International Workshop organized by the International Samizdat [Research] Association in cooperation with OSA Archivum, CEU Department of Political Science, CEU Curriculum Research Center and the HESP-ReSET Alternative Culture Beyond Borders Project, to be held in Budapest, Hungary 20-21 February 2008.

Call for participants

Deadline for submissions: 7 January 2008

This workshop aims to explore the changes in oppositional or alternative political expression that have followed in the wake of the end of the Cold War.

The particular focus will be on the changes that have come about as a result of the revolution in communications technologies, which has brought about new forms and modes of alternative expression, but also new challenges to alternative politics. We will be considering the role played by the alternative press, gay and ethnic minority media, community radio, citizens' political mobilization in e-mail and SMS, blogging, and Indymedia.

Possible questions to be addressed:

* There are still authoritarian regimes which try to suppress freedom of information and expression. What are the means used today to bypass various forms of control? We might examine the use of both broadcast media and news-based websites in Belarus, Ukraine, and the former Yugoslavia, or the use of blogs as a means of personal expression in Iran or Russia.

* Media in many parts of the world are also under growing restriction not so much from the state, but rather from political parties (populism) and pressure groups, and from market forces (concentration). Where can we see instances of alternative political expression that work around these extra-governmental concerns? Are these the same or different techniques used by those directly opposing government
authority?

* The study of samizdat often ignored those forms of samizdat that did not contribute to the cause of developing civil society along the democratic model endorsed by leading dissidents. Instances of ultra-conservative, nationalist, and anti-semitic samizdat in Russia, for example, remain underrepresented and under-explored in the critical literature about samizdat. How can we avoid making this same mistake when transferring the discussion to today's media environment?

* The new media offer a powerful instrument against the pressures listed above. At the same time they are themselves subject to control, regulation and commercialization. How, for example, can we better understand the combination of governmental, commercial, and cultural restrictions that regulate political expression on the internet in China?

Organizers: Jessie Labov (US), Barbara Falk (Canada), Olga Zaslavskaya (Hungary)

Participants are encouraged as well to bring their own case studies and questions to the workshop, as it will ideally be shaped as much by their specific interests as the issues outlined above.

The workshop is recommended to faculty with research and teaching interests in communications studies, cultural studies, media and multimedia studies, art theory and history, sociology, political science and other areas of study dealing with contemporary forms of political expression.

The workshop will be organized in the framework of the CEU CRC session. Participants from the CRC target region can apply for fellowships at www.ceu.hu/crc by 7 January 2008

Contact:
Please submit a one-page statement describing your research interests in this area and a C.V. to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

for questions:
Jessie Labov This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Olga Zaslavskaya This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it