[ecrea] Call for papers M/C Journal - theme of Ecology

THEME 'ECOLOGY' for M/C Journal of Media and Culture

"Contemporary interest in the environment is based on highly mediated 
representation of its most appealing aspects and today's symbolism is 
drawn from popular culture" (Bagust).

Ecology is not only a field of study, but a way of thinking, a 
conceptual mode that emphasises connectivity and conviviality. Donna 
Haraway has observed that "the world is a knot in motion", and never has 
this been clearer than the present moment - a time when impending 
ecological crisis has forced the uncomfortable awareness of our 
dependence on an unstable environment and climate, possibly undermining 
the viability of human life. This uncertain ecological future has 
prompted the emergence of an array of inter-disciplines, new political, 
intellectual and cultural alignments that seek an understanding of the 
whole "organism-and-its-environment" (Rose & Robin). Ecology, at heart, 
is the study of life, and the interactions that sustain and enrich it.

This issue of M/C Journal calls for interdisciplinary and accessible 
discussions on the topic of 'ecology' from a natural sciences or 
humanities frame. Papers could engage with the emerging 
inter-disciplines of the 'ecological humanities', 'ecocinema' or 
'ecomedia'. Alternatively, papers may discuss Neil Postman's notion of 
'media ecology'. Adopting a scientific framework, this term denotes the 
study of media as dynamic environments whereby, "new communications 
technologies may not wipe out earlier ones" as John Naugton argues, but 
alter the ecosystem so the old ones that do survive are those that are 
able to adapt. As a result, changes in the communications environment 
bring about cultural change.

We also welcome discussions on the question of what ecology means for 
the disciplines of media and cultural studies; papers that seek to 
perform the inter-connected "tasks of [re]situating humans in ecological 
terms and non-humans in ethical terms" (Plumwood) and attempt to 
highlight, as Val Plumwood does in her landmark Environmental Culture: 
The Ecological Crisis of Reason, how "anthropocentric perspectives and 
culture ... make us insensitive to our ecological place in the world".

Details

 *   Article deadline: 27 Apr. 2012
 *   Release date: 27 June 2012
 *   Editors: Catherine Simpson and Kate Wright

Please submit articles through this website. Send any enquiries to 
(ecology /at/ journal.media-culture.org.au) 
<mailto:(ecology /at/ journal.media-culture.org.au)>

--
Katherine Wright
Media, Music and Cultural Studies
Macquarie University, Sydney
NSW, 2109
Australia