Twenty Years at the Margins: The Herman-Chomsky Propaganda Model and Critical Media and Communication Studies, 1988-2008
December 19, 2008
Northumbria University
Politics and History Division,
School of Arts and Social Sciences

2008 marks the twentieth anniversary of the publication of Manufacturing Consent by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky (Pantheon, 1988). In this book, updated and republished in 2002 (Pantheon), Herman and Chomsky advanced a Propaganda Model to explain media behaviour in the United States. This study forms part of a proud tradition of critical media and communication studies, which in Britain can be traced back to the founding of the Media, Culture and Society journal in 1979. This one-day conference aims to celebrate the media analyses of Herman and Chomsky, to critically assess the application and ongoing relevance of the Propaganda Model in the 21st century, and to take stock of the achievements of critical media and communication studies over the past few decades. Keynote speakers will include James Curran, Alison Edgley, David Miller, Peter Wilkin and (hopefully) participation in some form by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky.

Please submit a detailed paper proposal/abstract (500 words) to Dr Andy Mullen no later than Friday 12 September 2008 or to register your interest in attending.

Media, Security & Religion
Novermber 6-7, 2008
MPG Annual Conference CFP
Media and Politics Group Annual Conference University of East Anglia

The annual conference of the Political Studies Association's Media and Politics Specialist Group invites submissions for this conference on the relationship between security, religion and representations of this within contemporary media. Contemporary discourse tends to characterise security concerns in the language of religion. According to politicians, media and an increasing number of academics, the resurgence of religion as a major actor in domestic and international politics, especially in its fundamentalist expressions in Islam and Christianity, has profound security implications as most obviously espoused in domestic and foreign policy making. At a time when political ideological divisions are less prominent, it can be suggested that religion now forms the 'other' in political discourse. In this way, political conflict is not between, for example, the ideas of Marx and Adam Smith, but between followers of Darwin, Mohammed and Jesus, and for some this might suggest a return to a kind of pre-Enlightenment thinking. The role of religious actors as protagonists and/or mediators in the war on terror has been variously developed, sustained and challenged by media coverage. The conference is themed around this discourse, which suggests a linkage of security with religion, and is also concerned to explore the role of the modern media in the re-presentation and construction in this process.

Please send abstracts of around 250 words to either Heather Savigny h.savigny@uea.ac.uk or Lee Marsden l.marsden@uea.ac.uk

Media, War and Conflict-Resolution
September 17, 18 & 19, 2008
International Conference
BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY, OHIO

Our presenters will discuss subjects from interdisciplinary perspectives to explore and contest themes about the media’s role in the current geopolitical context. Accomplished faculty members, graduate students and professionals from the media will explore the relationship among media, war, and conflict resolution historically and as they relate to current events nationally and internationally. The goal of this conference is to question the paradigms and practices associated with the study of media as it relates to wars, conflicts and the processes involved in ending or resolving wars and other conflicts.

For more information http://scs.bgsu.edu/mwcrConf/index.php

Reconsidering Conflict, Terror and Resolution
September 11th & 12th, 2008
University of Strathclyde Glasgow

The Strathclyde Conflict and Resolution (SCAR) group is hosting an interdisciplinary conference which will analyse the themes of conflict, terror and resolution at various levels: past-present; private-public; local-global. In doing so it aims to reach across disciplinary barriers by bringing together experts from the whole of the social sciences spectrum, including (but not limited to) politics, history, law, sociology and psychology. Such a holistic analysis of conflict and terror will provoke, stimulate and question contemporary thought, while advocating the need for joint efforts to address common challenges.

