The Center for Religion and Politics invites you to a talk by Terje Østebø on the interrelation between religious, health, and digital imaginaries. The talk will take place in Seminarrom 9 at P.A. Munchs hus from 14:15 to 16:00. Dr. Østebø will be present in Oslo; however, the talk will also be streamed via Zoom. To join online, please use the following link: https://uio.zoom.us/j/63046552813?pwd=EzhWa1w8O08nQklaNbCb6pnZTRCrva.1
God’s Wrath in the Era of the Digidemic: Religious Interpretations of Covid-19 in Ethiopia
During the first phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, many Ethiopians viewed the pandemic as an expression of God’s punishment for sin. Whereas the Covid-19 pandemic had devastating impacts all over the world, the very experiences that historically generated interpretations of divine punishment and judgement— violent human suffering and mass deaths—were close to absent in Ethiopia. Using the concept of digidemic, I seek to understand not only why many Ethiopians interpreted Covid-19 as an expression of God’s wrath, but also how the circulation of images, norms, ideas, and goods, via global and digital networks—in addition to fueling fear—may create connectedness and a felt proximity, wherein far-away hot-spots and phenomena were made real and near as threats.
About the speaker: Professor Østebø holds a joint appointment in the Department of Religion and the Center for African Studies at the University of Florida. His research focuses on Islam in contemporary Ethiopia, the relationship between Islam and politics, Islamic reformism in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, and Salafism in Africa.