CfP Migration as Method: Media, Circulation, and Knowledge Production - NECS GW, Palermo, June 17, 2020

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18th NECS Graduate WorkshopMigration as Method: Media, Circulation, and
Knowledge Production

*17 June 2020*
*Hosted by the University of Palermo*


------------------------------

Deadline for submissions: 31st January 2020
------------------------------

The 18th NECS Graduate Workshop is intended as a moment of exchange and
reflection on methodologies for studying the entanglements of media and
migration. As such, it constitutes an attempt to tackle, or at least to
reflect on, a threefold challenge.

First, as an event on the subject of media and migration, it recognizes how
the messy imbrications between the two terms call, almost by default, for
committed approaches. As Radha Sarma Hegde has it, =E2=80=9Cmigration is a =
dynamic
process that shapes, exceeds, and cuts across individual communities,
economies, nations, and borders. The scholarly challenge is to find the
methodological and conceptual stance to capture the intricacies of these
interactions=E2=80=9D (2016: 6). The question of how film and media studies=
 are
equipped to respond to the constantly recalibrated politics and
problematics of migration is therefore paramount.

Second, as an event that addresses film and media scholars in a
self-reflectively all-embracing manner, it bears the traces of the
fragmentation of the discipline in its current stage. While the contentious
lack of established methods in film and media studies has never been a
serious disciplinary worry in itself, the proliferation of allegedly
interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary sensibilities across the field
still requires further reflections. In other words, how these approaches
can be properly translated and disseminated is an unavoidable point of
departure. Construed as more than simply an evocative metaphor, the
*migratory* becomes for us an effective paradigm through which
heterogeneous forms of knowledge come together in complex symbiosis.

Third, as an event addressed to early-career researchers, its focus on
methodologies wishes to counterbalance the shared set of problems affecting
the very conditions of knowledge production in contemporary academia. As
the neoliberal university model becomes more and more globally entrenched,
the imperatives of competition and self-entrepreneurship have induced the
widespread adoption of control mechanisms such as performance audits and
measures of academic production, accelerating, among other things, the
increasing precariousness of doctoral students and early-career
researchers, and its related forms of alienation. A sustained reflection on
methodology in this context allows us then to contrast outcome-driven
research practices with an alternative space, however temporary, to
interrogate the conditions of possibility for research as well as its
lived, on-the-ground realities.

At present, most analyses of the relationship between media and migration
prioritize migration as a research object, and particularly as a thematic
of mediated narratives. Such approaches draw attention to the circulation
of tropes that pervade the contemporary mediated discourses on migration,
such as those of the endangered-yet-threatening dinghy boat, of migratory
waves as vermin or invasions, or of gendered stereotypes casting male
migrants as (sexual) threats and female migrants as (sexual trafficking)
victims. The image of the wall as the paradigmatic icon of migrant
exclusion became so prevalent in media narratives and critical studies
alike that its deployment in critical analyses actually runs the risk of
reinforcing what Mezzadra and Neilson named =E2=80=9Cthe spectacle of the b=
order=E2=80=9D,
i.e. =E2=80=9Cthe ritualized display of violence and expulsion that charact=
erizes
many border interventions=E2=80=9D (2013: viii).

And yet, little attention has been devoted so far to the epistemic angle
from which we articulate our analyses of media and migration. How do we
best accommodate, for instance, the circulatory dynamics involving
currencies, commodities, information, and knowledges in the
oft-spectacularized accounts of migratory movements in the media? What are
the methods and tools that prove most useful in order to widen our gaze on
both =E2=80=9Cmediated migration=E2=80=9D and the migration of media knowle=
dge itself? And
what if, taking our inspiration from Mezzadra and Neilson, we proposed to
take migration as a method in its own terms? With this workshop, we would
like to reflect on the ways in which migration, in its broadest sense, can
be said to play a constitutive role in the modes of production and
organization of knowledge. To this end, we invite contributions that shed
light on the assemblages of migratory movements, knowledge transits, and
information flows both in contemporary mediascapes and within critical
media studies. We particularly welcome papers addressing the methodological
issues at stake in the study of media and migration. Potential approaches
could be built on, but not limited to, the following areas:

