sustain:if:able kiwi

fun day plotting the IASH Digital activism research project

It was good today to spend some time reflecting on the IASH Digital Activism as justice-making project to date.

Over the last 6 weeks in Edinburgh, I have gathered a raft of research notes. I’ve written various research memos and pieces of data analysis. Together these total around 12,000 words.

Over the last 6 weeks, I have also presented 3 academic talks. Each of these have helped to clarify data and flesh out some arguments. But they’ve also meant I’ve skipped around a bit, collecting enough data for an “initial finding” in a presentation, but not enough for an indepth written argument.

In the up-next-soon, I have one full week left in Edinburgh. It would be nice in that week to gather threads and work toward something I could publish.

In the up-next-medium term, I have some grassroots activist organisations who are keen to participate. But they have some project deadlines, so have asked if they can be researched later in the year. Totally understandable.

Then in the up-next-longer-term, I want to develop the research in ways that involve multiple voices, not just mine. To make this concrete, a few weeks ago I submitted a funding bid. This is under peer review and could make possible a multi-voiced gathering. I have also initiated contact with a publisher, who has expressed enthusiasm for the project and my hopes for a multi-voiced project.

So today was spent plotting ways that I might produce different outputs. The IASH time was always about the conceptual space to set up the ethics process and research design. It was never intended to complete the project. At the same time, I don’t want to juggle yet another unfinished project, as I already have several too many of those. Equally, having several projects on the go can help with managing timelines.

So today was about plotting. Can there be something in the short term, that is distinct, yet sets up outputs in the medium and long term? Can I match an argument I’ve verbally developed with an already gathered concrete set of data?

After several coffees, and then some thinking thoughts into (1800) draft words on a page, I can see some ways forward.

Socrel 2024 “Digital activism as justice-making” conference questions

I was pleased to present a paper on “Digital activism as justice-making” at the British Sociology Association (BSA) Sociology of Religion Annual Conference. The theme for 2024 was Religion, Justice, and Social Action which fitted really well with my IASH Fellowship. Being in Newcastle on Tyne, just down the road from Edinburgh also worked really well, providing an international conference forum without having to travel too far! it was nice not to enter the most jet-lagged conference attendee award.

This paper is the third presentation of work from my IASH Research Fellowship at the University of Edinburgh. My data and methods have grown significantly since I proposed an abstract back in February. That in itself is encouraging, seeing how the project is growing and taking shape.

Participants asked a range of excellent questions. As per my standard conference talk practice of taking handwritten notes and writing them up later, here are the questions I was asked, and comments that were made:

1. 1. Are indigenous ways of knowing appearing in the data?
   2. How many of these groups (indigenous Christian climate change activist using online platforms for climate change activism) exist?
   3. How to account for the public dimensions of being online? One of the theoretical typologies that I use included the possibility of digital activity that is illegal. Would activism groups post about such activity online?
   4. Is there a possibility that indigenous approaches to climate change might be able to provide different approaches and solutions than we currently experience in Eurocentric approaches?
   5. It is fascinating how social media gives voice to communities and provides ways for researchers to listen and learn with and from them.
   6. (In the cup of tea queue the next day) – Have you had focus group participants offer different responses to your visual grammar readings?
   7. (Also in the cup of tea queue the next day) – The collective, practical, participatory ways of being that I’m noticing in my research of activist groups in the Pacific is also present in working class British activism.

As you can see, within the confines of 10 minutes for questions, some really helpful matters for me to think through. Every question and comment informs my ongoing thinking. It also provides feedback on how what I am communicating is being received across cultures.

It was great afterward to exchange contact details with researchers at Durham University, Manchester University and Hong Kong University, who are also researching climate change activism. It confirms that my research is timely, yet is also unique. A good sweet spot.

