Media Tactics and Engagement

HoMER@NECS Conference 2018, Amsterdam, 27–29 June 2018
Hosted by VU and UvA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Deadline for proposals: 31 January 2018
Following several joint conferences in Prague (2013), Milan (2014) and Potsdam (2016), HoMER (http://homernetwork.org) is teaming up with NECS (http://necs.org/) again to offer a strand of panels at the 2018 NECS conference in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Similar to previous such events, this will include a pre-conference day with a HoMER workshop (details tbc). NECS (Network for European Cinema Studies) is a dynamic forum supporting researchers working on film and media theory, practice and history. Bringing together cinema historians from all over the world, HoMER (History of Movie-Going, Exhibition and Reception) is an international network interested in understanding the phenomena of cinema and cinema-going from a multidisciplinary perspective. One of NECS’ and HoMER’s main purposes is to facilitate connections between acclaimed and aspiring researchers and the multitude of academic disciplines they represent. This year’s Call for Papers focuses on Media Tactics and Engagements, which will explore the various − (un)intended and (non) subversive − ways in which media are currently developed, deployed and distorted in both former and present times. There are many ways to think about the notions of tactics and engagement. For example, we may think of tactics as the means to an overarching strategic end. Thus, the term can draw attention to larger trends within the film and media industry. Why and to what effect do media distributors like Netflix, retailers like Amazon and social media platforms like Facebook order original content? And how does that affect film production, distribution and consumption? Or how did film exhibitors in the post-war period organise themselves in cartel to respond to governmental film policies?
Thinking of the recent resistance to Netflix original films at the Cannes Film Festival, one may also ask how the film industry itself strategically responds to these kinds of developments. The cinematic text, for example, has seen continuous transformation through multiple digressions: nitrate short films, to 3D movies, roadshows, to DVD (extras), online publicity, and digital technologies generally have informed the status of film texts, their consumption and interactions with them. What further reflections around text, platform, user/audience engagement are necessitated in the context of these developments?

 

Possible topics could be:
Moreover, we launch a special call for papers on Latin American cinema cultures. Whereas traditionally Latin American film scholars have worked within a text oriented paradigm, recently there has been a series of projects and publications with a clear focus on audiences, exhibition and cinema-going, both in large film producing countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Argentina and in smaller cinema nations such as Colombia. We seek to bring together these studies to make a state-of-the-art of HoMER related research in Latin America.
We seek submissions of individual papers or pre-constituted panel (3 papers) proposals from existing HoMER members and anyone interested into historical and contemporary film exhibition, distribution and experience. Please submit abstracts of individual papers of no more than 300 words with a biographical note of no more than 100 words to both Clara (c.pafort-overduin@uu.nl) and Daniela (dtreveri-gennari@brookes.ac.uk). For panels, please send abstracts together with a 200-word note on the title and topic of the panel or workshop. You will be notified of the acceptance or decline of your proposal by 28 February 2018. Please note, if you are accepted and would like to register for the conference, you will be asked to become a member of NECS and pay the membership fees by the 30th of April 2018.
Please do make sure you also check the NECS CfP, in case your proposal fits better their  call.
We look forward to all the proposals,
HoMER@NECS Team 2018: Clara Pafort-Overduin, Daniela Treveri Gennari, Philippe Meers, Talitha Ferraz, Asa Jernudd, John Sedgwick, Mario Slugan, Thunnis van Oort