[ecrea] Call for Papers: Annual Conference of the European Network for Cinema and Media Studies, London 23-26 June 2011

>SONIC FUTURES: SOUNDSCAPES AND THE LANGUAGES OF SCREEN MEDIA
>
>The NECS 2011 Conference
>
>Hosted by Birkbeck College and Kingâ¬"s College, University of London
>23rd-26th June 2011
>
>Submission deadline: 31st January 2011
>
>Please address all inquiries to (conference /at/ necs-initiative.org)
>
>Keynote speakers:
>Richard Dyer (Kingâ¬"s College London)
>Raphaëlle Moine (Sorbonne
>Nouvelle, Paris 3)
>John Urry (University of Lancaster)
>
>Call for Papers
>Why is it that in space no one can hear you 
>scream but everyone seems to be speaking English?
>Contemporary media culture is as much a sonic 
>and acoustic culture as it is a visual culture. 
>Perhaps more than ever, sound carries cultural 
>meaning, and the spaces we inhabit are 
>soundscapes as much as landscapes and 
>cityscapes. In the design of cars, for instance, 
>the sounds of a new model, from the sound of the 
>engine to the opening and closing of doors, are 
>as carefully crafted as the look of the car or 
>the engine. In architecture, the acoustics of a 
>building or a space have become as important as 
>statics or, for that matter, the containment of 
>noise in urban environments. In aural art, sound 
>objects from feedback to outright noise that go 
>beyond melody, harmony and song have become part 
>and parcel of musical composition and 
>performance. In film, sound design has become as 
>important as production design, and the sound 
>now defines a film as much as the look does. Yet 
>for all the global reach of sonic culture, in 
>screen media language territories and language 
>boundaries continue to mark the map of global 
>media flows. Far from being complementary or 
>contradictory, sound and language are poised in 
>a complex and fluid relationship to each other.
>
>Given the seeming dominance of English and the 
>recent rise of Chinese as global media 
>languages, the universal and the particular 
>cannot be accommodated in an easy relationship. 
>Moreover, the aporias of spoken and written 
>language still haunt the soundscapes of today. 
>Taking up the challenge of the sonic dimension 
>of contemporary media culture, the 2011 NECS 
>conference â¬SSonic Futures: Soundscapes and the 
>Languages of Screen Media⬝ addresses the 
>cultural meanings of sound with a particular 
>focus on the cultural dynamics of language in 
>screen media. With an eye to transnational media 
>flows and the increasing importance of 
>transmedia formatting, the conference explores 
>the relationships between images, sounds, voices 
>and words in terms of politics and culture, 
>history, production practices, theory, and 
>aesthetics. Adopting both a contemporary and a 
>historical perspective, the 2011 NECS conference 
>will focus on past, current and future trends as 
>well as on production practices which have been 
>historically marginalized because of their 
>particular use of language, sound and text on screen.
>
>Paper topics may include, but need not be limited to, the following:
>
>a) Sonic Media Culture: Theory and Analysis
> How do we account for the sonic aspects of 
>media culture? How uuseful are concepts such as 
>â¬Ssoundscape⬝ and â¬Ssound design⬝?
> What are the acoustic equivalents to 
>â¬Simagination⬬ and â¬Svision⬝? How do we 
>â¬Senvision⬝ the future and the past in acoustic terms?
> What are the legacies of linguistics, 
>semiotics and other theorries of language for film and media studies?
> How can film and media studies integrate 
>insights from sound sttudies, musicology, rhetoric, and acoustics?
> How can film and media studies integrate 
>concepts such as ⬬Smulti-modality⬝ and insights from psychology?
>
>b) Politics, Identity, Memory
> How do language boundaries impact on global media flows?
> How does language relate to the production of 
>national identityy and cultural memory, particularly in screen media?
> How do questions of language impact on notions of â¬SEuroopeanness⬝?
> How do we account for the politics of minority 
>languages in posst-national cinemas and digital media practices?
> How culturally and linguistically specific are 
>film festivals?  How do they shape the global 
>map of media flows, particularly in terms of language?
>
>c) History
> How do current models of media history account 
>for text, languaage and sound? How should they be modified?
> How has the question of language shaped media 
>production and fiilm and television production in particular?
> How do we account for the practices of 
>dubbing, sub-titling, muulti-language versions 
>and polyglot films? How do such â¬Simpure⬝ 
>practices figure in the history of film?
> How have certain aspects of media culture and 
>film history beenn marginalized because of language issues?
