GoNeDigiTal Conference 2023
Call for Papers
Online, 1-3 June, 2023
Proposals due: 1 March 2023
Each era begets its own prophet; the digital age has seen its fair share. The technological innovation of today is the realisation of the dreams of dreamers who envisioned a different future. Once created, pioneers have explored new vistas of the digital world pushing its limits, and seeing possibilities where others have remained oblivious, indifferent, or sceptical. As the novelty has worn off and digital innovations normalised into the mundanity of (postdigital) life, a new kind of prophet has emerged. Standing at the margins looking beneath the glitzy surface of technological promise, this prophet exposes the suffering, exploitation within as well as the plight of those left behind by the digital revolution. Theirs are the utterances forged from the residues of the stories of old, bringing hope of a different future.
This conference, hosted by the Global Network for Digital Theology, explores themes of the prophetic in digital cultures, in both global and local contexts.
We welcome papers from a range of methodological approaches in the following areas:
- Discussions of the pioneering work of religious actors and academics within the digital sphere
- The prophetic visions of technological innovators
- The prophetic semantics of artificial intelligence
- Dystopian and utopian perspectives on the digital
- Prophetic communication inside and outside religious communities
- Critical theological assessments of digitality
- The “prophetic” as local and global forms of theological articulation
- Connections between scripture/tradition and (post-)modern interpretation
- Do we find the prophets (mainly?) outside the institutions (e.g. religious “Sinn-fluencers”)?
- Do religious actors have a certain “prophetic office” to critically investigate (problematic) technological innovations (e.g. the Metaverse)?
- How the church should/can participate in public debates concerning socio-political issues deriving from digitalisation
- What makes digital prophetic communication “prophetic” (empirical, linguistic, and hermeneutical aspects)?
- How far is prophetic digital communication connected with political and legal aspects?
- Theological assessments of the impact of Sci Fi on contemporary social imaginaries
- Prophetic communication in texts and images
Proposals due: 1 March 2023
Abstracts of 250-300 words should be submitted by 1 March 2023 to Daniella Zsupan-Jerome at dzsupanje001@csbsju.edu
GoNeDigiTal 