[Air-L] Applying the Capabilities Approach to Media and Communication

[Heather Ford]

The ICA Pre-Conference on "Applying the Capabilities Approach to Media and Communication" is now open for registration. The programme is available here [1] and registration is open at [2]. Please register ASAP as the number of attendees is limited. We look forward to seeing you!

[1] https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.icahdq.org/resource/resmgr/conference/2018/preconferences/pc_capabilities.pdf 
[2] http://www.icahdq.org/event/PC34_CapabilitiesApproach 

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE
2018 PRECONFERENCE
Applying the Capabilities Approach to Media and Communications
May 24, 2018
Venue: Main Conference Hotel

Recent years have seen a growing interest in the concept of justice in media and communication studies. In the more general literature on social justice, an important contribution has come from the capabilities approach developed by Indian economist Amartya Sen and US philosopher Martha Nussbaum. The theory challenges utilitarian narratives and liberal notions of redistributive justice and has become the cornerstone of the United Nations’ Human Development Index. Despite its potentially great relevance for media industries and production studies, information and communication for development, telecommunications and media policy, and digital media research, there has been limited use of the capabilities approach across the media, communication and cultural studies field.

By bringing together for the first time scholars engaged in applying the capabilities approach to media and communications, this ICA preconference advances an agenda to create a new interdisciplinary focus in the field. It aims to build conceptual bridges across emerging frameworks for studying communicative capabilities, media practice, and digital literacies and to engage with normative debates about media justice, creative justice, and data justice. The preconference directly engages with the central theme of the ICA Annual Conference on “Voices” by inviting reflection on the ways we can address inequalities and enhance communicative opportunities for media workers and users in a global context.

The preconference will open with a keynote address by Nick Couldry (London School of Economics) and feature panels from speakers applying the capabilities approach to policy debates, development interventions, and normative media theories. 

Best wishes from the organizing committee and looking forward to seeing you all in Prague,

Jonathan Corpus Ong
Heather Ford
David Hesmondhalgh
Robin Mansell
Amit Schejter