
August 5-8, 2025 Boston College
14th Biennial ISMRC Conference
Religion and Media in the Age of Polycrisis
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Paper Presentations
View a detailed schedule of the conference.
Participants should prepare a 15-minute presentation. Participants should bring their own computers to show slides. The projector connection is HDMI, but we will have adapters if needed.
Traveling to Boston College: More info
Field trip sign-up form, complete by July 28.
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Schedule
Tuesday, August 5, daytime: Doctoral Student Pre-Conference Workshop.
Tuesday, August 5, evening: opening reception, BC Art Museum
Wednesday, August 6: conference panel presentations and keynotes.
Thursday, August 7: conference panel presentations and keynotes. Evening banquet dinner.
Friday, August 8, morning: conference panel presentations and keynotes.
Friday, August 8, afternoon: site visits.
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Keynote speakers
“In the Wilderness of the Digital Limit Situation”
Amanda Lagerkvist, Professor at Department of Informatics and Media, Uppsala University, Sweden
Wed, August 6,9:00 am, Devlin 008
“Second Sight: W. E. B. Du Bois and a Religio-Racial Theory of Woke AI”
Margarita Guillory, Associate Professor of Religion and African American Studies at Boston University
Wed, August 6, 5:00 pm, Devlin 008
"Is Everything a Cult?"
Mara Einstein, Professor of Media Studies, Queens College, CUNY
Thur, August 7, 4:30 pm, Devlin 008
Housing Options
Boston College residence halls
Single occupancy rooms: $112 per night
Double occupancy rooms: $56 per bed per night
Linen packages: $25 per bed, one-time fee for each person
No minors (under 18) allowed
Reservations made through conference registration.
Courtyard by Marriott
40 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446 | Accessible to campus via the Green Line T.
$289 for king bed with sofa, plus taxes 11.7%
The Arcadian
1200 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02446 | Accessible to campus via the Green Line T.
$260 a night
Includes free breakfast and wifi
Boston Hotel
40 Mt Hood Rd, Boston, MA 02135 | Accessible to campus via the Green Line T.
$199 for a room with one bed (up to 2 guests), plus taxes 14.95%
$219 for a room with 2 beds (up to 4 guests), plus taxes 14.95%
Includes buffet breakfast.
AC Hotel
395 Chestnut Hill Ave, Boston, MA 02135 | Walking distance to campus or accessible via BC campus shuttle.
Around $380-420 a night
Traveling to Boston College
Boston Logan International Airport is located about 15 minutes from downtown Boston. The Blue Line train and Silver Line bus offer regular service from the airport to downtown. The trains and buses accept credit card tap payments. More information on schedules and tickets can be found on the website for the MBTA.
If traveling by train, the Amtrak Acela and Northeast Regional trains arrive at South Station. More information on the Amtrak website.
Boston College is located on the border between the Brighton neighborhood of Boston and the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Newton. It is accessible by public transit. The Green Line of the T has 3 branches that travel near campus. The B branch of the Green Line has a stop at Boston College’s campus. The C line has a stop at Cleveland Circle, and the D line has a stop at Reservoir Station. Cleveland Circle and Reservoir stops are close to each other and are serviced by a BC shuttle bus, which will bring participants to main campus.
We will run a special BC Shuttle bus from the Reservoir Stop to BC College Rd on campus (10 minute ride). This shuttle will run on a continuous loop from Reservoir to campus during the following times:
August 6: 8am-9:30am and 5-7pm
August 7: 8am-9:30am and 6-9pm
August 8: 8am-9:30am
Restaurants, cafes and resources right by the Boston College train stop:
Dunkin coffee, donuts, breakfast sandwiches
El Pelon Taqueria: tacos and Mexican food
Playa Bowls: smooties, fruit, yogurt bowls
Crazy Dough’s Pizza
Flat Breads Cafe: sandwiches
White Mountain Creamery: ice cream
Richdale Food Shop: convenience store
UPS store: copying, shipping resources
The area around the Cleveland Circle train stop has several restaurants to grab a sandwich, slice of pizza, or a meal, plus coffee shops, a CVS pharmacy, and a 7/11 convenience store.
Site Visits
Part of the ISMRC tradition is to have an optional site visit or field trip as part of the conference. These trips usually focus on the religious and media history of the conference location. Participants will have a choice of the following three trips during the Boston conference:
Trip 1: African American Religious History and Downtown Boston
Trip 2: Catholic Boston and Boston College Campus
Trip 3: Walden Pond and Transcendentalism
View more information about the trips and sign-up on this form.