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Call for Papers - The Eleventh Annual Convention of the Media Ecology
Association
Media Ecology and the Natural Environment. June 10 13, 2010 University of
Maine, Orono, Maine.
Media Ecology and Natural Environments
The subject of media ecology was formed with two biological metaphors in
mind, Neil Postman wrote in ?The Humanism of Media Ecology? (2000). In
biology, a medium is a substance within which a culture grows. Change
?substance? to ?technology,? and media ecology defines a medium as a
technology within which a culture grows, forming its politics, social
organization, and ways of thinking. In biology, ecology is the study of what
constitutes a balanced and healthy natural environment. Media ecology refers
to ways that cultures maintain a healthy symbolic balance to help keep our
natur al world in order. Media ecology seeks to make us more aware that we
live in two different environments. We live in both the natural environment
of air, water, animals, and plants, and the media environment of language,
images, symbols, and technologies that shape us.
The 11th Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association invites papers,
panels, creative projects, and other proposals exploring the connections
between these two ecologies, one of culture and communication, the other of
nature and the physical sciences.
Convention submissions are welcome that draw on a wide variety of
perspectives in environmental studies in the sciences and communication,
from issues such as climate change, biodiversity, acid rain, and wildlife
ecology.
How do media ecology and natural ecology intersect?
How do ecologists in humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences
create dialogue with each other?
Can scholarship bring artists, communication researchers, and scientists
together?
What is the relationship between primary natural and virtual media
realities? What is the history of environmental thought?
Electronic submissions of papers and session proposals are preferred and
should be sent by January 15, 2010 to:
Paul Grosswiler, Chair, Department of Communication and Journalism, 420 Dunn
Hall, University of Maine, Orono ME 04460, (paulg /at/ maine.edu).
Convention Coordinators:
* Paul Grosswiler ((paulg /at/ maine.edu)) University of Maine
* Ellen Rose ((erose /at/ unb.ca)) University of New Brunswick, Fredericton
All submissions will be acknowledged. The convention will be sponsored by
the Vice President for Research, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,
and the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of Maine.
Campus housing will be available. Tours of Maine?s natural environments will
be offered.
For any other questions please feel free to contact me at (Steffasong /at/ aol.com)
or (Stephanie_Bennett /at/ pba.edu)
