“If we want to understand how our society is currently changing in the face of the increasing significance of digital media and the automation of communication, nothing is more important than a joint, critical discussion of the matter,” states Professor Andreas Hepp from the Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI) at the University of Bremen. “That is exactly the function of the European Media Salon: The tradition of the European salon as a meeting point for open, intellectual conversation also encompasses the discussion of controversial matters. In some cases this will be online and in others it will be face-to-face.”

The Tradition of the European Salon

The discussion series refers to the tradition of the salon of 18th century Europe, where debates were held openly and informatively, but also where deep exclusions of class, ethnicity, and gender prevailed. The salons were elitist and male-dominated areas belonging to the white upper-class.
Today’s public spheres are similarly based on deep exclusions, at a time of increasing forced migration, social inequality, and intensified debate about the continuation of colonialism’s legacy. The European Media Salon has the aim of opening an academic room for discourse, in order to interrogate the exclusion tendencies from a broad, academic perspective.

Gender, Artificial Intelligence, Decolonization: The Topics Are Controversial

“Doing Gender and Sexuality in Social Media,” “Decolonizing Knowledge Production,” and “Artificial Intelligence and the Frontlines of the Digital Limit Situation” are only some of the upcoming key topics and problems that will be discussed based on the impulses of leading researchers.

The Next Dates:

5 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 17, 2022: Doing gender and sexuality on social media: participatory culture and/or a more inclusive public sphere?
5 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 08, 2022: Decolonizing knowledge production: Tensions in modern social theory and public sphere.
The English-language discussion series is open to all interested researchers from across Europe. Entry is free. The events are structured in short talks and dialogs (up to 30 minutes) with subsequent, longer discussions (up to an hour). The times vary but all events will be recorded, either as a video or a podcast. The recordings will be archived on the European Media Salon website.

Further Information and Appointments:

www.european-media-salon.org

https://www.uni-bremen.de/en/zemki

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Andreas Hepp
Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI)
University of Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-67620
Email: andreas.heppprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de