About

Second Nature is an online journal for critical thinking about technology and new media in light of the Christian tradition. (ISSN: 2333-3677)

It is a publication of the International Institute for the Study of Technology and Christianity.

 

Editorial Board

aristides 2Juliette Aristides is a classical realist artist. She is a founding member of the Water Street Studio in Brooklyn, New York and a founder of the Aristides Atelier at the Gage Academy of Fine Art. She is a recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Grant and a frequent contributor to Artist’s Magazine. She exhibits nationally at the John Pence Gallery in San Francisco. Her work can also be seen under the ‘Living Masters’ gallery on the website for The Art Renewal Center. She is the author of Classical Drawing Atelier, Classical Painting Atelier, and Lessons in Classical Drawing. Her personal website is aristidesarts.com. (art by Juliette Aristides)

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Eric Brende is a rickshaw operator and soap maker in St. Louis. He has a Ph.D. (Doctorate in Pedology) from the U. C. R. D. (United Consortium of Rickshaw Drivers), as well as degrees from Yale, Washburn, and M. I. T.  As a Mellon Fellow in the Humanities, he tutored History of Science at Harvard, and now spends his free time musing and writing from a window overlooking his budding backyard oasis. He is author of Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology.

Brian Brock is Reader in Moral and Practical Theology at Brian BrockThe University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He earned his MA and PhD at King’s College, London. A theological ethicist by training, he has a keen interest in theologically-oriented cultural criticism and in constructive Christian ethics, especially as they relate to technological change. His most sustained theological interactions with contemporary late-modern culture can be found in his book Christian Ethics in a Technological Age, as well as in Theology, Disability and the New Genetics: Why Science Needs the Church, edited with John Swinton. He is also the author of Singing the Ethos of God: On the Place of Christian Ethics in Scripture and Disability in the Christian Tradition: A Reader. (articles by Brian Brock)

Christina Crook

Christina Crook is a mother of three and the award-winning author of The Joy of Missing Out: Finding Balance in a Wired World. Her commentary on technology and our daily lives has appeared in the New York Times, Psychology Today, Women’s Health, Times of India, NPR, CBC Radio, AARP, CTV, Glamour Brasil, and more. Crook has worked for some of Canada’s most recognized media organizations, including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Rogers Digital Media. She is a graduate of the Simon Fraser University School of Communication and her TEDx talk, Letting Go of Technology: Pursuing a People-focused Future, was presented as part of the 2013 Global TEDWomen conference. In 2017, she pioneered the first writing residency with the Henri Nouwen Society at the University of Toronto.

IMG_2540_croppedJohn Dyer is the Executive Director of Communications and Educational Technology for Dallas Theological Seminary. A former youth pastor and long time web developer, he has developed tools for Microsoft, Apple, Harley-Davidson, Anheuser-Busch, and the Department of Defense and now writes on technology and faith for publications such as Christianity Today and Outreach Magazine. His first book is From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology, and he is currently working on creating software to distribute digital Bibles in closed countries. (articles by John Dyer)

Peter K. Fallon is Professor of Media Studies at Roosevelt University. A veteran of more than two decades in television, Fallon left NBC News in 1999 to teach at Molloy College in New York in their Department of Communication Arts. His 2005 book Printing, Literacy, and Education in Eighteenth Century Ireland: Why the Irish Speak English was the winner of the Marshall McLuhan Award for Outstanding Book in 2007, and his second book, The Metaphysics of Media: Toward an End to Postmodern Cynicism and the Construction of a Virtuous Reality, won the Lewis Mumford Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Technology for 2010. His newest book, Cultural Defiance, Cultural Deviance, was published in March of 2013. Fallon recently completed a two-year term as editor of EME: Explorations in Media Ecology, the international scholarly journal of the Media Ecology Association. His personal website is pfallo9.wix.com/peterkfallon. His next book is a reconsideration of Jacques Ellul’s “Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes” to reflect the digital technological shift that’s taken place since Ellul’s death in 1993. It is (tentatively) titled “Propaganda 2.1: A Handbook for Peaceful Totalitarian Rule.” (articles by Peter K. Fallon)

photoGeraldine Forsberg received her doctorate in Media Ecology with Neil Postman. Her doctoral dissertation, Critical Thinking in an Image World, analyzes a theoretical foundation for critical thinking. Currently Geri teaches in the English department at Western Washington University where she teaches courses in media and culture; technology and culture; and, technical communication. She also serves with Faculty Commons, a ministry with university professors.

