[ecrea] 2nd ACS Institute -- Expanded keynote lineup / Registration now open -- 22-26 July 2013, Klagenfurt, Austria

The Association for Cultural Studies (ACS) is delighted to announce that 
registration is now open for the second *ACS Institute*, which will be 
held from 22-26 July 2013 at the Department of Media and Communication 
Studies, Faculty of Cultural Studies, of Alpen Adria Universitaet 
Klagenfurt in Austria. The theme of the 2013 Institute is "The 
Sights/Sites of Cultural Studies."  The local conference director is 
Prof. Rainer Winter.

The ACS Institute will be a forum for critical discussions of important 
perspectives on cultural studies today.  Our paired theme is intended to 
forge productive and provocative conversations between two related, yet 
distinct, sets of issues.  On the one hand, we will explore the question 
of where cultural studies can (and should) best be practiced in the 21st 
century, and what (if any) meaningful common ground exists between the 
different existing formations of cultural studies.  On the other hand, 
we will engage in a special focus on visual culture, and the question of 
what cultural studies can contribute to a deeper understanding of a 
world dominated by images.

The Institute will provide an intense and rewarding pedagogical 
experience for postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers who 
will have the opportunity to spend the week learning from lectures and 
seminars delivered by six keynote speakers and a faculty staff of 
leading cultural studies scholars from around the world. The following 
keynote speakers have been confirmed: Ien Ang (University of Western 
Sydney, Australia); Gisela Canepa Koch (Pontificia Universidad Católica 
del Perú); John Clarke (Open University, UK); Lothar Mikos (University 
of Film and Television, Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany); Nicholas Mirzoeff 
(New York University, USA); and Constance Penley (University of 
California, Santa Barbara, USA).

Following on the great success of the inaugural ACS Institute in 2011 
(at the University of Ghent (Belgium)), the 2013 edition of the 
Institute will bring together people from a wide range of disciplines to 
explore what it means to conduct cultural studies. We invite and 
encourage participation from researchers who work in disciplines such as 
cultural studies, visual studies, film studies, media studies, cultural 
sociology, cultural anthropology, literary theory and criticism, 
discourse analysis, new literacy studies, educational studies, 
rhetorical criticism etc.

The website for the Institute <http://acssi2013.aau.at> is now online, 
and registration is open.  Early bird registration is EUR180 and ends on 
30 April 2013.  After that, registration goes up to EUR210.   Please 
note that space for the Institute is limited, so register soon in order 
to guarantee yourself a seat at this uniquely rewarding event.

Email inquiries can be addressed to (acssi2013 /at/ aau.at).

The Association of Cultural Studies <http://www.cultstud.org/> is the 
premiere international association of cultural studies and hosts the 
biennial Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference.

Cheers,
Gil Rodman
Chair, Association for Cultural Studies