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Conference 28-30 June, 2012, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Download the call for papers here.Digital Crossroads:
Media, Migration and Diaspora in a Transnational Perspective
Deadline for abstract submission and panel proposals: January 31, 2012Conference chair: Sandra Ponzanesi Conference coordinator: Fadi Hirzalla
Because of the disjunctive and unstable interplay of commerce, media, national policies, and consumer fantasies, ethnicity, once a genie contained in the bottle of some sort of locality (however large), has now become a global force, forever slipping in and through the cracks between states and borders
– Appadurai 1996, p. 41, Modernity at Large
The rapid development of digital technologies has radically transformed ways of keeping in touch with home cultures and diasporic networks. Moreover, the notion of migration has undergone significant shifts, coming to signify imaginaries on the move which are not necessarily linked to geographical displacement. The aim of this conference is to address the relationship between migration and digital technologies across national contexts and ethnic belonging. Migrancy embeds many of the local and global paradoxes that also pertain to digital media with their compression of space and time. However, the link between the two fields is still under-theorized and in need of more situated and comparative analysis. Drawing from approaches from the humanities and social sciences (media theory, communication studies, learning sciences, gender studies, cultural studies, postcolonial theory, migration and transnational studies, among others), the primary aim of this conference is to explore how the study of digitalization and migration challenges existing notions of diaspora, identity, nation, family, learning, literacy, social networks, youth, body, gender and ethnicity, asking for new approaches and a rethinking of traditional social and cultural categories.
The conference will consider the following questions, among others: How has the development of new digital technologies changed the experience of migration? Conversely, how has the reality of migration impacted on the use, development and distribution of new media technologies? How does the use of media differ among different migrant generations? How does media literacy impact on issues of integration and socialization in a hosting country? What are the differences in media access, diffusion and use among different migrant communities across the world? How are race, gender, age, class, ethnicity and other markers of identity recodified online? How are transnational relationships and resources arrayed in networks? How do ideas and practices move across these networks? How is the notion of home or community, which is no longer locatable with a “here” and “there” reconceptualised through digital diasporas? How do these developments impact on the spaces for learning and education, which are no longer limited to place-based classrooms and curricula? How can learning processes and networks be conceptualised when these networks expand larger geographical distances, and multiple communities are crossed? What resources of identity do migrants draw on and how are these resources hybridized in practice, and related to their learning and socialization processes? In short, how are digital crossroads created, distributed and experienced in the context of migration, diaspora and transnationalism?The conference will explore three inter-related strands of the relationships between media and migration:
Identity and diaspora (Strand 1)
- identity and performativity
- gender, race, ethnicity, religion and online communities
- digital borders, digital diasporas
- imagined communities, transnationalism and mobility
- digital divides (generational, access, skills, user-generated content)
- cultural industry, participatory culture and social media
Migrant networks (Strand 2)
- mediated spatialities
- relations between online and offline worlds
- affinity networks and intimacy
- media literacy and migration
- comparative perspectives on digital media practices
Learning in a globalized world (Strand 3)
- informal learning in the digital space
- network approaches to learning
- immigrant learning
- globalization and learning
- learning & identity
- socialization in transnational families
Submission of paper or panel proposals should be made online, on this website (in the "Submit proposal" menu). See further submission instructions in that menu. Deadline for submission is January 31, 2012. Notification of acceptance will be given by 1 March, 2012.
Registration fee is 180 Euro, and 120 Euro for PhD students and undergraduates.
For more information or questions please send an e-mail to info@digitalcrossroads.nl.
The conference comes at the end of a five-year High Potential project, entitled “Wired Up: Digital media as innovative socialization practices for migrant youth”, carried out by the Faculty of Humanities (project leader Dr. Sandra Ponzanesi) and the Faculty of Social Sciences (project leader Prof. Dr. Mariette de Haan) at Utrecht University in collaboration with Vanderbilt University, USA (Dr. Kevin Leander, Peabody College for Education). The project was funded by the Executive Board of the Utrecht University to stimulate interdisciplinary research. See http://www.uu.nl/wiredup.
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Keynote speakers
Dr. Shakuntala Banaji London School of Economics and Political Science, UK

Prof. Dr. Kirsten Drotner University of Southern Denmark, Denmark

Prof. Dr. Radhika Gajjala Bowling Green State University, USA

Associate Prof. Dr. Eva Lam University of Northwestern, USA

Prof. Dr. Lisa Nakamura University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA

Prof. Dr. Liesbet van Zoonen Loughborough University, UK

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Organization
Dr. Sandra Ponzanesi: conference chairDr. Fadi Hirzalla: conference coordinator Prof. Dr. Mariëtte de Haan: scientific committee Dr. Kevin Leander: scientific committee Dr. Fleur Prinsen: conference committee Koen Leurs, MA: conference committee Asli Ünlüsoy, MSC: conference committee Dr. Lisa Schwartz: conference committeeDr. Sandra Ponzanesi
s.ponzanesi[at]uu.nl

