Beyond Boundaries:
Media, Culture and Identity in Europe
2-3 October 2009, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey
What is Europe according to its others? An
essence, an origin, a center? Or is it
nothingness, a void or chiasm? Where is Europe?
In diasporic or migrant spaces? How is Europe
different from the West? Can an identity be made
European? Could it be Eurocentric or
Euro-chiasmic? Can one leave oneâ??s cultural
frame to take on another? Can one
transnationalize and/or regionalize a national
identity or vice versa? Can the European Union
create a single entity or a grand signifier of
Europe out of multiple differences? What is the
role of communication, media, and culture in
such exchanges, transformations, processes and
practices? Can we account for the similarities,
proximities, and relations or should we focus on
the differences, cleavages, and tensions?
This conference aims to explore the questions
above and how such questions surface in media
and cultural texts, ranging from everyday
practices to media representations. The papers
may deal with various meanings of Europe and its
relation to non-European cultures, and how these
are experienced or altered at the level of
media, culture, and identity. Possible paper topics are:
Eurocentrism and its alternatives
Transnationalism and nationalisms
Global, regional, and local media and culture
Diasporic and migrant culture and identities
Gender equality and cultural diversity
Tactics and strategies of dialogue between cultures
Symbolic representations of Europe in various cultural practices
Theories of European cinema, media and culture
Challenges for European cinema, media, and cultural studies
European communication studies and strategies
The EU policies on media, communication, and culture
Confirmed Keynote Speakers (alphabetically listed):
Prof. Angela McRobbie (University of London,
Goldsmiths College, Media and Communications)
editor of Back to Reality? Social Experience and
Cultural Studies (1997); author of In the
Culture Society: Art, Fashion and Popular Music
(1999); Postmodernism and Popular Culture
(1994); Feminism and Youth Culture: From 'Jackie' to 'Just Seventeen' (1991).
Prof. Kevin Robins (Based in Istanbul and a
visiting fellow at Goldsmiths College,
University of London) author of Times of the
Technoculture: From the Information Society to
the Virtual Life (1999); Into the Image: Culture
and Politics in the Field of Vision (1996);
Spaces of Identity: Global Media, Electronic
Landscapes and Cultural Boundaries (co-author, 1995).
Prof. William Uricchio (Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, Comparative Media Studies),
author of We Europeans?: Media, Representations,
Identities (2009); Reframing Culture: the Case
of the Vitagraph Quality Films (1993,
co-author); The Many Lives of the Batman:
Critical Approaches to a Superhero and His Media (1991, co-editor).
Other speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.
Please send a 300-word abstract with the name
and institutional affiliation of the speaker
(mailing address & email address) to (emcs /at/ bahcesehir.edu.tr)
Deadline for abstracts: June 15, 2009.
Deadline for acceptance information: June 29, 2009.
Deadline for submitting the completed papers: September 20, 2009.
Deadline for papers for conference proceedings: October 18, 2009.
Organizing Committee
Prof. Haluk Gürgen (Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey)
Prof. Dieter Mersch (University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany)
Prof. Winfried Gerling (University of Applied
Sciences Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany)
Assoc. Prof. Süheyla Schroeder (Bahcesehir
University, Istanbul, Turkey; visiting fellow at
University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany)
Assoc. Prof. Savas Arslan (Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Defne Karaosmanoglu (Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey)
Assist. Prof. Christine Hanke (University of
Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany; visiting fellow at
Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey)
The conference is organized by an EU funded
project, â??European Media and Cultural Studies
and Media Awareness,â?? jointly run by
Bahcesehir University (Istanbul, Turkey),
University of Potsdam (Potsdam, Germany) and
University of Applied Sciences Potsdam (Potsdam, Germany).
For further details about the conference please visit:
<http://www.emcs.bahcesehir.edu.tr/conference.html>http://www.emcs.bahcesehir.edu.tr/conference.html
For further details about the project please visit:
<http://www.emcs.bahcesehir.edu.tr/>http://www.emcs.bahcesehir.edu.tr/
Please note: There is no fee for the conference registration.
The language of the conference is English.
If you have further questions about the
conference, please do not hesitate to contact us.
E-Mail: Aysegul Kesirli (conference assistant) (aysegulkesirli /at/ yahoo.com)
Phone: +90 (212) 381 0764
