Crossroads 2004

Spotlight Sessions...

In addition to our Plenary Sessions and Keynote Addresses, we have commissioned three Spotlight Sessions that take up particularly striking topics for our current context. Find below our three announced Spotlight Sessions.

African Cultural Studies in the Global World

Organizers:
Keyan G. Tomaselli, Ph.D., University of Natal, Durban, South Africa

Keyan G. Tomaselli is Chair Professor and Director of Graduate Programme for Culture, Communication, and Media Studies at the University of Natal, Durban, South Africa. He has written extensively on critical methodologies, cinema, and various aspects of South African culture, and has conducted contract research for both the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). A former Fullbright Research Scholar (1990-91), Professor Tomaselli received the KWANZAA Award for his book The Cinema of Apartheid: Race and Class in South African Cinema (Lake View Press, Chicago, 1998). He is the Editor of Critical Arts: A Journal of South/North Cultural and Media Studies, and is the Series Editor for "Critical Studies on African Culture and Media" (International Academic Publishers).

Handel Kashope Wright, Ph.D., University of Tennessee

Handel Kashope Wright is Associate Professor of Cultural Studies in Education at the University of Tennessee. His research interests include the development of African cultural studies, the intersection of cultural studies and the field of education, black and African identity/identification, and social difference and/in qualitative research. He has published on a variety of issues including African cultural studies, the transition from literature studies to cultural studies, drama studies in Africa, North American curriculum theorizing, and the notion of an endarkened feminist epistemology. He recently published "A Prescience of African Cultural Studies: The Future of Literature in Africa is not what it was" (Peter Lang, 2002).

Paper Titles/Presenters:
1. "Surviving the future: Towards a South African Cultural Studies". Natasha Distiller,
University of Capetown, South Africa
2. "Cultural Literacy and Cultural Practice in Baltimore: A Reception Analysis of a South African Video Soul City and Generations". Dorothy Roome, Towson University, USA
3. "From British-American Hegemony to Transnational Cultural Studies: Appropriating Ngugi wa Thiong‚o for the Journey". Handel Kashope Wright, University of Tennessee, USA
4. Paper title forthcoming. Awad Ibrahim, Bowling Green State University, USA

War, Media, & Democracy

Presenter & Chair:
Douglas Kellner, Ph.D., George F. Kneller Philosophy of Education Chair
University of California, Los Angeles

Douglas Kellner is internationally renowned for his work on media culture and critical theory. His two latest books, Grand Theft 2000: Media Spectacle and a Stolen Election (Rowman & Littlefield, 2001) and From 9/11 to Terror War: The Dangers of the Bush Legacy (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003) both offer insightful criticisms of US political culture, media, and democracy in the post-9/11 moment. Other books include Media Culture: Cultural Studies, Identity, and Politics Between the Modern and Postmodern (London: Routledge); The Postmodern Turn (with Steven Best; The Guilford Press); and The Postmodern Adventure: Science, Technology, and Cultural Studies at the Third Millennium (also with Steven Best; The Guilford Press).

Presenters:
Jack Z. Bratich, Ph.D., Rutgers University

Jack Z. Bratich is an Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University. He is the editor of Interfacings: A Journal of Contemporary Media Studies, and is co-editor (with Jeremy Packer and Cameron McCarthy) of “Governing the Present: Foucault, Cultural Studies, and Governmentality” (SUNY Press, 2003). His dissertation, “Grassy-Knoll Edges: Conpiracy Theories and Political Rationality in the 1900s” is being reworked into book form. His new project analyzes the relationships between U.S. culture, communications, and secrecy.

Heidi Marie Brush, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Heidi Marie Brush is working toward her doctorate at the Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests address the intersections of Internet (in)security, netwar, and transnational online insurgencies. She is currently working on “Cells, Nets, and the Security State: Transnational Political Organizations and the Governing of the Internet” for the collection, New Frontiers in International Communication, edited by Mehdi Semati (forthcoming).

Sport & Cultural Studies

Chair:
David L. Andrews, Ph.D., Sport & Leisure Commerce
University of Maryland, College Park

David L. Andrews is one of the leading international scholars currently writing on the intersection of sport and contemporary culture. His latest book, “Michael Jordan, Inc.: Corporate Sport, Media Culture, and Late-Modern America,” (SUNY Press, 2001) uses former National Basketball Association superstar Michael Jordan as a vehicle for viewing the broader social, economic, political, and technological concerns that frame contemporary culture in terms of celebrity, identity politics, and global capitalism. With Steven J. Jackson, he is the editor of “Sports Stars: The Cultural Politics of Sporting Celebrity” (London: Routledge, 2001) and “Sport, Culture, and Advertising (2003). and, with CL Cole and Michael Silk, editor of “Corporate Nationalism(s): Cultural Identity and Transnational Marketing” (Oxford: Berg). He is currently completing two books, “Late-Capitalist Sport” (Oxford: Blackwell) and a volume on Manchester United of the English Premier League (London: Routledge), both due out in 2005. With Michael D. Giardina, he is also the editor of a forthcoming Special Issue of the journal Cultural Studies/Critical Methodologies provisionally titled “Sport & Cultural Studies.” He has served on the editorial board of the Sociology of Sport Journal, and is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Sport & Social Issues.

