Page - (000129) - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 02/01

129 JRFM 2017, 3/2 CALL FOR PAPERS Using Media in Religious Studies Strategies of Representing Religion in Scholarly Approaches Studying media in religions and cultures is a common practice within disciplines focus- ing on religion. The deconstruction of media is multifaceted and performed by analyz- ing texts, by focussing on material and visual cultures, by dealing with traditional and popular media or with film and mass media like the Internet. Compared to the broad and well-established field of research on media within religions, the usage of media for representing religion in scholarly work is a rather neglected topic. This is astonish- ing, since media have different effects and are perceived with different impacts even within the scientific community. The use of media has a strong influence on the academic culture and habitus. Look- ing at the media we use, allows us to gain insight into the scholarly work: the main means of scientific discourse is still the text, sometimes supported by illustrations. The use of text and images as the main media of scholarly work is rarely the ob- ject of a specific reflection on their effects and possibilities. Theoretical and methodo- logical criticism of media within academia is still lacking sufficient attention. Scholars evoke emotions and mediate their ideas through the materials they present and in the way of they represent religion. A lecture for students and a conference paper will differ in the style, presentation, and technique used. One might use his/her own rhetoric, show a film or allow the au- dience to hear sounds from original contexts. It makes a difference if a presenter only speaks about material objects or if s/he allows the audience to actually see them – like in a university collection – or even touch or smell them. The November 2017 issue of JRFM explores the possibilities of using media in rep- resenting religions. David Morgan estimates that our usual scientific usage of media aims at suggesting objectivity. For example, charts can be used to display empirical “truth” or a photograph to “demonstrate” an argument: these figures and pictures are often introduced without an explanation of their own perspective or an analysis