First
Annual Conference on Information & Religion:
Research
Frontiers in the Study of Information & Religion
Keynote
Speaker: Dr. Brenda Dervin – “Spiritual Knowledge”
May
20, 2011
Kent State University, Kent, OH
Call
for
Papers
Web
site: http://csir.slis.kent.edu
Sixteenth- through eighteenth-century definitions of “information,” as found in
the Oxford English Dictionary, spoke of “the shaping of the mind or
character; communication of instructive knowledge” and linked such shaping to
information about the conduct of life and the way to God and a reclaiming of
oneself. These early definitions brought together the concepts of
information and religion.
Various disciplines have studied religion. At the Center for the
Study of Information and Religion (CSIR), housed in the School of Library and
Information Science at Kent State University, an interdisciplinary approach is
being used to facilitate
research that is focused on the various institutions and agents of religion and
their effect on social knowledge through the use, dissemination, and diffusion
of information. The goals of the CSIR are (1) to investigate the importance of
information in the religious world; (2) to understand the relationship between
the information-seeking behavior of clergy and the body of knowledge that
exists to serve their information needs; and (3) to advance our understanding
of the role of information in religious practice. CSIR will host the First
Annual Conference on Information and Religion in May 2011.
This
call for papers seeks original contributions in all areas related to
information and religion. The conference theme invites participants to share
their work in a variety of areas that might be called “frontiers,” where
scholars are exploring the intersections of religion and information. Topics
that might be addressed include but are not limited to the following:
Prospective
participants are encouraged to submit abstracts that report on recent research
and scholarship. Contributions to this call for papers should not have been
previously published. There are no restrictions on research methodology.
Instructions
for Submitting Refereed Paper Extended Abstracts:
The
Center for the Study of Information and Religion (CSIR) is a research branch of
the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at Kent State University.
Located in northeast Ohio, in close proximity to the cities of Akron-Canton and
Cleveland, Kent State has an enrolment of more than 38,000 students. SLIS is
home to approximately 700 master’s students and is a partner in the doctoral
program of the College of Communication and Information (CCI).
For more
information, please contact Dr. Don Wicks ([log in to unmask]),
Interim Director of SLIS and Director of CSIR, or Dr. Dan Roland ([log in to unmask] ), CSIR Primary Researcher.