International conference: New Media and Participation

A conference co-organised by the Faculty of Communications, Bahcesehir University, Galata / Karakoy, Istanbul, and the COST Action IS0906 ‘Transforming Audiences, Transforming Societies’

Bahcesehir University (BAU), Istanbul, Turkey, November 22-23, 2013
Conerence venue: http://goo.gl/nQcFwF

Political participation via media and participation into the decision-making and production processes in media institutions have had very low rates due to the oligopolies in the market and centralization and apathy in politics. The challenge to mass politics by social movements during the late 1960s and 1970s unfortunately hit the wall of neo-liberal and neo-conservative policies of the new right. Although new media was formed within the very same policy process and capitalistic structure, its accessibility and user-friendliness would open up new ways of interaction and participation.

Instead of focusing only on the dark side of the new structuration, namely global political economy and digital divide, the conference “New Media and Participation” also aims at looking at both the dark and the bright sides of audience involvement and citizen engagement with media and politics. More specifically, theoretical and methodological discussions on media and participation, new political subjectivities, networked journalism and public involvement, cross-media production and ‘produsers’, private and public spheres and civic engagement, research on citizenship, civil society and participation constitute the main subjects of the conference.

The conference is proposed by WG2 but is of course open to the entire membership. Following the agenda of the Action, the conference takes into consideration both political and technological innovations to embrace transformations in audiences; it provides a space for cross-disciplinary theoretical and methodological discussions on audiences –particularly, in terms of political theory and media studies, and for cooperation and collaboration among European researchers from different backgrounds and stages. Mores specifically, the conference will address key questions developed in WG2 such as “What are the possibilities and constraints of mediated public participation?”, “What new roles can new media institutions play in facilitating public participation and in building citizenship?”, and “What are the discourses on the audience and how do they contribute to the construction of the identities of all actors and processes involved?”

Keynote Speakers:
Peter Dahlgren, Lund University
Nico Carpentier, Free University of Brussels

Organising Committee:
- Prof. Haluk Gurgen (Dean, Faculty of Communication, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul)
- Asst. Prof. Burce Celik (Vice Dean, Faculty of Communication, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul
- Asst. Prof. Tolga Hepdincler (Faculty of Communication, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul)
- Asst. Prof. Salvatore Scifo (Faculty of Communication, Maltepe University, Istanbul)
- D. Beybin Kejanlioglu (independent researcher)

Local Scientific Committee:

Tül Akbal Süalp - Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey
Sevda Alankuş - Izmir University of Economics, Turkey
Mutlu Binark - Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey
Özden Cankaya - Galatasaray University, Istanbul, Turkey
Altuğ Işığan - İzmir University, Turkey
İrem İnceoğlu - Kadir Has University, Istanbul, Turkey
Defne Karaosmanoğlu - Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey
Eser Köker - Near Eastern University, Northern Cyprus
Oğuzhan Taş - University of Ankara, Turkey
Nurçay Türkoğlu - Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey
Moldiyar Yergebekov - Gaziantep University, Turkey

International Board:

Fausto Colombo - Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy
Myria Georgiou - London School of Economics, UK
François Heinderyckx - Free University of Brussels, Belgium
Stefania Milan - University of Tilburg, the Netherlands
Ralph Negrine - Sheffield University, UK
Hannu Nieminen - University of Helsinki, Finland
Stelios Papathanossopoulos - National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Geoffroy Patriarche - Saint-Louis University, Brussels, Belgium
Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt - University of Tartu, Estonia
Birgit Stark - Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
Igor Vobic - University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Programme and poster in attachment to this webpage

Follow the conference on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NMP13istanbul

MORE INFORMATION ON THE CONFERENCE WEBSITE:
http://nmp.bahcesehir.edu.tr/NMP/New_Media_And_Participation.html