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SACOMM Uncategorized

CFP: The 16th Annual Global Communication Association Conference


www.globalcomassociation.com

CALL FOR PAPERS

Perspectives on Africa Media and Communication

Durban, South Africa

June 10-12, 2020

Hosted by the Durban University of Technology, the Global Communication Association invites you to submit your abstracts for the 16th annual convention to be held in Durban, South Africa from June 10 – 12, 2020.

The GCA invites research papers exploring any aspect of issues related to the theme of the conference, including the following broad topics:

  • African media and communication methodologies, theories, and perspectives
  • Media and their impact on public opinion
  • The evolving modes of teaching and learning
  • New communication technologies, the Internet, and social media
  • Intercultural communication
  • News and information flow

Abstract Submission: (All submissions should include two separate attachments in Word format)

  • A 400-word abstract of the paper or panel proposal should be submitted electronically to Dr. S.E Usadolo and Mr Thabani Khumalo via the following email: gcaconference@dut.ac.za
  • All abstract submissions must be received by February 29, 2020, for review and consideration. Acceptance of a paper or panel proposal obligates authors to attend the conference and present the paper.  The abstract should include research objectives, methodology and significance followed by keywords.
  • Poster presentations on topics related to the conference theme are also encouraged. Complete panel proposals maybe submitted to Dr. Yahya R. Kamalipour at yrkamal@gmail.com.
  • Abstracts will be peer-reviewed by at least two scholars.  Authors of the abstracts will be notified of acceptance by March 31, 2020.  
  • A separate document including the name, academic institution, mailing address, phone number, email address, and brief author’s profile must be submitted for each author.
  • If accepted, the full-length paper (not to exceed 25-pages excluding references and tables) must be submitted by May 1, 2020.  All papers should adhere to The American Psychological Association (APA) style manual. For details, visit https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/05.
  • Where appropriate, put “STUDENT” in the upper right-hand corner of the title page; indicate whether the paper comes from a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral student.

CONFERENCE LOCATION (HOTEL AND FACILITIES):

The conference will take place on the campus of the Durban University of Technology (DUT).

Special Conference rates will be offered at several hotels in Durban, within a 5km radius of the conference venue.

Details of these rates and the hotel links will be provided shortly.  Delegates are requested to register as early as possible, as Durban is a popular tourist destination during this time.

Conference Registration Fees:

An attractive and favorable package will be offered to all participants.  Graduate students presenting papers will be given a 50% registration discount. A registration link and details of fees and payment procedures will be provided shortly.

AIR TRANSPORT

There are daily flights from major cities around the world to South Africa. Some international airlines fly directly to Durban, while others fly to Cape Town or Johannesburg, domestic airlines can be used to fly to Durban. Emirates and British Airways, Qatar Turkish Airlines fly directly to Durban. For details visit https://kingshakainternational.co.za/airport/durban-airport/

GROUND TRANSPORT

Delegates will be met on arrival at King Shaka International Airport in Durban and transported to their hotels or to the conference venue, depending on date of arrival. Shuttles will be provided from the hotels to the conference and event venues.

After the conference, shuttles will be provided from the hotels to the airport. Links to approved tour agents will be provided if delegates wish to tour after or before the conference. Meter taxis and Uber are also available and distance from King Shaka Interrnational Airport to Durban City is 30 km.

Questions:

Please direct any questions to Dr. Yahya R. Kamalipour at yrkamal@gmail.com.

Important Dates:

Abstract Submission Deadline February 29, 2020
Acceptance Notification March 31, 2020
Full Length Paper Submission May 01, 2020
Last Date for Early Bird Registration March 15, 2020
Last Date for Registration May 01, 2020
Conference Dates June 10-12, 2020

For future updates and further details, visit:

www.globalcomassociation.com

SACOMM Journals, Screen Studies Stream

Journal of African Cinemas – Volume 11, Number 1


Editorial

Journal of African Cinemas: Special Edition on contemporary South African cinema 
pp. 3-9(7) 
Authors: Rijsdijk, Ian-Malcolm; Lawrence, Andrew

Articles

Outsiders, fairy tales and rainbowism in South African comedies: Soweto Green: This is a ‘Tree’ Story (Lister, 1995) and Fanie Fourie’s Lobola (Pretorius, 2013) 
pp. 11-29
Author: Mdege, Norita

