Here are some pictures of all the people I met at the various colleges and seminaries. Everyone was beautifully welcoming, and treated me like royalty. These guys should be careful because a white guy like me could get very used to that.

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It’s also because Kerala is one of the world’s most religious places on the planet, and when it comes to religious diversity, may be one of the world’s most peaceful. Though predominantly Hindu, Kerala claims to be the oldest Christian and Muslim missionary outposts. It is believed St Thomas arrived with his Gospel as early as 60AD, and many say that European colonialists of the second millennium were so cut to find the place already Christianised. Here we have photos of the Syrian Orthodox Church of St Thomas (you know him, that guy who didn’t really believe Jesus came back, and according to the Syrians, was the only witness of Mary’s Assumption), and a complex to commemorate his arrival at the point of his disembarkation. The shrine inside allegedly contains a piece of his arm. A bell tolls automatically at the shrine’s opening, calling all pilgrims, including many who have come from some other parts of his corpse in Ortona, Italy.

According to my good mate Fr Jose, my gracious host throughout my stay, Kerala is about forty percent, Christian, and the Catholic:Protestant:Evangelical ration is about 2:1:1. Though of all religious advertising that I could see on TV and posters and billboards on every street, most were either Hindu or Evangelical. Indeed January and February seem to be the state’s festival season, and the time for the world’s pilgrims to come together, whether they be Hindu, Hare Krishna, Jane or how-cool-is-JC-right-now dudes. And like Hindus, Christians proudly wear their religion of the sleeve, and their house, and their car etc. I couldn’t tell if way they adorned themselves or their belongings was more to evangelise than it was some breed of Animist-Christian sanctification.

Though there are about as many Christians in Kerala as there are Hindus, Islam is running a very close third (a ratio of about 4:4:3). Islam has been here since the seventh century, and was welcomed by the people, to the extent that the first mosque was commissioned by the then Hindu king. The mosque itself contains a museum that celebrates not only Islam but the state’s Hindu and Christian heritage. Its curator wanted to offer a tour of the entire complex, and told much of how the three religions lived and worked in harmony in Kerala, but he found it difficult to share my attention with all the attendants present who wanted to tell me their own stories of the place. I think they saw me as a bit of a weird novelty, and assumed that because I greeted them in Arabic, that I was Muslim. I didn’t really try to correct them– not sure if that was a good thing to do or not.

This above is the mosque, and below is a model of the three major religious centres of Kerala, used in presentations on the place’s history.

But Kerala is also Hindu, and I saw brilliant examples of this. I have actually no idea whether these were weekly events or if it was a particular time of year, but I saw houses and families everywhere being greeted by elephants and drums, and music seemed to fill the air.

Ah, elephants, so many elephants…

In the middle of my first night in the country I was woken by what I thought was the boogey man finally coming to get me, only to discover a little later (after much embarassment) that my room overlooked a hidden Hindu temple, where people meet at all hours to chant. It eventually became my nightly lullaby… (sorry there’s not much to see in this video, but it is like 4am).

Anyway, my lectures focussed a little less on theory and more on practical tips about making a blog and blogging etiquette. While I definitely prefer all the theory stuff (hey, so sue me), I think I provided a bit of what they need.

Frs Jose, Andrew and Vinus have been awesome hosts for me, and very supportive. I’ve really enjoyed hanging out with them. This is about the time when I call up my kids and say “How would you like to live in India? I’ll meet you at the airport in 20 hours!” Pics to come later.

Here are a few of the topics I’ll be talking about:

Human interaction in Cyberspace

The worldwide web (internet) is a virtual world (Cyberspace) alongside our natural world. Internet technology helps humans create social environments that shape their understandings of self, the world, and the other. Particularly, the web 2.0 technology and the networked communities, blogs and podcasts provide virtual space for all forms human interaction.

Religion Online

Ever since the birth of internet, religion is present and active in cyberspace. The increasing popularity of these Internet tools to express a religious identity and seek connections with others has impact on how people participate in religious institutions in the real world. Many fear that religion online will lead to the ultimate demise of organized religions like Christianity. Others think that the democratizing force of online religion affects the authority of the traditional religious offices. What is the future of religion in the digital age?!

Godcasting: exploring religious audiences and podcasting communities

Today, religious programs are the second most popular genre of podcasting. Blogging and podcasting are working to create and enhance online religious communities, and shape relationships between producers and consumers of podcasted religious content. Specifically, it is interesting to explore how bloggers connect online life in a highly technologised society with traditional notions of religious life. This workshop will be an exploration on how the web 2.0 technology and the networked communities, blogs and podcasts provide virtual space to explore new forms of religious expression.

IMPACT is is a Portal for Communication Research, Training and Formation. It is a Christian response to the challenge of the emerging communication culture. IMPACT program aims at forming leaders conversant with the predominant and emerging communication culture.

Dr Campbell is an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University and one of the world’s leading scholars in religion and online media. Her research has taken her from inner urban life in Glasgow through mainstream churches in Auckland to where religion, history and politics collide in Israel.