IASH “Visualizing climate change activism” Work-in-progress questions

It was great to deliver an IASH Work-in-Progress presentation of my “Visualizing climate change activism” research project. I’ve been in IASH Edinburgh for about 3.5 weeks and was surprised and grateful to find my work to date filled out 4,400 words. (The photo of a screen shot by my mentor, Dr Chow, of me explaining the origins of the project, with IASH folk listening.)

I began with a Northern hemisphere theorisation of digital activism by Neumayer and Svensson (2014), which I then brought into dialogue with initial findings from my research of the visual online presence of two different climate activist organisations. By starting with indigenous grassroots climate justice online organisations, I am seeking to listen to different ways of being and acting.

Participants asked a range of excellent questions, some from those in the room, others online through chat. I try to take handwritten notes of the questions I get asked after a presentation. Taking notes gives me time to think about how to respond. It also means I can sit more thoroughly and more thoughtfully with the questions at at later date.

Here are my notes of the 8 questions I was asked:

1. Does the “visual grammar” of grassroots organisation form a coherent identity? Is there a “brand” the organisation are curating? Are there training and guidelines about what is posted
2. The images I showed were hopeful and called people to action. Images can also speak of doom. There are doom images in some parts of Christianity, focused on the world burning and as a good thing. Are doom images being used and what theologies might they portray?
3. Are there climate action images from indigenous groups in historic that could be a resource for the research?
4. A connection – recall seeing an art piece that uses indigenous ways of making to depict a contemporary climate crisis, that of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. So is this another way in which indigenous knowledge in activism is at work?
5. Your presentation focused on social media images. Does pressing like result in a person thinking they have done their bit, and thus lead to decline in activism?
6. The research project might have a contradicting set of assumptions. The local is valued, yet the local might not want to share their knowledge. An Indian poet wrote a poem called “ I am not your data.” Participants might want to exert their data sovereignty and not share their knowledge.
7. Can these activist theologies in my presentation be connected with existing Pacific theologies eg Havea’s coconut theology?
8. What is the nature of the practice of the image makers? How does their practice develop over time, as they take and upload? Are the image makers individuals or are they part of a collective? How are they being formed by their practice? How are the image makers being influenced by memes that are circulating at that time? How could research explore the practice of image making among indigenous content makers?

As you can see, a range of excellent questions, which are really helpful me as I continue to write, think and research. I have 3 more weeks in Edinburgh! Looking forward to seeing what emerges as I continue in the interdisciplinary and delightful space that IASH is proving to be.

Visualising climate change activism – Edinburgh IASH seminar

I’m delivering a Work-in-Progress seminar on Thursday 27 June at 13:00 BST as part of my Visiting Research Fellowship. In the tentative and exploratory nature of work-in-progess, here’s my work today as I conducted an interview to reflect on online images, transcribed the interview, then did an initial thematic analysis of the 4010 words.

Visualising climate change activism: A visual grammar beginning with online Pacific/indigenous eco-theologies

My research at IASH is focused on grassroots digital activism and how organisations use social media to activate for climate justice. This research could have practical outworkings for organisations seeking to activate online for climate justice and theoretical implications in challenging Euro-centric theorisations of digital activism and visual grammars.

My initial challenge, and in outworking the IASH 2021-2024 theme of decoloniality, is how to research online images produced by indigenous communities. I propose an interdisciplinary side-by-side method that weaves visual grammar approaches from sociolinguistics and talanoa, a Pacific term for sharing stories in the space between. Such a side-by-side methodology could respect the interpretive visual resources of local communities and honour their commitment to communicate through the globalised flows of what is a world wide web.

Folk can join in-person in the IASH Seminar Room, or contact me for a zoom link to join the webinar.

consenting to digital activism

Whoop! A first signed consent form in a research project is a moment worth celebrating. It takes hours of work to get to this stage of a project.