   - Media and cultural history
   - Media industry studies
   - Socio-cultural anthropology and ethnography
   - Human and cultural geography
   - Digital humanities
   - Science and technology studies
   - Critical border/migration studies
   - Postcolonial theory
   - Gender and sexuality studies
   - Critical race and ethnic studies
   - Textual and discourse analysis
   - Political economy and critical policy studies
   - Research-creation
   - Militant research and conricerca

References

Hegde, Radha Sarma. 2016. *Mediating Migration*. Cambridge (UK): Polity
Press.
Mezzadra, Sandro, and Brett Neilson. 2013. *Border as Method, Or, the
Multiplication of Labor*, Durham (NC): Duke University Press.
------------------------------

*SUBMISSION*

Early-career researchers from cinema, visual and media studies are invited
to submit proposals for contributions by 31 January 2020. Applicants are
welcome to submit a proposal to the 2020 NECS Conference as well.

The University of Palermo will not provide refunds: participants will cover
their own travel and accommodation expenses. Travel information, as well as
a list of affordable hotels and other accommodation, will be provided on
the conference website and program. Workshop attendance is free, but valid
NECS membership is required to participate. Participants must register with
NECS at https://necs.org/user/register and pay their fee by 1st February
2020. For the terms of NECS membership, please also refer to our website:
https://necs.org/faq

Please address all inquiries to [email protected]
------------------------------

*18th **NECS Graduate Workshop organizers*: Giuseppe Fidotta (Concordia
University, Canada) and Mara Mattoscio (Universit=C3=A0 =E2=80=9CG. d=E2=80=
=99Annunzio=E2=80=9D di
Chieti-Pescara, Italy)

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
General list info and FAQ: http://comm.umn.edu/~grodman/cultstud.html

