Istanbul 2011 - Diaspora and Media Working Group Call for Papers

istanbulThe Diaspora and Media working group is calling for papers for a session of the working group meeting in Istanbul 2011, to continue to foster research and debate in this exciting new field.

Media research and theory has given a great deal of attention over the last three decades to increasing flows of media products and services on a global scale, it has only recently shown interest in the flows of people which the media tend to follow.

Migrants, refugees, sojourners, exiles, expatriates and especially diasporas of people who are living outside their actual or imagined homelands form markets for cultural or language-specific programming, both from global and local sources, and generally make use of the media in new and interesting ways. What is more, they often establish new media networks and institutions and engage in the production and distribution of content that reflects their diasporic experiences. This fluid, adaptive relationship of media and people on a global basis has implications for national media and cultures, as we have known them, even for our understanding of the very concept of culture itself.

Thus, as the relationship between diasporas and globalization is enhanced and intensified as a result of the transnationalization of the media, processes of reconfiguration of place, space and culture are set in motion which affect everyday life for diasporic communities.  Electronic media, old and new, increasingly link producers and audiences across national boundaries, thus fostering the deterritorialization/ reterritorialization of diasporic identities, and challenging and transforming established notions of the nation-state; of tradition, heritage and citizenship; and of modes of belonging.

The Working Group aims to bring together interested researchers to discuss these processes and their broader implications, and to present empirical and theoretical work around the following general themes:

  • the interplay of the transnational & the local in diasporic communications - papers that explore the role of cities as transnational hubs of communication and culture are particularly welcome given the overall conference theme;
  • diasporic communications & the making of diasporic identities;
  • transnational diasporic communication strategies and practices;
  • diasporic audiences & cultural politics;
  • diasporic cultural production & consumption;
  • integration, cultural separatism & hybridity;
  • immigration and the media;
  • diasporic media and their place in the community media landscape

Submission information

The deadline for submission of abstracts is February 8, 2011.

Submissions of abstracts and full papers should be done online through the IAMCR’s Open Conference System (OCS). The OCS system will be available to receive abstract submissions from Wednesday December 1, 2010. Abstracts should be no more than 200 words and must include title, name(s), affiliation, institutional address and email address of author(s).

The results of peer reviews of submitted abstracts will be announced by Section and Working Group Heads by March 25, 2011. Full papers must be submitted online via the IAMCR-OCS by June 3, 2011.

For further information please consult the conference website or contact us directly:

Roza Tsagarousianou
tsagarr [at] westminster.ac.uk