UoH and EFLU to host International Media Research Conference
Focusing on the theme, “Region as Frame: Politics, Practice, Presence”, the 2014 conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research will be held in Hyderabad between July 15th and 19th. The conference is jointly hosted by the Department of Communication, University of Hyderabad, and the School of Communication, English & Foreign Languages University, and will take place at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC).
Over 800 delegates—academics, policymakers, practitioners and activists—are expected to participate in a number of panel discussions and symposia over the four and a half days of the conference. The keynote address, in keeping with the conference theme, will be delivered by Prof Manuel Castells, noted network society theorist and urban sociologist. The CEO of Prasar Bharati, Mr Jawahar Sircar, will also speak at the inaugural on the need for closer ties between communication practitioners and academics.
Other special sessions have been organized around themes such as media education, regional cinema, soft power and media diplomacy, communication for social change, and print media in Asia. A panel discussion on Internet governance will feature scholars and policy analysts and explore issues of freedom, access and security in online environments. A two-part special session on “Mediating Marginalities” will focus on issues of caste, race, gender and ethnicity in media discourse, and includes both activist and academic perspectives. A special feature of this year’s conference is a film festival curated by the Delhi-based Magic Lantern Foundation and South Asian University, around the theme of the conference, titled “Home and the World”. Framing these activities are close to 200 academic sessions run by the special interest sections and working groups representing different areas within the field of media and communication.
IAMCR is one of the oldest and most diverse academic associations in the discipline, and represents a truly international membership with participants coming from more than 100 countries. The association promotes critical scholarship in media and communication, and many of its members have played a strong advocacy role arguing for more access and equity in global, regional and national media systems.
The conference comes to India after a gap of 28 years, having last been held in the country in 1986, in New Delhi.
For more information visit: www.iamcr2014.org and www.iamcr.org