[ecrea] CFP: Media and Migration in the Euro-Mediterranean Region

Université Paris8, CEMTI, ANR, INA

Media and Migration in the Euro-Mediterranean Region



International Conference, Thursday-Friday, 17-18 November 2011, 10:00 am-7:00 pm



Call for Papers



Bridging Europe and the Maghreb, the Mediterranean basin stands at the junction of North and South and constitutes a prime site in which to study, as this conference proposes to do, key issuesraised by the interaction between the media and international migration.

Considerable research has been done on the representation of immigrant minorities in European media, highlighting the ways in which these minorities are under- and/or mis-represented.

Since the early 1990s, other studies have examined patterns of media reception and consumption by minority ethnic viewers in Western Europe, focusing in particular on how these relate to cultural diversity and hybridity.

While these studies are important, they have tended to neglect other important questions to which this conference intends to give due weight.

While a growing body of research has been conducted on the role of the media in countries of immigration, comparatively little consideration has been given to the role of the media in countries in which migrants have their origins.

Accordingly, one of our objectives is to explore the ways in which, at local, national and international levels, the media and new electronic media on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, may tend in conjunction with other factors to stimulate or inhibit migratory flows.

Another objective is to study the ways in which, through the means of communication at their disposal, state actors in countries of emigration seek to address expatriates for economic reasons — such as the foreign currency flows generated by emigrants — or as part of a struggle for political influence.

In addition to examining state actors, the conference aims to shed light on the strategies adopted by media organizations in the South towards diasporic audiences in Europe and the importance attached to such audiences.

In considering the complex interplay between media and migration on both sides of the Mediterranean, the conference aims to combine studies of the role played by the media and the new electronic media in helping to shape migratory flows from the South with studies of the role of the media in relation to the settlement of immigrant minorities on the northern shore of the Mediterranean.

Public policy in Europe aimed at directing specialist media initiatives towards migratory groups needs to be considered as part of this analysis. Older initiatives of this nature need to be re-examined so as to better understand those that are now current. What are the objectives of “diversity” policies adopted in the media sphere of various European countries since the attacks of 9/11? How far and in what ways are they designed to recognize cultural differences and/or integrate immigrant minorities?

Consideration must also be given to the significance of media created byand/or for ethnic minorities in countries of immigrant settlement. Denounced by some as agents of ethnic factionalism and praised by others for their celebration of “diversity”, minority ethnic media are seldom examined in terms of their capacity to serve minority populations as everyday bridges betweentheir countries of origin and places of settlement. How far do these media diverge from the dominant discourses on immigration offered by mainstream media?

Finally, media reception studies among ethnic minorities in Europe are also important. How do minority populations navigate between media based in their countries of settlement and those emanating from their countries of origin?What kinds of cultural practices emerge from this?



To propose a paper

The conference languages will be English and French.

A total of approximately thirty papers will be presented during the conference.
All proposals should be sent by e-mail to: (mediamigraterra /at/ gmail.com)<mailto:(mediamigraterra /at/ gmail.com)>. Each proposal must include the following elements :
- On the first page: name(s) of author(s), postal address, telephone number, e-mail address, professional status, research group, department, professional affiliation, and the title of the proposed paper.
- On the second page: the title of the proposed paper and an Abstract of up to 500 words summarizing the research problematic, methodology and fieldwork location(s).
All proposals will be subject to double blind peer review by members of the scientific committee.

Calendar

- Deadline for proposals: 7 July 2011.
- Notification of decisions to authors: 16 August 2011.

Scientific Committee

- Abdel Benchenna, maître de conférences, Université Paris XIII, research fellow in the LabSic-Maison des Sciences del’Homme, Paris Nord
- Riadh Ferjani, maître de conférences, Université de la Manouba, Tunis
- Alec G. Hargreaves, professor and Director of the Winthrop-King Institute for Contemporary French and Francophone Studies, Florida State University, Tallahassee
- Olfa Lamloum, research fellow at the Institut français du Proche-Orient (Ifpo), Beirut

- Tristan Mattelart, professor, UFR Culture et communication, Université Paris VIII, research fellow in the Cemti

- Laura Navarro, research fellow, Erasme, Université Paris VIII
- Tarik Sabry, senior lecturer, Communication and Media Research Institute (Camri), University of Westminster, London
- Eugénie Saitta, maître de conférences, Université Rennes I, research fellow, Crape
- Naomi Sakr, professor, Communication and Media Research Institute (Camri), University of Westminster, London

During the conference, there will be opportunities to view program extracts from the archives of the Institut national de l’audiovisuel (INA)

The conference arises from the Médiamigraterra research project, directed by Tristan Mattelart, financed since December 2008 by the Agence nationale française de la recherche (ANR), and based at the Centre de recherche sur les médias, les technologies et l’internationalisation (Cemti), Université Paris VIII. The conference has the active participation of the Institut national de l’audiovisuel and the Inathèque, France’s official repository of radio and television archives.


For further information, e-mail: (mediamigraterra /at/ gmail.com)<mailto:(mediamigraterra /at/ gmail.com)>



Conference venue: Institut national de l’audiovisuel (INA), Centre Pierre-Sabbagh, 83-85 rue de Patay, 75013 Paris.


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