>
>d) Production Practices
> How do global digital networks redraw the 
>linguistic maps of meedia production and media 
>circulation? What, in particular, is the 
>contribution of polyglot video platforms such as YouTube?
> Which films and programs travel (i.e. find 
>audiences beyond theeir territory of origin), and why?
> How do we account for practices of adaptation, 
>remaking, writinng for screen, and criticism?
>
>e) Aesthetics
> How is stardom dependent on language and the 
>performance of speeech? What is a â¬Svoice talent⬝?
> What is the relationship of body and voice in 
>contemporary mediia culture? How has this relationship evolved?
> How has the relationship of body, voice and 
>space evolved (as iin voice-over, voice-off)?
> How do we account for aspects such as tone, 
>intonation, rhythm  at the level of language/dialogue and sound more generally?
> How do speech, music and sound relate to the visual?
> What is the relationship between language and 
>gesture and voicee and gesture?
> How do we analyze the spatial simulation of 
>voices and voice-ellements in digital spaces?
>
>Whether previously attached to NECS or new to 
>the network, scholars from all areas of cinema 
>and media studies (radio, television, new media 
>etc.) are invited to submit proposals for contributions.
>
>Please note that you may submit a paper or panel 
>proposal related to the thematic guidelines of 
>the conference outlined above, OR alternatively 
>submit a paper or panel proposal for open call 
>in any field of cinema and screen media studies.
>
>We especially encourage pre-constituted panels 
>in order to strengthen the thematic coherence of individual panels.
>
>There are four ways of participating in the London conference:
>
>(1) By individually organizing a pre-constituted 
>panel within an already existing network such as a
>NECS work group (see member section of the NECS 
>website - www.necs-initiative.org) or a research 
>project. The members of the NECS work groups are 
>especially encouraged to put together a pre-constituted panel.
>
>(2) By organizing a panel via the NECS website 
>(www.necs-initiative.org). Those who consider 
>putting together a panel outside already 
>existing networks or work groups are asked to 
>send a call for papers with a title and a short 
>description of the objectives of the proposed 
>panel no later than December 15, 2010 to 
>(conference /at/ necs-initiative.org). The conference 
>committee will post these topics in the public 
>section of the website, collect all responses 
>and keep you informed about potential presenters.
>
>(3) By responding to a call for papers that is proposed online (see item 2).
>
>(4) By proposing an open call paper outside a pre-constituted panel.
>
>Please note that individuals may submit only one 
>paper proposal, either to the open call or as a 
>part of a pre-constituted panel.
>
>Panels may consist of 3 to 4 speakers with a 
>maximum of 20 minutes speaking time each. All 
>presenters are obliged to provide us with a 
>title, an abstract of max 150 words, 3-5 
>keywords, 3-5 key bibliographical references, 
>technical requirements, name of the presenter and institutional affiliation.
>
>Panel organizers are asked to submit panel 
>proposals including a panel title, a short 
>description (up to 100 words) of the panel and 
>information on all the papers as listed above.
>Please submit all proposals before January 31, 
>2011 by sending them via email to 
>(conference /at/ necsinitiative.org). Notification will 
>follow shortly thereafter (around February 28, 2011).
>
>The conference language is English. Again, in 
>case you consider an open call for a panel 
>proposal, please send us your topic by December 
>15, 2010 so that we can post the description of 
>the panel objectives on our website.
>
>Participants will have to cover their own travel 
>and accommodation expenses. Travel information 
>as well as a list of affordable hotels and other 
>accommodations will be posted on the NECS website in Spring of 2011.
>
>Conference attendance is free but valid 
>NECS-membership is required to participate 
>(register with NECS at www.necs-initiative.org. 
>For the terms of NECS membership, please also refer to our website).
>
>Founded in February of 2006, NECS, the European 
>Network for Cinema and Media Studies brings 
>together scholars and researchers in the field 
>of cinema, film and media studies with 
>archivists and film and media professionals. A 
>first NECS workshop was held in Berlin on the 
>occasion of the networkâ¬"s founding in 2006, 
>followed by large international conferences in 
>Vienna 2007, Budapest 2008, Lund 2009 and 
>Istanbul 2010. Over the last three years, NECS 
>has attracted close to 1.000 members worldwide.
>
>The NECS Conference Committee
>Tina Bastajian, Melis Behlil, Aurore Fossard, 
>Paulo Granja, Olof Hedling, András Bálint Kovács,
>Tarja Laine, Terez Vincze, Patrick Vonderau
>
>The NECS Steering Committee
>Malte Hagener, Vinzenz Hediger, Dorota 
>Ostrowska, Alexandra Schneider, Patrick Vonderau
>

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