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Call for Papers: A special issue of Feminist Media Studies
"The Media Gendering of War and Conflict"
Guest Editor: Dafna Lemish, Tel Aviv University
Events such as the September 11, 2001 attacks on the USA as well as
war or conflict in Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia, Palestine, Chechnya
and Iraq, to name but a few, have all been at the centre of world media
attention. The sad truth is that war and conflict are an everyday reality
for many women, men and children all over the globe. UN Security Council
decision 1325 states that, “Most of the victims of armed conflicts are
civilians, especially women and children, who become refugees in their own
countries.” The Security Council’s decision also affirms the significance
of women’s ongoing contributions to “the prevention of conflicts and in
their peaceful solutions”, as well as the importance of their “equal
participation and full involvement in every effort towards peace and
security.”
Despite this acknowledgement by the UN, world media portrayals of war
and conflict remains heavily dominated by patriarchal and colonial
reasoning. What is thus marginalized in the media as well as in wider
public discourses are voices that might begin to challenge these dominant
views. In what ways do patriarchal and colonial discourses shape public
knowledge of war and conflict – their circumstances, consequences and
possible resolutions? Do women journalists offer different frames and
perspectives? What forms of masculinity are typically represented in war
stories? What is the nature of portraying the victimization of women -
sexual war crimes, war related slavery of girls, or bereavement? What form
of agency is assigned to women as fighters in armed forces, as activists
in peace movements, or as political leaders? Has the media’s discussion of
mothers of suicide- bombers challenged our normative conceptions of
motherhood? Are the portrayals of war and conflict-related suffering of
women (and of children) sometimes exploited by the media with the view to
increasing audiences and if so, with what wider social and political
consequences? How might audiences make sense of gendered representations
of war and conflict?
This special issue will provide a platform for discussions around the
intersection of gender, war and conflict across media genres – including
the news, fictional film, factual and entertainment television
programming - and in all dimensions – from media production, to texts and
audience reception. Papers will draw upon the rich resources of feminist
and critical gender-sensitive critique and diverse methodological
approaches to produce engaging and challenging analyses of the discussion
of war and conflict in the media.
Interested authors should, in the first instance, submit an abstract of
150-200 words to Dafna Lemish ([log in to unmask]) by no later than 15
September 2004. Upon approval, completed articles of 8,000 words
(including notes and references) should be sent to Dafna Lemish via e-mail
by no later than 15 January 2005. The special issue will be published as
Volume 5(3), November 2005.
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