Call for Papers
Media and the Arab Spring – The Road Ahead
Media and the Arab Spring – The Road Ahead
Ifrane, Morocco
on 11 – 12 June 2014
Hosted by the Communication Studies Program of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane
Hosted by the Communication Studies Program of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane
The wave of protests, revolts,
rebellions, and developments commonly referred to as the ‘Arab Spring’ raises
serious questions about the relationship between information and communication
technologies (ICTs), popular uprisings, and the political economies of
media. In a region where traditional
media have been under strict government control, the Internet and social
networks provide a space for youth to articulate their political views and organize
their political actions. However, research demonstrates that the dynamics of
media and political action go beyond the role that social media played in the
unfolding of the events. Research also shows that Arab states are attempting to
deter the power of the internet and are engaging in various efforts to contain
its influence through regulation and surveillance.
This conference seeks to
provide a venue to research related to the intersections of technology, political
mobilization, civil society, media policy, and culture. Submissions from all theoretical
and methodological perspectives are welcome. We invite scholars working in the
fields of media studies, communication studies, and cultural studies to send an
abstract of the proposed paper to be presented and/or the planned panel. We
seek contributions that analyze the current state of affairs as well as
implications for the future.
Possible topics include, but are not
limited to, the following:
1.
Media Coverage of the Arab Spring
2.
Theorizing Media and Social Change
3.
Arab Spring, Gender, and Media
4.
Discourses about Women’s Rights and
Gender Equality in Arab Media
5.
Digital Activism and Citizen
Journalism
6.
Social Media and Political
Participation
7.
The intersections between Online
Media, Public Sphere, and Democracy
8.
Mediations and Interventions of the Arab
Diaspora in the West
9.
Emerging Forms of Community and
Alternative Media
10. State
and Global Surveillance, Media Freedom, and Political Power
11. Journalistic
Professionalism and Questions of Ethics
12. Audience
Reception in Changing Media Environments
13. Implications
on Media Policy and Regulation
The two-day conference will take place from June 11-12, 2014 at Al Akhawayn
University in Ifrane, Morocco. Al Akhawayn University is an independent,
public, not-for-profit, coeducational Moroccan university committed to
educating future citizen-leaders of Morocco and the world through a
globally-oriented, English-language, liberal-arts curriculum based on the
American model.
Submissions
You may submit single contributions or panel session proposals. For
single contributions, please submit abstracts of approximately 250 words.
Presentations will be 15 minutes long. For panel sessions, you may also submit
proposals for panel sessions (90 minutes long). Submissions should contain both
a panel description of 500 words and abstracts of approximately 250 words for
each contribution.
The submission must include the title, the
presenter’s name, affiliation, email and postal address, as well as a short
biography.
Please submit your abstracts and proposals as Word files or PDF
files to mas.conference2014@gmail.com by 27 January 2014. Review results will be communicated by 17
February 2014.
Registration Fee
Registration and payment for the conference on site. Registration
fee including meals for the 2 days of conference: Faculty US$150; Students US$75.
Contact information
Communication
Studies Program
School
of Humanities and Social Sciences
Al
Akhawayn University in Ifrane
Conference
Organizing Committee
Dr.
Kenza Oumlil, Dr. Bouziane Zaid
