’ of the Twentieth Century, death was a daily reality for both those on the fighting fronts and those on the Home Front in Britain.  The Ministry of Information (MOI), officially formed at the outbreak of the Second World War, was the central governmental publicity machine, working with other official bodies, including the War Office. Its role was to tell the citizen ‘clearly and swiftly what he is to do, where he is to do it, how he is to do it and what he should not do’.

Posters produced by the MOI needed to deal with the ever-present reality of death:  How did governmental bodies deal with the representation of death, ensuring that the seriousness of their message was conveyed, whilst avoiding too “starkly realistic posters” for those who “already knew so much of reality”. What are the moral, religious and other discourses drawn upon and depicted within the posters? Are there clear differences between the images aimed at soldiers, industrial worker and civilians? Was humour ever seen as an appropriate tool in relation to the possibility of death? What were some of the more subtle symbols of death which recurred within wartime posters, particularly within health and “Careless Talk” campaigns?

Biographical Details:

Dr Bex Lewis is Research Fellow in Social Media and Online Learning for CODEC, University of Durham. She is both a communications historian and a digital practitioner, with a particular interest in mass-popular forms of communication. The focus of her research, which she is currently developing to book form, is upon British propaganda posters. Further information can be found on http://www.ww2poster.co.uk. Her most recent publication was an article for The Poster Journal on ‘The renaissance of Keep Calm and Carry On’. She has also featured in a range of press coverage, and published with both London Transport Museum and The National Archives.

Categories
Academic Digital Event

Conference Abstract: Encouraging Faith Voices in Digital Spaces

The following conference paper has been accepted:
Conference: Media, Religion & Culture Conference 2012 (Turkey)
Stream:Social Media, Religion and CulturesWe live in a ‘digital age’, in a world that is increasingly defined and shaped by the digital. When we talk about ‘unplugging’, we are giving the impression that the effects of digital culture on our life are optional. This paper asserts that the digital is a ‘space’ or ‘culture’, and that there is no such thing as ‘virtual’ and ‘real’ worlds: only online and offline space/cultures. It uses the Christian context as an example of how cultural change is being encouraged through engagement in the digital spaces.

For many in the Christian church, the rise of the digital age, in particular social media, has been seen as something to be feared, if not ignored as an irrelevance. David Wilkinson (CODEC) emphasises that God is a communicating God, a God who is extravagant in communication, not a silent God who has to be tempted into communicating with people. Importantly, however, God looks to communicate in the right context, something that Christians often get wrong, and preach into the wrong context.

Sharon Watkins, head of a Christian order, said “God never told the world to go to church; but God did tell the church to go to the world.” Accommodation theory calls for us to accommodate to the world in which we live, to be part of the conversations, rather than trying to protect ourselves in the bubble of our own faith.Technology is not the problem, not the answer, but it is the reality for most in our world, and therefore those of faith need to engage with it.

The Centre for Christian Communication in a Digital Age (CODEC) undertook a Biblical Literacy Survey in 2009, which demonstrated that although 75% of people have access to a Bible, only 18% read their Bible daily. The Big Bible Project emerged through a desire to get people reading the Bible, making use of the widest range of social media tools, already used by millions every day. What questions do people have, and how do we make our faith, and our religious texts, more accessible through online tools?

Religions need to stop blaming the media for poor representations of their faith, and get involved. We all have something to contribute to the digital space: a digitally enabled laity is powerful. In a world where hierarchies are collapsing, we can draw on a range of voices, rather than adding this to the ‘to-do list’ for the leadership team. Elizabeth Dresher identified three characteristics, creative improvisation, participation & distributed authority that have made broadcast media unsuitable for many mainstream Christian churches, that are assets in a social media world, offering space for questioning.

The Big Bible Project has engaged over sixty ‘digital disciples’, those who seek to live out their Christian faith in the digital spaces, in conversation. We would like to open some of the topics of debate that they have raised with conference delegates, including questions of authenticity, appropriate behaviours, mobile device etiquette, the power of images and words, and whether these are similar concerns across other faiths. What does it mean for faith voices in the digital space?

Dr Bex Lewis, Blended Learning Project Manager, The Big Bible Project, CODEC, University of Durham. Bex.Lewis@durham.ac.uk