Whose Voice? Global Populisms, Media and Political Institutions in Uncertain Times
Day Two of Two
Saturday 25 October, 2014
10am - 7pm, $0
Baruch College, Vertical Campus
55 Lexington Avenue, Room 14-235
This two-day colloquium will provide a forum in which scholars are able to share research on the role that media and communication technology are playing in contemporary populist movements. Not very long ago, it was thought that the populist movements of the twentieth century, organized around charismatic leaders and the actions of undifferentiated masses, had been displaced by the rise of networked media and communication platforms that allowed for open access. Yet, the events of the past decade have witnessed the rise of political movements that echo traditional forms of populism while incorporating the non-hierarchical characteristics of networked communication media.
The goal of this colloquium is to bring together research that explores the changing relationship between populism and popular democratic movements globally as well as the contemporary significance of ‘the popular’ more broadly as a category of analysis in critical communication and media studies scholarship. This meeting hopes to bring together scholars whose work draws upon the traditions of cultural studies and critical theory in order to make sense of the relationship between the people, media and political institutions in the contemporary moment.
This colloquium will engage with the following questions:
*What is the role that communication and media play in the formation of these new populist movements as well as in attempts to contain or preempt them?
*What is the relationship between these movements and established or emergent forms of political organization and institutionalization?
*How do these movements intersect with processes of economic globalization, the politics of gender and sexuality, as well as ethnic, religious, caste, tribal or other social formations and modes of collective identification?
The two-day event has been organized by Jayson Harsin (Baruch College) and Mark Hayward (York University). It is open to the public, but we ask that those interested in attending get in touch with us via the contact page.