[ecrea] CFA - Global Tales

>CFA - Global Tales
>Academic Quarter - The academic journal for research from the humanities
>
>Note extended deadline: October 15 2010 / articles December 1.
>
>The call can be downloaded here:
>http://akademiskkvarter.hum.aau.dk/pdf/vol2/callUK.pdf.
>
>At a macro level global tales may be understood as globally disseminated
>thoughts, ideas and discourses; something that is a framework for the global
>community, e.g. the neo-liberal narrative. In this global narrative wealth,
>surplus, deregulation and repeal of custom barriers give positive
>associations, and the state is regarded as an obstacle to dynamic growth and
>development. After the fall of the Berlin Wall this narrative, which has
>influenced the policies of different nations on different continents, has
>provided a breeding ground for what Barber has christened Western culture,
>McWorld, a global, homogenized consumer culture, in which the same music is
>listened to, the same television is watched, and the same clothes are worn.
>
>In Asia, Latin America, and Africa the fascination with products from
>Western modernity has had a long history, not only clothes, furniture, and
>cars, but also culture products. After 1980 the world has witnessed a
>cultural Americanization through the massive consumption of American
>material and symbolic products such as the fast food chain McDonald's, Nike
>and Blockbuster. Shopping Malls have proliferated in Eastern Europe, Latin
>America and Asia, American through and through in their origins, but now
>notable symbols of the global culture. The film industry, especially
>Hollywood, and cable TV have created a common world of the imagination with
>figures, characters and narratives that make it possible for the audience of
>the world to project experiences, dreams and aspirations into them and
>through them.
>
>The same concept is realized in different countries through programs such as
>Strictly Come Dancing and The X Factor. Programs such as these contain tales
>like Believe in yourself and It is good to be famous, and in this way there
>are also global tales at a micro level.
>
>Today identity is not shaped by a priory tradition or culture, and the
>individual must create its own self-perception. The framework for this is
>postmodernism, which can be regarded as a global tale as well. In this tale
>cultures, subjects, and identities are seen as temporary, and in principle
>everything is negotiable. Earlier on the local - e.g. the family, the
>village, the nation etc. - had the most decisive influence on ideas and
>relations, but today the access to the rest of the world is easier, both in
>a concrete physical sense and in a technological sense, and ideas and
>relations have their point of departure in a more global perspective. It is
>generally known that changes in one place may create global changes. For
>instance it is not enough to think nationally, as not everything can be
>contained within borders, e.g. questions of climate and of economics. This
>heightened interaction causes displacement of cultures.
>
>According to Giddens the individual can participate in the creation of
>social influences through its creation of its own identity, and these social
>influences are of a global nature in their consequences. We are surrounded
>by narratives and possible choices, but the choice we make in every single
>situation has consequences for not only our own personal narrative, but also
>for others'. And vice versa. This is strengthened as we get more closely
>connected in networks of information technology, media etc. We are in a
>dialectics between the local and the global.
>
>The total global frame of reference is enormous, and new, more uniform tales
>of a more global character may arise. It may even be ventured to say that
>globalization is also an epoch of global narratives.
>
>Global tales do not necessarily pertain to modern societies, but they may
>also be stories of any time common to all mankind. There is a treasure trove
>of legends and myths from different parts of the world with universal
>themes, dilemmas and morals. These can be found again in for instance
>folktales and cartoons, where the story is appreciated in a common
>understanding.
>
>We call for articles within the theme of global tales, and they may be
>understood at a macro level, a micro level on in a different way.
>
>Suggestion for articles, including an abstract of 150 words to be mailed to
>Pablo Cristoffanini (pablo /at/ hum.aau.dk) and Lotte (Damld /at/ hum.aau.dk) no later
>than 15 October 2010. Accepted articles - using the Harvard System Style
>Sheet - to be mailed to the editors no later than 1 December 2010. Articles
>will then be reviewed anonymously. The articles should be around
>15,000-25.000 keystrokes. The issue will be published in the spring of 2011.

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Nico Carpentier (Phd)
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Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Free University of Brussels
Centre for Studies on Media and Culture (CeMeSO)
Pleinlaan 2 - B-1050 Brussels - Belgium
T: ++ 32 (0)2-629.18.56
F: ++ 32 (0)2-629.36.84
Office: 5B.401a
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New Book:
Trans-Reality Television
The Transgression of Reality, Genre, Politics, and Audience.
Lexington. (Sofie Van Bauwel & Nico Carpentier eds.)
http://www.lexingtonbooks.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=^DB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0739131885
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European Communication Research and Education Association
Web: http://www.ecrea.eu
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E-mail: (Nico.Carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
Web: http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~ncarpent/
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