The Communication and Media Research Institute at the University of Westminster welcomes you to this talk on Media Geographies with Prof. David Morley and Dr. Mike Duggan.
In order to understand how the media exercise their power, we also need to contextualise media and commutations studies themselves, by considering how they have been shaped by the specific circumstances of their development in the period of the post WWII economic boom in the affluent democracies of the world’s Northwestern ‘temperate zone’. In an era in which mobility is now becoming a key dimension of inequality, the study of communications must also involve questions of both geography and demography – in particular, the degrees of mobility (or immobilisation) of different categories of persons, technologies and commodities. We should perhaps be sceptical about the myths of digital media’s weightlessness, immateriality and lack of friction and especially its claims to enable us to transcend geography. In a world of heavily policed borders, with the rise of economic protectionism leading to tariff wars and increasing conflict over control of international trade routes, media and communications cannot be understood outside the context of these geo-political issues. In this context, as Foucault argued, we need theories and models which will enable us to understand both the ‘grand strategies of geopolitics’ and the ‘little tactics of the habitat’.
This event will open with a provocation from Prof. David Morley on the intersection between media and geography, followed by a response from Dr Mike Duggan, and what is sure to be a lively and highly informative discussion. The evening will be rounded off with a wine reception and the chance to continue conversations with friends old and new.
Prof. David Morley
David Morley is Emeritus Professor of Communications at Goldsmiths, University of London. Following his early work on media audiences and the household uses of information and communication technology, he has worked in the field of cultural geography for many years now. His publications include ‘Spaces of identity: Global Media, Electronic Landscapes and Cultural Boundaries’ (with Kevin Robins, Routledge 1997); ‘Home Territories ‘ (Routledge 2001); ‘Media, Modernity and Technology: the Geography of the New’ (2005) and ‘Communications and Mobility: the Migrant, the Mobile Phone and the Container Box (Wiley Blackwell, 2016). He also edited ‘Stuart Hall : Selected Essays Vols 1 and 2’ (Duke University Press 2019). His work has been translated into 22 languages.
Dr Mike Duggan (Kings College)
Mike Duggan holds a PhD in Cultural Geography from Royal Holloway University of London, working in partnership with the Ordnance Survey on studying everyday digital mapping practices. Mike is primarily interested in the intersections between technology, culture and everyday life. He has studied everyday mapping practices, the lived experiences of the sharing economy and video conferencing platforms. He a director of the Livingmaps Network and the editor-in-chief of the Livingmaps Review, a bi-annual journal for radical and critical cartography, which welcomes a range of submission styles from academics, artists, activists and others interested in maps and mapping practices. His latest book is All Mapped Out, is published by Reaktion Books (2024).
This event is hosted by Prof. Tarik Sabry and Dr Doug Specht.