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Conference Examines Impact of New Technologies in Religious Communities
Posted April 20, 2015
David H. Michels, Ph.D., will deliver the keynote address
at the fifth annual International Conference on Information
and Religion on June 5 at Kent State University.
The Center for the Study of Information and Religion (CSIR) will host its fifth annual International Conference on Information and Religion on Friday, June 5, at Kent State University. The theme for this year's conference is "New Technologies and Religious Communities."
CSIR is a research initiative of the Kent State University School of Library and Information Science. It was founded in 2009 with the goal of facilitating research on the various institutions and agents of religion and their effect on social knowledge through the use, dissemination and diffusion of information. CSIR hosts a symposium each fall semester and a conference in the spring/summer.
David H. Michels, Ph.D., will deliver the keynote address at lunchtime during the 2015 conference. His talk titled, "Transforming Religion in the Information Age," will explore how new information technologies are increasingly being adopted by religious organizations to support worship, instruction, communication and engagement with the wider community. He also will examine how their use transforms the nature of social interactions and religious community — “koinonia” — and where these changes are taking us in the information age. Michels is head of public services at Sir James Dunn Law Library, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and author of the blog “Informing Faith.”
The conference schedule features 23 academic presentations in three tracks: technology (8), religious communities (12) and librarianship (3). From varying perspectives, the presentations consider how technology impacts religious communities.
The conference begins at 8 a.m. and runs until approximately 6:30 p.m. Lunch is included in the registration cost. All sessions take place in the School of Library and Information Science on the third floor of the University Library. Conference rates are $100 for regular registration and $50 for students.
Visit the conference website for more information and to register.