(In)visibility in Global Communication: Connections & Inequities
About the Conference
October 9-11, 2020
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Global Fusion conference, held annually by an innovative consortium of mass communication programs from institutions of higher education in the United States. This will be our first-ever virtual gathering, in order to avoid the risks of in-person gatherings in the age of the novel coronavirus pandemic. We are committed to having a 2020 conference given the need for serious discussion of vital global communication issues in the face of planetary challenges, in particular the current pandemic, the impacts of global climate change and a seeming collapse of democratic structures.
We invite original, non-published research submissions on any aspect of global media and international aspects of mediated communication. We encourage special attention be paid to issues of scale and accessibility, class, and notions of “resilience” during this global pandemic and the increasingly frequent climate-driven disasters befalling populations worldwide. Given these circumstances, how should we study contemporary global discourses and the varied mass communication systems which deliver them?
While we have chosen a theme, we also encourage research encompassing the widest possible range of topics. We encourage a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches appropriate to communication and media studies research. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to: social justice and media, new technologies and communities, social movements, media representations of global or transnational issues, global media flows, media audiences and reception. Other topics may include: communication and immigrant or diasporic populations, the comparative or international role of social media in political systems and institutions, messaging techniques and strategies for health communication in global settings, media policy and law in global or international settings, infrastructural challenges for media and development, the philosophy of globalization and media, international film and television studies, the role of streaming platforms in developing or challenging globalization, and the rise of authoritarian populism around the world and in the United States.
Begun in 2000, the purpose of the Global Fusion Conference is to promote academic excellence in global media and international communication studies. The conference is sponsored by a consortium of universities: Southern Illinois University, the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, Ohio University, University of Virginia, and Temple University.
Plenary Panel: #BLM and Global Anti-Racist Movement
This year's plenary panel brings together a rising filmmaker and two media scholars to discuss the Black Lives Matter and global anti-racist movement from Ferguson, Missouri, to Cape Town, South Africa.
Fareed Alson has been producing documentary videos, as an artist and professional. In 2019, Mr. Alston released his first feature film, titled Twelve Days in Ferguson, a feature length documentary, which follows the 2014 events that erupted in Ferguson, Missouri as a response to the killing of Michael Brown Jr. In 2018, Mr. Alston started a business “City-Productions and Publishing LLC,” which offers a summer internship to local teens that provides training for a career in video production. He has worked on projects for major broadcast networks, including MTV, CNBC, and, as well as local/regional businesses, such as commercial agencies and academic institutions.
Tanja Bosch is an Associate Professor of Media Studies and Production in the Centre for Film andMedia Studies at the University of Cape Town, where she also holds the position of Deputy Dean of Research and Postgraduate Affairs. She teaches journalism and multimedia production, social media, radio studies and research methods at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Her first book, Broadcasting Democracy: Radio and Identity in South Africa, was published by the HSRC Press in 2017. Her second monograph, Social Media and Everyday Life in South Africa, will be released in November 2020. (Routledge). Prof Bosch has published widely in the field of radio studies in South Africa; and is currently emerging as one of a few academics on the continent publishing in the area of social media activism, with her work on #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall.
Danielle K. Kilgo is the John & Elizabeth Bates Cowles Professor of Journalism, Diversity and Equality in the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Her research interests look primarily at the interaction among social movements, social media, and journalism. Her work also appears in journals such as the Journal of Communication, International Journal of Press/Politics, Journalism, Journalism Studies, Journalism Practice, Digital Journalism, Mass Communication & Society, Health Communication, and The International Journal of Communication.
Conference Program
Friday, October 9
11 - 11:50 am
Twelve Days in Ferguson, Fareed Alston Documentary Showing
12 - 1:30 pm
Plenary Session: #BLM & Global Anti-Racist Movements
Dr. Tanja Bosch, Associate Professor of Media Studies, Production in the Centre for Film and Media
Studies at the University of Cape Town, South Africa
Dr. Danielle Kilgo, The John & Elizabeth Bates Cowles Professor of Journalism, Diversity and Equality
in the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota,
Minnesota, USA
Mr. Fareed Alston, As Documentary Film Producer, Mr. Alston released his first feature film, titled
Twelve Days in Ferguson. He is the Founder and Operator of City-Productions (Audio-Video
Production and City-Publishing). St. Louis, USA
1:45 - 2:30 pm
Panel 1: Visible World
What shall we dream of when everything becomes visible? We'll dream of being blind. A collection of media
art works created during and within the limitations of a pandemic-stricken society.
