Media, Spiritualities and Social Change

This book maps emergent global practices and discourses of mediated, spiritualized social change. Bringing together scholarly perspectives from around the world and across disciplines, the authors explore how ‘spiritualities' express themselves through and with media - from television to Internet, from fashion to art murals - as socially transforming voices and practices. The very fluidity of the meaning of spirituality is part of its appeal: it can service as easily as a reference to a perceived common essence of humanness as it can work to legitimate market-based practices. While the involvement of spiritual life with social transformation is certainly not peculiar to contemporary societies, what has changed is the upsurge of media in these matters. In the specific case of religion, globalization has unleashed a cascade of unexpected and unpredictable implications, many of which are consequences of the media. The authors here show ways in which media and spiritualities are engaged around the world in efforts to restructure paradigms, institutions, beliefs and practices to affect social change.

"Here is a strikingly original set of essays on the convergence of media and spirituality. Through a range of nuanced case-studies, emerging out of diverse settings from around the globe, new light is shed on the complexity of spiritualities in a media age. Refreshing and thought-provoking this volume raises a whole new set of questions, pushing forward the boundaries in understanding of media, spiritualities and social change." - Jolyon Mitchell is Director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues at the University of Edinburgh, UK, A challenging and inspiring volume which consists of 17 contributions by both junior and senior scholars...this set of essays is original and certainly worth reading.

Stewart M. Hoover is Professor of Media Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA, where he directs the Center for Media, Religion and Culture. Monica Emerich is Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Centre for Media, Religion and Culture at the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA.