The College of Communication & Information and partners across the university held the 2016 South Asian Media and Cultural Studies Conference from January 21-23 at the Center for Global and Multicultural Engagement. The annual conference included presentations on media studies, culture, religion, politics, social issues and more. Both undergraduate and graduate students presented research papers, works in progress and service projects dealing with South Asia.
Beginning with an “Engage Your World” public event featuring Dr. Pankaj Chakraborty on the 21st, the free conference went on to hold a student conference all day on the 22nd. Dr. Chakraborty, from Tripura in India, was sponsored by the Fulbright Outreach Lecturing Fund, and spoke about prospects for peace and conflict in South Asia.
The student conference on the 22nd featured an impressive lineup of presenters. Ashley Tressel of the FSU School of Communication presented her research on media coverage of drone strikes and media coverage, and Eshita Sharma of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi presented her research about how Indian newspapers cover health issues. The opening and closing keynotes were given by Skype, with Prof Mohan Jyoti Dutta speaking from Singapore about linkages between global processes and community development in South Asia. Binod Padel joined us from Nepal to address challenges and threats for journalists in Nepal. A full list of speakers can be found at: http://comm.cci.fsu.edu/research/south-asian-media-and-cultural-studies-conference/
An invited faculty workshop on the 23rd was open to the public, and included research presentations from FSU faculty, visiting scholars, and Shabbir Sarwar from Pakistan, who also participated remotely.
Overall, the 2016 South Asian Media and Cultural Studies Conference was a successful event that brought to light many significant contemporary cultural, political and economic developments and issues, and provided an opportunity for student and faculty researchers working on a range of topics in South Asia to share their work and exchange ideas.
To learn more ab out South Asian Media and Cultural Studies, visit this link. For more about the Center for Global and Multicultural Engagement at Florida State, follow this link.