BU's Faculty of Media & Communication hosted Console-ing Passions, an international conference for media scholars focusing on gender and sexuality.
Console-ing Passions was founded in 1989 by a group of feminist media scholars and artists looking to create a space to present work and foster scholarship on issues of television, culture and identity, with an emphasis on gender and sexuality. Over the years, Console-ing Passions has expanded to become an important conference for academics studying gender in television and, more widely, for scholars of media around the world. This is only the third time that this internal conference has taken place in the UK.
This year, the conference particularly focused on the intersections of feminism and migration as global trends are revealing the rise of populism, nationalism and resistance to migration. The conference, which ran for three days, included presentations from media scholars from across the world, including some from academics within BU’s Faculty of Media & Communication.
Presentations covered a range of topics, such as: the paradoxes of integration of female migrants in Europe; Tinder and its relationship to TV and advertising; female antiheroes and power in HBO’s Game of Thrones; and postfeminist politicisation of women’s reproduction. Lilly Parrott from the Migration Collective also addressed the conference, offering insight into the Collective's diverse social and cultural work.
The conference was organised by Dr Chris Pullen, Principal Academic in Media Theory and Dr Peri Bradley, Senior Academic in Media Studies. Chris said: “This conference was a unique experience that brought together many academics all across the world that share a concern for minorities and issues of social justice relating to feminism and media studies.
“Although I have attended many conferences myself over the years, nothing could prepare me for the wonderful sense of camaraderie and shared experience exhibited by the conference goers. The conference appears to have been an incredible success, with much praise for the organisation and the academic content. Added to this, the session on migration and immigration was an incredibly provocative and moving experience, where we heard from academic Floya Anthias, film festival organiser Lily Parrott and film maker Kerstin Stutterheim.
“Academia can often seem divorced from the real world in the focus on theories and ideas, but at Console-ing Passions we experienced creativity, conversation and mutual respect. The conference inspired many attendees to not only make new links, but also to work on new ideas, reaching out into the world.”
You can find out more about Console-ing Passions on their website.
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