[ecrea] Switch: National Culture in the Digital Age CFP - 12-14 October 2012

*Switch: National Culture in the Digital Age CFP - 12-14 October 2012 *

How will national cultures survive in the digital age? Will they be 
subsumed in the centripetal pull of global monoculture? Or will 
counter-currents and hybrid combinations thrive in a transmedia world? 
2012 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of RTÉ TV – 
Ireland’s public television network charged with broadcasting the nation 
to itself: ‘a window and mirror to an evolving nation’. This year also 
sees the end of analogue television transmission in Ireland, marking 
another milestone in the nation’s switchover to digital. Beyond 
technological advances, this switch from existing communication models 
to convergent networks may well have a far-reaching impact on the idea 
of the nation as a finite and highly centralized construct.

Against the backdrop of this transition the Huston School of Film & 
Digital Media, NUI Galway will hold a three-day conference to explore 
the impact of digital technologies on national culture in Ireland and 
elsewhere. A central consideration of this conference will be how 
changes in communication and creative practices reposition national 
culture – in its broadest sense - in a digital age.

Since its establishment in 2003 the Huston School of Film & Digital 
Media has been at the forefront of digital media research. In 2006 the 
school introduced an MA in Digital Media and a symposium on digital 
narratives was held in 2007. In 2011 the school funded twelve Digital 
Arts and Humanities PhD students with the Moore Institute.

Papers are invited that discuss any aspect of National Culture in the 
Digital Age, including, but not limited to, the following:

A) Convergence Culture

Papers are invited that consider how old and new media collide, compete 
and work together in this era of media and technological convergence. 
Topics might include digital archives, approaches to the digital 
humanities, online newspapers, video on demand and ebooks.

B) Participation

Some see the web as a utopian realisation of the public sphere. Others 
suggest that it simply mirrors and reinforces real world inequalities. 
Papers are sought which consider this tension in relation to Ireland in 
the digital age. Topics might include: Piracy, Globalisation, Cultural 
Distribution and Access, The Digital Divide, Social Networking, 
Education, Electronic Tribes and Citizen Journalism.

C) Narrative

Do the possibilities offered by digital technologies (e.g. remixes, 
hyperlinks and open world gaming) constitute a shift away from 
traditional narratives to new forms of storytelling?

D) Medium Specificity

In an era where technologies convergence and audiences are migratory 
have the boundaries between unique means of expression (e.g. film, 
theatre and literature) begun to dissolve? Papers are invited that 
consider this development in relation to national cultural production.

The conference will be held on 12-14 October 2012.

Please submit abstracts of no more than 300 words, an academic bio and 
contact details to the organisers Liam Burke and Tony Tracy: 
(irishdigitalculture /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(irishdigitalculture /at/ gmail.com)> by 
4 May 2012.

Papers will be 20 minutes and panels will be thematically linked.

It is the intention of the organisers to publish an edited collection, 
which will include articles from this conference.