First there is the funding application, seeking resources to undertake research (thanks IASH Edinburgh). This is mixed with a literature review to develop a research question that builds on what others re thinking. Next there is the ethics application, thinking through the risks and benefits of various approaches to research. For this project, this required a lot of reading in ethical research with social media data and ways not to compromise the safety of children in domains that allow anonymous comments. Then there is initiating contact, connecting with organisations and explaining the research to participants. Hours of work make the first signed consent form a moment worth celebrating.

The digital activism in justice-making is briefly introduced here. I am using a mixed methods approach. This involves seeking permission to undertake a visual grammar analysis of online images on social media, alongside offering conversations (focus groups) about the online images. This side-by-side approach should help understand the visual public theologies being offered by grassroot organisations as they activate for climate justice.

Whoop whoop. After positive interactions this week, a first signed consent form!

sea rising labyrinth and the ethics of love

Strolling Portobello Beach in Edinburgh on Sunday with a friend, we spotted a labyrinth on the sand.

With the tide coming in, the shoes came off and the jeans were rolled up. One way to walk the labyrinth is to take a question in with you. I took “why are you here?” It’s a question I’ve been asked a few times in the last week, as a Kiwi new to Edinburgh and a long way from home.

One response to the question is technical. I am in Edinburgh for 7 weeks, as a Visiting Research Fellow at IASH (Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities), at the University of Edinburgh. I’m doing work on digital activism as justice-making by Christian organisations, working with Dr Alex Chow, from the Centre for the Study of World Christianity.

Another response to the “why are you here?” question is  topical.  As I walked the labyrinth, the tide was coming in. At pace. The path of the labyrinth circles in toward a centre, then back out. My journey out would be through deepening water, as the tide continued to rise.

I might be safe, but I found myself thinking about the futures of others impacted by rising sea levels. This might feel remote on a sunny Sunday in Edinburgh. Yet earlier that week I had read about indigenous families being forced to relocate in Panama. So a second response to the “why are you here?” question is topical. I’m researching climate change and how organisations use online images to activate for change. So that less communities will need to relocate in the future.

At the centre of the Portobello Beach labyrinth I found a heart of love. It was yet another delightful touch by the unknown labyrinth makers. I stood, my feet immersed in water, pondering love.

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus is asked what it means to love our neighbour. He tells the story of a robbery. Perhaps if he was telling it today, he might tell the story of a rising sea. And how easy it is to walk on by. Busy. And how some religions use beliefs to justify walking by. Hoping another person might come along to act. Or that God will somehow provide another place to replace this earthly abode. Yet the Parable of the Good Samaritan ends with an unexpected Samaritan, motivated to act.

So a third response is that I’m here to research those motivated to act with love. I’m researching Christian organisations who use online spaces to call for climate-justice. I’m researching people who understand themselves as stewards with creation, rather than profiteers from creation. I’m researching how they use images to spread a message of love.

Perhaps through my research I might see things that help their actions. Perhaps I might see things that help other organisations to find ways to act. So a third response to the “why are you here?” question involves the ethics of love.

PS – A big thanks to the unnamed labyrinth makers on a Portobello beach, who enabled me to immerse myself in a rising tide and ponder a heart of love.

UK research June and July 2024

I’m busy at the moment making plans for a June and July research sojourn in the UK, where I am juggling 3 research projects.

First, I have around 6-7 weeks in Edinburgh, where I am a Visiting Research Fellow at IASH (Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities), at the University of Edinburgh. I’m doing work on digital activism as justice-making by Christian organisations, working with Alex Chow, from the Centre for the Study of World Christianity.

Second, I will be popping over to Glasgow, thanks to the generosity of Trinity College, where I am doing further work on the Race, Justice and Mission project, with archival research into the complicated nature of Presbyterian mission engagement in Pacific blackbirding.

Third, I will be in Birmingham for 2 weeks, where I am commencing a Birmingham University Cross-training theologians in Psychology Fellowship. This has several intensives, online connections and mentoring to equip with skills to undertake psychologically informed theological research. It is a second round of what Lynne Taylor has been enjoying.

