CyberOrient
Journal of the Virtual Middle East
and Islamic World

Vol. 18, Iss. 1, 2024

Prayer, Dreams, and Sex: A showcase of an AI-augmented distant reading of 20 thousand e-fatwas

31 Oct 2024

Prayer, Dreams, and Sex: A showcase of an AI-augmented distant reading of 20 thousand e-fatwas
Jonas Svensson Article This article provides a methodologically oriented case study of the application of Large Language Models (LLMs) in Islamic studies. Its empirical focus is on 20 thousand e-fatwas from the website askimam.org. The study demonstrates how LLMs, here represented by the open-source tool BERTopic, can significantly augment a process of distant reading. The research focuses on a topic modelling revealing insights into recurring concerns evident from…

Article

Who Speaks Tho Fan? Deconstructing the Constructed Language of Jade Empire

31 Oct 2024

Who Speaks Tho Fan? Deconstructing the Constructed Language of Jade Empire
Alesha Serada Article Despite being the largest East Asian country, China is underrepresented in video games, particularly those produced in the West. This article examines the video game Jade Empire (2005), developed by the acclaimed Canadian studio Bioware. Despite its age and now historical status in video game culture, Jade Empire remains one of the few relatively successful standalone video games based on Chinese culture (or appropriation thereof)…

Article

Book Review: Heidi A. Campbell. 2020. Digital Creatives and the Rethinking of Religious Authority. Routledge.

31 Oct 2024

Book Review: Heidi A. Campbell. 2020. Digital Creatives and the Rethinking of Religious Authority. Routledge.
Helena Lipková Book Review The book Digital Creatives and the Rethinking of Religious Authority makes a valuable contribution to the study of how religious authority is evolving in the digital age. The author synthesizes previous research and introduces a new framework for categorizing types of religious authority in digital spaces. Building upon Anderson’s earlier typology, Campbell significantly advances this framework through her original empirical research, which is based on…

Book Review


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