Unsettling the ‘New’? Apartheid Did Not Die (Lowery, 1998) 
pp. 31-46
Author: Modisane, Litheko

Resistance documentaries in post-apartheid South Africa: Dear Mandela (Kell and Nizza, 2012) and Miners Shot Down (Desai, 2014) 
pp. 47-67
Author: Moyer-Duncan, Cara

Unravelling Pretville (Korsten, 2012) and encountering Marikana: The superfluous cheer of the Afrikaner volksiel 
pp. 69-82
Author: Steenekamp, Emelia

Reviews

Reviews 
pp. 83-88
Authors: Dovey, Lindiwe; Frassinelli, Pier Paolo

Film Review

Film Review 
pp. 89-94(6) 
Author: Macintyre, Sandy

Bottom of Form

The Journal of African Cinemas will explore the interactions of visual and verbal narratives in African film. It recognizes the shifting paradigms that have defined and continue to define African cinemas. Identity and perception are interrogated in relation to their positions within diverse African film languages. The editors are seeking papers that expound on the identity or identities of Africa and its peoples represented in film.

Publisher: Intellect

ISSN 1754-9221 (Print); ISSN 1754-923X (Online)

Journal website:   https://www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-african-cinemas

Editors: Keyan Tomaselli and Martin Mhando

Contact: David Nothling – jac@uj.ac.za

SACOMM Uncategorized

In Memoriam: Prof. Sonja Verwey

The SACOMM community was met with the sad news of Prof. Sonja Verwey’s passing last week. Prof. Verwey was the first female president of our Association, a formidable academic, an esteemed colleague, a mentor and a friend to many of us. We will remember Prof. Verwey as a gentle, cheerful and insightful presence in, and at SACOMM. Her contributions to the field and to our community cannot be overstated.

We would like to offer our deepest condolences to her bereaved family, friends, colleagues and students. A memorial service for Prof Verwey will take place at the Weltevreden Dutch Reformed Church, 1140 Cornelius Street, Weltevredenpark on Wednesday 4 December 2019 at 11:00.

SACOMM is deeply sorrowed and much poorer for the loss of this wonderful woman.

SACOMM CFP, Media Studies and Journalism Stream, Screen Studies Stream

CFP: Film in history / History in film Conference

                       

2-4 April 2020

The South African film industry has a long history, albeit racially fractured, uneven and inconsistent.  Since the introduction of Edison’s kinetoscope in 1895, the film industry and a film culture has become deeply entrenched in South African cultural, political and social life.  The historical development of the South African film industry, and in particular pre- and post-1994 state intervention by means of funding mechanisms, offers a rich site of exploration of South African racial and cultural politics, as well as ideological, aspirational and idealised self-representations in film.  Cinema as both a text and a set of practices and activities which are constantly intervening in society, makes cinema an actor in the ‘maintenance, mutation and subversion of systems of power’. Within this framing, film is read and analysed in history and as source of history; in shaping and reflecting the context of production and reception, in short, as ‘agent, product and source of history’, according to Marc Ferro.

History is increasingly consumed on film. Indeed, Marc Ferro goes further than many scholars in emphasising the ubiquitous influence of visual representations of the past.  He says, ‘television (and one can include film here) has become a kind of parallel school’, in other words, film as history.  Paula Amad (2010) on the other hand, in arguing for film as counter-archive, positions film as a medium that poses a challenge to the positivist historical methodology and archive with its emphasis on order, scientific objectivity and neutrality as elaborated by Leopold von Ranke.

The conference seeks to engage with film in South Africa in the four domains discussed above; film in history, film as source of history, film as history and film as counter-archive.  The conference aims to bring together South African and international scholars working broadly in the domain of film and history in and about South Africa.  The conference is open to all scholars whose research interest is film and visual studies from a historical perspective, including research interests in the historical development of cinema (in the South African national, comparative and/or global contexts), cinema culture, audiences, festivals and reception, technologies and the business of filmmaking as well as historians working with film as history, film in history and film as [counter]archive.

Select conference papers will be considered for publication in an edited volume. 

Abstracts for presentations are invited in the following broad thematic areas:

  1. Histories of the development of the South African film industry (‘national’, ‘ethnic’ and comparative)
  2. Film and nation-building in pre- and post-1994 South Africa
  3. State intervention in the film industry in pre- and post-1994 South Africa (state subsidies, the NFVF, censorship)
  4. Audiences and reception
  5. Film festivals
  6. South African film scholarship
  7. Archives, counter-archives and film (the South African National Film, Video and Sound Archives)
  8. Film, heritage and tourism

Film Screenings

The conference will include film screenings of select films from the South African National Film, Video and Sound Archives and short films produced by University of Pretoria History students.  Filmmakers are also invited to submit their own productions for consideration.

Publication

A select number of original research papers will be considered for publication in an edited volume of essays.

Timelines

Abstract deadline:  20 January 2020

Abstracts can be submitted to history@up.ac.za

Acceptance responses: 7 February 2020

Publication-ready papers to be submitted by 17 April 2020

Inquiries can be directed to:

Ian Macqueen: ian.macqueen@up.ac.za

Glen Ncube: glen.ncube@up.ac.za

Nisa Paleker: nisa.paleker@up.ac.za

Dr G Paleker

Senior Lecturer

Department of Historical and Heritage Studies

Tel: 012 420 2264

Email: nisa.paleker@up.ac.za

SACOMM Journals, Media Studies and Journalism Stream, Screen Studies Stream

CFP: Journal of African Cinemas & The Conversation

The Journal of African Cinemas (JAC) is working with arts editor Charl Blignaut at The Conversation to increase exposure of African films in its pages.  The aim is to recruit short journalistic articles for The Conversation, which can in due course be repurposed into longer reviews of films and even articles for JAC – or anywhere. 

Also, current and recently published academic articles in JAC, Critical Arts,  or any journal, could be revised in short form for submission to The Conversation (TC), and linked to the published article.  This mechanism has been shown to  massively increase readers and citations of the original article first published in the academic journal. TC’s aim, of course, is to popularize academic work for the wider public and thereby to demonstrate its social relevance. 

Anyone interest to please contact Charl direct, or submit a pitch on The Conversation website.  Please cc me so we can track the impact of this call.  Charl Blignaut charl.blignaut@theconversation.com

Journal of African Cinemas:  https://www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-african-cinemas

Critical Arts:   https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rcrc20

The Conversation:   https://www.google.com/search?q=theconversation+south+africa&rlz=1C1GGRV_enZA813ZA813&oq=thecconversation&aqs=chrome.4.69i57j0l5.7542j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

This notice is endorsed by the SACOMM Screen Studies interest group.

SACOMM CFP, Media Studies and Journalism Stream, Screening

CFP: Black Panther

Beschara Karam (University of South Africa); Mark Kirby-Hirst (Open Window) and Rory du Plessis (University of Pretoria)

In light of the hugely successful, and critically acclaimed, film release of the film Black Panther (Coogler 2018); as well as the debates surrounding the film, this Call for Chapters is dedicating a book to this very pertinent film. The film focuses on the themes Afrofuturism; of identity; dehumanisation; feminism; alienation; and reclamation. It also allows for the exploration of other themes integral to the experience of Africa and the Diaspora, including (but not limited to) slavery; apartheid; othering; marginalisation; history; colonisation; post-colonisation; memory; trauma; and, decolonisation (see Karam and Kirby-Hirst 2019).

We are therefore looking for original contributions from researchers working on any aspect of Black Panther; including the comic books and graphic novels upon which the film is based. Please send an extended abstract (of between 300 – 500 words maximum, excluding sources) outlining your chapter to reach us no later than 17th December 2019: bpafricadiaspora@gmail.com For more information, please contact: Professor Beschara Karam 012 429 6323 karambs@unisa.ac.za / beschara karam@gmail.com

SACOMM Communications Advocacy, Communications Stream, Emerging Scholars Stream, Media Studies and Journalism Stream

Surveillance without borders?

Mapping the state of surveillance in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa

The Media Policy and Democracy Project (MPDP) invites you to the launch of two new research reports on communications surveillance issues in Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Dr Admire Mare, the author of the Namibian research report, will be in conversation with the University of Johannesburg’s Professor Jane Duncan and Professor Nyasha Mboti as well as Sam Sole of the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism – who recently brought a successful court challenge to South Africa’s surveillance laws.

While there is a growing body of research about surveillance issues in the ‘global north’, the launch these research reports will be a chance to reflect on the emerging pictures of communications surveillance in different Southern African societies. What do we know? What is still unknown or remains secret? What commonalities do we see across the region? Perhaps most importantly, what steps are needed to ensure that state surveillance practices in the region adhere to democratic principles and oversight?

Discussants:

  • Dr Admire Mare (Department of Communication, the Namibia University of Science and Technology)
  • Prof Nyasha Mboti (Department of Communication Studies, University of Johannesburg)
  • Professor Jane Duncan (School of Journalism, Film and Television, University of Johannesburg)
  • Sam Sole (Managing partner, amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism)
  • Date ■ Thursday 31 October 2019
    Time ■ 17.30-19.00
    Venue■University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Humanities Common Room, C Ring 319, Auckland Park, Kingsway Campus
    RSVP ■ jftassistant@uj.ac.za
SACOMM CFP, Communications Advocacy, Communications Stream, Corporate Communication Stream, Journals, Media Studies and Journalism Stream, Screen Studies Stream

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Social Media, Fake News and Hate Speech

NORTH-WEST UNIVERSITY, SOUTH AFRICA
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE MEDIA IN AFRICA (ILMA) CONFERENCE
JUNE 27 – 28, 2020
NORTH-WEST UNIVERSITY, MAFIKENG CAMPUS, MMABATHO, SOUTH AFRICA


The advent of social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube etc.) has brought about democratisation of communication as the public that hitherto had been considered to be consumers of messages has now also become producers. The platform of social media is open to everyone who has a device, an account to use and data or access to the internet. Communication has never been better and interesting in the history of man.

However, as we celebrate this ‘power’ of communication given to the people through social media, we also need to ponder the other side of this communication. This advent of social media and with it more opportunities for free participation by citizens in debates has given impetus to insurgent politics and also brought on us the acceleration and strengthening of post-truth, fake news and hate speeches. Before the emergence of social media, there were fake news and hate speech carried by different media in the chronology of media and communication history. These phenomena have been there since the time of communication by mere words of mouth, and through the advent of print, radio and television media. It has however become more obtrusive with the emergence of social media. This has had some deleterious impact on human relationships and the society at large. It has created crisis and fueled it to monstrous proportions.

These are some of the issues we intend to focus on in this conference. Submissions can touch on any of the following points:

  •  Theorisation around social media, fake news and hate speech
  •  Social media, Fake news, hate speech and the economy
  •  Social media, Fake news, hate speech and politics
  •  Social media, Fake news, hate speech and nationality
  •  Social media, Fake news, hate speech and race
  •  Social media, Fake news, hate speech and human relations
  •  Social media, fake news and hate speech in organisations
  •  Social media, fake news, hate speech and religion
  •  Social media, language use, fake news and hate speech
  •  Social media, indigenous language, ethnicity and hate speech
  • Social media, indigenous culture, fake news and hate speech
  •  Social media, citizen education, fake news and hate speech
  •  Social media, fake news, hate speech and xenophobia
  •  Strengths and weaknesses of various social media for fake news and hate speech
  •  Social media regulation, fake news and hate speech The list is by no means exhaustive.

Kindly submit abstracts of between 300 and 500 words to Dr. Francis Amenaghawon at

olaiyagba@yahoo.com

Papers presented at the conference, after peer-review process, will be published in Habari: ILMA Book Series. Habari is the Swahili word for News. The book series editors are Professor Abiodun Salawu and Prof. Itumeleng Mekoa.

Important Dates:

  1. Abstract Submission – February 28, 2020
  2. Acceptance/Rejection Notice – March 15, 2020
  3. Conference Registration Opens – March 30, 2020
  4. Conference – June 27 – 28, 2020

Registration Fees:

Academics – R2500.00
Students – R1000.00
International participants – USD180.00

SACOMM Communications Advocacy, Screen Studies Stream, Screening

SCREENING: ‘Under the Rainbow’ (Dir. Pamela Adie)

16:00, Saturday, 12.10.2019, AFDA Johannesburg

Pamela Addie is a Nigerian based queer rights activist.  She will be visiting South Africa to engage with activist organisations here.  GALA is working with these activist organisations such as Iranti and ISLA who are hosting Pamela.

On Saturday, 12 October, 2019 (16:00) her film “Under the Rainbow” will be screened at AFDA Johannesburg. 

‘Under The Rainbow’ is a visual memoir tracing Nigerian activist Pamela Adie’s journey of self-discovery in a powerful story of love, rejection, loss, and triumph set against the backdrop of a deeply homophobic society. 

Please join us at the film’s first Johannesburg screening which will be followed by a panel discussion with Pamela Adie, Phumi Mtetwa and Sibongile Ndashe.

Venue: AFDA, 41 Frost Avenue, Braamfontein

Date: 12 October 2019

Time: 4pm

RSVP: siphesihle@amandla.mobi

More info: 

https://africasacountry.com/2019/07/nigerias-first-lesbian-documentary

https://www.facebook.com/events/436561106990260/

SACOMM CFP, Communications Stream, Corporate Communication Stream, Emerging Scholars Stream, Media Studies and Journalism Stream, Screen Studies Stream

CFP: Valenti Global Communication Summit 2020

Call for Papers

Valenti Global Communication Summit 2020

“@frica: digital media conference”

Houston, TX – February 27/28, 2020

Deadline for extended abstracts: November 22, 2019

While the economic, political, cultural and social transformations brought about by the rise of digital technologies, particularly in the media and telecommunications sectors, are visible all over the world, it is in African countries that they are projected to have the biggest impact in coming years. Africa, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, has one of the fastest growing number of internet and mobile users in the world.

In many parts of the continent, access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) has been seen as an opportunity to “leapfrog”, a concept that the World Bank defines as making “a quick jump in economic development” by adopting technological innovation. This is exemplified by the success of African startups like Ushahidi, a crowdsourcing mapping tool created in Kenya, or Jumia, Nigeria’s number 1 online retailer; the recent opening of Google’s Africa AI center in Ghana; and the ever-growing presence of mobile payment and banking across the continent. Digital communication technologies have also been used strategically by citizens in the continent to engage in grassroots political movements that have toppled long-time rulers, led to (sometimes short-lived) regime changes, and brought about changes in legislation.

The fast growth of digitally enabled communications and services has also brought challenges for the continent. For example, well-before the notion of “fake news” became a buzzword in U.S. politics, many African nations, from South Africa to Gabon or Nigeria, were targets of large-scale misinformation campaigns over social media such as WhatsApp and Facebook. Additionally, young, highly-educated, and digitally-savvy graduates in many African countries have been employed by transnational tech companies such as Facebook for data processing in what some authors describe as digital sweatshops. The positive and negative impacts of this technological revolution are therefore important to consider.

Because African countries, their people, and their mediated interactions remain understudied in the fields of media and communication, especially in Western countries, the “@frica: digital media conference” invites extended abstracts (800-1,000 words) that examine the transformations and disruptions of digital media in African countries.

Specifically, but not exclusively, we invite contributions that explore any of the following questions:

  • What methodological challenges exist in studying digital media use (such as social media and/or mobile communications) in Africa?
  • What theoretical frameworks, constructs and paradigms are best suited to study transformations and disruptions of digital media in Africa?
  • How has social media been used by African political actors, social movements and grassroots activists and to what effect?
  • What are the roots, consequences and differences between countries of existing disparities in access to digital media in Africa?
  • How are digital technologies influencing, complementing, and/or superseding journalistic practices in Africa?
  • How does the sharing economy (e.g. Uber, Upwork…) transform and/or reinforce social norms, values, practices, structure and culture in Africa?
  • What are the prevailing regulatory frameworks that affect digital media use in Africa?
  • What socio-economic, cultural and economic factors shape the adoption, diffusion and appropriation of digital technologies in Africa?

The deadline to submit extended abstracts is November 22, 2019. To submit an extended abstract, please go to https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=admc20. You will need to create an account to make a submission.  

The organizers will notify by email the authors of accepted extended abstracts by December 6, 2019. Authors will be expected to submit full papers by February 2, 2020.

The “@frica: digital media conference” will accept a limited number of virtual presentations, in which authors who are unable to travel to Houston, will be able to present their work and get feedback from the audience virtually. Authors who wish to be considered for one of the virtual presentation slots should indicate their preference when submitting their extended abstracts.

A selection of accepted papers will be included in a Special Issue of the Journal of African Media Studies to be published in 2020. Only accepted papers that are presented at the conference will be considered for the Special Issue. Questions about the conference and the Call for Papers can be sent to valentiglobalsummit@uh.edu