Conference Call for Papers/Proposals

Theme: GLOBALISING THE LOCAL, LOCALISING THE GLOBAL: GLOBALISATION, THE MEDIA AND POPULAR CULTURE IN AFRICA

Venue: School of Media and Communication, Pan-African University, Lagos, NIGERIA
Date: 23 – 25 August, 2012
 

Conference Call for Papers/Proposals Click to download PDF

As a phenomenon critical to the construction of modernity/postmodernity, globalisation with its (il)logics has precipitated debates which have continued to constitute a contested and contestable site in cultural discourses. One major discursive formation seeks to present globalisation as a programme meant to democratise the world’s cultural space for marginal cultures to survive and thrive without undue threats from dominant others. In radical contradistinction, an alternative perspective imagines globalization as an imperialist strategy to re-colonise former dominated cultures and their economies through the subtle strategy of exclusion through inclusion. The latter argument resonates strongly in peripheral societies like Africa where cultural production modes and their circulation processes have been severely mediated by globalisation. This argument seems compelling because in its latest consumerist phase, globalisation has conquered all cultural spaces of the world without leaving any oppositional strongholds.


This conference seeks to appraise the place and impact of globalisation on African media practice(s) and popular culture and how these have also participated in globalisation as a dialectical process for the construction of identity and re-invention of nationhood in Africa. In particular, the conference is interested in ways in which globalisation has engaged African media and popular culture as mediated processes through new media technologies and how they have in turn engaged globalisation. But the conference is also concerned with problematising the issues involved in the discourse on globalisation and its antinomies in relation to African media and popular culture? For instance, is globalisation an innocent, neutral phenomenon? Has globalisation fostered the dialogue or clash of civilisations and cultures? Is it necessary for the enrichment of African media and popular culture? What has Africa brought to the marketplace of ideas and culture which is globalisation? How best can globalisation be mined by the media and popular cultural expressions on the continent? Indeed, is there one Africa or one unitary African culture or a multiplicity of Africas and cultures? This complex of issues will constitute the fulcrum of discussions during the conference.


The conference organizers, therefore, invite paper abstracts and panel proposals from academics, globalization scholars, media practitioners, culture experts, activists and others around the theme of the conference with the following sub-themes:

  • Theoretical issues in globalization, media and popular culture
  • African media/culture policies and globalisation
  • Globalization and new media technologies in Africa
  •  Globalization and the politics of media representations
  • African popular culture in a glocalised order
  • Mediascapes and the discourse on globalization
  • Globalization and (en)gendered spaces in African media /culture
  • African languages/literatures and globalization
  • Globalization and African musical expressions
  • Globalization and the politics of sports in Africa
  • Globalization and African filmic/cinematic traditions
  • African oral/written traditions and globalization
  • Globalization and the debate on cultural decolonization
  • Globalization and the knowledge economy in Africa
  • The self/other dialectic in entertainment media and popular culture
  • Globalization, the media and new religious experiences in Africa
  • Race/cultural identity in a glocalised milieu
  • The circulation of media/culture between Africa and its Diasporas
  • Pan-Africanism and the politics of media(ted) culture
  • Globalization and the future of African media/popular culture

Contributors should send in a 250-300 word abstract or panel proposal with their biographical details: full name, institutional affiliation, e-mail and telephone numbers on or before 25 April, 2012. The subject of the mail should be Media and Culture Conference 2012 and be addressed to: Vivian Adeoti - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Tope Akintola - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it