LCBS2018: Language, Culture and BELONGING: An Interdisciplinary Symposium Griffith University, South Bank Campus Brisbane, Australia, September 26, 2018 |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=lcbs2018 |
Abstract registration deadline | July 15, 2018 |
Notification of acceptance | August 15, 2018 |
Submission deadline | September 12, 2018 |
Deadline for conference registration | September 15, 2018 |
A one-day interdisciplinary symposium hosted by the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research (GCSCR), Griffith University, Australia.
The desire to ‘belong’ is a central and arguably universal characteristic of human society. The purpose of this symposium is to build connections between researchers interested in better understanding the links between language, culture and belonging.
It has long been acknowledged that language and culture intersect. Linguistic forms represent meanings which are often culturally distinctive, even in an age when much of everyday life is articulated through the influence of global culture. For example, while various forms of music and other forms of ‘mediatised’ entertainment, including cinema and reality TV, are global cultural forms, through drawing on local languages and cultural references, they are also ‘local’ forms – aspects of what Robertson (1990) has referred to as glocal culture. Indeed, one salient effect of globalisation has been to highlight linguistic and cultural differences, as can be seen, for example, with diasporas which remain trans-locally connected by distinctive forms of language and culture.
We understand ‘language’ broadly to encompass not only words in speech and writing, but gestures, postures, facial expressions and vocal qualities. Language can be linked in manifold ways to specific, localised cultures, particularly in the context of specific everyday practices such as, for example, shopping, playing sport, or attending a theatre play. These activities can articulate a strong sense of belonging underscored by common patterns of taste, lifestyle and aesthetic preference.
This one-day symposium will feature two Keynotes, by Professor Norma Mendoza-Denton (UCLA) and Dr Brady Robards (Monash). In addition to the Keynote sessions, the symposium will be organised into three Panels, loosely themed around Words, Sounds and the Body, respectively. Panels will involve a series of papers and open discussion.
Panels will take a speed talk format:
- Presenters will be required to submit full papers (2000-3000 words) in advance of the symposium, for pre-circulation to other participants.
- On the day, presenters will each have five minutes to present an overview of their submitted paper. Presenters may use up to five slides (max) during their talk.
- An open discussion session will follow each Panel where presenters will have additional time to collaboratively discuss their research. To facilitate this, presenters are strongly encouraged to bring additional discussion points and questions that build on their presentation.
The organising committee selected this particular model to facilitate interdisciplinary dialogue at the event. This format is known to promote more vigorous discussion. We tailored this design to support the quality publication outcomes we intend to pursue post-symposium.
We welcome papers from researchers in any discipline and field, including but not limited to: linguistics, communication studies, cultural sociology, cultural semantics, discourse analysis, gender and queer studies, linguistic anthropology and sociolinguistics. Papers may focus on, but are not restricted to: accents and speech styles, body art and clothing, creative and performing arts, cultural key words, dance, DIY and prosumer culture, globalisation and diaspora, humour styles, shopping and consumption, sport, recreation and hobbies, ‘in-group talk’, narrative and story-telling, tourism and leisure, virtual communities and identities, work and employment.
The Australian Sociological Association is supporting this event, offering one TASA Postgraduate Bursary (up to $300) for travel and accommodation costs. See TASA Postgraduat Bursary information below.
Keynote Speakers
- Norma Mendoza-Denton, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles.
Abstract: In her anthropological account as a participant observer in the World of Warcraft MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game), Bonnie Nardi (2010) provides an analysis of the gendered dynamics of video games, noting that many games include elements that are unappealing to women, such as “kombat lingerie […] hypersexualized female body types…” and even off-putting scenarios where players must run around finding gear to cover their nakedness or operate in environments of “surly masculinity” like the brothels in the game Neverwinter Nights (Mortensen and Corneliussen 2005, cited in Nardi (2010:165)). Nardi relies on the use of the “boys’ tree house” metaphor originally employed by Williams et. al. (2006), referring to a space that is assumed to be a boys-only safe space, where girls are by definition excluded, and which now describes areas of gamer culture as a whole.
I present a case study of an interaction occurring in a mixed-gender (three men, one woman) group playing a video game that has a strong gendered/sexualized component in gameplay (Nintendo: Mario Party 8). Through a detailed analysis of 1) gameplay interaction, 2) participants’ gestures within specific segments of interactions, and 3) a post-game debriefing, we are able to track the varied engagements of the players within the game and with each other, showing how the design of the game itself and the entanglement of the design elements with gendered gameplay serve to marginalize and exclude the female participant.
Biography: Norma Mendoza-Denton is a professor of Anthropology at the University of California - Los Angeles. Her broad areas of expertise are linguistic anthropology, sociophonetics, sociolinguistics, multimedia ethnography, political speech, language and ethnicity, media in language studies, youth and language; gender, language and migration. She has published over thirty book chapters and articles, one book (Homegirls: Language and Cultural Practice among Latina Youth Gangs, Wiley-Blackwell 2008) and several online resources about these various lines of work.
NMD has held faculty/visiting positions at U. Arizona, Ohio State U., Stanford, MIT, U. Edinburgh, U. Colorado, U. Kentucky, and Copenhagen U. She is a past President of the Society for Linguistic Anthropology within the American Anthropological Association, and is currently on the executive boards of the Society for Visual Anthropology and of the Linguistic Society of America.
