print globalization

print globalization

Kirsch, Thomas G. 2007. Ways of Reading as Religious Power in Print Globalization. American Ethnologist 34 (3): 509-520. 

“In this article, I address issues of power with regard to religious print media distributed worldwide. I show that mission societies seek to ensure a homogenous interpretation of their publications by making them ‘obligatory passage points’ for socio-religious advancement and standardizing literacy practices. Once successfully established, networks created through religious print media evolve as a twofold process in which the construction of power by media distributors and their audiences’ seeking of empowerment form an integrated whole. In this trajectory, literacy practices bridge local and global realms by enabling extensive religious networking based on the shared use of print media.”