Urban Mediations

NECS 2010 Conference

Istanbul, Turkey, June 24-27, 2010

in cooperation with Communication Faculty, Kadir Has University

Submissions deadline: January 31, 2010

Please address all inquiries to [log in to unmask]

Founded in February of 2006, NECS, the European Network for Cinema and
Media Studies, brings together scholars and researchers in the field
of cinema, film and media studies with archivists and film and media
professionals. A first NECS workshop was held in Berlin on the
occasion of the network’s founding in 2006, followed by large
international conferences in Vienna 2007, Budapest 2008 and Lund 2009.
Over the last three years, NECS has attracted more than 600 members
worldwide. Detailed information on NECS can be found on the NECS
website, www.necs-initiative.org.

The 2010 NECS Conference will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, from June
24 through June 27.

Istanbul, a global city of more than 12 million inhabitants occupying
the Eastern edge of Europe and the Western edge of Asia, inherits its
name from the Greek phrase “eistinpolin,” which means “in the city,”
“to the city,” or “downtown.” In 2010, along with the NECS Conference,
Istanbul will be hosting a great variety of events as a European
Capital of Culture, an occasion described by the European Commission
as “a golden opportunity to show off Europe's cultural richness and
diversity, and all the ties which link us together as Europeans.” In
this light, Istanbul is the ideal place to host the 2010 conference
for the European Network of Cinema and Media Studies. In Europe’s
Capital of Culture, we would like to debate issues of capitals, cities
and urbanity under the rubric of “Urban Mediations.”

Confirmed keynote speakers include Saskia Sassen, Thomas Elsaesser and
Charlotte Brunsdon.

Paper topics may include, but must not be limited to, the following:

- Theories of urbanity (theoretical, methodological and political
connections between cityscapes and mediascapes)

- Urban aesthetics and experiences (urban events, creative urban culture)

- Urban mediascapes (media production, new media archi-tectures/-textures)

- CityPasts, CityFutures (utopias-dystopias, virtual cities, cities-in-history)

- City as actor (representations of the city, the city film)

- Urban relationships (city-human interaction, mediations /
representations of families, love, friendship in the city)

- City and (im)mobility (social movements, migrations, global circulations)

- New cities / new media (urban development, reshaping the sense of
city via new technologies)

- Media capital and cultures (cultural industries, cultural capital,
festival cities)

Scholars from all areas of cinema and media studies (radio,
television, new media etc.), whether previously attached to NECS or
new to the network, are invited to submit proposals for contributions.

Please note that you may hand in a paper or panel proposal related to
the thematic guidelines of the conference outlined above, or
alternatively submit a paper or panel proposal for open call in any
field of cinema and media studies.

We especially encourage pre-constituted panels in order to strengthen
the thematic coherence

(1) by individually organizing a pre-constituted panel within an
already existing network such as a NECS work group (see member section
of the NECS website - www.necsinitiative.org) or a research project.
The members of the NECS work groups are especially encouraged to put
together a pre-constituted panel;

(2) by organizing a panel via the NECS website
(www.necs-initiative.org). Those who consider putting together a panel
outside already existing networks are asked to send a call for papers
with a title and a short description of the objectives of the proposed
panel no later than December 15, 2009 to
[log in to unmask] The conference committee will post
these topics in the public section of the website, collect all
responses and keep you informed about potential presenters;

(3) by responding to a call for papers that is proposed online (see item 2);

(4) by proposing an open call paper outside a preconstituted panel.

Please note that individuals may submit only one paper proposal,
either to the open call or as a part of a pre-constituted panel.

Panels may consist of 3- 4 speakers with a maximum of 20 minutes
speaking time each. All presenters are obliged to provide us with a
title, an abstract of max 150 words, 3-5 keywords, 3-5 key
bibliographical references, technical requirements, name of the
presenter and institutional affiliation.

Panel organizers are asked to submit panel proposals including a panel
title, a short description (up to 100 words) of the panel and
information on all the papers as listed above.

Please submit all proposals before January 31, 2010 by sending them
via email to [log in to unmask] Notification will follow
shortly thereafter (around February 28, 2010). The conference language
is English. Again, in case you consider an open call for a panel
proposal, please send us your topic until December 15, 2009 so that we
can post the description of the objectives of the proposed panel on
our website.

Conference attendance is free, but valid NECS-membership is required
to participate in the conference (register with NECS at
www.necs-initiative.org. For the terms of NECS membership, please also
refer to our website).

Participants will have to cover their own travel and accommodation
expenses. Travel information as well as a list of affordable hotels
and other accommodations will be posted on the NECS website in the
spring of 2010.

For the conference organizers:

The NECS Conference Committee

Tina Bastajian, Melis Behlil, Olof Hedling, András Bálint Kovács,
Tarja Laine, Terez Vincze, Patrick Vonderau



The NECS Steering Committee

Malte Hagener, Vinzenz Hediger, Dorota Ostrowska, Alexandra Schneider,
Patrick Vonderau

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