This study explores how Russian Orthodox media frame esotericism in their publications. Recent increases in esoteric-related content—ranging from tarot readings on YouTube to discussions on emerging spiritualities—reflect wider transformations in religious consciousness and a noted decline in institutional authority.

The study employs semantic network analysis to map key concepts and reveal patterns of association in more than 3500 relevant media publications. This process involves constructing concept clusters and analyzing how Orthodox media reference esoteric topics, capturing which terms frequently co-occur and which narratives repeatedly surface.

To complement these findings, a smaller random subsample of texts is subjected to qualitative content analysis, allowing for a more nuanced exploration of the tone, context, and complexity behind each reference to esoteric beliefs. By synthesizing both approaches, the research uncovers how Russian Orthodox media distinguish between mainstream religious teachings and alternative spiritualities, highlighting points of tension or acceptance.

Ultimately, the study aims to clarify whether the Russian Orthodox Church’s portrayal of esotericism promotes rigid opposition, cautious engagement, or subtle forms of negotiation. In doing so, it underscores how religious institutions adapt—or resist adaptation—to evolving spiritual landscapes in contemporary society.

This presentation introduces the methodological approach for a discourse network analysis (DNA) project focused on climate change communication in fictional films and nonfictional documentaries, specifically through the analysis of their trailers. With this study, we will investigate both the visual and discursive elements of trailers to identify prominent themes and gaps in climate communication. By examining trailers, which are freely accessible and more widely viewed, the study captures how climate-related messages are communicated to a broader audience. Analyzing trailers also allows for a larger sample size, facilitating a more comprehensive analysis of climate communication trends. This project will contribute to understanding of how climate issues are framed in popular media, and the potential implications for public engagement. This project is in its early stages, and we look forward to feedback from the audience.

Women composers are significantly underrepresented in the field of classical music. Recent demands for improved representation highlight this disparity; however, symphony-orchestras face the challenge of balancing the performance of historically celebrated, predominately male composers from the traditional classical canon with the promotion of gender diversity and modern innovation. This research examines how the grouping of composers in symphony orchestra performances can influence the recognition of women composers in classical music. Our results indicate gender significantly impacts a composer’s recognition, but the introduction of network variables provides different gender-based advantages. Specifically, gender-homophilous ties benefit men composers but not women composers, whereas prestigious connections significantly aid women composers. Our findings suggest a mixed repertoire, featuring women composers alongside prestigious male composers, could be particularly effective for symphony-orchestras aiming to support more women composers without sacrificing canonical repertoires.

Urban-Rural Dialogues (URD) employs dialogic methods and small groups to facilitate conversations across social identities to advance shared understanding and improve intergroup relationships. The URD curriculum builds on successful intergroup dialogues on race, adding new urban-rural content (50%). This novel study centers on urban-rural identities and uses network data to empirically test URD impacts on interpersonal relationships. Longitudinal relational data about working with and making friends with fellow participants enables us to test homophily effects—whether participants of shared identities (urban-rural, race, gender, SES) are more willing to establish a work relationship and/or a friendship, whether URD reduces homophily, and whether URD increases desired relationships.

Using Hoff’s (2018) dynamic additive and multiplicative effect (AME) model, we modeled the desired work relationship and desired friendship of participants over a six-week URD. Groups ranged in size eight to 18, totaling 81 people including co-facilitators across six groups.

Results show the probability of forming a work relationship and a friendship increases over time. Our findings also show urban-rural identity and race play no role in work relationship and friendship formation initially. Homophily in gender was observed initially in work relationship and friendship, which continued to predict friendship across six sessions. A positive interaction effect between time and shared urban-rural identity was found, showing further development and salience of participants’ urban-rural identity. In other words, participants sharing urban-rural identities wanted to be friends and work together at the end of the dialogue.