Contributions may include interdisciplinary and collaborative, theory and practice-driven, comparative, and/or policy-oriented proposals for papers, film screenings, artistic performances and posters. We seek contributions that explore how artistic and creative communities, civil society and various forms of media are creating, sustaining and contesting centres of power and authority across a region encompassing Russia, China, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Central and East Asia.
Questions that might inform the workshop discussions include: How do art and diverse media forms reinforce, reshape, or challenge/bypass existing global and regional orders? What new modes of creativity, activism and cultural expression are emerging in response to the combination of increased tensions, deepening divisions, armed conflict and environmental threats in these regions? In what ways do cultural and artistic expressions and exchanges articulate, contribute to, or counterbalance the heightened anxieties about political, social, environmental and economic futures? How can research on these cultural dynamics deepen our understanding of the forces reshaping this vast and diverse region? How does art help to support solidarities and care networks in (trans)diasporic spaces?
We welcome proposals that provide fresh insights into the complex cultural and media landscapes of the broad region outlined above, and their role in a world marked by increasing polarisation. We invite paper/poster/screening/performance proposals of up to 200 words on topics including but not limited to:
- Soft power and identity politics.
- Media and culture in the age of social media.
- Propaganda, misinformation and disinformation.
- Resistance in exile.
- Art in (trans)diasporic spaces.
- Poetry, music and protest.
- Collectives, solidarities and activism.
- Lived experiences of war and displacement in art and literature.
Submission process:
Submit your proposals (200 words max) and a 100-word author’s biography to Martha Holmes at polaritiescontacts.bham.acuk with ‘Culture, Media, Resistance’ workshop in the email subject line.
The deadline for submissions is 17 January 2025 (4 p.m. UK time).
Successful applicants will be notified by early February 2025. Travel and accommodation grants are available for workshop participants.