Media and Religion Conference returns April 12-13

Elon University’s School of Communications is co-sponsoring the fourth annual Media and Religion Conference again this year, which includes a Friday evening keynote address by Robert Darden of Baylor University. Darden is the author of more than 24 books and editor of the religious satirical magazine The Wittenburg Door. His current research focuses on the history and preservation of black gospel music.

The Friday evening keynote address begins at 7:30 in Whitley Auditorium. Admission to the lecture only is $12 or free with an Elon ID. Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts Box Office.

The conference continues all day Saturday with several sessions and panels that center on social media’s impact on religion, religious instruction and religion in film. All sessions will take place in the McEwen Communications building.

Several School of Communications faculty and staff members will serve as moderators, presenters and panelists during the day, including associate professor Anthony Hatcher (the main organizer of the conference), assistant professor Lucinda Austin, associate professor Amanda Sturgill, coordinator of student media and instructor Colin Donohue and assistant professor Youssef Osman. Pamela Winfield, assistant professor of religious studies at Elon, will also participate.

The conference is being sponsored by the School of Communications, The Truitt Center for Religious & Spiritual Life and the Elon Center for the Study of Religion, Culture & Society.

To attend Friday’s lecture and Saturday sessions, register online at www.elonmediareligionconference.eventbrite.com.

A full conference schedule is below:

The 4th ELON MEDIA AND RELIGION CONFERENCE April 12 & 13, 2013

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

7:30 p.m. – Friday evening keynote by Robert Darden of Baylor University: “Nothing But Love in God’s Water: The Influence of Black Sacred Music on the Civil Rights Movement”

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

8 a.m. – On-site registration opens in McEwen lobby – Attendees may pick up name badges during this time.

8:30-9 a.m. – Opening session in McEwen 011 – Welcome and an overview of the conference. All sessions will be held in this room. Lunch will be served in Studio B.

9:15-10:50 a.m. – Session One: Perspectives on Media and Religion
Moderator: Anthony Hatcher, Elon University

• Joe Marren, Buffalo State College: “Interfaith Communication: An examination of the practices of Anne Frank and Thomas Merton”
• Brian Carroll, Berry College: “In America but not of it: Early newspapers and the first Catholic Church in New York City, 1780-1790”
• Doug Mendenhall, Abilene Christian University: “Comparing hostility in the editorials of three modern Stone-Campbell journals”
• Daniel A. Stout, University of Nevada, Las Vegas: “The Numinous Turn in the Study of Media and Religion: Semantics and the Problem of the term, ‘Religion’”

10:50-11 a.m. – Break – McEwen hallway/lobby area

11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Session Two: Perspectives on Social Media & Religion
Moderator: Lucinda Austin, Elon University

• Sarah Morice-Brubaker, Phillips Theological Seminary: “Liberal Christianity, Postliberal Christianity, and Comment Policies in the Progressive Blogosphere.”
• Adam J. Copeland, Concordia College: “Pastors on Facebook…Twice: Exploring Identity and Boundaries Among Pastors Who Employ Multiple Facebook Accounts”
• Joanna Piacenza, University of Colorado Boulder: “The Spiritual Compromise of buddhify”

12:45-2 p.m. – Luncheon in McEwen TV Studio B
Speaker: The Rev. Mary Brown, Editor, Odyssey Networks. The luncheon is open to conference presenters, registered attendees and invited guests.
 
2:15-3:15 – Session Three: Perspectives on Religion in Instruction & Student Media
Moderator: Amanda Sturgill, Elon University

• Myna German, Delaware State University
• Dan Stout, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Michael Smith, Campbell University
• Colin Donohue, Elon University

3:15-3:30 – Break – McEwen hallway/lobby area

3:30-5 p.m. – Session Four: Perspectives on Religion in Film – McEwen 011
Moderator: Pamela Winfield, Elon University

• Kyong James Cho, Texas A&M University: “Christ-Figures in Film: Moving Beyond Definitions to Theological Discussion in I Am Legend and Gran Torino”
• Youssef Osman, Elon University: “The Message and The Emigrant: Religious Representations in Arab Cinema”
• Andrew Quicke, Regent University: “Bollywood and Hollywood: Comparing & Contrasting Bollywood’s Implicitly Religious View of Life Underlying all Their Films with the More Secular Hollywood Approach”