Tracing Entanglements in Media History – Conference in Lund, May 17-19

A conference at The Old Bishop’s House, Lund University, Sweden, May 17–19, 2017

The Entangled Media Histories (EMHIS) research and teaching network will host a final (or transitional) conference at Lund University to discuss new ways of studying media history. Since its commencement in 2013, EMHIS has worked to create an arena for international dialogue on the historical dimensions of transborder and transmedial flows by means of the concept entangled history. Our main academic aim has been to challenge the traditional blind spots in perspective and common methodological nationalism of media historical scholarship. With some important exceptions (such as for example Hilmes 2012; Fickers & Johnson 2012; Ribeiro & Seul 2016), media history has thus far often tended to be discussed within national contexts (which also includes most ‚comparative‘ studies) and from a mono-medial perspective, focusing exclusively on one medium at a time such as for example the press, radio or television. The fact that there are – and always have been – manifold cross-border and cross-medial interrelations has not always been properly highlighted (see Cronqvist & Hilgert 2017).

With this conference we would like to further explore the theoretical and methodological implications of such a plea for integrated media history together with other researchers working in the field. We invite scholars from different disciplines across the humanities and interpretive social sciences, who have already dealt with similar issues or wish to explore them further. We also encourage open discussions on sources and methodologies in media historical research, including aspects on media archives and the challenges and opportunities surrounding digitized media material.

Confirmed keynotes:

Michele Hilmes (University of Wisconsin, USA):
Spies, Commies, and Hairdressers. The Perfidious Entanglements of Media History

Simo Mikkonen (University of Jyväskylä, Finland):
Battle for headlines and audiences? Entangled media histories and cultural exchange in the Cold War

-> Programme

-> Further Practial Information

The conference is organised by the Media History Unit at Lund University, Sweden, in co-operation with the Research Centre for Media History at the Hans Bredow Institute/Hamburg University, Germany, and the Centre for Media History at Bournemouth University, UK, for the Entangled Media Histories network. It is hosted by the Department of Communication and Media, Lund University, with financial support from The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT).