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Apologies for any cross-posting... Conference Announcement: 'Identities in Action!' Hurry if you wish to attend this conference from Friday 10th December to Sunday 12th December to be held near Newtown in Powys (mid-Wales), because places are strictly limited! This exciting inter-disciplinary conference aims to gather together diverse perspectives on the ways in which concepts of identity, alienation and belonging, language and modes of discourse, reveal themselves in cultural and political undertakings. At this turning point of the millenium, we hope to identify some emerging patterns in the negotiation, rehearsal and affirmation of identities, and to consider the roles of visual, verbal and other codes in mediating, as well as defining, cultural positions and forging alliances. What, for instance, is the role of imagery drawn from advertising, popular music and the mass media in the construction of identities? In what ways are identities 'under construction' in online media? What are the variations and constraints in the ways in which we represent ourselves when we use various modes of communication? What dynamics can we identify in the ways language and other discourses shape the identities of groups in action, and help to construct their trajectories? The conference features keynotes from Professor Line Grenier (Dpartement de Communication, Université de Montréal) and Ned Thomas (formerly Director of the University of Wales Press and author of _The Welsh Extremist_). There are over 60 papers and workshops which were selected from nearly 100 submissions. Presenters are from universities in the USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Austria, Brazil, Malaysia, France, Catalunya, the Basque Country and Sweden as well as Wales, Scotland and England. The conference is to be held in the glorious surroundings of the University of Wales's Conference Centre - Gregynog - a delightful old mansion in mid-Wales. The entertainment will include Welsh bands and a Twmpath (Barn Dance). Accommodation in this lovely country house is very limited and non-presenters will need to book urgently. Prices also rise after August 1st. Visit the website which already features the provisional programme and abstracts: http://www.aber.ac.uk/~jmcwww/Identact/ If you are interested in attending, apply immediately! %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%