For more details please visit www.strath.ac.uk/scar or contact us at
scar-group@strath.ac.uk

Understanding Conflicts-Cross-Cultural Perspectives
19 - 23 August, 2008
Aarhus, Denmark

An international, interdisciplinary research conference on the diversity of conceptions and cultural images of conflicts www.understandingconflicts.net This event is the first of a series of large international interdisciplinary meetings that will bring together researchers from different cultural background working on the analysis and transformation of conflicts due to cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity. Our invited speakers are international lead figures in conflict research, sociology, political science, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, sociology, the history of ideas, theology, and religious studies. Conflicts are part of human life--depending on the competences of all participants, they may lead into harmful disturbance or be the source of authentic social innovation.  Recently the public focus has been on conflicts due to cultural (including ethnic and religious) diversity.  Often overlooked, however, is the fact that different cultures not only generate conflicts but also impose on agents different 'conflict cultures --preferences for certain types of conflict dynamics (war, settlements, reconciliation) and predispositions for certain forms of epistemic approach (rational analysis, psychological hermeneutics, deep orientation).  Attention to differences in cultural images of conflicts--the agentive understanding of sources, dynamics, and possible transformations of conflicts--is of central significance for conflict transformation in societies with cultural diversity.

For more details please visit: www.understandingconflicts.net or contact Johanna Seibt at filseibt@hum.au.dk

Peace Journalism Commission
July 15-19, 2008
Leuven, Belgium

The Peace Journalism Commission will be inaugurated at the IPRA 2008 conference, following the successful launch of the Peace Journalism Working Group at Calgary, Canada, 2006 under the leadership of Dr Lea Mandelzis and Prof Mohammed Dajani. The Commission aims at promoting research which illuminates the choices available to editors and reporters – about what stories to report, and how to report them – and advocates for those choices to be made in ways that create opportunities for society at large to consider and to value non-violent responses to conflict. Participation in the Commission is sought, and granted to media researchers, scholars, students, and practitioners who regardless of national, ethnic, religious, and other affiliations, are actively engaged in the performance, research, teaching and policy of Peace Journalism and closely related areas.

For more details please visit IPRA website: www.ipra2008.org or contact Jake Lynch at jake.lynch@arts.usyd.edu.au

6th International Conference on COMMUNICATION AND MASS MEDIA
19 to 22 May 2008
ATHENS,GREECE, Greece

Website: http://www.atiner.gr/docs/2008AAACALL_MEDIA.htm
Contact name: Dr. Yorgo Pasadeos

The aim of the conference is to bring together scholars and students of Communications, Mass Media and other related disciplines. You may participate as panel organizer, presenter of one paper, chair a session or observer. Past conferences Organized by: The Mass Media & Communication Research Unit of the Athens Institute for Education and Research (AT.IN.E.R.)

Representing Islam. Comparative Perspectives

International Conference, University of Manchester, 5-6 September 2008

Representations of 'Islam' have a profound influence on political cultures and national identities, as well as on attitudes to immigration, security and multiculturalism. The complexity of the notion of 'Islam' and the heterogeneous responses that it elicits are such that there is no uniform approach to its representation and social construction. The conference addresses this complexity by treating the comparative dimension of recent
representations of Islam, encompassing different nations, political institutions, media institutions, and cultures. The conference will be primarily concerned with the press, television, radio, film and the internet, but may include other channels of communication, such as translations, speeches or pamphlets, political discourse, and the visual arts.

The comparative emphasis will be achieved at several levels: that of the single paper, that of the panel, and that of the conference as a whole. Papers and panels are therefore invited treating single nations or media outlets, or adopting a comparative perspective.

Conference website (containing the form for sending in abstracts):

http://www.llc.manchester.ac.uk/research/centres/cres/events/representing_islam/

Information Operations: Influence - What Works and Why

March 5-6th , 2008
Cranfield University, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom,
Shrivenham, Swindon, SN6 8LA

Planned activity undertaken to affect the perceptions and behaviours of a chosen target audience has always been a part of what the military do. It is still very much a pervasive part of military operations today and its role is growing. This is because Politicians and their Military Commanders increasingly recognise that in today's complex social climate the use of physical domination as an element of national power is more problematic than ever before. Consequently, planned Information Operations in the context of a cross Government Information Strategy is more and more about encouraging target audiences to change their behaviour when they have a choice.

