The Arab Media Centre is pleased to inform you that its next conference will take place on 30-31 March, 2009 at the University of Westminster in London.
CALL FOR PAPERS
African and Arab Media Audiences:
Shared Agendas for Research
Conference jointly organised by the Africa Media Series, Arab Media Centre and Audiences Group, Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), University of Westminster
Dates: 30-31 March, 2009
Venue: University of Westminster, New Cavendish Campus,
115 New Cavendish Street, London W1
THE TOPIC
Media research to date has largely neglected the fast growing and diverse media audiences in African and Arab countries. These countries share painful histories of colonization and broadly comparable experiences of post-independence media development. Today they share the challenge of adjusting to global trade and investment regimes that affect local media production and distribution systems but are crafted elsewhere. Yet when we speak of media reception in the Global South, we tend to think in terms of isolated geographies: of ‘Latin America’, ‘Africa’, or the ‘Middle East’. By contextualizing primarily in terms of place, we overlook memories, issues and features that media users in different regions have in common. We foster artificial boundaries and separate research agendas. As a result, opportunities for productive joint debates about Arab and African media consumption are missed.
Blogs, chatrooms, social networking sites, and the use of SMS indicate that African and Arab audiences, like audiences generally, are highly active in sending and receiving messages in innovative ways. This conference, organised by the University of Westminster’s Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), will explore this activity, taking in the old, the new, and processes of change and transformation. It draws on the combined resources of CAMRI’s African Media Series, Arab Media Centre and Audiences Group. It focuses on media use and media users in two overlapping regions, where the culture and politics of former colonial powers have combined with internal influences to shape the audience experience in particular ways.
CONFERENCE PAPERS
Conference papers are invited on audiences in African and/or Arab countries and their reception and appropriation of all types of media. Papers are welcomed with or without comparative dimensions. They may adopt interdisciplinary approaches or be rooted predominantly in one field or discipline. Audience studies may segment the audience in accordance with conventional demographic categories, or they may offer alternative perspectives on identity. Interactivity is a potential theme, as is access to/use of digital media generally, including the Internet and mobile phones. Methodological questions will be high on the conference agenda.
PROGRAMME AND REGISTRATION
The conference will begin during the afternoon of Monday, March 30th and continue to the early evening of Tuesday, March 31st. Plenary sessions will be held for one keynote speaker on each day. The remaining sessions will consist of concurrent panels, except for one or more plenary sessions dealing primarily with theoretical and/or methodological issues. The fee for registration will be £50, with a concessionary rate of £25 for students. Online registration will open in October 2008.
DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS
The deadline for abstracts is Monday, December 15th 2008. Successful applicants will be notified by Tuesday, January 6th, 2009. Abstracts should be between 150-350 words. They must include the presenter’s name, affiliation, email and postal address, together with the title of the paper and a brief biographical note on the presenter. Two copies of the abstract should be sent, one to Dr Tarik Sabry (T.Sabry02@westminster.ac.uk
FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR SELECTED PARTICIPANTS
It is recognised that research institutions in a few African and Arab countries have very limited funding for their staff to attend conferences overseas. In order to encourage participation by scholars who might be affected by financial constraints and whose research fits the conference theme, the conference organisers hope to be able to offer fee waivers and travel subsidies in selected cases. Anyone interested in presenting a paper is advised to submit their proposal pending further information about their eligibility for a possible grant.
The Arab Media Centre
University of Westminster
Harrow Campus – Watford Road
Harrow HA1 3 TP, Middlesex, United Kingdom
www.westminster.ac.uk/arabmedia
amc-info@westminster.ac.uk