Looking forward to this CAMRI conference on 13th Sept at the University of Westminster. The programme is shaping up nicely… See draft copy below.

Draft Programme for VIRAL/GLOBAL Popular Cultures and Social Media: An International Perspective
A Conference Organised by: Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI) University of Westminster

13 September 2017

Regent Campus, 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2HW – View map

09.00-09.30 Registration and Welcome Coffee & Tea

09.30-09.40 Welcome: Christian Fuchs, Director of the Communication and Media Research Centre, University of Westminster

09.45-11.20 Keynote Panel 1: Virality, Social Media and Popular Culture Chair: Dave Morley, Goldsmiths College, University of London

Nancy Baym, Microsoft Research

Emily Keightley, Loughborough University

Winston Mano, University of Westminster

Tony D Sampson, University of East London

Paddy Scannell, University of Michigan

11.30.12.40 Panel 1: Researching Viral Cultures Chair: Edmundo Bracho-Polanco

SLICK/SHIT: THE MEME AND THE TACTICS OF SENSING ONLINE – Scott Wark, University of Warwick

“Viral Latinidad”, “Latino Cool”, and Beyond in Latin American Digital Cultural Production – Thea Pitman, University of Leeds

Leaders, icons and social media: an elector-based analysis of Matteo Renzi’s myth – Alberto Sonego, Università degli Studi di Roma Tre, Italy

Contemporary African Cultural Production in the Digital Age: The Case of An African City – Krys Osei, Goldsmiths College, University of London
12.45-13.30 LUNCH

13.30-14.40 Panel 2: Political Economy of Virality Chair: Winston Mano

A Genealogy on the Platformization of Live Streaming Hanmai Performances from Northeast China – Lei Hao, Yu Xiang and Xiaoxing Zhang, Goldsmiths College, University of London

Materiality, digitality and textual entanglements: the case of the Fifty Shades Trilogy – Gry Høngsmark Knudsen, University of Southern Denmark

Gleaming Futures? Talent Intermediaries and the UK Vlogging Industry – Sophie Bishop, University of East London

Middle class crisis and the ‘sharing industries’ as the main flywheels of the production and consumption of popular post-truth – Antonello Bocchino, University of Westminster

14.40-15.40 Panel 3: Ethnographies of the Viral and Everyday Life Chair: Tarik Sabry

Doing digital ethnography to map Tibetan identities on Chinese social media – Dianjing Li, University of Westminster

Technologies of policing and production of violence: The case of ‘cow protection’ in India – Musab Iqbal, University of Westminster

Football fans, emotion and the stadium atmosphere on Twitter – Zahra Hasan, Journalist

New Politics? The limitations of social media and political engagement – Kate Lonie, The University of Sydney

15.45-16.00 Tea & Coffee Break

16.00-17.20 Panel 4: Protest, Political Campaigns and Virality Chair: Anastasia Denisova

The Absolute Boy, the Girl on a Train and a Big Bag of Cans – Penny CS Andrews, University of Sheffield

Emergent Anti-Hegemonic Conversations –Richard Ikiebe, University of Westminster

Pepe the Frog – Funny Meme and Racist Symbol. Critical Reflections on Contexts, Strategies, Politics, and the Analysis of Online Popular Cultures – Rebecca Venema, Institute of Communication Technologies, Switzerland and Eleonora Benecchi, Institute of Media and Journalism

Misinformation Echo System in Africa – Bashir Sa’ad Abdullahi, Journalist

17.20-18.30 Keynote Panel 2: Rethinking ‘virality’ for the digital age: popular culture and social media in Africa, Latin America and Russia Chair: Paddy Scannell

Colombia’s drug ballads: Memory, nationhood, and digital consumption – Edmundo Bracho-Polanco, University of Westminster

Viral discussion on the Russian rap music: why social media tell more than the artists intended – Anastasia Denisova & Aliaksandr Herasimenka, University of Westminster

Viral Popular Music in Africa in the Digital Age: Does it matter? – Winston Mano, University of Westminster

Music, Virality and Popular Culture in Morocco – Tarik Sabry, University of Westminster

18.30-19.30 Wine Reception

Draft version of programme and link to registration published here: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/viral-global-popular-cultures-and-social-media-an-international-perspective