Information available
http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/dcmt/symposia/informationoperations08.jsp

Politics and Propaganda
29th ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY STUDIES ASSOCIATION

April 3-5, 2008

Florida International University, Miami, Florida
Keynote Speaker: Sally Mitchell,
Emerita Professor of English and Women.s Studies, Temple University,
"Political Women: The First Generation"

Information available http://www.english.uwosh.edu/roth/ncsa/2008conferencehome.html

The Cultural Politics of 'Terror' in the Middle East

One-day interdisciplinary conference on the ways 'terror' in the Middle East is constructed, lived and mediated

Friday 30 November 2007, 9:00-5:00pm, Room 1.70 (first floor), Franklin-Wilkins Building, King's College Waterloo Campus, 150 Stamford Street, Waterloo, London SE1 9NH

Information available http://www.rhul.ac.uk/research/harc/events/Events.html

MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE 'WAR ON TERROR'
Agenda setting, public opinion and foreign policy

Date:  24th November 2007
Venue: King's College, The Strand Campus, University of London, UK
WWW.CAMMRO.COM

This conference gathers academics, journalists, researcher, policy makers and civil society organisations to discuss the coverage of the American led 'War on Terror' by various news media organisations and its implications on public opinion as well as formation of foreign policy. After September the 11th 2001 attacks the American government launched a new 'war' ostensibly to eradicate extremism and 'terrorism' amongst groups of Muslim faith around the world. A war that has been seen by some as a
war on Islam and Muslims which replaces the long standing Cold War with the former USSR. This 'war' has been creating lots of controversies from around the world. The western as well Arab media seem to be standing at opposite directions. The distorted media image of the Arab people is becoming ingrained in Western culture and continues to inhibit a resolution of the foreign policy of such countries as the USA, UK and France. In order to show the extent of the harm caused by distorted images, examples from news coverage will be offered. Pertinent to the image problem are illustrations of how misperceptions from the past have helped and continue to help influence policymakers' actions and decisions. Fair portrayals and accurate information are essential to foreign policy decisions; false images and incorrect information may corrupt the policymaking process.

Conference themes:

• Western and Arab media coverage of the 'War on Terror'
• How independent is Western media from the agendas of their respective
  governments
• To what extent is the coverage of CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera and others
  affected by the foreign policy agenda of their governments?
• Arab VS Western media: are we watching the same coverage?
• Who sets the agenda: The media or politicians?
• The impact of such coverage on public opinion, namely the
  increase of islamophobia around the world?
• Does the coverage of terrorism results in the increase of the
  phenomenon itself?
• To what extend does the media coverage gives credibility to the
  clash of civilisations thesis?
• Use of propaganda by states and organizations, and the impact of
  media coverage on public opinion

Politics and Propaganda

29th ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY STUDIES ASSOCIATION
3 to 4th April 2008, Florida International University, Miami, Florida

Keynote Speaker: Sally Mitchell, Emerita Professor of English and Women.s Studies, Temple University, "Political Women: The First Generation"

Including papers and panels concerning any aspect of politics during the long nineteenth century, including, but not limited to political figures, movements, (Chartism, socialism, communism, anarchism, trades unions, reform), parties, campaigns, immigration, imperialism, suffrage, gender politics, war, slavery, nationalism, pacifism, uprisings, and revolutions. Equally welcome are paper and panel proposals concerning propaganda, including but not limited to advertising, periodicals, promotion (including self-promotion), news, campaign materials, songs, slogans,

Registration and accommodation information available November 1, 2008: http://www.english.uwosh.edu/roth/ncsa/index.html

Ireland: At War and Peace

The University of Sunderland, In Association with the North East Irish Culture Network Fifth Annual Irish Studies Conference, 9-11 November 2007

The conference organisers hope to represent a wide range of approaches to Irish culture from academics and non--academics alike. Performances, roundtables, collaborative projects, and other non--traditional presentations are encouraged in addition to conference papers. We particularly welcome proposals for panels. As with previous year's conference, we welcome submissions for panels and papers under the thematic headings of: Ireland at War and Peace in the following areas: Literature, Performing Arts, History, Politics, Folklore and Mythology, Ireland in Theory, Gender and Ireland Anthropology, Sociology, Geography, Tourism, Art and Art History, Music, Dance, Media and Film Studies, Cultural Studies, and Studies of the Diaspora. North American and other international scholars, practitioners in the arts, and postgraduate students are all encouraged to submit proposals to the conference organisers.

