The Finnish Conference for Media Research 2014 will be held 4-5th April 2014 in the University of Vaasa. The theme of the conference is “Media for Us and for Them”. Plenary speakers are Shani Orgad (London School of Economics and Political Science) and John Durham Peters (University of Iowa).

The conference deals especially with the questions of otherness,  consumption, participation and citizenship; those boundaries and  classifications by which “we” are seen in relation to “them”.

The role of the media both as a commercial actor and a space for identity-building and serving the public raises tensions and challenges locally, nationally and internationally. There is a greater need in the media for understanding otherness globally and locally, and to serve diverse audiences to whom the media are important in defining “who we are”.

The conference is organized by the Finnish Association for Media and Communication Studies (Mevi ry) together with the Department of Communication Studies in the University of Vaasa.  Working groups in English:  1. Depicting the ‘Other’: A Trans-equatorial Gaze 2. Media, Citizenship and Politics

More information: http://www.uva.fi/fi/sites/mediapaivat/in_english/

We warmly welcome you to the conference!