This is the official blog of MCS - the Media and Cinema Studies Program in the College of Communication at DePaul University (Chicago, IL). Here you will find the latest updates from our faculty members about new research and publications, conference talks, sponsored events and more.You'll also find updates from current students and alumni (including career paths, publications and media events).

Wednesday 29 January 2014

Call for Papers: Media Ethics

Call for Chapters: Media Ethics, Edited Collection


Editors:
Paul Booth, DePaul University
Amber Davisson, DePaul University


Among readers as well as teachers and students, there is a strong interest in understanding the complex ethical issues raised by seemingly omnipresent media forces. We invite submissions for an edited collection that deals broadly with current issues in contemporary media ethics. The book will deal with ethical issues facing both media producers and consumers. We welcome essays that discuss ethical issues facing media professionals in both print and broadcast journalism, advertising, public relations, and entertainment. These essays may deal with issues raised by emerging technologies, convergence media, or more established mass media outlets. Beyond the discussion of ethical issues facing media professionals, we are also invite essays that address private media consumption and production practices. We are interested in both classical and contemporary philosophical approaches to media ethics


Essays may explore, but are certainly not limited to, the following topics:


·         Changing perspectives on media and privacy
·         The evolution of intellectual property rights (copyright, trademark, and patent law)
·         Citizen Journalist
·         Pornography
·         Information Ethics
·         Comedy News Shows
·         Political Opinion/Commentary Shows
·         Photoshop
·         Defamation
·         Diversity and Representation in Film and Television
·         Native Advertising
·         Public Relations and Strategic Communication

Please submit proposals of 300-500 words with a brief biographical statement and contact information via email attachment to Paul Booth and Amber Davisson at adavisso@depaul.edu no later than March 30th 2014. Notice of acceptance will be sent out by May 2014 and completed essays accepted for publication will be due in September 2014.


Wednesday 22 January 2014

Chicago Film Seminar

The College of Communication at DePaul University is the current host of the Chicago Film Seminar, in which faculty and graduate students from Chicago-area institutions regularly meet at the Loop campus for presentations from invited guests on their latest research in film and media studies:

http://chicagofilmseminar.blogspot.com/

Please join us on March 13 (6:30 pm, room LL102, 14 E. Jackson St.) when MCS professor Michael DeAngelis will give a talk entitled "Reading the Bromance," from his forthcoming book of the same title, published by Wayne State University Press:

http://wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/reading-bromance

Friday 17 January 2014

2nd Annual MCS Pop Culture Colloquium: A Celebration of Joss Whedon - Call for Papers

The Media and Cinema Studies Program will hold its second annual Pop Culture Colloquium on May 3, 2014, organized by Prof. Paul Booth. Entitled "A Celebration of Joss Whedon," we are now seeking proposals for this event:

Call for Papers and Topic Proposals:
Joss Whedon: A Celebration

Now accepting submissions and ideas for the second annual Pop Culture Colloquium at DePaul University in Chicago!

The Media and Cinema Studies program at DePaul University is hosting a one-day celebratory colloquium in honor of the work of Joss Whedon on Saturday, May 03, from 9-6. This event will feature roundtable discussions from scholars and fans of Whedon, speaking about the cultural impact of his work, as well as analyzing aspects of his television shows and films. The even will also feature special guests, screenings, screenwriting workshops, and (perhaps) a sing-a-long or two…

The audience for this event is both graduate and undergraduate students, both fans and scholars, and the focus should be on informed and enlightening discussion rather than formal academic papers. “Joss Whedon: A Celebration” will take place on DePaul’s Loop campus.


If you’re interested in speaking on a round table, please send a 200 word abstract of your topic and a CV or resume to Paul Booth (pbooth@depaul.edu) by Mar 01. Also please email with any questions. We hope that you will be able to join in the discussion and celebration!


Wednesday 15 January 2014

Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference Activity

image courtesy of scms.com

Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) Conference

The Society for Cinema and Media Studies is the largest international scholarly organization for the study of film and media. Their annual conference will be held March 19-23, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. 


Several of our MCS faculty members will be there. Here is a summary of what they're doing:

Luisela Alvaray
- Chairing a panel: "Specters of the Dictatorship in Contemporary Chilean Cinema"
- Presenting a paper: "Missing Links: Hidden Histories and Traumatic Memories in Contemporary Chilean Cinema"

Paul Booth
- Chairing a workshop: "Rethinking Networked Culture, Media Audiences and Media Content Through Spreadable Media"
- Presenting a Paper: "Crowdfunding Fandom: A Spimatic Analysis of Kickstarter"

Blair Davis 
- Chairing a panel: “New Approaches in Comics Studies: Past, Present and Future”
- Presenting a paper: “Reframing ‘Comics  and Film’ Scholarship”

Kelly Kessler
- Presenting a paper: "I Dreamed a Dream of Close-Ups Gone By: 'Les Miserables and the Visual Excess of Stage-to-Screen Transfers in the FX Era"
- Participating in a Workshop: "24 fps, 24/7?: Striving for Work/Life Balance"


Tuesday 7 January 2014

MCS Faculty Interviews


Prof. Paul Booth was recently interviewed about Dr. Who fandom for The Atlantic.

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/12/how-fanzines-helped-put-em-doctor-who-em-fans-in-charge-of-em-doctor-who-em/282631/


Prof. Blair Davis was interviewed in 2013 about the changing landscape of low-budget film distribution for Pacific Standard:

http://www.psmag.com/culture/escapes-from-the-asylum-60701/




Sunday 5 January 2014

MCS Alumni Profiles

Our Media & Cinema Studies graduate student alumni have gone on to a wide range of professional careers and doctoral programs.

See several profiles of our alumni here:

http://communication.depaul.edu/academics/graduate-programs/media-and-cinema-studies/Pages/alumni.aspx




Friday 3 January 2014

Recent Faculty Publications


Prof. Luisela Alvaray published an article entitled "Claiming the Past: Venezuelan Historical Films and Public Politics" in the November 2013 issue of Cultural Dynamics:

http://cdy.sagepub.com/content/25/3.toc?etoc


Current Issue



She also published an article article entitled "Snap Shots: Using Photography for Intercultural Awareness and Understanding in the December 2013 issue of Communication Teacher:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17404622.2013.865770#.UtL4_PS1ySp



Snap Shots: Using Photography for Intercultural Awareness and Understanding


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Prof. Paul Booth published an article entitled "Doctor Who Fan-Ante Credits" in December, 2013 with in media res:

http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/imr/2013/12/20/doctor-who-fan-ante-credits


Home



He also published an article entitled "The Cultural Lives of Doctor Who: Celebrations, Conferences, Conventions" in December, 2013 with antenna:

http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/2013/12/03/the-cultural-lives-of-doctor-who-celebrations-conferences-conventions/



Antenna



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prof. Blair Davis published an article entitled "Singing Sci-Fi Cowboys: Gene Autry and Genre Amalgamation in The Phantom Empire (1935)" in the December 2013 issue of the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television (Vol. 33, No. 4):

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01439685.2013.847646?journalCode=chjf20#.Us2NgdJDuSo