Sunday 26 February 2012

MMP Grad Programme talks, Weds 29 Feb

Internal session: Professor Seamus Simpson

Public Service Journalism and Converging Media Systems
Concepts and practices of public service have been an integral part of the evolution of communication media systems for decades in Europe and beyond. However, the process of media convergence has called forth an examination of the place of public service in communications. Ideas of public service have been an important part of the development of journalism and have too come under increasing pressure in the era of media convergence. This session will commence with an exploration of some of the key ideas that have shaped articulations of public service in media systems and journalism. It will then go on to explore some of the challenges and opportunities for public service journalism which have arisen from the development convergent media platforms and services. It will conclude by exploring the extent to which public service journalism is relevant today in our diverse-yet-converging, highly commercialised, digital multi-media systems.


External Speaker: Dr Sian Barber
Sian Barber is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Media Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London. She completed her PhD at the University of Portsmouth as part of the AHRC-funded 1970s project and has published on British cinema and cinema going. She has recently completed a book on the British Board of Film Censors in the 1970s which draws heavily on unused archive material. Her other research interests include cultural history in an online environment and the challenges posed by websites and the internet to methods of research. She is currently working on the EUscreen project which aims to provide online access to Europe’s television heritage.



Reading the BBFC archive: Film Censorship in the 1970s
This seminar will draw upon work recently undertaken at the British Board of Film Classification to explore film censorship in Britain in the 1970s. My examination of over 250 files offers new evidence about the operation and implementation of active film censorship in this period. Yet what can these individual files tell us about standards of permission and popular taste in a given period? And how can this material be used to further debates about film and censorship?

The BBFC files provide a wealth of unused material which reveals the operation, history and development of a crucial and often secretive part of the British film industry which deserves critical attention. Yet the BBFC itself is uncertain how best to present its material to researchers and is concerned about the way in which such material may be used and how it reflects upon them as an organisation. This talk will consider the ethical and practical issues of ‘reading’ this archive and how these challenges can be addressed to provide new insights into British film censorship, both historic and modern.

Times for All Sessions:
3.10 – 4pm:     Internal Speaker
4.15 - 5.10:      External Speaker
5.30:                King’s Arms for refreshments

All sessions: second floor lecture theatre, Adelphi House
Building 3 on page 3 of this map: http://www.salford.ac.uk/travel/campus-map.pdf
(NB: Not Adelphi Building, and beware of Google Maps that confuses the two).

Saturday 25 February 2012

University of Salford Nations & Regions Media Conference 2012

12 & 13 March 2012, Media City & The Lowry, Salford Quays

Exploring media production, policy and opportunity throughout the UK

Keynotes:

JEREMY HUNT MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media & Sport; ADAM CROZIER, Chief Executive ITV; GEORGE ENTWISTLE, Director BBC Vision.

Confirmed Speakers:

Beryl Vertue, Tony Wood, David Davies, Barbara Slater, Moz Dee, Niall Sloane, David Wheeldon, Diane Coyle, Tom Gutteridge, Alex Connock, Gillian Reynolds, Mark Chapman, Pete Wishart MP, Nigel Smith, Phill Clark, Sunandan Wallia. Conference Chair Steve Hewlett.

Sessions:

· A VERY BRITISH DRAMA: With British TV exports now a £1.4bn business, the incentive to create the next hit drama has never been greater. We explore the snakes and ladders of making great international drama.

· STRUCTURED REALITY – THE INSIDE STORY: We peer past the fake tans, six packs and vajazzles to find out exactly how structured reality is produced.

· INDEPENDENT TELEVISION?: With the question of Scottish independence soaring up the political agenda we ask the SNP’s Westminster spokesperson for Culture, Media & Sport what independence would mean for the UK’s radio and television sectors.

· A QUESTION OF SPORT: Our ‘who’s who’ of sports media panel explores how well are consumers served by the current sports media landscape.

· WATCHING THE RADIO: Is radio visualisation the key to keeping radio relevant amongst a mass of digital media? We explore the oldest of broadcast media’s newest trick.

· DIANE COYLE: The Vice Chairman of the BBC Trust in conversation with Steve Hewlett.

· IF I WERE JEREMY HUNT: What would you do if you were the person in charge of broadcasting in the UK? Three industry professionals tell us what they would do if they were the Secretary of State.

Plus BBC ACADEMY WORKSHOPS exploring 3D, HD, and pitching - FREE and EXCLUSIVE to our delegates. Places are strictly limited and are going very quickly – don’t miss out on this great chance to access an afternoon of fabulous free training from the BBC!


