In May prof. Victor Khroul from HSE University will present his research “Media coverage of religion as a factor of conflict: a case of Russia”.

Online talk will be organized in Zoom May, 11 from 12:00 to 13:30 (GMT+3). If you want to participate and get emails about the next online talks, please leave your contact information here until May, 10 noon: registration form. If you registered for Online talks or RMLN email list before, no need to register again, we’ll send you the information.

In the end of this session we’ll briefly summarize the results of the first season of Online talks on Russian media and will discuss the plans for the next academic year.

Research summary: Humour is located in the battlefield between of the two basic human freedoms: the freedom of expression and the freedom of belief. Humor on religion can not only hurt believers’ feelings, but also lead to more tragic consequences (Charlie Hebdo shootings or beheaded French teacher). The proposed research aims to answer the questions: What kind of humour is appropriate and inappropriate in different religious communities in Russia (Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Islamic, Jewish)? What kind of humour is appropriate and inappropriate in media coverage of religion according to journalistic culture, ethical norms and personal convictions of Russian journalists? This research will give the opportunity to map the ‘zone of mutual responsibility’ and to elaborate formal ‘pact on humour’ signed by journalists and religious leaders in Russia.

Speaker’s bio: Victor Khroul, Ph.D., Dr. habil., Professor at School of Media, HSE (Higher School of Economics) University in Moscow, visiting researcher at Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki (December 2020 – August 2021). His recent publication “Digitalization of Religion in Russia: Adjusting Preaching to New Formats, Channels and Platforms” appeared in The Palgrave Handbook of Digital Russia Studies (eds. D. Gritsenko, M. Wijermars, M. Kopotev). Palgrave Macmillan, 2021.

Moderator: Docent, Senior Lecturer Katja Lehtisaari (Tampere University)

Online talk on Russian Media is a collaborative initiative between Russian Media Lab Network, University of Helsinki, and Tampere Research Center for Russian and Chinese Media.

Photo by mostafa meraji on Unsplash

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