- Brady Robards, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Monash University, Melbourne.
Title: Digital Media & Belonging: Collective effervescence through social media platforms
Abstract: Digital media have re-shaped many contemporary experiences of belonging and collectivity. From geo-locative dating and hook-up apps becoming a common starting point in modern romance, through to the ‘cultural weaponisation’ of Facebook profiles in election campaigns and news sharing. Social media have become a dominant channel of connection, but also afford disconnection, marginalisation, and the reproduction of inequalities. In this paper I draw on three separate research projects over the past five years to reflect on how different social media platforms afford different experiences of belonging and collectivity. First, the ‘Facebook Timelines’ project (with Lincoln) where we ‘scrolled back’ through social media histories with our participants (n=41) to reflect on how digital traces of life serve as personal archives of memory, and how patterns of social media use change over time. Second, the ‘Scrolling Beyond Binaries’ project (with Churchill, Byron, Vivienne, and Hanckel) where we surveyed (n=1304) and interviewed (n=24) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and other queer and gender-diverse (LGBTIQ+) young people about their social media use in Australia. Third, the ‘Confessional Data Selfies’ project (with Lyall) where we undertook a content analysis (n=1000) of personal data visualisations shared on the social media site Reddit where people confessed aspects of their lives to strangers, from dating (‘My 500 days on OkCupid’) to health data (‘My health decline and eventual brain surgery’) through to incredibly detailed lifelogging (‘Every Single Hour of My 2017 Recorded’). Taken together, these three projects reveal complex and uneven experiences of publicness/privateness, intimacy/distance, and belonging/exclusion. By examining these points of contrast in the data from these projects, we can draw attention to the ways in which belonging occurs across digital spaces, but also how platforms structure specific kinds of intimacy, marginalise, and also expose users.
Biography: Brady Robards is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University. He studies digital culture, with a particular focus on how people use and produce social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Reddit. Brady’s recent research focuses on social media platforms as memory archives, made up of digital traces of life over years of use. Brady also studies social media use across platforms among particular groups, such as LGBTIQ+ people, young people, tourists, and in the context of alcohol consumption. He is interested in a range of research methods involving social media, like ‘scrolling back’ through social media with research participants, friending participants, and incorporating visual media into qualitative analysis. For more, visit Brady's website: bradyrobards.com. Follow Brady on Twitter: @bradyjay
Submission Guidelines
Speakers on each Panel will give “speed talk” presentations (5 mins, 5 slides max) of their papers, which will be followed by discussion among all attendees. Full papers will be pre-circulated to the other presenters.
Please submit an abstract of 200-250 words (excluding references) here. The submission portal will open on June 1st. You will need to create an EasyChair account or log in to your existing account to submit your abstract.
The extended deadline for abstracts is 15 July 2018. The abstract should include a clearly-stated research question or topic, a statement about framework, method or data, and main results or conclusions. Please keep references to a minimum but provide full bibliographic information.
The Organising Committee will attempt to ensure that accepted papers reflect a diversity of approaches and a balance of presenters from different career stages.
You will be notified of the outcome of your abstract submission by 15 August 2018.
All presenters are required to submit a full version of their paper (2,000-3,000 words) by 12 September 2018 for pre-circulation to other speakers.
TASA Postgraduate Bursary
The Australian Sociological Association is supporting this event, offering one TASA Postgraduate Bursary (up to $300) for travel and accommodation costs. Eligible postgrads will have an accepted abstract and be a current member of TASA. Candidates will be contacted by email to complete a short statement addressing the following criteria, which will be judged by members of the LCBS2018 organising committee and the TASA Postgraduate Portfolio Leader and Sub-Committee.
TASA Postgraduate Bursary criteria (/100):
> Significance of research to the symposium theme (/25)
> Location/distance from the event (/25)
> Financial hardship and/or care responsibilities (where these impact on ability to pay for event) (/25)
> Commitment to TASA (ie years of membership) (/25)
In conjunction with this symposium, TASA is also running a workshop on Thursday September 27 – ‘Behind the Scenes: How to Run Academic Events and Organise Collaborative Publishing'. For more info see postgraduates.tasa.org.au/events/BTS.
Committees
Organizers
- Professor Andy Bennett
- Professor Cliff Goddard
Organizing committee
- Reza Arab
- Ashleigh Watson
- Benjamin Düster
- Jan Hein
Advisory Board
- Donal Carbaugh, University of Massachusetts, USA
- Zhengdao Ye, Australian National University, Australia
- Carsten Levisen, Roskilde University, Denmark
- Zane Goebel, University of Queensland, Australia
- Mary Fogarty Woehrel, York University, Canada
-
Robin Wooffitt, University of York, UK
- Jakelin Troy, University of Sydney, Australia
- Jessica Milner Davis, University of Sydney, Australia
- Nick Prior, University of Edinburgh, UK
Publication
Following the event, the organizers will be pursuing opportunities with quality international publishers with a view to publishing selected papers from the symposium.
Registration
All participants (including non-presenters) are expected to register before the event.
Please follow this LINK to register.
Venue
The Ship Inn Function Room, South Bank Campus, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
Contact
All questions about submissions should be emailed to BelongingSymposium2018@griffith.edu.au
Sponsors
This symposium is hosted by the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research (GCSCR), Griffith University, Australia.
The TASA Postgraduate Bursary is supported by The Australian Sociological Assocation.