Mediatized Worlds: Culture and Society in a Media Age

• 14.04.2011 – 05.04.2011
• Haus der Wissenschaft

International SPP Conference “Mediatized Worlds” (14-15 April 2011)

Under the title Mediatized Worlds: Culture and Society in a Media Age, the ZeMKI hosted the first international conference of the Priority Programme 1505 Mediatized Worlds, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), on 14 and 15 April 2011 at the Haus der Wissenschaft in Bremen.

The conference provided a broad international forum for academic exchange on research into the interrelationship between changes in media and communication, culture, politics and society. The conference was thus the first in a series of events dealing with questions of current media change within the framework of the DFG priority program. The response in media and communication studies was correspondingly high: more than 130 academics from over 20 countries took the opportunity to participate in the specialist discussion.

The speakers included renowned academics, such as keynote speakers Nick Couldry (UK), Stig Hjarvard (Denmark), Hubert Knoblauch (Germany) and Lynn Spigel (USA), as well as ambitious young researchers who presented current research projects. The aim of the 18 panels and 58 lectures was not only to present current approaches to mediatization research, but also to set the tone for future research in this field.

With this in mind, the range of topics was broad: In addition to fundamental discussions on how the transformation of media and communication can be understood, i.e. what mediatization is and what mediatization research can achieve, numerous lectures provided examples and suggestions in theoretical and methodological terms: from mobile living environments to political participation and media to mediatization in everyday working life or in the healthcare sector.

In addition, a series of supporting events, in particular the joint dinner in the Weserhaus restaurant in the atmosphere of the state broadcaster Radio Bremen, offered the researchers the opportunity to make contacts and thus expand their research networks. Last but not least, the conference contributed to cooperation and joint project work in the international media and communication studies community.

The conference was organized by the coordination project of the DFG Priority Programme Mediatized Worlds under the direction of Professor Dr. Friedrich Krotz in cooperation with the Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI).

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Friedrich Krotz (Koordinator des SPP „Mediatisierte Welten“)
Zentrum für Medien-, Kommunikations- und Informationsforschung (ZeMKI)
Tel.: 0421/218-67625
E-Mail: krotz@uni-bremen.de
www.mediatisiertewelten.de