Heidi’s teaching and research centres on the social shaping of technology, rhetoric of new media, and themes related to the intersection of media religion and culture, with a special interest in the internet and mobile phones. She has written a book Exploring Religious Community Online: We are one in the network looking at how members of online religious communities connect their online and offline social-religious networks. Her current research is an investigation of Jewish, Muslim & Christian communities’ historic perceptions and contemporary use of media technologies, forthcoming as a text When Religion Meets New Media.

For those who have any interest in how online technology is shaping how people are seeing and interacting with the world, or want to know how creative uses of new technologies are making new opportunities for people to connect, grow and learn, this is a chance to have questions explored.

Heidi is also keen to hear stories of Australians who have tried out religion on the Internet, whether the experience is good or bad or somewhere in between. Come along and share with her what the 21st century Australian spirit sounds and smells like.

Date:
Monday 12 October 2009. 7pm.

Venue:
Pireaus Blues Restaurant, 310 Brunswick St Fitzroy (Melbourne). Sit-down dinner, a la carte (Main prices from $15 to $30).

RSVP:
Friday 9 October to paul@teusner.org

Who am I in cyberspace?
Spirituality and identity online

Monday 21 September, 6.00pm–7.30pm
Venue: St Michael’s Uniting Church, cnr Collins and Russells Sts , Melbourne

What is cyberspace doing to people’s identity and spirituality?

Speakers: Mandy Salmon and Francis Macnab.

Mandy Salomon leads Swinburne University Smart Services CRC’s social research into the disruptive aspects of virtual worlds and their application in health, commerce, industry, education and government. She is an international editor for the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research and is well-known in the media as a speaker and writer on a variety of related issues such as the internet and internet culture, social networks, web services and augmented intelligence.

On top of his duties as a minister of inner city church St Michaels, Dr Francis Macnab is a psychotherapist and an internationally renowned public speaker. He has published more than 25 books and is the founding Executive Director of the Cairnmillar Institute – a unique centre in Australia for the psychological treatment and prevention of emotional and psychological difficulties.

Sponsored by St Michael’s Uniting Church

Bookings: reception@stmichaels.org.au

How do the Christian faith and the Internet impact upon each other?
What place might the Bible have in our digital world?

Come and join us as our panel of expert speakers engage with these topics and others relating to issues of faith in the digital world.

Speakers:
Mark Brown
CEO, Bible Society New Zealand & founder Anglican Cathedral in Second Life.
Stephen Garner
Lecturer in Theology and Popular Culture, School of Theology, University of Auckland.
Heidi Campbell
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Communication, Texas A&M University & author of Exploring Religious Community Online.
Tim Bulkeley
Lecturer in Old Testament, Carey Baptist College & developer of the Amos Hypertext Commentary & podBible projects.

Saturday 5 September 2009
9am-12pm
OGGB4 Lecture Theatre, Level 0, Owen G Glenn Building, Grafton Road, The University of Auckland
Please register your attendance by Wednesday 2 September, with theologyadmin@auckland.ac.nz
Cost $5 (morning tea provided)

Call for Participation

Hungry 24/7? HCI Design for Sustainable Food Culture

Full day workshop at OZCHI 2009
24 Nov 2009, The University of Melbourne

http://food.urbaninformatics.net/events/ozchi2009/
http://www.ozchi.org/mediawiki/index.php/HUNGRY247
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=128413300549

This workshop proposes to explore new approaches to cultivate and support sustainable food culture in urban environments via human computer interaction design and ubiquitous technologies.

Food is a challenging issue in urban contexts: while food consumption decisions are made many times a day, most food interaction for urbanites occurs based on convenience and habitual practices. This situation is contrasting to the fact that food is at the centre of global environment, health, and social issues that are becoming increasingly immanent and imminent. As such, it is timely and crucial to ask: what are feasible, effective, and innovative ways to improve human-food-interaction through human-computer-interaction in order to contribute to environmental, health, and social sustainability in urban environments?

This workshop is an open and active forum for forward- thinking practitioners and scholars across disciplines to discuss this question, and plan and promote individual, local, and global change for sustainable food culture.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE WORKING IN FOOD HCI RESEARCH.
YOU DO NEED TO BE HUNGRY (for networking, knowledge, creativity, fun, and of course, food!)

We suggest, but do not limit to, three broad topics of interests for this workshop:
- Participatory networks
- Research and design methods
- Deployability and interoperability

We kindly ask prospective participants to submit a short position statement (300-500 words) or abstract by 20th September 2009. Please send all submissions and queries to Jaz Choi at h.choi@qut.edu.au.

Acceptance notification will be sent by 27th September 2009.

Important Dates:
- 20 Sep 2009: Submission of position statements
- 27 Sep 2009: Notification of acceptance
- 24 Nov 2009: Workshop

Organisers:
- Jaz Hee-jeong Choi (Queensland University of Technology, Australia)
- Marcus Foth (Queensland University of Technology, Australia)
- Greg Hearn (Queensland University of Technology, Australia)
- Eli Blevis (Indiana University, USA)
- Tad Hirsch (Intel, USA)