Hosted by Ryerson University Toronto, Canada Welcome note………………………………………...1 Conference at a Glance……………………………...2 Keynote speaker: Jane Ash Poitras………………...4 Tuesday abstracts……………………………………5 Wednesday abstracts……………………………….41 Thursday abstracts…………………………………76 Friday abstracts…………………………………….95 Index of speakers, media, locations, topics………104 Welcome to Ryerson University and th The 7 International Conference on Media, Religion and Culture My first academic meeting as a graduate student was the 1996 Conference on Media, Religion and Culture hosted by Stewart Hoover and Lynn Schofield Clark at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I arrived alone and knowing no one, but found a welcoming network of people who approached this field of endeavour in new, interesting, truly interdisciplinary ways, and it made all the difference to my own work. This series remains my favourite academic gathering, and I’m delighted to be able to return the hospitality extended to me in each subsequent setting. Following up on exploratory conversations at the 2008 Sao Paulo meeting, we’ll be discussing the future organization of the group Thursday, Aug. 12 at noon. Please consider joining us for this important meeting. Photo: Catherine Farquharson This year, you’ll find fewer plenary sessions but more chances to hear about the research of your colleagues from across the spectrum. The call for papers emphasized diversity of traditions and approaches, and I think you’ll agree that the program is one of the most varied we’ve seen yet. Ryerson University is well-known for its attention to teaching, so it also gives me great pleasure to see the number of panels which address the way in which we might evolve this important aspect of our academic pursuits. I hope you’ll take the opportunity to explore Toronto, central for media production in Canada, rich in religious expression of all kinds, and bursting with cultural celebration, especially during this summer season. My thanks to all who have helped me in the planning and organization of this meeting, and to you, for attending and participating in what I hope will be another collegial, inspiring CMRC. Welcome! Joyce Smith, Host, CMRC2010 Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director School of Journalism, Ryerson University CMRC2010 Conference at a Glance Page | 2 MONDAY, August 9, 2010 12:00 pm Registration begins in George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre (ENG) (245 Church St.) 4:30- 6:00pm (ENG103) Welcome from host Joyce Smith and Ryerson University Opening Address: Jane Ash Poitras, Experiences of an Advocate for Shamanism 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Reception in Vari Atrium, third floor of George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre TUESDAY, August 10, 2010 (full schedule begins on page 5) 8:30 am – 4:00 pm Registration continues in ENG building 8:30 am – 9:00 am Daily Announcements LG5 LG12 LG13 9:00 am – 10:30 am LG6 Masculinity: Religion & Senses: Catholicism: Ruozzi, TV: Hirji, Lynch, Thevenin, Coats, Classen, Howes, Cantoni/Rapetti/Tardini/Van Ferré Casteline, Hoover Slaney, Plate nini, Roncakova 10:30 am – 11:00 am Coffee Break 11:00 am – 12:30 pm LG5 LG6 Nordic: Teaching: Boutros, LG12 LG13 Linderman/Lövheim, Coats, Asamoah- TV: Dierberg, Smith, Books: Ronald, Paradis, Reintoft-Christensen, Gyadu, Mahan, Echchaibi/Subijanto Zenk, Plessentin Sumiala, Lundby Hoover 12:45 pm – 2:30 pm Lunch LG5 LG6 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm LG12 LG13 Strife: Karim, East Asian: Lee, TV: Karis, Nieder, Mediatization: Boutros, Hoover/Echchaibi, Travagnin, Chi- Dorestal, Krämer Winston, Petersen Siraj, Cohen/Tsarfaty Keung 4:05 pm – 4:30 pm Coffee Break LG5 LG6 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm LG12 Online/Offline: Baffelli, Soft Power: Odartey- Youth: Carmen, Goossen, Bobkowski, Lundby, Cheong/Huang/Poon, Wellington, Riley, Mir Hutchings Khan, Jiwani WEDNESDAY, August 11, 2010 (full schedule begins on page 41) 8:30 am – 4:00 pm Registration continues in ENG building 8:30 am – 9:00 am Daily Announcements 9:00 am – 10:30 am LG5 LG13 News: LG6 Communities: Koutsoukos/Cassin, Brands: Einstein, Fahlén, Haskell/Flatt/Lathang Mandell, Stockard Lauricella ue, Michels, Teusner, Jr., Taira Bobkowski/Malik 10:30 am – 11:00 am Coffee Break Page | 3 LG5 LG12 11:00 am – 12:30 pm LG6 LG13 Identity: Grieve, Scripture/Method: Japan: Dorman, Chilson, Politics: Healey, Schofield Clark, van der Stoep, Thorn, Baffelli Amari, Dyson Wagner, Subijanto Soukup, Horsfield 12:45 pm – 2:30 pm Lunch LG5 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm LG6 LG12 LG13 History: MacLennan, Film: Xavier, Preston, Witnessing: Richards, Teaching: Torma, Kenny, Koerber, Sjö, Axelson Thomas, Sumiala Godkin, Schwartz Tiitsman 4:05 pm – 4:30 pm Coffee Break 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm LG5 LG6 Authority: News: LG12 Campbell/Golan, Buddenbaum, Politics: Cho, Taske, Plude, Mandell Lagerwey, Granholm, Hoover, Mason, do Teusner Nascimento Cunha THURSDAY, August 12, 2010 (full schedule begins on page 76) 8:30 am – 9:00 am Daily Announcements LG12 9:00 am – 10:30 am LG5 LG6 LG13 Communities: Electronic: Chauhan, Disaster/Salvation: Teaching: Kenny, Eberhardt Casteline, Pasche Guignard, Dakroury, Mitchell, Coffey, Marchessault, Echchaibi, Stevens, Abdel-Fadil Sang Garner Cohen 1 0:30 am – 11:00 am Coffee Break 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ENG 103: Meeting on organization of future activities 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Lunch LG5 LG6 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm LG12 Virtual: Hardy/Corban, Space: Coats, LG13 TV & Film: Volaric, Vallikatt, Billings, Emerich, Dialogue: Eid, Gerolami Siaw, Anas Derry/Michael, Garner Obata 4:05 pm – 4:30 pm Coffee Break 5:00 pm and on Dinner ‘dates’ around the city FRIDAY, August 13, 2010 (full schedule begins on page 95) 8:30 am – 9:00 am Daily Announcements 9:00 am – 10:30 am LG5 LG6 LG12 Networks: Bantugan, Struggles/Spheres: Bustamante, Virtual: Radde-Antweiler, Bekkering, Orhon, Ben Moussa de Matos/de Matos, Salam, Axner Teusner 10:30 am – 11:00 am Coffee Break 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm ENG 103: Closing Plenary 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Closing Lunch in Pitman Hall Opening Keynote by Page | 4 Jane Ash Poitras: Experiences of an Advocate for Shamanism Jane Ash Poitras, RCA is an internationally acclaimed visual artist whose work has been showcased in numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world, and can be found in many prestigious public, private and commercial collections. She is a graduate of the University of Alberta with degrees in microbiology and printmaking, and has a Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Sculpture from New York’s Columbia University. Respected for her generous support of Aboriginal and community causes, her numerous honors include the Alberta Centennial Medal, the National Curtis Trent Photo Aboriginal Achievement Award for Arts and Culture, University of Alberta Alumni Award of Excellence, and the City of Edmonton Cultural Hall of Fame. Born in the isolated northern Alberta community of Fort Chipewyan, Jane was orphaned at an early age and fostered by Marguerite Runck, then 65, a devout Catholic of German descent. Growing up in the McCauley area of Edmonton, Jane spent many happy hours drawing and coloring and cutting and pasting (her first experience with collage). Despite her artistic leanings, she was told it was impossible to make a living as an artist and encouraged to make another career choice. Jane chose medicine, but health problems intervened in her efforts to become a doctor. Despite those problems, she successfully gained a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology at the University of Alberta. While working as a microbiologist, Jane continued to work at her art, taking evening courses at the University of Alberta. With encouragement from those who recognized her talent, she graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking. Accepted by several post- graduate programs, she chose prestigious Columbia University in New York City, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Sculpture in 1985. Since returning to Canada, Jane has been much in demand as a guest lecturer, first as a sessional lecturer at the University of Alberta, and then as an invited guest lecturer at universities and public galleries across North America. Her courses in Contemporary Native Art and Shamanic Art are among the most popular at the university. Jane Ash Poitras: New Acquisitions of Contemporary First Nations Art features four paintings. The works will be on display in the Royal Ontario Museum's Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada's First Peoples from Sept. 25, 2010 to September 2011. Page | 5 Tuesday, August 10 9 – 10:30 a.m. concurrent panel sessions Panel A: TV Room: LG6 Chair: Faiza Hirji (McMaster University) Through the Looking Glass: Muslim Women on Television Over the years, Muslim women have constituted a source of fascination in the media. This is particularly true in times of conflict e.g. the Islamic Revolution, the first Gulf War, and the 2001 “war on terror,” where the war was often described by journalists as a way to liberate Afghan women oppressed by Taliban rule. While the glare of the media may be most intense in the arena of news, dramatic and comedic programs have also begun to incorporate images of the Muslim woman. Some of these programs may utilize stereotypical imagery frequently and rather openly, especially in the case of programs that are heavily invested in narratives of terror and enemy infiltration, as with the dramatic series 24. Others, however, may be more well-intentioned, as in the case of the light-hearted comedic series, Little Mosque on the Prairie and yet even Little Mosque, touted as an enlightening and successful comedy, does very little to change essentializing images of Muslim women. In Little Mosque, perhaps even more than in 24, there is a normative vision of the Muslim woman. She is bright, independent and articulate, and usually prepared to speak on behalf of women’s rights.