The relationship between Ireland and the rest of the British Isles has a long and complex history. One key dimension has been the connections and interactions between the various media of communication – print and electronic – which have mediated this relationship. This conference seeks to address this important, but relatively neglected, topic at a timely moment in the history of Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales.
The conference organisers want to take a long view as well as look in detail at particular moments. It therefore invites papers from the sixteenth century onwards, dealing with all forms of media (print, periodical, broadcasting, ephemera) as well as with structures of ownership, regulation, distribution and identity.
The conference will examine the different kinds of media interactions from the arrival of print to the emergence of broadcasting, under what conditions they operated and to what effect. How did these interactions take place? What were the networks through which material flowed? What were the major developments in the content and reception of the media from the sixteenth century onwards? How helpful is it to think in terms of distinctive ‘national’ media traditions? In what sense, if any, are concepts such as centre and periphery of value in thinking about these relationships, or do they need revision? How has the development of relationships between the peoples of these islands been influence by shared histories of media exchange and interaction?
Proposals of up to 400 words stating the topic in relation to the conference theme should be sent to: Steven Conlon at: mediaconference2016@dcu.ie by 30 June 2015
The conference is jointly organised by the School of Communications, Dublin City University, the Centre for Media History, Newspaper & Periodical History Forum of Ireland Aberystwyth University, and the journal Media History. For further details please contact, Mark O’Brien mark.obrien@dcu.ie, Siân Nicholas shn@aber.ac.uk, Jamie Medhurst, jsm@aber.ac.uk, Tom O’Malley tpo@aber.ac.uk