Robert Spahr, MFA, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Moderator
Cody Tracy, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, "A Love Letter to Bev: An Audio Obituary"
Daniel Rodríguez, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, "Juan Duran: Song of Sand"
John-Michael Veach, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, "South Pass"
Andrew Beyke, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, "Generative Isolation Loop II"
Tyler Horn, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, "Dream Remembered"
2:45 - 4 pm
Panel 2: Detourning the Stream
Odd Bots, Instagram Live, Invisible Archives, Roasting
Alex Leith, PhD, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Moderator
Rowena Chodkowski University of California, Davis, Odd Bots.
Franklyn W. Charles, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, Caribbean History and the Global Pandemic:
Instagram Live and Sound System Performance
Lisa Patti, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Invisible Archives:The New NonExtant Media
Heather Jaber, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, Roasting on the
international stage: Humiliation and pleasure at the World Economic Forum*
Jonalou S. Labor, University of the Philippines Diliman, Digitally Performed Sensual Selves: Young Adults' Sexual
Scripts in Mobile Dating Apps
4:15 - 5:30 pm
Panel 3: Marginalized Identities
Theme - Peanut Butter Falcon, Disability in Saudi, Fearing Queer, Disability in media mainstream, South Asian Queer histories
Mike Phillips, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Moderator
Shelby E. Landmark, Texas A&M University, The Patronized Supercrip: A Textual Analysis of The Peanut Butter Falcon
Manasar Alharethi, Assumption University Thailand, How Saudi Media Cover Disability People Issues
Shelby E. Landmark, Texas A&M University, Trivialized: Disability as Symbolically Annihilated in Media Mohammed
Mizanur Rashid, The University of Texas at Dallas, The Invisible South-Asian Queer Histories: Reclaiming Bengali Queer Identities through Digital Platform Narratives
Riana Sharice Slyter, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Goddesses Don't Speak in Whispers. They Scream: Fearing Queer or Queering Fear in American Horror Story
Saturday, October 10
9 - 10:15am
Panel 1- Human rights & Media flows
South-Global, Self-censorship Iran, Duterte, & Colonial residue
Lisa Brooten, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Moderator
Ololade Afolabi, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, From South to Global: Questioning the
Contra-Flow in Global Media Production
Tahereh Rahimi, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Organizational Production of Self-Censorship in the
Iranian Media
Christian Jaycee Samonte, University of the Philippines, Snippets of an Authoritarian Populist Ruler?
Rodrigo Roa Dutert
Rachel E. Khan, University of the Philippines, Competing Frames on Media Freedom: A Case Study of ABS-CBN
Dawn R. Gilpin and Rian Bosse, Arizona State University, Colonizing the Pandemic: Coronavirus Narratives and
Neo-Colonial Power
10:30 - 12:15am
Panel 2 - Appropriation and Desire
Walter C. Metz, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Moderator
Hamidreza Nassiri, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vulgar Co-Creation as a Radical Mode of Film and
Media Production in Digital Age
William Kohler, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, The Great Continuity Massacre: Opening Scenes as a
Liminal Space of Weakened Continuity
Sonal Vij, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Through Awara's Glass 1950 Bollywood, Awara and Chaplin
Sriram Mohan and Padma Chirumamilla, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of
Pennsylvania, Take it Easy Policy: Film Songs, Desire and Development in Post-Liberalization India
Xiang Ren, Western Sydney University, Translated Webnovels, Digital Intermediaries and Globalized
Storytelling Communities
Dina Farouk Abou Zeid, Ain Shams University Egypt, Multiple Messages by ISIS Parody Video
1:00pm - 2:15pm
Panel 3 - Gendered and Sexualized Identities on Social Media
Undrah Baasanjav, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Moderator
Ryane Boyd, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Media Effects on Women’s Body Image on Instagram
Kalli Farmer, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Media & Body Image of High School Girls
Escarlet Montano Claure, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Analysis of the Latin American Feminist
Hashtags on Twitter
Madison Weilbacher, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Female Athletes and Online Identity
Amanda Cooper, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Being a Woman on Twitch Podcast
