THE CULTURE OF REMIX

Research Center for Communication and Culture (Catholic University of Portugal). 2nd International Graduate Conference in Communication and Culture. The Culture of Remix. Lisbon, 13-14 October, 2011

This inter-disciplinary graduate conference seeks to address questions concerning the multiple dimensions of remix at the intersection of culture and communication. Lawrence Lessig has proposed remix as one of the main outcomes of social and cultural practices enabled by new technologies that allow for easy production and sharing. Remix is the creative mixing of cultural elements, a collage, a blending, a hybridization of genres, creative destruction. Henry Jenkins talks of a convergence culture and many other authors refer a participatory turn. But this surge of creativity and participation also poses authority, legal, economic and ethical challenges. Against the hype of an amateur culture, many voices from academia and industry question the value of remixing practices, namely regarding authorship. According to the net-generation mentality, originality is a fallacy and legitimacy resides in authenticity. In the scope of this perspective, creativity is expressed in the way one approaches an existing text, or the text is reorganized; among critics, a set of questions on the cultural consequences of these new practices and values has been raised. This conference aims to bring together doctoral students, post-doc and junior researchers from different areas and disciplines to share research interests and works-in-progress, learn and engage in fresh intellectual discussion with international key academics and build a community of young scholars. We seek academic work from any field of communication or cultural studies.

Papers are welcome on the topics listed below, amongst others: The ethical dimensions of remix; The politics of remix; Technologies of remix; Journalism and remix, Hybridization; Participatory Culture; The current challenges of/to authorship; Entertainment as a remix; Gender remix; Remix in the literature and the arts; The economics of remix; Free culture; Philosophical roots of remix; Cultural citizenship; Remix and Education: Learning by Remixing; Remix and Identity; Remixed Cultures; Fandom.

Deadline for submissions: May 31st, 2011. The conference language is English. Please send a 250-word abstract, as well as a brief biographical note (100 words) to cultureremix@gmail.com by May 31st, 2011. Proposals should list paper title, name, institutional affiliation, and contact details. If you are submitting a work in progress, we welcome your submission! Please state that it is a work in progress in your abstract.