As part of its commitment to furthering research and critical inquiry in the field of Irish Studies, NEICN organises regular conferences, seminars and readings. In the past four years we have had plenary papers delivered by Terry Eagleton, Robert Welch, Luke Gibbons, Ailbhe Smith, Kevin Barry, Siobhan Kilfeather, Shaun Richards, Lance Pettitt, Stephen Regan, Lord David Puttnam, Andrew Carpenter, John Nash and Willy Maley, with readings from Ciaran Carson Medbh McGuckian, Bernard O'Donoghue and Eilis Ni Dhuibhne. The conference will take place at St Peter's Campus. Please see our websites @ www.sunderland.ac.uk and www.neicn.com for further details.

'Constructions of Conflict: Transmitting Memories of the Past in European Historiography, Literature and Media'

MEICAM (Modern European Ideologies, Conflict and Memory) research group, Swansea University, 10-12 September 2007.

Hosting over fifty papers and bringing together contributors from seventeen countries, this interdisciplinary conference examines the many ways in which the memories of social, political and military conflicts have been transmitted within 20th and 21st-century European culture, and are shaped by present-day political, economic and social parameters. As part of the conference, a new journal, Journal of War and Culture Studies, published by Intellect Books, will be launched. For further information and registration details, see the conference website: www.swan.ac.uk/meicam

Registration deadline: 31 July 2007

Communication and Conflict: Propaganda, Spin and Lobbying

Strathclyde University, Glasgow, 7-9 September, 2007

Propaganda, spin and lobbying are increasingly the topic of public and media debate. From the attempt to construct a 'threat' from Weapons of Mass Destruction, through the razzmatazz of political campaigning to the regular scandals about improper corporate influence on policy the relationship between communication, conflict and power is back on the academic research agenda.

The conference will be an international gathering of leading experts and researchers in the area of propaganda, spin, lobbying, media management and investigative journalism. It will also feature hand on sessions on how to investigate propaganda and lobbying activities, led by Spinwatch.

Speakers include

For further information email: David Miller davidmiller@strath.ac.uk. This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

8th Annual Conference of the European Sociological Association Conflict, Citizenship and Civil Society

Glasgow, 3rd - 6th September, 2007

Europe is experiencing extensive transformations that disturb traditional political institutions and explode periodically into deep conflict. Political interpretation of these events is contested and reasons 'traditional' and 'new' vie for explanatory efficacy. Conflicts associated with migration, generation, gender, precarious labour, urban tension and cultural and religious intolerance are spliced by inequality, discrimination, poverty and exclusion thus complicating notions of belonging and citizenship. As politics is focused on conflict and its resolution debates about civil society have come to the forefront and classic concepts born during the Scottish Enlightenment have been revitalized. The 8th European Sociological Association Conference will bring together scholars from across the globe to explore contemporary citizenship in Europe and debate the state of democracy and the fate of civil, political and social rights that have been the political lifeblood of European societies. The Conference will host papers in over 30 Research Networks and Research Streams covering the full range of substantive areas within the sociological canon.

Keynote speakers include Margaret Archer, Donatella Della Porta and Nicos Mouzelis.

The deadline for submission of abstracts is the 28th of February and the submission form and guidelines can be found here

As part of the conference the ESA will be holding a PhD Workshop the weekend prior to (and including) the conference. This is free for 30 selected PhD students. Applications and information can be found here

For more information visit www.esa8thconference.com

Peacemaking in the World of Film: From Conflict to Reconciliation

Fourth international ecumenical film conference
University of Edinburgh, 19th-22nd July 2007
Downloadable flyer

This working conference will draw on presentations, papers, workshops, screenings and informal discussions with filmmakers and scholars to discuss the depiction and promotion of peace in and through cinema. Organized by: New College, University of Edinburgh
Deadline for abstracts/proposals: 14 May 2007

For more information visit http://www.div.ed.ac.uk/research/film07/

CIDRA, Hallsworth & IPOW 'War and our World' International Conference

The University of Manchester, 19th-21st July 2007
Downloadable flyer

The University of Manchester is committed to promoting informed debate on the major issues of our time. One of the most pressing issues concerns the changing nature and consequences of war. Today's news media are full of stories of war, the sources of armed conflict and its impact on individuals and societies. An international conference, War and our World, will provide the opportunity to address this recurrent feature of human society.