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T. David Gordon is Professor of Religion and Greek at Grove City College, where since 1999 he has taught courses in Religion, Greek, Humanities, and Media Ecology. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America. He is the author of Why Johnny Can’t Preach: The Media Have Shaped the Messengers and Why Johnny Can’t Sing Hymns: How Pop Culture Re-Wrote the Hymnal. His personal website is www.tdgordon.net. He lives in Grove City, PA, with his wife Dianne, and daughters Grace and Dabney (and innumerable cats). (articles by T. David Gordon)

Douglas Groothuis headshotDouglas Groothuis is Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary, where he has served since 1993. He is the author of eleven books including, The Soul in Cyberspace, Truth Decay, and Christian Apologetics. He has been writing and teaching on the philosophy of technology for many years, thus making him a pain to many people.

updated huntArthur W. Hunt III is Associate Professor of Communications at The University of Tennessee at Martin. His work has appeared in Touchstone, SalvoModern Age, The Christian Research JournalExplorations in Media Ecology, and other publications. He is the author of The Vanishing Word: The Veneration of Visual Imagery in the Postmodern World and Surviving Technopolis: Finding Balance in Our New Manmade Environments. (articles by Arthur W. Hunt III)

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Brett T. Robinson is a Visiting Professor of Marketing at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of Appletopia: Media Technology and the Religious Imagination of Steve Jobs (Baylor University Press). He has published articles in EME: Explorations in Media Ecology and Drugs and Media: New Perspectives on Communication, Consumption and Consciousness. He holds a Marketing degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Georgia. (articles by Brett T. Robinson)

readRead Mercer Schuchardt (Co-Founder, Chairman of the Editorial Board) is Associate Professor of Communication at Wheaton College. He is co-author of Understanding Jacques Ellul. He and his wife Rachel have ten children and live in Wheaton, IL. (articles by Read Mercer Schuchardt)

 

Past Editors

Benjamin Robertson (2013 – 2016) is a founding editor of Second Nature. He studied Communications and Media Studies under Dr. Read Schuchardt at Wheaton College in Illinois. He has presented papers on Marshall McLuhan, media ecology, and Christianity at the Media Ecology Association, National Communication Association, and the McLuhan’s Philosophy of Media Centennial Conference in Brussels. Benjamin lives with his wife, Ruth, in Greenville, SC. He works as a web developer at Up&Up. His personal website is benjamingrobertson.com.

millegan croppedBrantly Millegan (2013 – 2015) is a founding editor of Second Nature. He has a BA in Philosophy from Wheaton College (IL), an MA in Theology from the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul, MN, and is working on a PhD in Moral Theology at Catholic University of America. Brantly is also the Founder and Editor of ChurchPOP. You can learn more about what he’s doing on his personal website, brantlymillegan.com. (articles by Brantly Millegan)

ericmEric McLuhan (2013-2018) was an internationally-known and award-winning lecturer on communication and media, with over 40 years teaching experience in subjects ranging from high-speed reading techniques to literature, communication theory, media, culture, and Egyptology. He taught at many colleges and universities throughout the United States, Canada, and abroad. In addition to co-authoring Laws of Media in 1988 and working closely for many years with his father, the late Marshall McLuhan, he was also deeply involved in exploring media ecology, a field that owes its name to the term he coined in February 1968 and gave to Neil Postman — who popularized the term. Eric McLuhan received his Ph.D. in English at the University of Dallas, and was the author of The Role of Thunder in Finnegan’s Wake, Electric Language, Media and Formal Cause, and co-author, with Wayne Constantineau, of The Human Equation and, Know Thyself: Action and Perception. His personal website is www.ericmcluhan.com. Eric McLuhan passed away on May 18, 2018. (articles by Eric McLuhan)