[Commlist] CFP: Virtual Space and Interactivity in Streaming Media within Transnational Contexts

*Call for Papers: One-Day Research Symposium: Virtual Space and 
Interactivity in Streaming Media within Transnational Contexts, 7^th 
^July 2023*

*A**venue Campus, University of Southampton, SO17 1BF*

*Deadline for Abstracts:*20th May 2023

*Full name/name of organisation:*

University of Southampton, Faculty of Arts and Humanities

*Contact email:*

(streamingmediasoton2023 /at/ gmail.com)

With the support of the Doctoral College and the Faculty of Arts and 
Humanities at the University of Southampton, we are pleased to invite 
proposals for the ECR-led conference ‘Virtual Space and Interactivity in 
Streaming Media within Transnational Contexts’.

The widespread proliferation and expansion of streaming media networks 
over the early decades of the 21^st ^centuryhaveinarguably had an impact 
on the nature of international film markets, distribution models and 
spectatorship practices. A number of video-on-demand organisations 
including/Netflix/,/BFI Player/and/Criterion/have been commended for 
providing new opportunities for films from niche subgenres and 
under-represented communities to reach wide global audiences. The 
ease-of-access of streaming media circuits have also been said to 
facilitate cultural dialogue and exchange, as they open new channels for 
the circulation of cinematic texts past and present across international 
borders. Yet, this utopian viewpoint is complicated by the number of 
issues that the dominance of streaming media in the current cinematic 
landscape raises in practice. To what extent do services 
like/Netflix/represent a rupture from traditional business models and to 
what extent do they merely perpetuate existing systems? Are streaming 
services simply offering a way for cinematic texts to circulate across 
different cultures while still retaining their rich, culturally specific 
qualities, or are they placing pressure on film production companies to 
conform to pre-existing models in order to allow for easy consumption by 
a wide range of audiences across the globe? What impact has the massive 
expansion of Western streaming services had on more small-scale 
streaming platforms, particularly those targeted at a more niche 
regional audience? How have international streaming services responded 
to the censorship regulations of individual nation-states?

In this conference, we aim to provide a substantial contribution to 
these debates, enriching our collective understanding of streaming 
services and their impact on the transnational film industry. We invite 
submissions for panels and individual papers on any aspect of streaming 
media and transnationality. We would welcome, to give a few examples, 
proposals which apply close textual analysis of specific cinematic texts 
produced for streaming services, explore the landscape of 
Video-on-Demand through an industrial perspective, or use quantitative 
data analysis to examine global market patterns, amongst other approaches.

Suggested topics may include (but are not limited to):

  * The relationship between the regional and the global in the
    production/distribution of cinematic texts through streaming services.
  * Intersectional and transnational storytelling in streamable media
    content.
  * Industrial prospects and marketing strategies of film and television
    genres on streaming media platforms.
  * Global streaming media, cultural exchange, and comparative studies.
  * The connection between the dominance of Western streaming media and
    economic/cultural imperialism.
  * Decolonising the Western-dominated video channels and their
    alternatives.
  * The role of streaming media in archiving international cinematic texts.
  * The politics of producing subtitles/dubs for global media content.
  * The ethics surrounding international algorithmic surveillance.
  * The relationship between streaming media services and the censorship
    regimes of individualnation-states.
  * Distribution of digital screen culture and subculture in global
    audio-visual streaming media.

Keynote speaker: Dr Matthew Freeman (Bath Spa University)

Prospective contributors are invited to submit a 300-word abstract along 
with a brief bio (tostreamingmediasoton2023 /at/ gmail.com).

Following the conference, contributors will be invited to develop and 
submit their papers for publication in the form of an edited book 
collection, pending peer review.

If you would like further information about the conference, feel free to 
send enquiries to Dr James Slaymaker ((j.m.slaymaker /at/ soton.ac.uk)) or Dr 
Yushi Hou ((yh11y15 /at/ southamptonalumni.ac.uk)).

This event is open to professional academics, early career researchers, 
doctoral students, and independent scholars. Details of how to register 
will follow the publication of the conference programme.


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