Faculty of Philosophy, Vilnius University
together with
Institute of Media Studies, Ruhr-University Bochum
and
Institute of Philosophy, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

invite to participate in
international interdisciplinary scientific conference

CULTURE AND MEDIA: LOCAL AND GLOBAL ASPECTS

Vilnius, Lithuania, May 22-23, 2009

Even though networking of the world by means of various media is obvious, the impact of this process is rather ambiguous. On the one hand, the media seem to be shaping new transnational global culture, where there is “no sense of place” (J. Meyrowitz) and the wide cultural variety seems to be getting unified into global media culture. On the other hand, global media evokes local reactions, interpretations and resistance to the global culture. This ambiguity raises questions about the media itself: what are they, powerful tools of cultural transmission, or means of constructing culture?

The aim of the conference is to contribute to the analysis of interconnections between media and culture both on the global and on the local level.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

* The impact of the media on social life
* Media and the construction of identity (nationality, ethnicity, gender)
* Mediatization of politics, everyday life and the public sphere
* Place of media theorizing in contemporary discourse of humanities
* Media art and its place in contemporary culture

Application and abstract submission. Please fill in the application form (including an abstract of up to 1500 words) and send it to the following addresses before May 1, 2009:

arunas_mickevicius@yahoo.com AND vilius.dranseika@fsf.vu.lt

Publication. Abstracts will be made available on the webpage of the conference. Conference proceedings are planned to be published in a separate volume.

Costs. There is no conference fee. Participants should cover their travel and accomodation costs.

Conference languages. English and Lithuanian