The conference will provide an opportunity to reflect on the changing nature, causes and consequences of conflict in the modern era. The organisers wish to encourage informed debate on the role and responsibilities of the public intellectual in understanding and communicating issues around armed conflict and intervention. A three-day major international conference on the theme of war/conflict is in the planning stages. The conference will be devoted to the conceptualisation, conduct and aftermaths of war in the modern world.

Our programme allows for two platform debates and a number of parallel sessions, together with other events. Platform debates will provide a forum for leading international figures to discuss issues of modern war: how it has been, is presently, and is likely to be conducted; by whom; and for what purposes? We have termed this 'Being at war'. The second platform debate is organised around the theme of 'Aftermaths of war', and will encourage discussion of peacemaking and reconciliation, retribution, reconstruction and commemorative activity. In each case the conference organisers are keen to promote consideration of the role and responsibilities of the public intellectual in understanding and communicating issues around armed conflict. The parallel panel sessions will be structured around issues of 'new wars/old wars' and security in the modern world, including technical aspects of security; explaining conflict in the modern world; humanitarian crises and crises of humanitarianism, including population displacements; and performing, narrating and commemorating war. Other events include a series of performances and installations.

Funded by: University of Manchester Hallsworth Fund, CIDRA, In Place of War via the AHRC.

For more information visit http://www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/cidra/events/conferences/warandourworld/

Media and Propaganda Conference
20 YEARS OF PROPAGANDA? Critical Discussions & Evidence on the Ongoing Relevance of the Herman & Chomsky Propaganda Model

University of Windsor Communication Studies Program (Windsor, Canada)
May 15-17

The year 2008 will mark the 20th Anniversary of the publishing of the book Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of Mass Communication (Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky, Pantheon, 1988). In this book the authors put forth a model, the Propaganda Model (PM), as a way of understanding the way our mass media system interrelates with our economy, political system, and society in general. Since putting forth their propaganda model there have been both praise and criticism of this model, and there have also been many changes and technological advances in our entire communication and media landscape. This May 2007 conference and Spring 2008 publication will, though vigorous debate/discussion and fresh insight, make great strides in critically analyzing (revising/updating) the ongoing relevance of the Herman/Chomsky Propaganda Model as a useful model for understanding 21st century media and society.

CONFIRMED PARTICIPANTS & PRESENTERS: Noam Chomsky, Edward Herman, Sut Jhally, James Curran, Robert McChesney, Janet Wasko, Vincent Mosco, DeeDee Halleck, Robert Hackett, Peter Golding, James Winter, James Compton, Jim Wittebols, John Downing, Jeffery Klaehn Valerie Scatamburlo-D'Annibale.

For More Information Contact: Dr. Paul D. Boin
or Visit: www.uwindsor.ca/propaganda

Communication in Peace/Conflict in Communication

The Faculty of Communication and Media Studies at Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, Cyprus
2 to 4 May 2007

Website: http://fcms.emu.edu.tr/cpcc/callforpaper.htm

The conference a ims at bringing together scholars to present their research and exchange ideas in a wide range of topics under the general theme including but not limited to: Peace Journalism, Media and Mediation in Conflict, Conflict Resolution, Forgiveness and Reconciliation Gender, Ethnicity, Nationality, Race, Religion, Age and Peace/Conflict Communication Education and Peace Communication Ethics and Peace Film and Peace/Conflict Peaceful Films, Disturbing Films Adcult, Ad-diction, Adbusting Communication and Miscommunication Miscommunication in Communication Peace/Conflict in Intercultural Communication, Self-Other Communication and Ethnocentrism Epistemic Violence in Communicating With the Other, Love and Friendship Citizenship and Cosmopolitanism Migrancy, Exile, Diaspora Communication in Divided Cities/Lands Borders that Divide/Unite Enclosure of the Net in the Age of Access The language of our international conference will be both English and Turkish.

