Archive for June 2011
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The
University of Copenhagen invites proposals for the two day conference COVERING
THE ARAB SPRING. The MIDDLE EAST IN THE MEDIA – THE MEDIA IN THE
MIDDLE EAST Copenhagen, 1st & 2nd
September 2011 This conference seeks to
bring together scholars from various disciplines to exchange their
descriptions and analyses of different national perspectives in the
coverage of events in Arab countries throughout the first half of the
year 2011 that have been referred to as the Arab Spring. Media coverage and
international visibility played a big role not only for the sake of
being informed about events in another city, nation or region but it
was a major catalyst and tool for those demonstrating in different Arab
cities. Being visible in national or international media, on facebook
and twitter was one of the major means for protestor’s visibility in
their struggle for both national and international support. Perception and media
coverage of the developments in Arab countries in early 2011 in Europe
and the US have been shaped by national frameworks of Islam perception,
especially during the first days and weeks of the uprisings in Tunisia
and Egypt. As the unrests gained momentum and affected more and more
countries, the frames for presenting and analyzing them in media and
politics were challenged and finally changed considerably. Thus, the main objective of
the conference, and subsequent journal proposal, is to shed light on
the role of TV, press, and social media in political unrests and the
articulation or ignorance of frustrations of Arab populations. Main aims of the conference: 1.      Â
Find a way to structure and analyze the media coverage of the uprisings
in the Arab World 2011 in order to enhance academic research on media
and Islam. 2.      Â
Provide mapping of traditional/new/social media and mediatized space in
the Middle East under the revolutions and also to provide grounds for a
critical reflection with regard to research strategies and
methodologies which are being applied to the analysis of interaction
between media, politics and new cultural practices. 3.       Publish
substantial papers in an special edition of a peer reviewed Journal. This approach raises
questions related to media and opinion formation as well as a number of
methodological questions of general interest for media and area
studies. It connects research interests on media in the Middle East and
on the perception of Islam in Europe. These topics will be
investigated at several panels and a podium discussion in order to
share the academic discussion with a broader audience in Denmark. The following questions will
be addressed: •        What
were the dominant and shifting issues in the representations and
political assessment of current events? o       Â
Islamic extremism, destabilization of the Middle East, rise of the
Muslim brotherhood, Islam and democracy, dictatorships, social media,
youth culture, demographic pressure, Western loyalties and interests. o       How is the ongoing development of the
Arab Spring reflected in choice and change of perspective (within and
outside the region)? o        How did
traditional media use social media as source of information?
(Interaction and dependence of different types of media) •        In what
ways have agents of change been using media in order to support their
cause? o        How did
agents make use of different media simultaneously realizing media’s
different potentials?  •        What was
the role of experts of Islam, terrorism and radicalism, on social media
and the Middle East in media coverage? o        In what
way were researchers, scholars, and journalists included in the
explanation and contextualization of current developments?  •        What
role did the national situations and environments for media have on the
coverage? o        What was
the role of foreign correspondents in covering current events? o        In what
way did restrictions of the freedom of press hinder reporters? o        How has
media changed during the Arab Spring and to which degree have they met
the requests for accountability and transparency? Submission of proposals: •       Â
Abstracts about 300 words should be sent by 30th June 2011 to both: Riem Spielhaus: (rsp /at/ teol.ku.dk)   &  Ehab Galal: (ehab /at/ hum.ku.dk) •       Â
Abstract, following this order: author(s), affiliation, email address,
title of abstract, body of abstract, •        Short CV
(max. 150 words). For contributions to the
special edition a full paper of 6000 words should be submitted no later
than 1st October 2011 and will then be subject to peer reviews and
possible revisions. The selection of the papers will be based on
quality and relevance to the conference themes. Only accepted papers will
get an answer by the date mentioned below. Selected papers will be
published in a special volume in English. Deadlines: o Submission of abstracts:
30th June 2011. o Notification of acceptance
of abstracts: 15th July 2011. o Submission of full papers:
1st October 2011 To send proposals and for
additional information please contact the organizers: Riem
Spielhaus                            Research Fellow at the
Centre for European Islamic Thought Department of Systematic Theology University of
Copenhagen                             Koebmagergade
46Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â DK-1150 Copenhagen
K.          Denmark E-mail: (rsp /at/ teol.ku.dk) Ehab
Galal          Assistant Professor in
Modern Islam and Middle       Eastern Studies Department for
Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies University of Copenhagen
Snorresgade 17-19 DK-2300 Copenhagen S Denmark                                  Â
E-mail: (ehab /at/ hum.ku.dk) Mange
hilsner Ehab Ehab
Galal, PhD Assistant Professor in Modern Islam and Middle East
Studies Dept. of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies University of Copenhagen Snorresgade 17-19 2300 Copenhagen S Denmark TEL
+45-35329602 Mob. phone:+45-31182305 www.tors.ku.dk
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