Twitter: @nationsregions

Salford PGRs: free to attend, but email Maxine McKeever by 6/3 to register: m.mckeever@salford.ac.uk

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Radical Footage: Film and Dissent event, Nottingham

Radical Footage: Film and Dissent

FREE EVENT: Friday 9th March 2012 – 11am – 7pm

The Space, Nottingham Contemporary

Experimental film has played a significant role in contesting the political status quo from Lenin's early C20 declaration that cinema was the most revolutionary artform to DIY footage of the Arab Spring and anti-capitalist occupations. Locally and globally, film is being used to provoke, agitate, ask questions and generate new politicized communities.

A selection of short radical films and commentaries - around the themes of anti-capitalism, protest, conflict and uprising - will explore the medium’s potential to contribute to social-political change. The day’s debate will be initiated by Oliver Ressler’s introduction to his films including What Would it Mean to Win? and What is Democracy? which you can watch here: http://www.ressler.at/what_is_democracy_film/

The programme includes shorts by Gary Anderson, Benj Gerdes, Neil Gray, Sacha Kahir, James Rowlins, Alexis Milne, Jordan McKenzie, Jessica Mautner, Fabienne Gautier, Irina Botea, Jacopo Natoli, Nisha Duggal. Discussions will be led by Esther Leslie (Birkbeck University of London), Martin O’Shaughnessy (Nottingham Trent University) and Gary Anderson (Liverpool Hope University/Free University of Liverpool).

Schedule Registration 10.30 for 11am start with Oliver Ressler followed by panel discussion. 1pm break for lunch (NC is near lots of city centre eateries) Film programme and discussion continues through to 6pm, socialising, networking and drinks at bar through to 7pm

To book a place visit the Nottingham Contemporary website: http://ncradicalaesthetics.eventbrite.com/?ebtv=C

RadicalAesthetics-RadicalArt project is based at Loughborough University School of the Arts. Visit the RaRa website at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/sota/research/groups/politicised/rara.html For further information contact RaRa organisers: Jane Tormey: J.Tormey@lboro.ac.uk Gillian Whiteley: G.Whiteley@lboro.ac.uk

Thursday 16 February 2012

"In Human Performance" event, MediaCity

Message from Mary Oliver:

As part of the "AS YET IMPOSSIBLE: in human performance" research project I am really excited to let you know that Professor Kevin Warwick of Reading University will be giving a talk on his research on 15th March 2012 at the Digital Performance Lab, Media City Campus.

Kevin is notoriously known as the scientist who used himself to test neural implants with which he was able to undertake functions such as opening doors and communicating with his wife through brain function alone. The possible application of such technology when realised is clear; its immediate impact will be to assist those who suffer from neural illnesses, but the wider implications for design, creative applications, human to technology interactivity are as yet untapped.

Kevin is an inspiring futurist and as such this will be a not to be missed opportunity to hear what the as yet impossible future holds for us. Please could you pass this information on to anyone you think may be interested.

Places are limited so please book early to ensure a seat http://kevinwarwicklecture.eventbrite.co.uk

I hope you can make it.

Mary Oliver
Reader Digital Performance

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Memorial event for Dave Sanjek

Message sent on behalf of Prof Erik Knudsen:
In order to formally mark the sad passing of our distinguished colleague Professor David Sanjek, we will be holding a memorial event on Thursday 23rd February 2012 from 11:00 until 2:00pm at the Innovation Forum 


Car Parking : Car Parking is free at the Innovation Forum and operated via an intercom and barrier system.


We are very pleased that David's two brothers, Rick and Roger, will be in attendance, as well as the Vice Chancellor. I'm keen that we show our full appreciation of David's time with us and hope that you may find time to attend.
Could you notify Marrianne Garbutt of your intention to attend as soon as possible: m.garbutt@salford.ac.uk

The shape of the proceedings will be forthcoming in due course.

Our thanks to Prof Mark Wheeler...

... for his fantastic talk ----- the politics of celebrities, and the celebritisation of politics, the waning Obama effect, Hugh Grant as the exception to Lenin's notion of the "useful idiot", Angelina Jolie's community service with the UN, and the political stratagems of Geri Halliwell....

link here to Mark's "Hollywood: Politics and Society"

Monday 13 February 2012

Grad Prog talk: 15/2: The Democratic worth of Celebrity Politics in an era of Late Modernity

External Speaker: Professor Mark Wheeler

Mark Wheeler is Professor of Political Communications at London Metropolitan University. Publications include Politics and the Mass Media (Oxford: Blackwells, 1997), European Television Industries (with Petros Iosifidis and Jeanette Steemers) (London, British Film Institute, 2005) and Hollywood: Politics and Society (London: British Film Institute, 2006).