Sandra Ponzanesi is Associate Professor of gender and postcolonial critique at Utrecht University (The Netherlands), department of Media and Culture Studies/Graduate Gender Program. She is project leader of ‘Wired Up’. She is also coordinator of the EU 7th framework project 'Mig@net: Transnational Digital Network, Migration and Gender', principal investigator of the NWO international program PEN (Postcolonial Europe Network) and coordinator of the Postcolonial Studies Initiative (PCI). She has published on post-colonial critique, European identities, comparative migration studies and literatures, transnational feminism, visual culture and postcolonial cinema. Among her publications are: Paradoxes of Postcolonial Culture (Albany: Suny Press, 2004), Migrant Cartographies (Lexington Books, 2005) with Daniela Merolla, Postcolonial Cinema Studies (Routledge, 2011) with Marguerite Waller and Deconstructing Europe: Postcolonial Perspectives (Routledge, 2011) with Bolette B. Blaagaard. MORE
Prof. dr. Mariëtte de Haan
m.dehaan[at]uu.nl

Mariëtte de Haan is professor of Intercultural Education, holding an endowed chair on youth & education in multicultural settings at the Department of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences, Utrecht University. She is project leader of 'Wired Up'. Her past research interests concerned cultural diversity in practices of learning and socialization, and more specifically on non-western learning (Learning as Cultural Practice, 1999), issues related to multi-ethnic classrooms (Reshaping Diversity in a Local Classroom, 2005) and to migrant parenting (The reconstruction of parenting after migration: A perspective from cultural translation, to appear in 2011). Her recent research interests concern how practices of socialisation and learning develop over time, in culturally highly diverse settings, such as those associated with the 'migrant condition' representing a world that is increasingly in motion (Immigrant learning, 2011). MORE
Dr. Kevin Leander
k.leander[at]vanderbilt.edu

Kevin M. Leander is Associate Professor of Language, Literacy and Culture at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University (USA). He is project leader of ‘Wired Up’. He is also a leader in the 'Space, Learning, and Mobility' (SLaM) group at Vanderbilt, engaged in NSF-funded research on spatial thinking. His research interests include the new literacy practices of youth, spatial approaches to understanding youth identity and learning, research on new media, and media and migration. He has published widely in venues such as Review of Research in Education, Ethos, Reading Research Quarterly, Journal of Literacy Research, and Cognition and Instruction. He has also authored and co-authored handbook chapters on youth and new media, multimodality, and mobile technologies. Leander is also co-editor (with Margaret Sheehy) of Spatializing Literacy Research and Practice (Peter Lang, 2004). MORE
Dr. Fadi Hirzalla
f.hirzalla[at]uu.nl

Fadi Hirzalla is a post-doctoral researcher in the 'Wired Up' project at the Department of Media and Culture Studies of Utrecht University. His research focuses the relationships between political citizenship, identity and new media, focusing on youth, ethnic minorities and Islam. He completed a PhD thesis and a research project (CivicWeb) at ASCOR on the role of the internet in young people's civic lives. Recent publications: Hirzalla, F. & Van Zoonen, L. (2011). Beyond the online/offline divide: Convergences of online and offline forms of participation among youth. Social Science Computer Review; Hirzalla, F., Van Zoonen, L. & De Ridder, J. (2011). Internet use and political participation: Reflections on the mobilization/normalization controversy. The Information Society, 27(1), 1-15; Hirzalla, F. & Banaji, S. (2011). Young people's online civic participation. Encyclopedia of Cyber Behaviour. Hersey: IGI Global. MORE
Dr. Fleur Prinsen
f.r.prinsen[at]uu.nl

Fleur Prinsen is a post-doctoral researcher in the 'Wired Up' project at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Utrecht University. Her research interests include diversity, Identity formation in online social networks, multi-literacies and computer supported collaborative learning environments. Previously she has contributed to research at the University of Toronto and in Singapore on knowledge building and scientific literacy. Among her publications are: Prinsen, F.R., Volman, M.L.L. & Terwel, J. (2006). The influence of learner characteristics on degree and type of participation in a CSCL environment. British Journal of Educational Technology, 38(6), 1037-1055. Prinsen, F.R., Volman, M.L.L., Terwel, J. & Van Den Eeden, P. (2009). Effects on participation of an experimental CSCL-programme to support elaboration: Do all students benefit? Computers & Education; Scardamalia, M., Teplovs, C., Chuy, M. & Prinsen, F.R. (2010). MORE
Koen Leurs, MA
k.h.a.leurs[at]uu.nl

Koen Leurs is a PhD candidate in the 'Wired Up' project at the Department of Media and Culture Studies of Utrecht University. His research project focuses on digital media use among migrant youth. He examines the gendered and ethnic interfacing of digital technologies, migration and global/local youth cultures. He also participates in the European 'Mig@Net' project exploring education and knowledge in the contexts of transnational digital networks, migration and gender. Among his recent publications are 'Communicative spaces of their own: migrant girls performing selves using instant messaging software' in Feminist Review (2011, vol. 99), 'Mediated crossroads: youthful digital diasporas' in M/C Journal (2011, vol. 14.2), and 'Dutch-Moroccan girls performing their selves in Instant Messaging spaces' in The Handbook of Gender, Sex and Media ed. Karen Ross (forthcoming, Wiley-Blackwell), all with Sandra Ponzanesi. MORE
Asli Ünlüsoy, MSc
a.unlusoy[at]uu.nl

