On Day 1, the plenary is “Funny Weather” convened by Prof Stella Viljoen. ‘Funny weather’ is Olivia Laing’s description of the weird, erratic and polarised political climate we find ourselves in. The first plenary of the South African Communications Association Conference comprises a roundtable of artists, academics and agitators who have ideas about the politics of the present. How do we refuse a ‘paranoid reading’ and the traffic in cynicism or sensationalism in favour of media narratives and literacies that are ‘reparative’? Can they, the members of the roundtable, imagine a future that is different from the present … especially as those with some experience of Stellenbosch, that very polarising place?
On Tuesday evening, a cocktail event will celebrate 50 Years of SACOMM, with a roundtable of past presidents, convened and hosted by the current Deputy President, Prof Sisanda Nkoala.
On Day 2, the plenary is Nollywood Studies: Now and Then. Kindly sponsored by the International Research Network, Digital South Turn – Exploring Cultural Platforms Made In Africa, Asia, and Latin America, this plenary hosts two experts in the study of Nollywood to share leading edge insights in the state of theory and research on this powerhouse African cultural industry. Prof Alessandro Jedlowski (Sciences-Po, Bordeaux) will discuss Nollywood and the state over the 30 years of existence of the industry, and how technological innovation impacted on it. Prof Ikechukwu Obiaya (Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos) will explore colonial and decolonial approaches to Nollywood and its audiences.
On Wednesday evening, an awards celebration will mark the first awardee of the SACOMM SciCom prize, sponsored by the SA Research Chair in Science Communication. Do join us for a drink and snack, to celebrate the winner of the “science communication for social justice” paper.
On Day 3 the plenary will present a talk by Dr. Raed M. Sharif, exploring the politics of online violence and resilience in the MENA region, and an assessment of the media/communication dimensions on the genocide in Gaza.
On Thursday evening, the Department of Journalism will host farewell drinks in the conference foyer.