The deadline for submitting proposals is 12 January 2007. Please send your abstracts (not more than 300 words) by Friday 12 January 2007 to: cpcc@emu.edu.tr

Faces of Terrorism: Cross-Disciplinary Explorations

Maritime Museum, Liverpool, UK
April 25-26

For policy makers, practitioners, academics and researchers.

Click here for more information:

Media War and Conflict Journal, Launch Conference

Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
April 19-20

The launch conference for Media, War, and Conflict will provide a scholarly forum for discussion of a wide range of topics that the journal will address:

• Contemporary and historical war reporting
• Dynamics of the public sphere
• Popular and visual cultures
• Credibility, legitimacy, and the security services
• Media ethics in the coverage of conflict
• Terrorism and counter-terrorism
• Intelligence operations and the media
• The media as instruments of war
• The media's role in high and low-intensity conflict
• Conflict prevention and peacekeeping
• Photo and video journalism in wartime
• Documentation and commemoration of warfare and other topics.

A selection of papers from the conference will be included in the first issues of Media, War, and Conflict. The deadline for submission of paper and panel proposals is October 1, 2006. Submission should be in the form of an abstract of no more than 150 words. For panels, include names and e-mail addresses of all panel members. All submissions must be sent electronically as Microsoft Word documents to: conference@mediawarjournal.net

Pre-register for free online access to volume one of Media, War and Conflict. To register, visit the journal's home page at http://mwc.sagepub.com and follow the link to FREE TRIAL
First issue available April 2008.

The Media and the War on Terror
Frontline Club, London
5 April 2007

Professor Stephen Hutchings was awarded a supplementary grant to his second AHRB Research Grant to investigate post-Soviet Russian Television Culture.

Under the auspices of this grant a series of public debates are being
organized. These will involve prominent print, television and new media journalists as well as academics from the USA, Russia, and Western Europe.

Website: http://www.llc.manchester.ac.uk/Research/Projects/AnAnalysisofPost- SovietRussianTelevisionCulture/

Panel members:
- Nadezhda Azhgikhina (Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma, Russia),
- Mark Brayne (Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma, UK),
- Ruslan Gusarov (Northern Caucasus Centre, NTV, Russia),
- Victoria Ivleva-Iork (Photo journalist, Russia).

E-mail: Dr Oxana Poberejnaia: Oxana.Poberejnaia@manchester.ac.uk

Redefining Conflict in Post-Cold War Media
School of American and Canadian Studies, University of Nottingham, UK
March 29-30th, 2007

Website: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/american/res/conferences/conflict.htm

Since the end of the Cold War, scholarship has provided new definitions of conflict that have attempted to reconfigure the identity of the 'enemy' or 'other'. Whether in the realm of personal interaction or political engagements, the changing nature of global politics in the post-Cold War era has fundamentally impacted the many ways people see themselves in relation to others. This inter-disciplinary conference encourages fresh scrutiny of contemporary debates concerning the relevance of 'globalisation', and the rise of the media to the so-called 'war on terror'.

Topics may include, but are not limited to the following types of conflict: - Racial/Ethnic - Cultural
- Religious
- The 'War on Terror'
- War/Warfare/Military History
- Revisionist History and Media Controversies
- Environmental Debates and Issues
- Social/Class - Gender
- Intergenerational - Shifting Identities
- Postcolonial Representations

E-mail: conflictconf@nottingham.ac.uk

War in Iranian Cinema
The Barbican, London
22 to 27th February 2007

A season including films presenting the effect of war from the experience of ordinary people and documentaries on the lives of soliders in the field

For more information visit the War in Iranian Cinema homepage

Media Coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: Perception, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
University of Westminster, Marylebone Campus
Saturday, 17 February 2007

