[Air-L] Special issue on "Aesthetics and the Dimension of the Senses" of "Online - Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet" released!

[Simone Heidbrink]

Dear list-members,

We are happy to announce the release of the special issue of "Online - 
Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet" on "Aesthetics and the 
Dimension of the Senses"! (Please see: http://www.online.uni-hd.de/.)

When we look on the various representations of religious groups and 
individuals on personal homepages, in weblogs, in virtual worlds or the 
like and when we follow their
communications on religious topics online, the visual and auditive 
aspects of the medium seem to play a major role. Using pictures, videos, 
icons, as well as music and other sounds,
the internet users can design a multisensual virtual environment which 
might implicate its own notion of ‘aesthetics’.

As the aesthetic and sensual dimensions of religions and rituals on the 
internet have long been a neglected area of research, we called upon 
theoretical and methodical reflection as well as on empiric studies 
referring to these topics. - And many renowned scholars answered with 
interesting and inspiring articles with which we hope to contribute and 
give some impulse to the still ongoing discussion on the different 
theoretical, methodical and methodological approaches to “aesthetics and 
the dimension of the senses” in the context of religion and religious 
practice online.

Table of Content:

Simone Heidbrink / Nadja Miczek: Introduction to the Special Issue: 
Religions on the Internet – Aesthetics and the Dimensions of the Senses

Louise Connelly: Virtual Buddhism: An Analysis of Aesthetics in Relation 
to Religious Practice within Second Life

Gregory Grieve: Virtually Embodying the Field: Silent Online Meditation,
Immersion, and the Cardean Ethnographic Method

Tim Hutchings: The Politics of Familiarity: Visual, Liturgical and
Organisational Conformity in the Online Church

Anna Piela: Challenging Stereotypes: Muslim Women's Photographic Self-
Representations on the Internet

Paul Teusner: Imaging Religious Identity: Intertextual Play among
Postmodern Christian Bloggers

Theo Zijderfeld: The Transformation of the Prayer Wall

Christopher Helland: (Virtually) been there, (Virtually) done that: 
Examining the Online Religious Practices of the Hindu Tradition:
Introduction.

Phyllis K. Herman: Seeing the Divine through Windows: Online Puja and 
Virtual Religious Experience

Nicole Karapanagiotis: Vaishnava Cyber-Pūjā: Problems of Purity and 
Novel Ritual Solutions

Heinz Scheifinger: Hindu Embodiment and the Internet


Best regards,

Simone Heidbrink
Nadja Miczek
(editors)

-- 
Simone Heidbrink, M.A.
SFB 619 Ritualdynamik - Teilprojekt C2
Institut für Religionswissenschaft
Universität Heidelberg
Akademiestr. 4-8
D - 69117 Heidelberg

Tel.: ++49-(0)6221-54-74 82
Fax.: ++49-(0)6221-547624

E-Mail: simone.heidbrink at zegk.uni-heidelberg.de
http://www.rituals-online.uni-hd.de/
http://www.sl-research.de