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"=
gmail_quote"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><div dir=3D"ltr"><=
div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div style=3D"f=
ont-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><h1 style=3D"border:none;margin:30px=
 0px 7px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-family:&quot;PT Sans&quot=
;,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:33.6px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:=
28px;text-align:center"><br>18th NECS Graduate Workshop</h1><h3 style=3D"bo=
rder:none;margin:30px 0px 7px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-fami=
ly:&quot;PT Sans&quot;,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:22.8px;color:=
rgb(51,51,51);font-size:19px;text-align:center">Migration as Method: Media,=
 Circulation, and Knowledge Production</h3><p style=3D"border:none;margin:0=
px 0px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-size:14px;text-align:c=
enter;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><strong styl=
e=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">17 June 20=
20</strong><br><strong style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical=
-align:baseline">Hosted by the University of Palermo</strong></p><p style=
=3D"border:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;fon=
t-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">=C2=A0=
</p><hr style=3D"background:rgb(232,232,232);border:none;height:1px;margin:=
15px 0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:=
medium"><p style=3D"border:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-al=
ign:baseline;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sa=
ns-serif">Deadline for submissions: 31<sup style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;=
padding:0px">st</sup>=C2=A0January 2020</p><hr style=3D"background:rgb(232,=
232,232);border:none;height:1px;margin:15px 0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-famil=
y:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style=3D"border:none;marg=
in:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-size:14px;color:rg=
b(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style=3D"border:none=
;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">The 18th</span>=C2=A0<span=
 style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">NECS =
Graduate Workshop is intended as a moment of exchange and reflection on met=
hodologies for studying the entanglements of media and migration. As such, =
it constitutes an attempt to tackle, or at least to reflect on, a threefold=
 challenge.</span></p><p style=3D"border:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0=
px;vertical-align:baseline;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Aria=
l,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;v=
ertical-align:baseline">First, as an event on the subject of media and migr=
ation, it recognizes how the messy imbrications between the two terms call,=
 almost by default, for committed approaches. As Radha Sarma Hegde has it, =
=E2=80=9Cmigration is a dynamic process that shapes, exceeds, and cuts acro=
ss individual communities, economies, nations, and borders. The scholarly c=
hallenge is to find the methodological and conceptual stance to capture the=
 intricacies of these interactions=E2=80=9D (2016: 6). The question of how =
film and media studies are equipped to respond to the constantly recalibrat=
ed politics and problematics of migration is therefore paramount.</span></p=
><p style=3D"border:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-align:bas=
eline;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-seri=
f"><span style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baselin=
e">Second, as an event that addresses film and media scholars in a self-ref=
lectively all-embracing manner, it bears the traces of the fragmentation of=
 the discipline in its current stage. While the contentious lack of establi=
shed methods in film and media studies has never been a serious disciplinar=
y worry in itself, the proliferation of allegedly interdisciplinary and mul=
tidisciplinary sensibilities across the field still requires further reflec=
tions. In other words, how these approaches can be properly translated and =
disseminated is an unavoidable point of departure. Construed as more than s=
imply an evocative metaphor, the=C2=A0<i style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;pa=
dding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">migratory</i>=C2=A0becomes for us an eff=
ective paradigm through which heterogeneous forms of knowledge come togethe=
r in complex symbiosis.</span></p><p style=3D"border:none;margin:0px 0px 15=
px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font=
-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;p=
adding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">Third, as an event addressed to early-c=
areer researchers, its focus on methodologies wishes to counterbalance the =
shared set of problems affecting the very conditions of knowledge productio=
n in contemporary academia. As the neoliberal university model becomes more=
 and more globally entrenched, the imperatives of competition and self-entr=
epreneurship have induced the widespread adoption of control mechanisms suc=
h as performance audits and measures of academic production, accelerating, =
among other things, the increasing precariousness of doctoral students and =
early-career researchers, and its related forms of alienation. A sustained =
reflection on methodology in this context allows us then to contrast outcom=
e-driven research practices with an alternative space, however temporary, t=
o interrogate the conditions of possibility for research as well as its liv=
ed, on-the-ground realities.</span></p><p style=3D"border:none;margin:0px 0=
px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0)=
;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style=3D"border:none;margin:=
0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">At present, most analyses of the r=
elationship between media and migration prioritize migration as a research =
object, and particularly as a thematic of mediated narratives. Such approac=
hes draw attention to the circulation of tropes that pervade the contempora=
ry mediated discourses on migration, such as those of the endangered-yet-th=
reatening dinghy boat, of migratory waves as vermin or invasions, or of gen=
dered stereotypes casting male migrants as (sexual) threats and female migr=
ants as (sexual trafficking) victims. The image of the wall as the paradigm=
atic icon of migrant exclusion became so prevalent in media narratives and =
critical studies alike that its deployment in critical analyses actually ru=
ns the risk of reinforcing what Mezzadra and Neilson named =E2=80=9Cthe spe=
ctacle of the border=E2=80=9D, i.e. =E2=80=9Cthe ritualized display of viol=
ence and expulsion that characterizes many border interventions=E2=80=9D (2=
013: viii).</span></p><p style=3D"border:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0=
px;vertical-align:baseline;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Aria=
l,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;v=
ertical-align:baseline">And yet, little attention has been devoted so far t=
o the epistemic angle from which we articulate our analyses of media and mi=
gration. How do we best accommodate, for instance, the circulatory dynamics=
