2023: Spectacle
Spectacles are all around us.
With little regard for veracity or truth, spectacle exists to engage, entertain, and normalize the need to be stimulated. The ways in which we learn about the world are increasingly dependent on the platforms and networks that provide space for information exchange, expression, consumption and production. These deeply mediated spaces prioritize that which spreads fastest and furthest. In other words, they prioritize and create spectacle.
Physical spectacles do the same. Peering into the Vegas Strip, we see a hub for that which is built on spectacle, where structures are built to wow their audiences, and the physical spaces are meant to entertain, stimulate, and occupy the minds of their users.
Hidden behind spectacle is the labor that sustains it. In media spaces, users spend time clicking, liking, reposting, viewing, and sharing, creating and sustaining the spectacle that envelopes us. While audiences now drive much of what spreads in mediated environments, they do so in an ecosystem of algorithms, programmed to prioritize information that is emotionally resonant and that stimulates response. In physical spaces, the labor exists to maintain the notion of grandeur, perfection, entertainment, catering. This labor is often unseen, unheard, and under-resourced.
The 2023 Social Justice + Media Symposium will interrogate the concept of Spectacle, in the digital environments that drive our daily information routines, and in the physical environments of Las Vegas, where spectacle exists all around us. The symposium will explore the ideas of visibility and invisibility, of inequity and power, and of agency and voice, in the context of spectacle culture and its impact on civic and democratic futures.
For more information about the Social Justice + Media Symposium, about Moses Shumow, or if you are interested in joining this network, please contact Dr. Paul Mihailidis at [email protected]
Agenda
9:30 - 10 AM
Coffee
10 AM
Welcome
Chris Harris, Host and Professor, Nevada State College
Dr. Vickie Shields, Host and Provost, Nevada State College
10:15 AM
SJM Symposium: Honoring the Work and Life of Moses Shumow
Paul Mihailidis, Symposium Coordinator & Professor, Emerson College
Rose Shumow, Media Producer
10:30 AM
Keynote: A Conversation with Roger Perry-Stovall
11:45 - 12:00 PM
Break
12:00 PM
Lunch, Screening, and Discussion
Screening: Quiet Rooms
1:15 - 1:30 PM
Break
1:30 - 3:00 PM
Workshops
3:00 PM
Closing Plenary Activity
3:30 PM
Awards Announced & Closing Remarks
4:00 PM
Adjournment
Awards
Transformative Practice Award
The Moses Shumow Transformative Practice Award recognizes a current student who is doing exceptional work at the intersection of journalism education, participatory media, media literacy, community activism, and social justice! The awardee should have an emerging record of media work that has impact beyond any single classroom or course outcome. Work with an explicit focus on social justice and equity will be prioritized. Undergraduate and graduate students may be nominated.
Award recipients are announced annually at the Social Justice + Media Symposium. They receive certification, monetary compensation, a slot to present their work at the symposium and a feature interview on The J-Word podcast.
Questions and inquiries can be directed to: Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr. : [email protected]
Transformative Research Award
The Moses Shumow Transformative Research Award recognizes research from early-career academics who represent the aims and interests of dedicated scholar-activists across the field of Communication. The award is issued by the Social Justice + Media Symposium (SJMS). Doctoral students and Ph.D. graduates within five years of graduation may apply.
Award recipients are announced annually at the Social Justice + Media Symposium. They receive certification, monetary compensation, a slot to present their work at the symposium and a feature interview on The J-Word podcast.
Questions and inquiries can be directed to Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr. : [email protected]
Location
The 2023 Social Justice + Media Symposium will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada hosted by the Nevada State College. Please check here for updates.
Address
Nevada State College, 1300 Nevada State Dr, Henderson, NV 89002
Click here for directions:
Hotel
Green Valley Ranch Resort Spa and Casino
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