Interactions with media are increasingly pervasive, woven into the textures and cultural politics of everyday lives. And when the spaces of our homes, shops, schools, offices and cities are so intensively mediatised, media becomes our environment, brought to life through our mundane, personal, professional, creative, commercial and ideological interactions. But what are the social, political and material implications of these media and cultural experiences and encounters? Whose voices and perspectives are included or excluded, and how is power and agency reconfigured, realigned or reproduced in this complex media landscape? The theme Media Interactions and Environments is designed to address this critical moment in contemporary media culture, and appeal to a broad range of media, communication and cultural studies interests and approaches.
This conference approaches the theme of media interactions and environments in an expansive sense, to include, amongst others, media texts, technologies, practices, audiences, institutions and experiences. Media interactions might be digital, cultural, political, emotional and imaginative. Environments could be spatial, political, representational, urban, local, physical, virtual and ecological. This conference theme will also enable the media community to question how we should live responsibly and ethically in a politically and ecologically changing world, through an exploration of the central role of media cultures and creative practices in addressing social, political and climate-based challenges. http://www.meccsabrighton2020.co.uk
