[csaa-forum] Call for papers M/C Journal - theme of Ecology

[KATHERINE WRIGHT]

THEME 'ECOLOGY' for M/C Journal of Media and Culture

"Contemporary interest in the environment is based on highly mediated
representation of its most appealing aspects and today's symbolism is drawn
from popular culture" (Bagust).

Ecology is not only a field of study, but a way of thinking, a conceptual
mode that emphasises connectivity and conviviality. Donna Haraway has
observed that "the world is a knot in motion", and never has this been
clearer than the present moment - a time when impending ecological crisis
has forced the uncomfortable awareness of our dependence on an unstable
environment and climate, possibly undermining the viability of human life.
This uncertain ecological future has prompted the emergence of an array of
inter-disciplines, new political, intellectual and cultural alignments that
seek an understanding of the whole "organism-and-its-environment" (Rose &
Robin). Ecology, at heart, is the study of life, and the interactions that
sustain and enrich it.

This issue of M/C Journal calls for interdisciplinary and accessible
discussions on the topic of 'ecology' from a natural sciences or humanities
frame. Papers could engage with the emerging inter-disciplines of the
'ecological humanities', 'ecocinema' or 'ecomedia'. Alternatively, papers
may discuss Neil Postman's notion of 'media ecology'. Adopting a scientific
framework, this term denotes the study of media as dynamic environments
whereby, "new communications technologies may not wipe out earlier ones" as
John Naugton argues, but alter the ecosystem so the old ones that do
survive are those that are able to adapt. As a result, changes in the
communications environment bring about cultural change.

We also welcome discussions on the question of what ecology means for the
disciplines of media and cultural studies; papers that seek to perform the
inter-connected "tasks of [re]situating humans in ecological terms and
non-humans in ethical terms" (Plumwood) and attempt to highlight, as Val
Plumwood does in her landmark Environmental Culture: The Ecological Crisis
of Reason, how "anthropocentric perspectives and culture ... make us
insensitive to our ecological place in the world".

Details

 *   Article deadline: 27 Apr. 2012
 *   Release date: 27 June 2012
 *   Editors: Catherine Simpson and Kate Wright

Please submit articles through this website. Send any enquiries to
ecology at journal.media-culture.org.au

-- 
Katherine Wright
Media, Music and Cultural Studies
Macquarie University, Sydney
NSW, 2109
Australia
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