MEDIA PRACTICES AND CULTURAL PRODUCERS

MEDIA PRACTICES AND CULTURAL PRODUCERS
EASA Media Anthropology Network Second Workshop
Barcelona, Spain, November 6-7, 2008

The workshop addresses media practices
and the arenas of cultural
production in the context of
the "new media" landscape.
In broad terms, the workshop will inquire
into the leading theoretical and methodological
perspectives for doing anthropological
research on digital mediated
practices and their implications
for the understanding of people's
interaction with media.
The aim is to explore the circulatory flows of
media practices and in particular,
how digital technology use is changing
media culture, cultures of media circulation
and the very definition of
cultural producer.

Anthropological and ethnographic studies
of media have been largely
focused on analyzing reception
of media products (television, radio,
press and film) and media consumption
related to domestic appropriation of
technologies. There is also a wide body
of research devoted to the study
of the political dimension of
alternative and indigenous media.
However, there has been a separation between media
and Internet studies, and
between the analysis of media reception
and practices of self  production,
such as family photography or home video.
Current digital media practices
urge scholars to examine self production
contents and media flows from a
broader perspective that cross-cuts
divisions between public and private,
media corporative products and people releases,
home production and cultural industry,
political activism and domestic affairs.
The workshop aims to become a locus for
discussing innovative theoretical and
methodological approaches that deal with
such interwoven practices of
media production and consumption.

The workshop will address questions like:
how is self production entering
circulatory matrices of media and power?
How does cultural production
itself become a practice of reception
or consumption? What are the
implications of understanding audiences
as cultural producers? Do new
media practices redefine the role
of cultural producers? Are self
production and content sharing new
cultural forms of media production?
What are the cultural implications
of people's media productive practices?
Rather than an uncritical celebration
of people's empowerment, this
workshop encourages exchange of
research experiences about ways of doing
ethnographic research by following
social networks and the circuits of new
media practices.

Key note speakers

Elizabeth Bird (University of South Florida)
Don Slater (London School of Economics)
Dorle Drackle (University of Bremen)
Nick Couldry (Goldsmiths, University of London)

Coordinators

Elisenda Ardèvol
Open University of Catalonia

Sigurjon Baldur Hafsteinsson
Coordinator of the European
Association of Social Anthropologists Media
Anthropology Network

Organization Committee in Barcelona

Begonya Enguix
Edgar Gomez Cruz
Adolfo Estalella
Studies of Humanities Universitat
Oberta de Catalunya

Gemma San Cornelio
Toni Roig
Studies of Sciences of Information and
Communication Universitat Oberta
de
Catalunya

Call for "research in progress" presentations

The workshop will include presentations
and a poster session. Please if
you are interested in presenting your
research about such topics, send
abstracts (500-800 words)
to mabcnworkshop(at)gmail.com (please replace
(at) with @).

The deadline for submissions
is 17 May 2008. Submissions will be
reviewed by the organizing committee,
and will be selected for a paper presentation
or for the poster session.
Notice of acceptance will be sent by 17
June.

This event is funded by a conference
grant from the MEC and the UOC.
Funds are available to cover travel costs
for researchers whose submissions
are selected for presentation at the workshop.

Registration

Due to the limited number of
places available, please register in order
to take part in the event.

Registration fee: Euro 80 (Euro 60 students)
Coffee breaks and one cold
lunch is included
Registration until 17 of July
For registration and further information please contact
mabcnworkshop(at)gmail.com (please replace (at) with @).

Venue

Drassanes
University of Catalonia (UOC)

http://www.media-anthropology.net/events.htm