Undrah Baasanjav, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, The Use of Facebook by Mongolian Women
Organizations
2:30 - 3:45pm
Panel 4 - Journalism & Media Regulation
Mark Poepsel, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Moderator
Donnalyn Pompper, University of Oregon, On Re-considering The First as a News Value to avoid Stereotyping
Mark Poepsel Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Working the Referees on the Field of Public Opinion:
How Journalistic Adjudication Research has Evolved in the Time of Trump
Ashley Larson, San Francisco State University, Terrorism in the Global Landscape: A Comparative Analysis of
Images in News Coverage of Terrorist Attacks
Patricia W. Elliott, University of Regina, It's not what We Expected: Journalism Amid Lingering Colonialism
and Authoritarianism in Burma/Myanmar
Annemarie Iddins, Fairfield University, A Sword of Damocles: Media Policy, Digital Cultures and the Discourse
of Press Code Reform
4 - 5:15pm
Panel 5 - Mediating Disasters
Patrick Burkart, Texas A&M University, Moderator
Hwo-Jeong Lee, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Televisual Images as a Site of Emotional Memories
Yasemin Y. Celikkol, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, Sign of the
Times: Corona
Cassie Cole and Donnalyn Pompper, University of Oregon, A New Generation of Fear: A Critical Race Theory
Analysis of Asian-Americans
Khara Lukancic, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Who Will Save Us?: Virus Culture, Variola Vera
(Yugoslavia, Goran Marković, 1982), and COVID-19
Emily Blout and Patrick Burkart, American University & Texas A&M University, White Supremacists Terror in
Charlottesville: A Qualitative Study
5:30 - 6:45pm
Panel 6 - Contingencies
This panel counterposes repression against sanctioned forms of growth in the context of an analysis of
globalization
Fabienne Darling-Wolf, Temple University, Moderator
Shi-Yan Chao, Hong Kong Baptist University, Documentary Ethics, Sexual Politics, Contingent Spaces Academy
of Film
Menglu Lyu, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Understanding the Rise of China's Video Game Industry
Adelaja O. Oriade, Ohio University, Spiral of Silence and Opinion Expression in a Post-Truth Media Environment
Sumitra Srinivasan, University of Toledo, Advancing “Unglobalization
Fabienne Darling-Wolf, Temple University, “On n’a plus le choix” Digital media’s conditions of engagement in a
French rural community
Sunday, October 11
9 - 10:15amPanel 1 - Climate, Labor, Resistance
Migrant labor resistance and discourses of environmental resistance at global and local scales
Patrick Murphy, Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Studies, Lew Klein College of Media & Communication, Temple University, Moderator
Mariam Jayne M. Agonos, University of Philippines, Manifestations of Agency and Expression of Resistance in the Lives of Filipina Migrant Workers
Monika Mehta, Binghamton University, Planetary Voices and the Politics of Distribution
Somjeeta Pandey, Anindita Shome, Gobardanga Hindu College, University of Hyderabad, Climate Change Activists and Digital Media: Youth Climate Activists in Virtual Spaces
Ellen Tamanda Chabvuta, Texas A&M University, Discourses of Seed Saving in New Mexico
10:30am - 12:15pm
Panel 2 - Covid 19 Stories
Kavita Karan, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Moderator
Francesco Petricone, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Mind the Queue! Experiences of the First Phase of COVID-19 around the World
Demet Gencer Kasap, Apple Inc. Austin, TX, Contact Tracing Tools and Data Politics During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Comparative Cases Around the World
Bhumika Sharma & Mohammed Muqtadir, M.M.Public School, Pasonda, Himachal Pradesh University, India, ICT-driven Education During Covid-19 Pandemic vis-a-viz Widening Digital Divide
Deepti Ganapathy and Kavita Karan, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, New Media Technologies in Controlling the Spread of Covid-19: A Case Study of Apps in India
Gizealew Alazie Dagnaw, University of Gondar, Ethiopia, Using Covid-19 Pandemic as an Opportunities for Technology Usage Inspiration and Innovation for African Countries
Ilona Biernacka-Ligieza, Canterbury Christ Church University, The importance of digital media in local public space crisis management – the case of Poland, UK and Italy
1 - 2:30pm
Panel 3 - Media & National Identity
Jason Yu, Southern Illinois UniversityEdwardsville, Moderator
Soheil Kafili, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Soft Power in the Age of Twitter Diplomacy: A Case Study of Donald Trump and Dept of State
Joe Cruz, Roanoke College, Politiqueros: The Role of Peers and Family in Young Puerto Ricans
