[ecrea] CFP Rotterdam Conference ECREA Diaspora, Migration and the Media

*International two-day conference: The porous walls of fortress Europe:
Contemporary media discourses of cultural belonging *

**

*Affiliation*: ECREA Diaspora, Migration and the Media Section.

*Host*: Department of Media & Communication, Erasmus University
Rotterdam; Erasmus Research Centre for Media, Communication and Culture
(ERMeCC).

*Venue*: Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

*Date*: Nov 19 - Nov 20, 2015.
*Convenors*: Isabel Awad, Jiska Engelbert, Jacco van Sterkenburg.

*Deadline for abstracts: *June 8, 2015.

*Abstract submission and enquiries:*(ecreadmm /at/ eshcc.eur.nl)
<mailto:(ecreadmm /at/ eshcc.eur.nl)>.**

Already for years, it is clear that media and communication are vital in
shaping processes of belonging and exclusion. The commercial logic of
mainstream media often privileges sensation, spectacle, and fear at the
expense of addressing structural inquiries into discrimination and
racism. And yet, popular campaigns, such as ‘I am an immigrant’ in the
UK and others, imply that things may be changing: These campaigns
suggest that contemporary media practices enable inclusion rather than
exclusion, and provide a space for promoting and claiming cultural
belonging.

The aim of this conference is to discuss the value of contemporary media
in both challenging and enforcing mechanisms of cultural in- and
exclusion in Europe. What theoretical and empirical tools are available
for exploring the media’s role in constructing parameters of belonging
and exclusion? (How) do media feature as disciplining technologies in
the securitization of migration? What kind of cultural difference is
privileged and celebrated in commercial and public media? Which media
practices escape the ‘security’ frame of migration, and what are key
structural enablers of such practices? What constitutes a normative
framework to identify ‘good’ media practices? Can (social) media
campaigns that suggest cultural belonging really challenge
discrimination and exclusion? Or do such initiatives merely delegate the
responsibility for anti-discriminatory action and for distinguishing
non-risky from risky migrants to (migrant) populations themselves?

We are inviting scholars from Media, Communication and Cultural Studies
and researchers from others fields—including History, Political Science,
European Studies, Sociology, Gender Studies, Critical Security Studies,
and Anthropology—who are (interested in) analysing media practices, to
address themes, present investigations, and raise new questions in the
light of the conference’s aim. Please provide a 250-word abstract of
your research and explain the (direct or indirect) relation with the
conference aim. In addition to providing a platform where international
and interdisciplinary researchers can meet each other and work together,
the conference also actively extends this invitation to media
practitioners from across Europe who are exploring media opportunities
for fighting racism, discrimination and exclusion.

*Confirmed speakers and participants*: Philomena Essed (Antioch
University), Sunny Bergman (Independent Filmmaker), Gavan Titley
(Maynooth University), Gloria Wekker (Utrecht University), Willem
Schinkel (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Alex van Stipriaan (Erasmus
University Rotterdam), Liesbet van Zoonen (Loughborough University /
Erasmus University Rotterdam).

We are looking forward to seeing you in beautiful Rotterdam!



---------------
ECREA-Mailing list
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier and ECREA.
--
To subscribe, post or unsubscribe, please visit
http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
URL: http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~ncarpent/
--
ECREA - European Communication Research and Education Association
Chauss�de Waterloo 1151, 1180 Uccle, Belgium
Email: (info /at/ ecrea.eu)
URL: http://www.ecrea.eu
---------------