Asli Ünlüsoy is a PhD candidate in the 'Wired Up' project at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Utrecht University. Her research activities revolve around networked learning, informal learning relations, Turkish-Dutch youth, new media practices, and migrant and youth cultures. She studied Journalism (BA) at Ankara University, Early Childhood Education (MSc) at Middle East Technical University, Ankara (Turkey), and Development and Socialization in Childhood and Adolescence (MSc, research master) at Utrecht University. She has published on new literacies and out-of-school learning, and digital networks' potential for learning. Ünlüsoy, A., de Haan, M., Leseman, P. M., & van Kruistum, C. (2010). Gender differences in adolescents' out-of-school literacy practices: A multifaceted approach. Computers & Education, 55(2), 742-751.Ünlüsoy, A., Haan, de M., & Leander, K. (2010). Netwerken van jongeren als nieuwe leeromgevingen. Pedagogiek, 30 (1), 43-57. MORE
Dr. Lisa Schwartz
Linquiry[at]gmail.com

Lisa Schwartz is an international researcher in the 'Wired Up' project. She recently graduated with a doctorate in Language Reading and Culture from the University of Arizona and is now post-doctoral research associate at University of Colorado. Her work examines how new forms of social and tool-based mediation derived from the context of emerging technologies can support learning. Her research involves designing and researching systems of expansive learning across multiple discursive and spatial domains, working primarily with youth from diverse racial, working-class and immigrant backgrounds. She has several publications in process drawn from her dissertation research, including a chapter in an upcoming compilation on time and space in literacy research, as well as a forthcoming paper on Wired Up survey research with Latino youth that she coordinated in Arizona. MORE
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Registration
The deadline for submission has expired. Submission of proposals is no long possible.
Registration for the conference is possible after 1 March.
The fee for the conference is 180 Euro. PhD students and undergraduates can pay a reduced fee of 120 Euro.
The fees include lunches, a reception, and a dinner.
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Program
The final and complete conference program will be published here in April 2012.
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Venue address
The conference will be held in Utrecht's city centre. The main venue is the Sweelickzaal, located at:
Drift 21
3512 BR Utrecht
The Netherlands
Other locations will be disclosed in due time. -
Traveling
For visitors from abroad:
Air travel: We recommend traveling via Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the main airport in the Netherlands and located nearby Utrecht. Utrecht Central Station can be reached by train in about 30 minutes from Schiphol Airport. Cheaper fares may be found if you travel via airports that are located less nearby Utrecht: Rotterdam The Hague Airport and Eindhoven Airport. Utrecht can be reached by train in about one hour from these airports.
Train travel: Use the website of the Dutch National Rail Company (Nederlandse Spoorwegen) to explore your options and plan your journey.
Other traveling information:
Utrecht has a dense network of bus lines, which is highly recomended for your traveling within Utrecht. See here for more information.
Information about traveling within the Netherlands generally can be found here. Train traveling is particularly recommended for city-to-city journeys. Plan your train journey here.
Amsterdam is located nearby Utrecht. Train traveling between Amsterdam and Utrecht takes only 30 minutes. Information about visiting or staying in Amsterdam can be found here.
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Book a hotel
There are various hotels within and nearby the city of Utrecht. Hotels that are located on walking distance or at most 15 minute travelling distance (with public transportation) from the conference venue are:
Grand Hotel Karel V (5 stars)
Court Hotel City Centre Utrecht (4 stars)
Apollo Hotel Utrecht City Centre (4 stars)
Park Plaza Utrecht (4 stars)
Chambres-en-Ville (4 stars)
Mitland Hotel Utrecht (4 stars)
Sandton Malie Hotel (4 stars)
NH Centre Utrecht Hotel (3 stars)
Hotel Nieuwegracht (2 stars)
Hotel Oorsprongpark (2 stars)
Hotel Strowis (hostel / B&B)
Dales Gast-en-Verblijf (hostel / B&B)
D&D Shortstay Utrecht (hostel / B&B)
La Perle (hostel / B&B)
Van Haver tot Gracht (hostel / B&B)
Chez Marianne (hostel / B&B)
The Hostel (hostel / B&B)
Zara (hostel / B&B)
Apartment Kanne (hostel / B&B)
Online reservations can be made via the websites of these hotels (click on the hotel names listed above).
Other hotels, mostly still within 30 minute traveling range from the conference venue, are listed on Booking.com. You can use Booking.com to make your reservation, or you may contact the hotels listed there directly. Still other hotels can be found here. Additional Bed & Breakfasts can be found here.
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Background information
Please see the links below for information about Utrecht University and the city of Utrecht.
Utrecht University
City of Utrecht
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Contact
Postal address:Utrecht UniversityMedia and Culture StudiesRoom 0.05Muntstraat 2A3512 EVUtrechtThe Netherlands












