[Commlist] CFP: Media & Communication: The State of the Art

*MEDIA & COMMUNICATION: THE STATE OF THE ART: CFP*

*27-28 June 2019 - De Montfort University, Leicester*

*Media and Communication, theory and practice: where are we now?*

*What is the state of the art in Media and Communication studies? *

*Keynotes:*
Professor Natalie Fenton (Goldsmiths, University of London)
Professor Matthew Fuller (Goldsmiths, University of London)
Professor Helen Wood (Lancaster University)

We see in the classroom, our students are concerned not with the BBC or 
newspapers, but with Instagram, Pinterest and other forms of networked 
digital media. This raises questions about the ways in which media 
theory is responsive to new technological developments: are traditional 
media theories sufficient to explain changes in technology, society and 
audiences? The central aim of this conference is to explore the extent 
to which existing theories of media and communication are adequate for 
the analysis of our contemporary media landscape.

The conference is underpinned by a concern with what we see in the 
classroom; changes in technology and society; and the role of theory. 
Centrally, we ask do new technologies require new theories? And if so, 
where are new theoretical interventions required? We are keen to reflect 
on the problematization of an increasingly automated environment, where 
algorithms collect data about us, and make choices about what we 
consume. What does this automation mean for notions of autonomy and 
agency; or for the structuring of identity? Do these technologies 
challenge or embed existing power structures, particularly in areas 
around gender, race and class? A further aim of this conference is also 
to reflect on where media studies is, and where it is going: how does 
media studies remain ‘relevant’ and ‘state of the art’ in light of a 
rapidly changing media landscape?

While we are raising questions about how we theorise in media studies, 
we are also asking questions about how we teach. In an era of diverse 
media content and ways of consumption among our students, how do we find 
common ground to engage with them? With changes in the nature of 
advertising, and the proliferation and impact of influencers, we might 
also want to consider the extent to which we are consumers of a 
narrative or active agents in this media environment and whether and how 
this differs between generations.

There is the potential that media theory could get stuck in “receiver 
mode” (Fuller), basing its understanding of media & communication on 
various developments of the Shannon-Weaver model, analysing texts, 
audiences and discourses, and at the same time reducing technology to 
socially or culturally determined affordances. A key contention here is 
that we need to engage more comprehensively with a media environment 
that isn’t limited to the transmission and reception of messages, but 
also pays attention to the formation of psychic and collective environments.

The driving questions of this conference are:

 1. Do we need new theories of media to address social and technological
    change?
 2. What are the key pedagogical issues in teaching contemporary
    students of media and communications?

And papers are invited around (but not limited to) the following topics:

 1. Do we need new theories of media technology?
 2. Do the ways in which young people engage with social media represent
    a fundamental shift in the ways in which society operates?
 3. Do we need to engage in media ‘forms’ rather than media ‘messages’?
 4. If current media environments are currently being mapped,
    algorithmically modelled and fed back to us, what does this tell us
    about our capacity for individual and collective action?
 5. What do technological changes suggest for gender, raced and classed
    power relations?
 6. Are existing theories adequate for teaching our students?
 7. How do we theorise database cultures?
 8. Are new methodologies necessary in the contemporary media environment?
 9. What do these technologies tell us about the ontology of the social?
The Media Communications Research Centre <https://www.dmu.ac.uk/mcrc> at 
De Montfort University invites abstracts that address the current state 
of the discipline of Media & Communication in the light of new 
technologies, changes in ownership and engagement, which address the 
wider question do we need new theories, methodologies and ways of 
conceptualising power?

Abstracts of 250 words and author bio to be submitted to 
(stateoftheartDMU /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(stateoftheartDMU /at/ gmail.com)> by 12 April.

Conference fee: £50.  The conference fee is only charged to cover the 
cost of lunch, teas and coffees, conference dinner and to provide taxis 
home for any woman who would like one after the evening event.

Postgraduate Students: Free

Conference date: 27th - 28th June

Conference Website: https://stateoftheartdmu.wordpress.com

Conference venue: De Montfort University, Leicester, UK

Where to stay: https://stateoftheartdmu.wordpress.com/accommodation-travel/


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