The Democratic worth of Celebrity Politics in an era of Late Modernity

As there has been an exponential increase in celebrity political interventions a debate has emerged about the worth of celebrity and democracy. In post-democratic societies, Henrik Bang and John Keanes’ respective constructs of Everyday Makers and Monitory Democracy have placed an emphasis on the importance of ‘involvement’, ‘voice’ and ‘output’ in terms of political representation, and provide an ideological framework through which to capture the value of celebrity politicians. Subsequently, it may be argued that Barack Obama utilised a form of ‘liquid’ celebrity in his 2008 United States (US) Presidential campaign to reconnect with a disenfranchised American electorate. However, this article contends that it remains necessary to consider how far celebrity politicians have ‘inputed’ aggregated forms of ‘agency’ to affect political outcomes. From these differing perspectives, it seeks to define a normative position concerning the worth of celebrity politics in an era of late modernity.

Adelphi House, second floor lecture theatre, Weds 15/2, 4.15-5pm. All welcome!

Thursday 9 February 2012

D&G event

Manchester Metropolitan University
Department of English
And
Department of History, Politics and Philosophy
In association with The Institute of Humanities and Social Science Research (IHSSR)
present a two-day workshop on the philosophy and aesthetics of
Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari
The Engine House (International Anthony Burgess Foundation)
Saturday 23rd March – Sunday 24th March 2012
Day One: (Saturday 23rd March) – Aesthetics, Politics, Ethics.
09.30am – registration and complimentary refreshments
10.00am – Dr Felicity Colman (Manchester Metropolitan University): The Image of Thought: Affective Politics.
11.30am – break
11.45am – Dr David Martin-Jones (St. Andrews): Five hundred years of cine-history: Deleuze and Quijano.
1.15pm – Lunch break
2.15pm – Dr Patricia MaCormack (Anglia Ruskin): The Ethics of Inhuman Art.
3.45pm – 4.00pm – break
4.00pm – Dr Jac Saorsa (Cardiff) : Beyond Logic: Deleuze, the Artist and Creative Practice.
5.30 – Finish
6.00pm – Conference dinner – Zouk Bar and Grill (a wonderful curry and wine or beer will cost about £20 on the night)
Day Two (Sunday 24th March) – Deleuze and Time
09.30am – Registration and complimentary refreshments
10.00am – Pete Wolfendale (Warwick): Ariadne’s Thread: Temporality and Modality in Deleuze’s Metaphysics
11.30am – break
11.45am – Kelvin Clayton (Staffordshire): Deleuze, time & the emergence of the self’ *provisional title
1.15pm – Lunch break
2.15pm – James Williams (Dundee): Deleuze’s answer to McTaggart: series and disjunctive syntheses
3.45pm – 4.00pm- break
4.00pm – Nathan Widder (Royal Holloway): Deleuze on Bergsonian Duration and Nietzsche’s Eternal Return
5.30 – Finish
To register attenndance or ask any questions please email Helen Darby – h.da...@mmu.ac.uk

BBC Radio 5 Live: Victoria Derbyshire Show – Unemployment Debate

On Wednesday 15th February Victoria will be holding an audience debate in Salford looking at unemployment and asking where jobs of the future are being created. The programme will also be shown on the BBC News Channel.

If you would like the opportunity to come and put your views forward or simply listen to the live debate please call 01299 829299 as soon as possible or email alisonfuller21@btinternet.com giving your name and telephone number and we will contact you.

The debate takes place at 5 live's home at The Studios, MediaCityUK, Salford Quays, Salford, N50 2EQ with employers that are recruiting at the moment, a Government Minister and a Labour spokesperson, it will be unique opportunity for people to raise your concerns with the people who are trying to do something about it.

Admission is limited so apply for your place as soon as possible. Full directions and a map will be supplied when the email ticket is issued.

Audience members should arrive at 8am the programme starts at 10.00 a.m. finishing at 12 noon.

Thursday 2 February 2012

Our thanks to Prof Stacey

Our thanks to Jackie Stacey for her fascinating deconstruction of Haneke --- where film form engenders ethical framings of the everyday, and art articulates the inarticulate of political discourse....



