By Manaswini Pillai, Magazine, News and Digital Journalism Graduate | October 18, 2024
The 3rd iteration of CODE^SHIFT’s annual symposium took place on October 4, 2024, at the S.I. Newhouse School Of Public Communications, Syracuse University. The event was themed ‘Media and Social Justice: Global Perspectives’, and brought together scholars and researchers, altogether representing sixteen universities, to explore how media shapes and responds to social injustices worldwide.
The CODE^SHIFT team with the speakers for the event | Photo by Sky Zhuang, Television, Radio, and Film Undergraduate
The day opened with a welcome address from Dr. Srividya ‘Srivi’ Ramasubramanian, Newhouse Professor and Endowed Chair, Director of CODE^SHIFT.
In the first session, ‘Methods & Meaning-Making’, Dr. Omotayo O. Banjo, University of Cincinnati addressed the complexities of intersectionality and media representation, while Dr. Radhika Gajjala, Bowling Green State University, and Ololade M. Faniyi, Emory University, talked about transnational feminist media studies and social media activism. It was followed by a presentation from Shannon Burth, Syracuse University, who explained the role of data in shaping media narratives and its role in social justice.
The next session, chaired by Dr. Charisse L’Pree Corsbie-Massay, Syracuse University, focused on ‘Approaches and Analytical Frameworks’. It featured presentations from scholarship like Dr. Angharad Valdivia, University of Illinois, who talked about the journey of Latine Media Studies, and Dr. Satveer Kaur-Gill, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who talked about subaltern digital cultures and the role of TikTok in migrant culture, followed by a presentation on media representation, incarceration, and social justice by Dr. Adam Key, Kansas State University-Salina, and a presentation on challenging caste hierarchies in the media as seen in Tamil cinema by Dr. Swarnavel Eswaran, Michigan State University.
The two sessions were followed by a lunch break, which was more than just a time to refuel - CODE^SHIFT’s quantitative and qualitative research teams presented posters on emerging research in media and social justice, and showcased the interdisciplinary approach that defined CODE^SHIFT.
Digital Journalism undergraduate and CODE^SHIFT member Nicole Cheah explains her poster to an attendee | Photo by Sky Zhuang, Television, Radio, and Film Undergraduate
In the afternoon, the symposium continued with a session on ‘Intersectional Resistances, chaired by Dr. David C. Oh, Newhouse School, Syracuse University. The panel for this session comprised Dr. David Stamps, Bentley University, who examined how black audiences use media as a tool for resistance, Dr. L’Pree, who added to the conversation with her research on socioeconomic injustice and its representations in mainstream media, Dr. Wunpini Mohammed, Cornell University, who talked about the role of social media in Ghana’s LGBTQ+ activism, and Dr. Banjo, who gave an insight into media creation and consumption as a form of activism within the African transnational and diasporic communities.
The final session of the day, themed ‘Reckoning and Revisioning’, was chaired by Dr. Kendall Phillips, Syracuse University. It featured Dr. Leandra Hernandez, University of Utah, who talked about media activism in the field of health and feminicides, as well as Dr. Rukhsana Ahmed, SUNY Albany, and Seulgi Park, SUNY Albany, who spoke about the connection of media and mental health interventions among migrants. The session also featured Dr. Andrea Gambino, who explored the role of media literacy and peer teaching in promoting democratic pedagogies, as well as Dr. Ralina Joseph, University of Washington, and Jas Moultrie, University of Washington, who spoke about social justice, activism, and black joy in media studies.
Dr. Travis L. Dixon, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, delivered the symposium’s keynote address and closing remarks.
The day closed with the launch of the ‘Oxford Handbook of Media and Social Justice’, edited by Dr. Ramasubramanian and Dr. Banjo.
Dr. Ramasubramanian and Dr. Banjo with the Oxford Handbook of Media and Social Justice | Photo by Sky Zhuang, Television, Radio, and Film Undergraduate
The handbook is an interdisciplinary coverage on media and social justice from leading scholars in the field, and introduces key concepts, debates, limits, and challenges within existing media scholarship. It also features innovative theories, case studies, and practices to address complex social justice issues, as well as minority voices from numerous racial, ethnic, and gender and sexual orientation perspectives.
The diversity of the sessions highlighted the importance of media in social justice across demographics and geographies, and emphasized CODE^SHIFT’s commitment to giving a platform to cutting-edge research in the field.
The symposium garnered a positive response from the 50 in-person attendees as well as 41 virtual attendees from across the U.S.A. as well as countries like India, Japan, Pakistan and Philippines. Attendee feedback included quotes like “This symposium has afforded deep grounding for me as a junior scholar who is on the job market and is a developing researcher concerned with advancing the goals of social and environmental justice in the field of media studies, journalism/communications, and teacher education” and “This was such a phenomenal opportunity to join in community so many scholars I respect deeply. It can feel hard to find community in academia, especially as a critical scholar, and this networking opportunity was vital for me.”
Our partners and sponsors for this year’s symposium included the Newhouse School, the Lender Center for Social Justice at SU, the Syracuse U Humanities Center, the Syracuse University Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Office of Research and Creative Activity at Newhouse, the Institute for Democracy, Journalism, and Citizenship at SU, the Newhouse Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity and Accessibility Office, and the SU Engaged Humanities Network.
The CODE^SHIFT team would like to extend the warmest thanks to our esteemed speakers, our partners and sponsors, and the attendees for supporting us and making our 3rd annual symposium the success it was.
Highlights from the 3rd annual CODE^SHIFT Symposium
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