REMINDER - Deadline for
Abstracts 15 DECEMBER, 2008
Dear friends and colleagues,
The Arab Media Centre is pleased
to inform you that its next conference will take place on 30-31 March, 2009 at
the University of Westminster in London. Please see the Call for Papers below.
CALL FOR PAPERS
African and Arab Media Audiences:
Shared Agendas for Research
Conference jointly organised by the
Africa Media Series, Arab Media Centre and Audiences Group
Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI),
University of Westminster
Dates: 30-31 March, 2009
Venue: University of Westminster, New Cavendish Campus,
115 New Cavendish Street, London W1
THE TOPIC
Media
research to date has largely neglected the fast growing and diverse media
audiences in African and Arab countries. These countries share painful
histories of colonization and broadly comparable experiences of
post-independence media development. Today they share the challenge of
adjusting to global trade and investment regimes that affect local media
production and distribution systems but are crafted elsewhere. Yet when we
speak of media reception in the Global South, we tend to think in terms of
isolated geographies: of 'Latin America', 'Africa', or the 'Middle East'. By
contextualizing primarily in terms of place, we overlook memories, issues and
features that media users in different regions have in common. We foster
artificial boundaries and separate research agendas. As a result, opportunities
for productive joint debates about Arab and African media consumption are
missed.
Blogs,
chatrooms, social networking sites, and the use of SMS indicate that African
and Arab audiences, like audiences generally, are highly active in sending and
receiving messages in innovative ways. This conference, organised by the
University of Westminster's Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI),
will explore this activity, taking in the old, the new, and processes of change
and transformation. It draws on the combined resources of CAMRI's African Media
Series, Arab Media Centre and Audiences Group. It focuses on media use and
media users in two overlapping regions, where the culture and politics of
former colonial powers have combined with internal influences to shape the
audience experience in particular ways.
CONFERENCE PAPERS
Conference
papers are invited on audiences in African and/or Arab countries and their
reception and appropriation of all types of media. Papers are welcomed with or
without comparative dimensions. They may adopt interdisciplinary approaches or
be rooted predominantly in one field or discipline. Audience studies may
segment the audience in accordance with conventional demographic categories, or
they may offer alternative perspectives on identity. Interactivity is a
potential theme, as is access to/use of digital media generally, including the
Internet and mobile phones. Methodological questions will be high on the
conference agenda.
PROGRAMME AND REGISTRATION
The
conference will begin during the afternoon of Monday, March 30th and
continue to the early evening of Tuesday, March 31st. Plenary sessions will be
held for one keynote speaker on each day. The remaining sessions will consist
of concurrent panels, except for one or more plenary sessions dealing primarily
with theoretical and/or methodological issues. The fee for registration will be
£50, with a concessionary rate of £25 for students. Online registration will
open in October 2008.
DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS
The
deadline for abstracts is Monday, December 15th 2008. Successful
applicants will be notified by Tuesday, January 6th, 2009. Abstracts
should be between 150-350 words. They must include the presenter's name,
affiliation, email and postal address, together with the title of the paper and
a brief biographical note on the presenter. Two copies of the abstract should
be sent, one to Dr Tarik Sabry ([log in to unmask]) and one to Dr Winston Mano ([log in to unmask]).
The selection committee will comprise members of CAMRI's Africa Media Series,
Arab Media Centre and Audiences Group.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR SELECTED PARTICIPANTS
It is
recognised that research institutions in a few African and Arab countries have
very limited funding for their staff to attend conferences overseas. In order
to encourage participation by scholars who might be affected by financial
constraints and whose research fits the conference theme, the conference
organisers hope to be able to offer fee waivers and travel subsidies in
selected cases. Anyone interested in presenting a paper is advised to submit
their proposal pending further information about their eligibility for a
possible grant.
We look
forward to hearing from you.
Best
wishes,
Arab
Media Centre team
University
of Westminster
Harrow
Campus - Watford Road
Harrow HA1 3 TP, Middlesex, United Kingdom
www.westminster.ac.uk/arabmedia
The University of Westminster is a charity and a company limited by guarantee. Registration number: 977818 England. Registered Office: 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2UW.