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News and Events
Covering conflict: training student journalists in dealing with difficult stories
The Religion and Youth phase recently funded a major training event for students working as editors and journalists on student media at UK universities, in conjunction with the National Union of Students. Although student media play an important role in the life of universities across the country, there has previously been relatively little training available to help student journalists think about issues of professional standards and the process of writing stories on contentious issues.
This event was linked to the Collaborative Doctoral Award held by Ruth Sheldon at the University of Kent, in which Ruth has been exploring the morally-charged connections that student groups form in relation to the Middle East conflict. This research identified the particular challenges that student journalists face in covering stories of campus events and conflicts concerning Israel and Palestine.
The training day involved input from Tim Luckhurst and Rob Bailey, from the School of Journalism at the University of Kent, who explored key issues in professional journalistic practice. Ruth Sheldon also spoke on what the issues at stake are for different student groups in relation to the Middle East conflict, as well as the longer history of student involvement in this since the 1950s, explaining how student engagement in this could be understood in terms of sacred commitment around deeply-felt moral certainties. Gordon Lynch also spoke on how the media becomes an important source of sacred meanings for readers, and also interviewed Aaqil Ahmed, Head of Religion at the BBC about Aaqil's experience of commissioning and producing programmes on contentious issues.
On-line training resources arising from this event are going to be made available through the NUS website, and a follow-up workshop is planned to give student journalists more hands-on training with the issues involved.
Sacred Films Launch Event at Lambeth Palace
Professor Gordon Lynch recently hosted an evening reception at Lambeth Palace with the leading provider of on-line religious educational material, Truetube. The event publicised the launch of a series of four films co-produced by Prof Lynch and Truetube designed to present key ideas from his recent writing on the sacred to Keystage 3 and 4 classes in religious education, citizenship and PSHE. The four films – ‘What is Sacred?’, ‘The Cult of the Child’, ‘Is Nature Sacred?’ and ‘One Hour to Save the Nation’ – are all now available on the Truetube website.
Dr Jessica Frazier discusses the Karma Sutra on Radio 4
Dr Jessica Frazier recently appeared on the popular Radio 4 programme, ‘In Our Time’, hosted by Melvyn Bragg, to discuss the history and influence of the Karma Sutra. A link to listen to this programme again through the BBC website is available here.
What Does It Mean to Believe?, international symposium 8-10 March 2012
What does it mean to believe?
International Symposium: 8th –10th March 2012
Organised by the Centre for Religion and Contemporary Society, University of Kent, and the British Council.
Applications are invited for a limited number of funded places (covering UK travel, food, and accommodation) to attend this symposium being held at the University of Kent, March 8-10 2012 in Canterbury, UK. International scholars and practitioners will explore the theme: ‘What does it mean to believe?’ in the context of inter-cultural relations. Participants will be post-graduate students or early career scholars in the Humanities, Social Sciences or Sciences or early career practitioners from charities, business, professional networks, media, galleries, museums, government, and NGOs. A particular focus will be on recent events in Egypt and Tunisia with students, scholars, and practitioners attending.
Belief is construed here as an inclusive, far reaching-term that changes meaning through time and across cultural context, encompassing for example, faith, trust, values, identity and emotional attachment. Political or religious convictions, ideologies and cultural identities, for example, are all sub-sets and different manifestations of belief. Belief can be the glue that holds cultures and groups together, and also marks the boundaries between groups to set them apart. How is belief used to promote cohesion or discord in pluralistic cultures of diversity, and what can we learn from those experiences?
This symposium will be led by Dr Abby Day, AHRC British Council Fellow, Senior Research Fellow, University of Kent. Keynote and plenary speakers include Prof. Eileen Barker, London School of Economics, UK; Dr Sylvia Collins-Mayo, Kingston University, UK; Dr Ariela Keysar, Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture, USA; Prof. Gordon Lynch, Director, Centre for Religion and Contemporary Society, University of Kent, UK; Dr Marat Shterin, King’s College London, UK; Prof. Hakan Yilmaz, Bogazici University, Turkey.
Fifteen session presenters will explore aspects of belief viewed through a holistic model incorporating seven dimensions or perspectives of time, place, content, sources, practice, salience and function. Symposium participants will be invited to engage throughout with session presenters, key notes and plenary speakers to consider perceptions and behaviours that guide, both explicitly and implicitly, our understanding of what it means to believe: what does this mean to me in my practice/position? What are implications for inter-cultural relations, teaching, research, practice, policy? What needs to be done and what can we do about that?
Applications to attend as participants should be sent by 10 February 2012. Include name, address, affiliation (university or other organisation) and a brief statement (no more than 200 words) covering reasons for attendance to: Dr Abby Day.