[Media-watch] Conference on mis/representation in Media - Manchester - 17/18 June 2004

[Julie-ann Davies]

Of possible interest.
FWD
_______________________

Manchester Conference on Mis/Representation in Media


On the 17th and 18th June 2004 the University of
Manchester will hold the Joint Faculty of Arts and Faculty
of Social Sciences and Law 'Mis/Representation in
Media' Conference. This free entry event promises to be
a most necessary and profitable occasion. The event is
open to all interested parties but it is anticipated that
attendees will include professionals, academics,
researchers, and students working in media related arenas.

The power of media to construct, create, demonstrate,
reflect, generate, constrict, and confuse meaning
promulgates representations, the accuracy of which
becomes highly contestable, allowing for a framework of
alternative reality within which the majority of the public
dwell. This conference intends to rethink the notion of
media, in its myriad forms, both as discourse and device,
in order to examine the impact it has upon contemporary
society. How is media susceptible to the misrepresentation
 of social groups and individuals, guiding modern
stereotypes into the everyday language of Western news-
reel culture? How has media infiltrated the manner in
which we conceptualize our world? And in what manner do
we construct our realities based on these
mis/representations? The premise is that representation is
not a separate objective form from the creation of the
subjects being represented. The relationship is inherently
political, ambiguous and tacit, making misrepresentation
all the more a necessary object of discussion.

The conference is comprised of 6 sessions of papers
exploring issues of mis/representation in politics, history,
identity, social reality and advertising with an emphasis on
discussion and debate. In addition, there are numerous
workshops on professional and academic media through
the direction of lecturers and practitioners from the
University of Manchester, the BBC, the University of
Manchester and UMIST Careers Service, and the
Manchester University Press. This will prove invaluable
for individuals interested in gaining media experience,
improving career profiles and employment opportunities,
and knowing more about routes into the media sector.

Finally, a panel session of esteemed academics,
professionals and MPs/MEPs will provide an opportunity
for dialogue in the field of media, during which we will
consider mis/representations of reality within media,
questioning whether media represents reality, or creates
only a representation of reality? The panel will also be
discussing the topical media issues of the day.

Although this is a free entry event you are asked to
register your intentions to attend so as to assist us in our
administration. To do this fill in the booking form on the
website or email the conference organisers.

Visit the conference website to view timetables, abstracts,
locations and further information

http://www.mediaconference.man.ac.uk


To contact the organisers or to book a place at the event
please emailto:

postgrad-conference at man.ac.uk



Tim Clack
PhD Research Student
School of Archaeology
University of Manchester
M13 9PL
United Kingdom