Saturday, April 4, 2009
10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public

Sponsored and hosted by The New School, the Critical Themes in Media Studies Conference provides a distinguished forum for graduate students from around the world to present original scholarship on media studies and society. Interdisciplinary by nature, the field of media studies is continually shifting and adapting to new technological, cultural, and political conditions. Whether we limit our conception of media to methods and technologies that enable communication or broaden it to include the built environment, material and immaterial tools and other artifacts of design, there is no denying that--however we understand it--media profoundly affect our experience of being in an increasingly interconnected world.

The work presented at Critical Themes reflects these shifting boundaries. Drawing inspiration from The New School's progressive academic tradition, Critical Themes incorporates a wide variety of theoretical and thematic perspectives ranging from the social sciences and the humanities to design, policy analysis, and urban studies. Now in its ninth year, Critical Themes papers are selected from a pool of local, national, and international submissions to reflect the breadth and depth of the field of media studies. Topics include globalization, networked publics, mediated environments, identity & representation, media and social change, popular culture, political economy, and more.

The conference typically features three sets of panels featuring graduate student presenters and New School faculty respondents followed by a keynote address. Past Keynote speakers have included Lev Manovich, James Carey, Pierre Levy, and Giuliana Bruno. Please check back often, as we will be announcing the schdedule of panels and the faculty respondents in the coming days.