This conference gathers academics, journalists, researchers, policy makers and civil society organisations to discuss the coverage of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict by various news media organisations and its implications on public opinion as well as formulation of foreign policy. No news subject generates more complaints about media objectivity than the Middle East in general and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular. The region has one of the highest concentrations of journalists in the world, reflecting intense worldwide interest in the conflict. There are 350 foreign news organizations based in Jerusalem alone, employing some 800 reporters, cameramen and technicians. Since the beginning of 2004, another 1,300 accredited journalists have visited the region. The number is likely to become much higher if freelancers and writers who enter as visitors without presenting credentials are included. But how are they covering the on-going conflict? How impartial are the Western media in covering the conflict as compared to the Arab media? Do the BBC, CNN and others serve the agenda of the British and American foreign policies? Is Al-Jazeera objective in covering the conflict or it does 'fan the flames of radicalism' in the region? How much does the media coverage resonate into public opinion formation and, hence help influence policymakers' actions and decisions? What should be the role of the media vis-à-vis the conflict? And what could be the future prospects of the current situation in light of the global media and communication developments?

Tel: + 44 (0) 7852 269 302; www.cammro.com
E-mail: info@cammro.com

Weaponizing the Media
University of Amsterdam Marquette University
February 2nd

The conference is co-sponsored by the University of Amsterdam, Marquette University, the journal Media, War, and Conflict, the Amsterdam Center for Conflict Studies, and the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation.
This will be a high-profile forum that will bring together scholars and practitioners, and will lay the groundwork for long-term consideration of the issue. The format of the conference will include two featured speakers and four roundtables (in two sessions, with two roundtables running concurrently in each).

Email: Philip Seib at pseib@earthlink.net / Nel Ruigrok at p.c.ruigrok@uva.nl.

British International Studies Association 2006 Conference
University Cork, Ireland
December 18-20

The International Communications section will include papers on the impact of both ‘new’ and ‘old’ media on the study and practice of international relations and foreign policy.

Abstracts of not more than 250 words and also bearing the authors name,
affiliation, BISA membership status, and full contact details should be
forwarded to me at maura.conway@dcu.ie

For further information about BISA and the annual conference, please
refer to the BISA website:

Email: maura.conway@dcu.ie
Website: http://www.bisa.ac.uk.

Fundamentalism and the Media
The Center for Media, Religion, and Culture
University of Colorado at Boulder, USA

October 10-12, 2006

This conference will focus on the central questions of Fundamentalism and the Media. It is intended to be a starting point of a global conversation about how best to address religious misunderstanding and conflict in the media sphere, and how the media sphere itself might be used to more positive ends of peace and understanding. The media clearly have the capacity to divide and to unite, to feed ignorance and to feed understanding. This conference will open a dialogue between academics, practitioners, and members of the religious community on how to move forward.

Invited speakers will address the themes both generally and in specific regional contexts, and will consider issues in relation to specific religious traditions, including Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism. Proposed themes include:

Fundamentalism in Religious Culture and History
The US Experience
The African Experience
The South Asian Experience
The Latin American Experience
The Middle Eastern Experience

These presentations will, in addition to their regional foci, also reflect on political, social, cultural, and institutional implications in their various contexts.

Email: FundMed@colorado.edu
Website: http://www.colorado.edu/journalism/mcm/mrc/fundmed.htm
Conference Director: Professor Stewart M. Hoover

The 6th Annual Conference of the Global Studies Association

With Keynote Address by Professor Johan Galtung and Presidential Address by Professor Leslie Sklair

Streams include:

• Conflict resolution
• Reconciliation in transitional and post-conflict zones
• Peace-keeping and the role of international institutions
• Peace and human rights
• Peace and conflict resolution: Regional studies
• Peace education
• Theorising peace and conflict resolution

Registration forms can be requested from bssconferences@roehampton.ac.uk

The Summer School follows an explicitly political perspective. In Focus are the interrelations between economic-political power and the cultural
negotiations of media and performance expressed in meaningful
representations of violence.