Presenters:
Ben Carrington, Ph.D., Department of Sport & Leisure Cultures
University of Brighton, United Kingdom

Ben Carrington has published widely in areas related to 'race', identity and popular culture, has conducted research into aspects of contemporary youth culture and music, and has contributed to numerous regional and national radio and television programmes that have dealt with aspects of popular culture and identity. He recently edited (with Ian McDonald) “’Race’, Sport, and British Society” (London: Routledge, 2001), is a member of the British Sociological Association's Race Committee, and a member of a number of BSA Study groups in the areas of 'Sport', 'Youth' and 'Theory'. He is also on the editorial boards of Leisure Studies, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, and the Journal of Sport & Social Issues. Currently, he is researching a book on the role of sport within the black diaspora, entitled, "Race, Sport and Modernity" to be published by Sage.

Grant Farred, Ph.D., The Literature Program, Duke University, USA

Grant Farred is the author of “Midfielder's Moment: Coloured Literature and Culture in Contemporary South Africa” (Westview Press, 1999) and “What's My Name? Organic and Vernacular Intellectuals” (forthcoming U. of Minnesota Press). He is the editor of “Rethinking C.L.R James” (Basil Blackwell Publishers, 1996), and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Sport & Social Issues. He is currently researching "Another English: Discontented Speech in Anglo-Caribbean Fiction." With CL Cole, he is editing a forthcoming book titled “Exercising Power: The Athletic Body in Public Space.”

Samantha J. King, Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada

Samantha J. King is an Assistant Professor of Physical and Health Education at Queen’s University. She has written extensively on the cultural politics of sport, health, and the body and her recent research has explored the role of consumer-oriented philanthropy in the cultural reconfiguration of breast cancer since the 1980s. A member of the editorial board for the Journal of Sport & Social Issues, her recent publications have appeared in Social Text, the International Journal of Sport Marketing & Sponsorship, and the Journal of Sport and Social Issues.

Official Conference of the Association for Cultural Studies		June 25 – June 28, 2004 Fifth International Conference University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute of Communications Research Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA

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FULL PROGRAM \| SPOTLIGHT \| SPEAKERS \| PROGRAM AREAS \| SCHEDULE Spotlight Sessions... In addition to our Plenary Sessions and Keynote Addresses, we have commissioned three Spotlight Sessions that take up particularly striking topics for our current context. Find below our three announced Spotlight Sessions. African Cultural Studies in the Global World Organizers: Keyan G. Tomaselli, Ph.D., University of Natal, Durban, South Africa Keyan G. Tomaselli is Chair Professor and Director of Graduate Programme for Culture, Communication, and Media Studies at the University of Natal, Durban, South Africa. He has written extensively on critical methodologies, cinema, and various aspects of South African culture, and has conducted contract research for both the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). A former Fullbright Research Scholar (1990-91), Professor Tomaselli received the KWANZAA Award for his book The Cinema of Apartheid: Race and Class in South African Cinema (Lake View Press, Chicago, 1998). He is the Editor of Critical Arts: A Journal of South/North Cultural and Media Studies, and is the Series Editor for "Critical Studies on African Culture and Media" (International Academic Publishers). Handel Kashope Wright, Ph.D., University of Tennessee Handel Kashope Wright is Associate Professor of Cultural Studies in Education at the University of Tennessee. His research interests include the development of African cultural studies, the intersection of cultural studies and the field of education, black and African identity/identification, and social difference and/in qualitative research. He has published on a variety of issues including African cultural studies, the transition from literature studies to cultural studies, drama studies in Africa, North American curriculum theorizing, and the notion of an endarkened feminist epistemology. He recently published "A Prescience of African Cultural Studies: The Future of Literature in Africa is not what it was" (Peter Lang, 2002). Paper Titles/Presenters: 1. "Surviving the future: Towards a South African Cultural Studies". Natasha Distiller, University of Capetown, South Africa 2. "Cultural Literacy and Cultural Practice in Baltimore: A Reception Analysis of a South African Video Soul City and Generations". Dorothy Roome, Towson University, USA 3. "From British-American Hegemony to Transnational Cultural Studies: Appropriating Ngugi wa Thiong‚o for the Journey". Handel Kashope Wright, University of Tennessee, USA 4. Paper title forthcoming. Awad Ibrahim, Bowling Green State University, USA War, Media, & Democracy Presenter & Chair: Douglas Kellner, Ph.D., George F. Kneller Philosophy of Education Chair University of California, Los Angeles Douglas Kellner is internationally renowned for his work on media culture and critical theory. His two latest books, Grand Theft 2000: Media Spectacle and a Stolen Election (Rowman & Littlefield, 2001) and From 9/11 to Terror War: The Dangers of the Bush Legacy (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003) both offer insightful criticisms of US political culture, media, and democracy in the post-9/11 moment. Other books include Media Culture: Cultural Studies, Identity, and Politics Between the Modern and Postmodern (London: Routledge); The Postmodern Turn (with Steven Best; The Guilford Press); and The Postmodern Adventure: Science, Technology, and Cultural Studies at the Third Millennium (also with Steven Best; The Guilford Press). Presenters: Jack Z. Bratich, Ph.D., Rutgers University Jack Z. Bratich is an Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University. He is the editor of Interfacings: A Journal of Contemporary Media Studies, and is co-editor (with Jeremy Packer and Cameron McCarthy) of “Governing the Present: Foucault, Cultural Studies, and Governmentality” (SUNY Press, 2003). His dissertation, “Grassy-Knoll Edges: Conpiracy Theories and Political Rationality in the 1900s” is being reworked into book form. His new project analyzes the relationships between U.S. culture, communications, and secrecy. Heidi Marie Brush, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Heidi Marie Brush is working toward her doctorate at the Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests address the intersections of Internet (in)security, netwar, and transnational online insurgencies. She is currently working on “Cells, Nets, and the Security State: Transnational Political Organizations and the Governing of the Internet” for the collection, New Frontiers in International Communication, edited by Mehdi Semati (forthcoming). Sport & Cultural Studies Chair: David L. Andrews, Ph.D., Sport & Leisure Commerce University of Maryland, College Park David L. Andrews is one of the leading international scholars currently writing on the intersection of sport and contemporary culture. His latest book, “Michael Jordan, Inc.: Corporate Sport, Media Culture, and Late-Modern America,” (SUNY Press, 2001) uses former National Basketball Association superstar Michael Jordan as a vehicle for viewing the broader social, economic, political, and technological concerns that frame contemporary culture in terms of celebrity, identity politics, and global capitalism. With Steven J. Jackson, he is the editor of “Sports Stars: The Cultural Politics of Sporting Celebrity” (London: Routledge, 2001) and “Sport, Culture, and Advertising (2003). and, with CL Cole and Michael Silk, editor of “Corporate Nationalism(s): Cultural Identity and Transnational Marketing” (Oxford: Berg). He is currently completing two books, “Late-Capitalist Sport” (Oxford: Blackwell) and a volume on Manchester United of the English Premier League (London: Routledge), both due out in 2005. With Michael D. Giardina, he is also the editor of a forthcoming Special Issue of the journal Cultural Studies/Critical Methodologies provisionally titled “Sport & Cultural Studies.” He has served on the editorial board of the Sociology of Sport Journal, and is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Sport & Social Issues. Presenters: Ben Carrington, Ph.D., Department of Sport & Leisure Cultures University of Brighton, United Kingdom Ben Carrington has published widely in areas related to 'race', identity and popular culture, has conducted research into aspects of contemporary youth culture and music, and has contributed to numerous regional and national radio and television programmes that have dealt with aspects of popular culture and identity. He recently edited (with Ian McDonald) “’Race’, Sport, and British Society” (London: Routledge, 2001), is a member of the British Sociological Association's Race Committee, and a member of a number of BSA Study groups in the areas of 'Sport', 'Youth' and 'Theory'. He is also on the editorial boards of Leisure Studies, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, and the Journal of Sport & Social Issues. Currently, he is researching a book on the role of sport within the black diaspora, entitled, "Race, Sport and Modernity" to be published by Sage. Grant Farred, Ph.D., The Literature Program, Duke University, USA Grant Farred is the author of “Midfielder's Moment: Coloured Literature and Culture in Contemporary South Africa” (Westview Press, 1999) and “What's My Name? Organic and Vernacular Intellectuals” (forthcoming U. of Minnesota Press). He is the editor of “Rethinking C.L.R James” (Basil Blackwell Publishers, 1996), and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Sport & Social Issues. He is currently researching "Another English: Discontented Speech in Anglo-Caribbean Fiction." With CL Cole, he is editing a forthcoming book titled “Exercising Power: The Athletic Body in Public Space.” Samantha J. King, Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada Samantha J. King is an Assistant Professor of Physical and Health Education at Queen’s University. She has written extensively on the cultural politics of sport, health, and the body and her recent research has explored the role of consumer-oriented philanthropy in the cultural reconfiguration of breast cancer since the 1980s. A member of the editorial board for the Journal of Sport & Social Issues, her recent publications have appeared in Social Text, the International Journal of Sport Marketing & Sponsorship, and the Journal of Sport and Social Issues.
Last Updated: March 11, 2004