[ Call for Papers - Call for Entries ]

Conference call:

NECS. The Vienna Conference
Perspectives and Challenges for Cinema and Media Studies.
Vienna, Austria June 21 - 23, 2007

The deadline for paper proposals is January 31, 2007.
 

Founded in February of 2006, NECS, the European Network for Cinema and Media Studies, brings together scholars and researchers in the field of
cinema, film and media studies with archivists and film and media professionals who share a common interest in academic film study and the
preservation, distribution and programming of film and media art and the film heritage.

The first NECS workshop held in Berlin on the occasion of the network’s founding provided an overview of the current state of cinema and media
studies in Europe, taking stock of the respective situations in the various institutions (universities, archives, museums).

Now the NECS Vienna conference, hosted by SYNEMA and the Department for Theatre, Film and Media Studies, Vienna University and scheduled to take
place on 21-23 June 2007, provides a platform for developing new perspectives and future agendas for film study in Europe.

With the new digital culture of the moving image in full swing, scholars, archivists and filmmakers alike need to reflect on the state
of cinema and its future, as well as on the development of film studies at the tertiary education level in Europe. The conference will bring together contributions that provide insight into ongoing research with panels and roundtables on the state of the discipline and current issues
in research, teaching, archiving, presenting and programming. The aim of the conference is to widen and sustain a burgeoning network of film and
media scholars that will promote new research and teaching initiatives on a European level.

Scholars from all areas of film study, whether previously attached to NECS or new to the initiative, are invited to submit proposals for
contributions to the conference committee before January 31st, 2007.

Confirmed keynote speakers include Prof. Tim Bergfelder, University of Southampton, UK; Prof. Elisabeth Büttner, University of Vienna.


Proposals for the NECS Vienna conference
must not be limited to, but may concern any of the following topics:

a. The impact of global media conglomeration on film cultures and film programming in Europe;

b. The digitization of film archives and its impact on the visibility and consumption of European films, in conjunction with the emergence of new interfaces of consumption (home entertainment, satellite channels, Video On
Demand services);

c. The transnationalisation of film cultures in Europe, both on the level of individual films and on an institutional level, i.e. in film festival and their surrounding critical discourses;

d. European cinema aesthetics in the digital age and the future of auteur cinema in an environment of film styles driven by digital imaging and
special effects.


The organizers would like to invite proposals for short, incisive papers of 15 to 20
minutes and/or panels should be sent by January 31st, 2007, to the following address:

mail@necs-initiative.org

or

NECS
c/o Susanne von der Heyden
Institut für Medienwissenschaft
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Universitätsstraße 150
D-44780 Bochum
Germany

Notification will follow shortly thereafter. The conference language is English. Conference attendance is free. Participants will have to cover their own travel and accommodation expenses. Travel information as well as a list of affordable hotels and other accommodations will be posted on the NECS website in early 2007.

Detailed information on NECS and a report on the first workshop can be found at www.necs-initiative.org


For the conference organizers:

The NECS steering committee: Alexandra Schneider, Malte Hagener, Vinzenz Hediger, Patrick Vonderau

SYNEMA – Society for Film & Media, Brigitte Mayr

TFM - Department for Theatre, Film and Media Studies, Vienna University, Andrea B. Braidt, Anton Fuxjäger