This colloquium will consider the ways in which recent attention to political voice and a turn to ‘listening’ might offer productive resources for research and practice aimed at media justice in global, mainstream, community and alternative media.

This discussion will address the following central questions:

• to what extent do the concepts of voice, recognition and listening generate productive insights and/or practical strategies for media justice?

• how might an invigorated conception of political voice and listening challenge established approaches to communication rights?

• what do listening and voice have to offer to work on Indigenous people and the media, global media justice, disability and communications, media and multiculturalism, environmental justice etc?

• how does media justice relate to new visions of the role of voice in economic social and political “development”

• how do listening and voice relate to emerging notions of cultural citizenship?

• how can we further develop a research and advocacy agenda around voice and listening?

• and how can we better listen for emerging possibilities for media justice ‘beyond the echoes’ of corporate media?

The colloquium will generate discussion across a number of productive tensions, including the tensions between

• ethics and justice

• voice and listening

• media and politics

• normative and empirical enquiry

Tuesday 16 February 2010, 9am – 5pm
University of Technology, Sydney Building 3, Room 210