Yuval Katz, University of Michigan, When Media Events Fail: The Demise of the Israeli Peace Discourse at the Funeral of Shimon Peres
Aiden James Kosciesza, Temple University, Turning Points in Identity Formation for Japanese Media Fans
Gabrielle Camille Ferreira, Federal University of Parana, From Subversives to Conservatives: Perceptions of Turkish Dramas in Brazil
Deniza Mulaj, Ohio University, Rethinking Spatiality in Media: A Framing Analysis of the U.S. Media and the Conflicts in Mitrovica
2:30 - 3:45pm
Panel 4 - Feminist Epistemologies
Sarah Lewison, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Moderator
Lia Wolock, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Streaming South-Asian America: The Racialized and Gendered Politics of Mediating Diasporic Identity
Paige Jennings, Texas A&M University, The Object of Consumption
Ellen Santa Maria, Temple University, Cancel Culture as Feminist Epistemology? Intersetional Feminist Considerations
Alla Myzelev, State University of New York College at Geneseo, Ukraine's Feminist Body in the Media: FEMEN and Transnational Feminism
Call for Papers
Submission to the Global Fusion Conference is closed now.
The organizing committee will be informing you shortly, if you have submitted a proposal or paper.
Submission Instructions
NOTE: For the 2020 virtual conference, if a proposal is accepted, the presenter will need to record their presentation for upload to the virtual conference site prior to the conference. All panelists’ presentations will be made available for conference participants to view prior to a designated live (synchronous) discussion of the panel’s presentations. The schedule of presentations will be made available through the virtual conference website.
Individual papers: proposals may be submitted in the form of completed papers or abstracts of 300-400 words. Please note that only full papers will be considered for the awards for best paper. Please include a cover sheet with the paper title, the names of all authors, paper keywords, and contact information for the corresponding author (affiliation, mailing address, telephone number, and email address). No identifying information should appear on the paper or on the abstract page, to ensure blind review.
Panels: Please submit a panel abstract of 200-300 words, and 50-100 word abstracts for each paper. The names of all authors along with the paper titles, as well as contact information for the submitter, and paper keywords, should appear on a cover sheet. No identifying information should appear on the panel proposal page.
Individual Abstracts: Please submit a paper abstract of 200-300 words. The names of all authors along with the paper titles, as well as contact information for the corresponding author, and paper keywords, should appear on a cover sheet. No identifying information should appear on the panel proposal page.
Note: Word documents or .pdf files are the only accepted formats for papers and panel proposals. People interested in submitting creative work should contact Sarah Lewison at sacamixta@gmail.com for further instructions. Global Fusion strongly encourages the submission of creative work in order to widen our conversations about the possibilities for global communication.
Abstract, papers, panel proposals, and proposals for creative work should: (1) Be separate from the cover page; (2) Contain the title of the proposed paper; (3) Include a total word count; (4) paper keywords, and (5) NOT contain any identifying information about the identity of the author(s).
At least one author of an accepted paper must attend the conference virtually to present the paper. There is one exception: if student authors cannot be present, they must make arrangements for the paper to be presented by someone else. If an accepted author unexpectedly discovers they will not be able to present, we would very much appreciate notification no less than one month before the conference date, allowing us time to re-arrange the schedule.
Submission deadline: 11:59 P.M. (EST) Friday, August 21, 2020
Submit proposals to globalfusionconference@gmail.com
Awards: The Global Fusion conference offers a graduate student competition. To be considered for an award, a full paper must be submitted by August 30th and must be marked on the title page as a submission for the student competition. Papers submitted with both faculty and student authors will be considered faculty papers and are not eligible for graduate student competitions.
Registration Information
Registration provides access to all conference events, including roundtables.
Students, faculty and independent scholars is $25.00 until 10/01/2020.
Late registration is $30.00
Supporting Organizations
Organized by Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) & Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE)
