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CALL FOR PAPERS - reminderAudience Section(IAMCR Conference at Istanbul, Turkey, July 13-17, 2011)The Audience Section invites submissions for its open sessions at       the IAMCR to be held in Istanbul (Turkey) 2011 from July 13-17.        The conference theme for 2011 is “Cities, Creativity,       Connectivity”.The Audience Section invites papers within this overall theme and       which reflect the Section’s interest in new approaches and       thinking to audience research in the context of the urban, the       creative, and the network.  The nature of audiences as ‘knowledge       communities’ and producers, ethnographic approaches to researching       them and their embeddedness in everyday life, and the extent to       which traditional classifications of audiences (masses, publics       and markets) are being challenged by the fluidity and ephemeral       nature of virtual and mobile audiences are important concerns. The       Section gives special attention to reassessing the theories,       methods and issues that inform practices of audience researchers.       The Section encourages and aims to inspire greater interest in       exploring and understanding audiences in diverse settings. The       Section also encompasses investigations of the appropriateness of       ‘Western’ and ‘non-Western’ theories and methods in this diversity       of settings.Themes:In addition to the open call for papers, we would like to invite       papers and proposals for panels which address the following       themes:1.    Embedded audiencesThe contextualisation of audiencehood in everyday life has opened       up audience studies to look at the audience as radically embedded,       also in space. The strong emphasis on the cultural turn has in       some cases diverted our attention from an equally significant       movement, which has been labelled the spatial turn. Falkheimer and       Jansson's core questions (in Geographies of Communication: The       Spatial Turn in Media Studies) touch upon the key issues of this       spatial turn for communication and media studies scholars: how       does communication produce space and how does space produce       communication. The translation to audience studies raises       questions about the geography and spatiality of audiencehood: How       do audiences relate to private and public spaces, how does the       local, cultural, national (and the translocal, transcultural and       transnational) relate to audiencehood, how are audiences embedded       and embodied in urban cultures, and how do audiences function in       online, networked, liminal and alternative spaces?2.    Resistant audiences, critical audiences, networked audiencesCentral to the audience research tradition has been a commitment       to examining forms of resistance and opposition exhibited by       audiences. Much of the seminal work of audience studies was forged       in a time of economic crisis through the 1970s and 1980s when       forms of audience resistance revealed deep-seated social tensions       and a charged political environment. Are similar patterns evident       in the current global economic crisis? The locus of resistance has       shifted from the ideal-interpretative to the material-productive.       How does this affect the nature of resistance? How do audiences       network and join forces in alternative interpretative communities?       How is the resistant and critical audience manifest across today’s       more complex media landscape? How do media organizations and       professionals deal with the resistant and critical audiences? And       how is resistance, at the level of the ideal-interpretative and       the material-productive incorporated and transformed into       compliance? We invite papers that look across the full spectrum of       audience experience and examine diverse accounts of readings,       modes of engagement and mediation of audience relationships with       the wider society.3.    Decentralizing the audienceAudience studies have often implicitly centralized mediated       experiences while at the same time contextualizing, qualifying and       decentralizing the role of media in people’s everyday lives. This       tension has lead to an over-emphasis on audience activity, both at       the level of media consumption and media (self-)production, while       more passive and indifferent media uses and referential       interpretations are under-theorized and under-researched. We       invite papers that focus on the everyday passiveness of (some)       media audiences and their acceptance of or indifference to the       media frameworks that are offered to them. Moreover, we also call       for papers that theorize or research the sometimes limited       importance attributed to media in the everyday life of audience       members.4.    Children as audiencesChildren and young people represent are a hugely important       constituency for today’s media and are frequently seen to be in       the vanguard of new audience trends and emerging practices of       consumption and engagement. As a distinct audience grouping,       children are the focus of special public policy provisions       including codes regarding media content, professional guidelines       regarding children as subjects and participants in the media, and       a host of initiatives designed to foster citizenship and       creativity through media literacy. Empirical work on children as       audiences remains scarce however and in this stream we invite       papers that explore audience experience from the child’s       perspective, and that examine opportunities, risks, and challenges       faced by children in the current media environment. Questions       might include the extent to which media literacies are evident in       children’s audience practices  or how agency supported or       strengthened through civil society, educational or governmental       action?Proposals for papers under any of the above can be made by       submitting an abstract of between 300-500 words long through the       Conference website. Each abstract must include title, name(s),       affiliation, institutional address and email address of author(s).        Proposals for panels, containing details of each paper, are also       welcome.  IAMCR accepts presentations in English, French and       Spanish. However, it is requested that abstracts, if at all       possible, be submitted in English.For more on the submission of abstracts, registration, theme,       location, etc., please go to http://iamcr2011istanbul.com or visit IAMCR at: http://iamcr.org/The deadlines are as follows:February 8, 2011:  Submission of abstracts (papers will be       assessed by double blind review of abstracts).March 25, 2011: announcement of acceptances.June 3, 2011: Full papers due.For enquiries or further information, please contact:*Section Head : Nico CarpentierVrije Universiteit Brussel - Free University of BrusselsCentre for Studies on Media and Culture (CeMeSO)Pleinlaan 2 - B-1050 Brussels – Belgiume: nico.carpentier@vub.ac.be*Deputy Head: Brian O’NeillSchool of MediaDublin Institute of TechnologyAungier Street, Dublin 2, Irelande: brian.oneill@dit.ie*Deputy Head: Toshie TakahashiDepartment of Communication and Media StudiesRikkyo University3-34-1 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, Japan 171-8501e: t-takahashi@rikkyo.ac.jp