The Study Group for Contemporary Russian Culture Studies organizes a seminar called 'Digital Discourses: The Russian Internet' on February 25, 2009, 5-7pm, at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities.
Speakers are Gasan Guseinov and Olga Goriunova, both from the University of Moscow. Each will give a 20-minute talk, followed by ample time for discussion.
Communication politics and policies are dominant forces in shaping living cultures. Rich, vibrant and controversial forms of expression continue to emerge and their influence is increasingly transcending borders. The appearance and pervasiveness of new communication technologies is greatly accelerating this process.
Yet, the forging and evolution of cultural discourses influence the articulation and re-orient the expression of communication politics and policies.
The current tendencies appear to be primarily driven by western-oriented approaches and are often perceived as a transferrable framework to other parts of the world mainly because of their liberal, inclusive and representative tradition in contrast to more restrictive political and communication systems elsewhere.
Political, economic, cultural and social actors such as - governments, media, political parties, civil societies, transnational non-state actors and citizens - are the major players formulating these communication politics and policies outlining the cultural sphere. Although they often aim at common objectives including, among others, fostering democratization, promoting citizenship and reinforcing identities they compete for exerting their influence at different levels.
This 3rd annual PhD conference seeks to identify, discuss and understand current trends in communication and cultural politics and policies and the ways in which they influence cultures at national, transnational, regional and global levels. It also intends to analyse how the evolution of cultural discourses influences communication politics and policies.
Please send your abstract, of 250 words and a 50 words biography together with your institutional affiliation and contact details by Friday 3rd April 2009, to the following email address: ics-pg-conference@leeds.ac.uk Institute of Communications Studies, Houldsworth Building, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT. Tel: +44 (0)113 343 8859