ERMeCC will be hosting an international two-day conference on Nov. 19th - Nov. 20th in affiliation with ECREA Diaspora, Migration and the Media Section.
Affiliation: ECREA Diaspora, Migration and the Media Section.
Host: Department of Media & Communication, Erasmus University Rotterdam; Erasmus Research Centre for Media, Communication and Culture (ERMeCC).
Venue: Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Date: Nov 19 - Nov 20, 2015.
Convenors: Isabel Awad, Jiska Engelbert, Jacco van Sterkenburg.
Deadline for abstracts: June 29, 2015.
Abstract submission and enquiries: ecreadmm@eshcc.eur.nl.
Already for years, it is clear that media and communication are vital in shaping processes of belonging and exclusion. The commercial logic of mainstream media often privileges sensation, spectacle, and fear at the expense of addressing structural inquiries into discrimination and racism. And yet, popular campaigns, such as ‘I am an immigrant’ in the UK and others, imply that things may be changing: These campaigns suggest that contemporary media practices enable inclusion rather than exclusion, and provide a space for promoting and claiming cultural belonging.
The aim of this conference is to discuss the value of contemporary media in both challenging and enforcing mechanisms of cultural in- and exclusion in Europe. What theoretical and empirical tools are available for exploring the media’s role in constructing parameters of belonging and exclusion? (How) do media feature as disciplining technologies in the securitization of migration? What kind of cultural difference is privileged and celebrated in commercial and public media? Which media practices escape the ‘security’ frame of migration, and what are key structural enablers of such practices? What constitutes a normative framework to identify ‘good’ media practices? Can (social) media campaigns that suggest cultural belonging really challenge discrimination and exclusion? Or do such initiatives merely delegate the responsibility for anti-discriminatory action and for distinguishing non-risky from risky migrants to (migrant) populations themselves?
We are inviting scholars from Media, Communication and Cultural Studies and researchers from others fields—including History, Political Science, European Studies, Sociology, Gender Studies, Critical Security Studies, and Anthropology—who are (interested in) analysing media practices, to address themes, present investigations, and raise new questions in the light of the conference’s aim. Please provide a 250-word abstract of your research and explain the (direct or indirect) relation with the conference aim. In addition to providing a platform where international and interdisciplinary researchers can meet each other and work together, the conference also actively extends this invitation to media practitioners from across Europe who are exploring media opportunities for fighting racism, discrimination and exclusion.
Confirmed speakers and participants: Philomena Essed (Antioch University), Sunny Bergman (Independent Filmmaker), Gavan Titley (Maynooth University), Gloria Wekker (Utrecht University), Willem Schinkel (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Alex van Stipriaan (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Liesbet van Zoonen (Loughborough University / Erasmus University Rotterdam).
We are looking forward to seeing you in beautiful Rotterdam!