Mediated geographies: Exploring the dynamic nexus of media, environment, and place

Welcome to the conference "Mediated geographies: Exploring the dynamic nexus of media, environment, and place" in October in Jakobstad, Finland. 

The conference invites scholars, researchers, practitioners, and enthusiasts to explore the multifaceted relationship between media and the spaces we inhabit.

In an age where media permeates every aspect of our lives, from the virtual realms of the internet to the physical landscapes of cities and regions, understanding the interplay between media and the environment becomes increasingly crucial.

The dynamic interrelationship between media and places lies at the heart of our exploration. Various forms of media, such as photographs, films, television or digital media, have long served as powerful vehicles for representing, shaping, and reflecting our perceptions of space, from the intimate settings of personal narratives to the sprawling vistas of urban and rural landscapes. Through the lens of media, we can delve into the complex layers of meaning embedded within our spaces, uncovering narratives of identity, belonging, memory, and transformation.

The conference also examines the environmental and ecological dimensions of media’s impact on our spatial perceptions and experiences, recognising the complex interplay between media representations and our natural surroundings.

The conference is situated in the broader context of media geographies, as articulated in the seminal work “Mediated Geographies and Geographies of Media”. By drawing upon insights from interdisciplinary scholarship, practitioners, and industry experts, the conference will attempt to unravel the complexities of how media shapes our understanding of place and environment. Building on a recent intercultural geographical study of the Indian film industry in Europe, as presented in the book “Film and Place in an Intercultural Perspective India-Europe Film Connections” , the conference aims to delve into the complex web of relationships through which media shape our perception and interaction with various geographical areas.

Programme

Wednesday 2.10 Day 1 in the Rotunda at Campus Allegro

• 12:00 – 12:30 Light lunch
• 12:30 – 13:00 Welcome and introduction, Johanna Liinamaa, Head of Research, Novia UAS and the organising committee

Session I

• 13:00 – 13:45 Keynote: Ranjani Mazumdar “Topographical Motivations in Contemporary Bombay Cinema”
• 13:45 – 14:15 Aurelie Noel “Map as media for open representation of perceptions”
• 14:15– 14:45 Coffee break

Session II

• 14:45 – 15:15 Krzysztof Stachowiak, Malwina Balcerak “The Cultural Geography of Film Perception: Indian and European Viewer Differences”
• 15:15 – 15:45 Hania Janta “Contemporary Indian Film Productions in Switzerland”
• 15:45 – 16:15 Jani Kozina "Central and Eastern Europe as a new market for the outsourcing of Indian films: the case of Slovenia”
• 16:15 – 16:45 Therese Sunngren-Granlund "Unlocking Regional Development Through Film Productions: Opportunities in the Nordic Region”
• 16:45-17:15 Bubbles and networking, courtesy of the Jakobstad Region Development Company Concordia
• 19:00 - Dinner (invite only) 

Thursday 3.10 Day 2

Session IIIa

• 9:00 – 9:30 Ruslan Gunko "Enhancing understanding: the role of spatial data as a tool in bridging environment and society”
• 9:30 – 10:00 Shikha Jhingan “Old Cars, Infrastructures and the Radio: Bollywood’s Encounter with History in Europe” (online presentation)
• 10:00 – 10:30 Bronte Evans Rayward “Newspaper Narratives of Agricultural Research and Local Identity in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)”
• 10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break

Session IIIb

• 11:00 – 11:30 Saswata Guha Thakurata, Soma Sarkar “Cinematic Reflections of Urban Tensions: A study of neo-liberal Kolkata through films” (online presentation)
• 11:30 – 12:00 Franz-Benjamin Mocnik "Modes of place representation – Sound of music and further examples” (online presentation)
• 12:00 – 13:00 Lunch

Session IV

• 13:00 – 14:30 Workshop
• 14:30 – 14:40 Conference summary

Organised by: Novia University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Slovenia), Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (Poland), University of Basel (Switzerland)