Next time:
"Accordian Resonance", and
"The Democratic worth of Celebrity Politics in an era of Late Modernity"

Interfaith Dialogue Group, 13/2 7.30pm - 9.00pm

The Right Reverend Nick Baines, Bishop of Bradford, know as the 'blogging bishop', and Judith Hayman, journalist with the Jewish Chronicle, will be making their way to MediaCityUk for The Anchor's quarterly Interfaith Dialogue Group to join Bishop Chris Edmondson, Bishop of Bolton.

 
Salford Interfaith Network successful launch in Spetember 2011 at Salford University's new building on MediaCityUK brough a whole new wave of life to interfaith work in Salford, and the Dialogue group is just one of the events supported by it.

Every quarter, two leading faith community representatives are interviewed by a local faith leader, followed by an open floor for questions as well as time to meet the speakers over refreshments.

In September we were lucky enough to have Aziz Rashid, Head of News for BBC North, and Tommy Nagra, Head of Television for BBC Religion and Ethics who gave a wonderful account of how they see faith and the media interacting from a 'secular' news perspective in contrast from within a specialised faith department.

This month we hope to hear how two people of faith interact with the wider media as well as a specialised faith-based newspaper.

Venue

MediaCityUK
Broadway
Salford
M50 2EQ

Lancaster University, Department of Sociology Intellectual Party 2012

Lancaster Sociology research students would like to invite other PhD students to our annual Intellectual Party in the summer of 2012.


The event will be held on 2-3 July and is a great opportunity to present your work at Lancaster in a friendly and supportive environment. The Intellectual Party offers you the chance to collaborate with other research students, to participate in practical workshops, and to have a lot of fun in the process! There will also be plenty of opportunity to meet and engage with some of the University’s well-known researchers.
This year we are inviting people to submit abstracts in relation to a series of themed Salons and more mysterious Secret Gardens. We are also planning a special gallery of ideas about crises. The Party will culminate in a spectacular finale but the action need not end there. If you wish to stay an extra day, you are welcome to join us on a sociological expedition to the world-famous Lake District.  
Our Intellectual Party is more than just another conference - it combines academic challenge with plenty of fun!
If you are interested in joining us, and presenting a paper on your research, please visit


All subjects are welcome, so long as they can be linked to sociology. The deadline for submissions in 14th March. The registration fee for non-Lancaster students is £65. This includes refreshments, dinner and lunches during the two day conference. If you wish to attend the trip to the Lake District, a further cost will be incurred.
If you have any queries please contact Angela Loxham (loxham@exchange.lancs.ac.uk).
Looking forward to hearing from you,


The Summer Conference Committee

Sexuality in sport debate kicks off LGBT History Month at MediaCityUK

Leading figures from the worlds of sport and media will debate the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues in sports journalism when the University of Salford launches its annual celebration of LGBT History Month on Thursday 2 February at its MediaCityUK building.

Guests taking part in Sports Media and Sexuality: A Panel Discussion will include basketball star Jon Amaechi, who grew up in Stockport and was the first NBA player to come out; former BBC commentator and sports reporter Bob Ballard; Sarah Williams, Equality & Diversity Manager for the Rugby Football League; Claire Harvey, Paralympian sitting volleyball player; Chris Noble MBE, Director at Sheffield Eagles RLFC; and Dave Randles, sports journalist and University of Salford lecturer.

They will tackle subjects such as the portrayal of LGBT sportspeople in the media, whether sporting organisations are taking the issue of homophobia seriously enough, and the effect of professional athletes coming out on participation in grassroots sport.

The event will mark the start of a programme of LGBT History Month events being hosted by the University throughout February.

On The Fringes, a storytelling workshop led by writer Michelle Green, will take place on Tuesday 7 February, giving attendees the opportunity to explore untold stories with a focus on the experience of being on the fringe of mainstream LGBT discourse.

The Lesbian and Gay Foundation will host a pub quiz at Bar Yours in the University Students’ Union building on Friday 17 February and celebrations will come to a close on Wednesday 29 February with a unique performance by the Manchester Lesbian & Gay Chorus, which has toured internationally and won the Silver Medal in the 2009 World OutGames in Copenhagen.

Professor Martin Hall, University of Salford Vice-Chancellor, said: “This is a great celebration of talent, and we’re proud to be associated with LGBT History Month for the third consecutive year.”

The events are open to the public and for more information, including details on times and venues and how to register, visit