Lynne Taylor is on sabbatical in the second half of the year and originally it was planned that she would join me toward the end of this time. However some family matters have changed the landscape and she’ll be heading over later for a shorter time.

I’m stoked to be awarded these Fellowships and excited about the chance to work internationally across a range of research projects. While I’m not looking forward to being apart from Lynne, I am looking forward to seeing a daughter in Oxford, England.

Digital activism as justice-making: Evaluating decolonial public theologies on Christian social media platforms

I’m thrilled to have an academic paper accepted for GoNeDigiTal24. The conference organisors requested a short video introduction to Evaluating decolonial public theologies on Christian social media platforms.

This paper is part of a larger project on Digital Activism, with Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh in June/July 2024. Here is a summary of the IASH project from my application:

SUMMARY OF PROJECT
This project analyses how Christian organisations deploy social media to advocate for justice. While toxic discourse abounds online, so do impactful moments of digital activism. Digital ethnography is used to analyse what might be distinctive about Christian decolonial digital activism. How might digital acts of public theology create viral justice?

Update: Thrilled to have a second academic paper accepted, this one for the British Sociology Association Sociology of Religion (SocRel) Annual Conference 2024: Religion, Justice, and Social Action. Here’s the abstract for that conference:

Digital activism as justice-making. Evaluating decolonial public theologies on Christian social media platforms

There are widespread examples, both positive and negative, of digital activism among religious communities. Methodologically, digital ethnography provides ways to understand the mundane aspects of everyday digital life (Hine, 2015) and analyse the interplay between online and offline performativity. Theoretically, salon, contentious, law-abiding and Ghandian typologies have been used in evaluating digital activism (Neumayer and Svensson, 2016). However, Oceanic scholars have challenged theoretical categories circulating in the Global North, arguing that indigenous approaches to activism centre identity, well-being, and kinship (Tupou et al., 2023).

The research has the potential to impact decolonial discourse through the study of lived practice and provide insights for organisations working in digital spaces to facilitate online justice-making.

Retrieving practical theology from the archives paper proposal

Glad to submit a conference paper proposal for Association of Practical Theology in Oceania (APTO). It’s in Dunedin in 2023 so nice and close to home! The conference theme – migration – gives me the opportunity to offer some research emerging from my Race, justice and mission project, thanks to my upcoming University of Glasgow Library Research Fellowship.

Retrieving practical theology from the archives: a reassessment of race and justice in Oceania migration

In the academic study of lived experience, practical theology often draws on empirical research. However, practical theology’s engagement with lived experience, as presented in archival material, is less common. The Glasgow University Library and University Archives hold a unique repository of pamphlets, sermons, reports and minutes. The archives include accounts of how Scottish missionaries experienced “blackbirding,” a coercive approach to migrant labour in Oceanic history. How might these historical accounts of lived experience help us analyse race and justice in the practices of mission?

This paper considers three methodological approaches by which practical theology might research migration histories in Oceania. First, McDougall (2016) used oral histories retrieved through ethnography to outline a distinctive cosmopolitan openness that shaped migration amongst the Melanesian peoples of the Solomon Islands. Second, Modjeska (2014) used embodied imaginaries and drew the work of historians and anthropologists into a “fictive” narrative that asserted indigenous Melanesian agency. Third, Halapua (2001) wove documentary analysis, interviews and action research in seeking to sing God’s song of solidarity with marginalised Melanesians in Fiji.

These three Oceanic methodologies provide ways first to approach archival history as lived experience and second to reflect on race and justice in the practices of Christian mission.

Race, justice and mission – my 2023 University of Glasgow Library Research Fellowship

I’m delighted to have been awarded a 2023 University of Glasgow Library Research Fellowship. This provides access for a month to what is a unique archive collection of mission archives. It also provides some funds to aid with travel and accommodation, which I hope to do around September 2023.

My research project is titled Race, justice and mission and here is some of what I wrote in my application: