Les compartimos este Call for papers que nos llega a Iberoamericana-Vervuert. Atención: solo quedan 13 días para presentar propuestas:

International Symposium

The Configuration of the Spanish Public Sphere, 18th-21st centuries

University of Warwick, 22 June 2015

 Second Call for Papers

Since the appearance of the first modern newspapers in Spain in the eighteenth century, the notion of a public sphere has structured both anxieties and hopes in the Spanish-speaking world. Although this emergence has often been tied to notions of cultural, political and economic ‘modernization’, constant change in types of media, in the logistics of dissemination and in the status of those who intervene in it has underpinned the ever-shifting dynamics through which the public sphere has operated in society, as well as its relationship to political power. The arrival of the digital age has only reinforced the potential of, but also the anxiety over, these processes. This has in turn provided a conceptual challenge for contemporary scholars, both in terms of arriving at a suitable understanding of what the public sphere is, and of the role it plays in societies.

This symposium aims to establish a dialogue among different periods and aspects of the above-mentioned processes in order to arrive at a fuller understanding of the the public sphere in the Spanish-speaking world in the past few centuries.

To this end, we welcome proposals for twenty-minute papers, in English or Spanish, on the following topics, or on any others relevant to the main theme of the conference:

  • Literature and ‘columnismo’
  • Public intellectuals
  • Notions of cultural authority
  • Newspapers and periodicals
  • TV, radio and mass culture
  • Media and the creation of a linguistic community
  • Publishing ventures
  • Projects of popular ‘enlightenment’ or social pedagogy
  • Transatlantic connections in the realm of publishing, newspapers and periodicals
  • The politics and logistics of popular consent
  • Political power and public opinion
  • Social media and citizens’ movements

Please send your proposals by 16 March 2015 to publicsphere2015@gmail.com. Your proposals should include title, affiliation, a short bio and an abstract of 150-200 words.

Organisers: Dr. Leticia Villamediana González (University of Warwick) and Dr. David Jiménez Torres (University of Manchester)