"Culture and Media: Local and Global Aspects," Faculty of Philosophy, Vilnius University, May 22-23, 2009.

Even though networking of the world by means of various media is obvious, the impact of this process is rather ambiguous. On the one hand, the media seem to be shaping new transnational global culture, where there is "no sense of place" (J. Meyrowitz) and the wide cultural variety seems to be getting unified into global media culture. On the other hand, global media evokes local reactions, interpretations and resistance to the global culture. This ambiguity raises questions about the media itself: what are they, powerful tools of cultural transmission, or means of constructing culture? The aim of the conference is to contribute to the analysis of interconnections between media and culture both on the global and on the local level. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following: * The impact of the media on social life * Media and the construction of identity (nationality, ethnicity, gender) * Mediatization of politics, everyday life and the public sphere * Place of media theorizing in contemporary discourse of humanities * Media art and its place in contemporary culture The conference will be hosted by Faculty of Philosophy, Vilnius University together with Institute of Media Studies, Ruhr-University Bochum and Institute of Philosophy, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Further information and application form: http://www.filosofija.vu.lt/media.