International PhD and Research School: Arab TV-fic tion and entertainment industries

International PhD and Research School
"Arab TV-fiction and entertainment industries"
25-30 of November, 2010
Danish Institute in Damascus, Syria

http://regionalestudier.hum.ku.dk/konferencer/arab_tv-fiction_and_entertainment_industries/

Organized by

Danish Institute in Damascus, Syria
New Islamic Public Sphere Program, University of Copenhagen, DK
Research School of Regional Studies , DK

with the support of
Arab Media Centre, University of Westminster, UK
and
Annenberg School for Communication
University of Pennsylvania, US

Call for papers

The Danish Institute in Damascus, the new Islamic Public Sphere Program and the Research
School of Regional Studies at Copenhagen University are holding an "international PhD
and Research School" from 25-30 November 2010 at the Danish Institute in Damascus, Syria.

Research Themes

Since the beginning of the new millennium Arab satellite channels  have boomed to the
point where they number more than 500. Entertainment and serial fiction (musalsalat) are
among the TV genres that have benefited most from this satellite expansion, as they have
growing terms of both quantity and quality.
Among the emerging Arab production centers and media hubs for  these TV genres, Damascus
is  one of the top sites in the field of TV serial fiction production. The Bab al-Hara
media phenomenon, along with many other popular musalsalat in recent  years, comes from
the very heart of Damascus and transposes the "Old Damascene" culture onto the most
followed Ramadan TV fiction, which has now reached  its fifth season of broadcasting on
the Dubai-based pan-Arab satellite channel MBC.

The PhD and Research School will focus on entertainment and fiction made specifically
for Arab TV channels.
The School program will draw on research methods from different branches of social
sciences (sociology, media studies, anthropology, etc) and will focus on the following
macro-areas:

-       content analysis
-       reception and audience studies
-       media industries
-       economy of media
-       media and religion

Structure of the PhD and Research School

The following four senior academics with relevant expertise in the above topics will
each give a keynote lecture and supervise students:

-       Professor Marwan Kraidy, Annenberg School of Communication, University of
Pennsylvania (US)
-       Professor Naomi Sakr, Arab Media Centre, University of Westminster (UK)
-       Professor Christa Salamandra, Lehman College, City University of New York (US)
-        Professor Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen, University of Copenhagen (DK)

The program of the PhD and research school will be a combination of keynote lectures,
plenary sessions and workshops focused on different sub-themes.
Students will have the possibility to present their research works and discuss them in
depth under the supervision of the senior instructors.
The program will also include outings and visits to relevant Syrian media institutions
and TV productions, such as the set of Bab al-Hara.

The last day of the School will host a seminar dedicated  to TV serial fiction in Syria
featuring the most important local producers, directors, writers, journalists and TV
channel representatives in the domain of Syrian drama.
More details on the program will be given at a later stage.

How to apply
PhD students at any stage of their research project are invited to present a paper on
any of the research areas listed above. The list is purely indicative and not exhaustive.

Proposals for papers can come from any relevant social science discipline or  area and
cross-disciplinary approaches are welcomed.
The proposals should be approximately 250 words long and the deadline for submission is 
30 September. Applicants should also submit a brief description of their overall
doctoral research project and a short curriculum vitae that includes the applicant's
name, affiliation, nationality and contact details.

Applications should be submitted electronically to 
director AT damaskus.dk by 30 September at the latest.

Practical information

The school fee is 200 euros which will also cover meals and local transportation
expenses.
The fee should be paid, if the paper is accepted, no later than  31  October 2010
(details for the payment will be given once the paper has been accepted)

ECTS credit points will be granted to the participants.

Participants are expected to organize their own travel to Damascus and accommodation.
Several airlines have frequent and reasonably-priced flights to Damascus from cities
around Europe, including Austrian Air (daily), Turk Hava Yollari (daily), Malev
(stop-over in Budapest, daily), British Midland (daily), Czech Air (stop-over in Prague,
daily), Syrian Air (weekly from Copenhagen, more frequently from some other cities)
The organizers will provide a list of reasonably-priced accommodation  in Damascus.

A visa is needed to enter Syria, except for Arab and Turkish nationals, and passports
should not contain stamps from Israel or the Occupied Territories. Visas should be
requested at the local Syrian embassy or , for those countries with no  Syrian embassy, 
upon arrival at Damascus International Airport.

The PhD and Research School will be hosted at the Danish Institute in Damascus which is
located in the historical Bayt al-'Aqqad, old city of Damascus.

For any further information, please contact
donatella AT hum.ku.dk