[Air-L] CFP-MEAJune10-13 2010 MediaEcology and the Natural Environment

[steffasong at aol.com]

Call for Papers - The Eleventh Annual Convention of the 
Media Ecology Association
Media Ecology and the Natural Environment.
June 10 – 13, 2010
University of Maine, Orono, Maine.


Media Ecology and the Natural Environment


The subject of media ecology was formed with two biological metaphors in mind, 
Neil Postman wrote in “The Humanism of Media Ecology” (2000). In biology, a 
medium is a substance within which a culture grows. Change “substance” to 
“technology,” and media ecology defines a medium as a technology within which a 
culture grows, forming its politics, social organization, and ways of thinking. 
In biology, ecology is the study of what constitutes a balanced and healthy 
natural environment. Media ecology refers to ways that cultures maintain a 
healthy symbolic balance to help keep our natural world in order. Media ecology 
seeks to make us more aware that we live in two different environments. We live 
in both the natural environment of air, water, animals, and plants, and the 
media environment of language, images, symbols, and technologies that shape us.
The 11th Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association invites papers, 
panels, creative projects, and other proposals exploring the connections between 
these two ecologies, one of culture and communication, the other of nature and 
the physical sciences. Convention submissions are welcome that draw on a wide 
variety of perspectives in environmental studies in the sciences and 
communicat
ion, from issues such as climate 
change, biodiversity, acid rain, and wildlife ecology. How do media ecology and 
natural ecology intersect? How do ecologists in humanities, social sciences, and 
natural sciences create dialogue with each other? Can scholarship bring artists, 
communication researchers, and scientists together? What is the relationship 
between primary natural and virtual media realities? What is the history of 
environmental thought?


Electronic submissions of papers and session proposals are preferred and should 
be sent by January 15, 2010 to Paul Grosswiler, Chair, Department of 
Communication and Journalism, 420 Dunn Hall, University of Maine, Orono ME 
04460,  paulg at maine.edu. 


All submissions will be acknowledged. The convention will be sponsored by the 
Vice President for Research, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the 
Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of Maine. Campus 
housing will be available. Tours of Maine’s natural environments will be 
offered. 


Convention Coordinators:  Paul Grosswiler (paulg at maine.edu) University of Maine; 
Ellen Rose (erose at unb.ca) University of New Brunswick, Fredericton