Three-D Issue 26: MeCCSA Conference 2017: Culture, Media, Equality and Freedom

Anna Zoellner
University of Leeds

Preparations for the next MeCCSA conference are well in hand. Back up North this time, the conference will be held at the University of Leeds from 11 to 13 January 2017. Mark the date in your diary and start planning your submission now! The Call for Papers has been published (see next page or visit https://meccsa2017.org.uk) and the deadline for abstracts for panels, papers and practice presentations is 5th September 2016.

We particularly welcome submissions related to the conference theme ‘Culture, Media, Equality and Freedom’. With this theme we aim to emphasise the continued importance of the ideas of equality and freedom and the central role played by culture and media in their pursuance.

The conference team invites papers considering the complex relationship between Culture, Media, Equality and Freedom, and the different forms they take – in theory, practice and policy. Considering recent developments in the UK and in other countries, we believe these are urgent questions for us to discuss. We invite papers that consider the different forms of media and communication, the circumstances in which they are produced, distributed and consumed, and the consequences for the realisation of different forms of equality and freedom at local, national, regional and global levels. See the CfP below for suggested questions.

We have some exciting keynotes and plenaries confirmed including talks by (in alphabetical order) Dr Shakuntala Banaji, Professor Milly Buonanno, Professor Paul Gilroy, Professor Andrew Ross, and Professor Barbie Zelizer. We are also in the process of organising plenaries on media serving the public interest, media production in the North, and practice research. More to come!

The conference will be hosted by the School of Media and Communication and will take place at our city centre campus at the University of Leeds. In addition to lecture theatres and seminar rooms for panel sessions, the venues include the magnificent Clothworkers’ Concert Hall for keynotes and plenaries and the stunning art deco foyer of the University’s signature Parkinson’s Building for refreshments, publisher stalls and the welcome reception. The cinema in the School of Media and Communication offers screening facilities for a range of practice work formats (8, 16 and 35mm, Blu-ray and DVD). Evening events include wine reception, beer festival, the famed MeCCSA pub quiz and the traditional conference dinner.

The campus is very central, being a short walk from the city centre and rail and bus stations. Leeds is a vibrant, modern city, with a distinguished political and cultural history. The city has excellent cultural facilities, including galleries, museums and theatres, extensive shopping opportunities, and many good restaurants and bars, all of which can be easily explored on foot. It is located in a central position in the UK, with very good rail and road connections and is served by an airport with excellent national and international links that is only a short drive away. And of course, Leeds is just 10 miles from the beautiful Yorkshire Dales National Park – always worth a visit and easy to reach by bus, rail and car.

More details are available on the conference website and we will keep adding to it over the next months, so do visit us at: https://meccsa2017.org.uk/. Also follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/meccsa2017 for updates and reminders about deadline for proposals. And if you have any questions about the conference, get in touch with the conference team at info@meccsa2017.org.uk.