My focus is to understand how religion or spirituality matter in the consumer use, design and engineering of media and technology (Brock, 2010; Franklin, 1999; Manders-Huits, 2011; Monsma, 1986; Schuurman, 2009; Walker, 2013; Wyche, Hayes, Harvel, & Grinter, 2006). I am aiming to distinguish how religion and spirituality contribute to ethical know-how (Bell, 2006; Petrina, Feng & Wang, under review; van den Hoven, 2008) in the design, engineering, and use of media and technology. I am situating my research in the DIY community (Halfacree, 1999), maker culture (Ames et al., 2014; Petrina & Wang, 2014; Tanenbaum, Williams, Desjardins, & Tanenbaum, 2013), and hacker space (Coleman, 2010), in order to discern values and ethics throughout the entire design process (Friedman & Kahn, 2003). How differently do Christian designers and the wider maker culture enact unique designerly ways, means and ends (Cross, 2006; Petrina & Wang, 2014)?

I am positioning the research in hacker and maker culture, which some educational scholars (Bilandzic, 2013; Ratto, 2011; Santo, 2011, 2013; Sayers, 2012; Schrock, 2014) have connected to theorizing and practicing curriculum via collaboration learning (Moilanen, 2012; Pettis & Schneeweisz, 2011) and processes of tinkering (Hunsinger, 2011). In this way, my purpose is to understand these maker spaces at the intersection of design and faith, in order to distinguish how religion and spirituality contribute to ethical know-how in the design, engineering, and use of media and technology. Most broadly, I am asking how media and technology enrich human life bring about human flourishing.

More specifically, the research questions are:

1. What role do values and ethics perform in maker actor-networks? What values and ethics are used within the maker design process?
2. How are values and ethics integrated and manifested throughout the design process in a maker actor-network?
3. What are the daily routines and subjective well-being of participants in the maker design process?

Comprehensive Exam Questions

1. Understanding Curriculum as technotheological text.

2. Methods for Researching Educational Technotheology: Actor Network Theory, Day Reconstruction Method, and Video Design-Based Research

3. How does Religion Matter?