 involving currencies, commodities, information, and knowledges in the oft-=
spectacularized accounts of migratory movements in the media? What are the =
methods and tools that prove most useful in order to widen our gaze on both=
 =E2=80=9Cmediated migration=E2=80=9D and the migration of media knowledge =
itself? And what if, taking our inspiration from Mezzadra and Neilson, we p=
roposed to take migration as a method in its own terms? With this workshop,=
 we would like to reflect on the ways in which migration, in its broadest s=
ense, can be said to play a constitutive role in the modes of production an=
d organization of knowledge. To this end, we invite contributions that shed=
 light on the assemblages of migratory movements, knowledge transits, and i=
nformation flows both in contemporary mediascapes and within critical media=
 studies. We particularly welcome papers addressing the methodological issu=
es at stake in the study of media and migration. Potential approaches could=
 be built on, but not limited to, the following areas:</span></p><ul style=
=3D"border:none;margin:0px 0px 15px 16px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baselin=
e;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><=
li style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;text=
-align:left">Media and cultural history</li><li style=3D"border:none;margin=
:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;text-align:left">Media industry st=
udies</li><li style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:ba=
seline;text-align:left">Socio-cultural anthropology and ethnography</li><li=
 style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;text-a=
lign:left">Human and cultural geography</li><li style=3D"border:none;margin=
:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;text-align:left">Digital humanitie=
s</li><li style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseli=
ne;text-align:left">Science and technology studies</li><li style=3D"border:=
none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;text-align:left">Critic=
al border/migration studies</li><li style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding=
:0px;vertical-align:baseline;text-align:left">Postcolonial theory</li><li s=
tyle=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;text-ali=
gn:left">Gender and sexuality studies</li><li style=3D"border:none;margin:0=
px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;text-align:left">Critical race and e=
thnic studies</li><li style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-=
align:baseline;text-align:left">Textual and discourse analysis</li><li styl=
e=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;text-align:=
left">Political economy and critical policy studies</li><li style=3D"border=
:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;text-align:left">Resea=
rch-creation</li><li style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-a=
lign:baseline;text-align:left">Militant research and conricerca</li></ul><p=
 style=3D"border:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseli=
ne;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">=
<span style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;t=
ext-decoration-line:underline"><span style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;paddin=
g:0px;vertical-align:baseline">References</span></span></p><p style=3D"bord=
er:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-size:1=
4px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style=3D=
"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">Hegde, Radha S=
arma. 2016.=C2=A0<i style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-al=
ign:baseline">Mediating Migration</i>. Cambridge (UK): Polity Press.<br></s=
pan>Mezzadra, Sandro, and Brett Neilson. 2013.=C2=A0<i style=3D"border:none=
;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">Border as Method, Or, the =
Multiplication of Labor</i>, Durham (NC): Duke University Press.</p><hr sty=
le=3D"background:rgb(232,232,232);border:none;height:1px;margin:15px 0px;co=
lor:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p =
style=3D"border:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baselin=
e;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><=
strong style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"=
>SUBMISSION</strong></p><p style=3D"border:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding=
:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Ar=
ial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px=
;vertical-align:baseline">Early-career researchers from cinema, visual and =
media studies are invited to submit proposals for contributions by 31 Janua=
ry 2020. Applicants are welcome to submit a proposal to the 2020 NECS Confe=
rence as well.</span></p><p style=3D"border:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;paddin=
g:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:A=
rial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0p=
x;vertical-align:baseline">The University of Palermo will not provide refun=
ds: participants will cover their own travel and accommodation expenses. Tr=
avel information, as well as a list of affordable hotels and other accommod=
ation, will be provided on the conference website and program. Workshop att=
endance is free, but valid NECS membership is required to participate. Part=
icipants must register with NECS at <a href=3D"https://necs.org/user/regist=
er" target=3D"_blank">https://necs.org/user/register</a> and pay their fee =
by 1</span><span style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align=
:baseline"><sup style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px">st</sup></span=
><span style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"=
>=C2=A0February 2020. For the terms of NECS membership, please also refer t=
o our website: <a href=3D"https://necs.org/faq" target=3D"_blank">https://n=
ecs.org/faq</a></span></p><p style=3D"border:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;paddi=
ng:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:=
Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0=
px;vertical-align:baseline">Please address all inquiries to <a href=3D"mail=
to:[email protected]" target=3D"_blank">[email protected]</a></span></p><=
hr style=3D"background:rgb(232,232,232);border:none;height:1px;margin:15px =
0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:mediu=
m"><p style=3D"border:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-align:b=
aseline;font-size:14px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-se=
rif"><strong style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:bas=
eline"><span style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:bas=
eline">18th</span>=C2=A0</strong><span style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;padd=
ing:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><strong style=3D"border:none;margin:0px;pa=
dding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">NECS Graduate Workshop organizers</stron=
g>: Giuseppe Fidotta (Concordia University, Canada) and Mara Mattoscio (Uni=
versit=C3=A0 =E2=80=9CG. d=E2=80=99Annunzio=E2=80=9D di Chieti-Pescara, Ita=
ly)</span></p></div></div>
</div></div>
</div>
</div></div>
</div></div>
</div></div>
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
General list info and FAQ: <a href=3D"http://comm.umn.edu/~grodman/cultstud.html" target=3D"_blank">http://comm.umn.edu/~grodman/cultstud.html</a>

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