Website: http://performedia.uni-mainz.de
Contact name: Dr. Constanze Schuler, Claudia Gallé

Organized by: University of Mainz, IPP Performance and Media Studies
Deadline for abstracts/proposals: 31 May 2006

This conference gathers academics, students, researchers, journalists and policy makers to discuss the impact of the Al-Jazeera channel on ondiences and international journalism practice. In a world saturated with information outlets yet information poor, Al-Jazeera satellite TV raises a challenging alternative to the western global broadcasters. Competition has been rife since the coverage of 11th September tragic events, the war in Afghanistan, the Arab/Israeli conflict and the War on Iraq have been seen from an alternative perspective. So challenging the coverage of Al-Jazeera has been that it angered politicians and others from across the globe. The latest has been the claimed American government attempt to silence the channel by flattening its headquarters in Qatar. Themes: - What does this mean to international journalism? - What influences Al-Jazeera has exercised on audiences and journalism norms in the Arab world and beyond? - Above all what Al-Jazeera channel is all about? What programmes does it have? What are its journalism ethics in covering wars and conflicts? - Is not Al-Jazeera promoting some unwanted voices like Al-Qaida by claiming it is a platform of those with none? - How much can Al-Jazeera contribute to the social and political changes in the Arab region? - Will Al-Jazeera International (the English speaking sister channel) be a challenging alternative to the well-established gloabl broadcasters like the BBC and CNN?

Contact Noureddine Miladi (PhD) for more info:
Managing Director CAMMRO
www.cammro.com
+44 (0) 7852 269 302
E-mail: info@cammro.com

Although there has been considerable research, particularly since
September 11, on media representations of terrorism, the war on terror,
anti-terrorist security policy, Islam, and so on, these analyses
overwhelmingly focus on the mainstream Western press. In this workshop, we shift attention explicitly to the analysis of Muslim media and their representations.

Papers will engender a wide-ranging discussion of the role of Muslim media of all kinds in generating discourses about, and/or attitudes among Muslims towards

• The contemporary war on terrorism
• Its attendant anti-terrorist security policies
• The nature of Muslim-non-Muslim relations
• The status of Islam, in the countries of diaspora or in the Muslim world
• The relation of Islam to 'the West' or to terrorism
• The implications of these representations for diverse Muslim communities

Central questions that might be asked include:

• How do Muslim media, in the Muslim world or in the diaspora, represent the terrorism, the war on terrorism, anti-terrorist security policies, and so on?
• Do Muslim media in the diaspora represent these differently than media from within the Muslim world?
• How do Muslim media within the diaspora differ among themselves, across states or across different media?
• What effect do the representations in diverse Muslim media have on the communities in which they are read or viewed?

For more information, also please contact Jutta Weldes and Gennaro
Gervasio. This workshop is sponsored by the ESRC New Security Challenges Programme grant RES-223-25-0056.

As part of 'Space, Haunting, Discourse,' an interdisciplinary conference sponsored by the Department of English at Karlstad University

Haunting, War and Conflict
June 15-18, 2006

Session description:

The realm of the ghostly has figured as a repeated referent in histories of
war and conflict - from the pre-modern practice of invoking ghosts and
spirits to assist in combat, to notions of the ghosts of dead soldiers and
citizens haunting battlefields and sites of destruction, to the portrayal of
Al Qaeda as constituting a type of 'phantom enemy'.

Despite the depth of historical linkages between war, conflict and the
ghostly, and the range of potential topics for analysis, comparatively
little scholarly research has appeared on these themes.

This panel seeks to bring together papers on the diversity of connections
between the ghostly and war and conflict, to contrast and establish links
between different historical periods and diverse spaces and locales.
Possible themes include but are not limited to:

• The haunting of conflict spaces - battlefields, hospitals, sites of
  destruction.
• Changing conceptions of the ghostly in relation to war and conflict.
• The ontology of the enemy.
• The invocation of ghosts to aid combat.
• The aftermath of combat and conflict.
• Ghosts and the representation of war and conflict.
• Psychoanalysis, phantasy and combat.
• The 'disappearances' of combatants and civilians.
• The traces of past wars and conflicts.

Please email abstracts of 250-300 words, for presentations of 15-20 minutes to Dr Andrew Hill