In the Indian context, the penetration of transnational networks, the ‘diasporisation’ of Bollywood and the rapid spread of new media technologies have been marked by moral panics and demands for higher censorship, on the one hand, and by innovative uses of technology and emergence of new hybrid forms, on the other. This seminar tries to explore this complex and contradictory terrain, through a dialogue between leading practitioners and scholars.

The profit maximization motive of a market-driven economy has changed the structure, content and organisation of the media, resulting in concentration through integration, mergers and conglomerisations. The assumption of global industrial character by the media has significant ramifications for socio-political, economic and cultural spaces at global and local levels. Parallel to this, we also have a vibrant grass roots democracy, with social and cultural initiatives at the local level contesting and redefining hegemonic power relations. This workshop thus also tries to capture these contradictory media flows in a globalised information economy, where information is inextricably linked to power. It is envisaged that the seminar will foster new directions and seminal modes of re-examining our media spaces, drawing on insights from a range of disciplines and theoretical perspectives.

Seminar Schedule
Friday, 10th February
Opening Remarks	Dr. S. Parasuraman, Director, TISS
	Dr. Anita Patil-Deshmukh, Director, PUKAR
Introduction to the seminar
	Dr. Anjali Monteiro, CMCS, TISS
Session I
Changing Modes of Production and Consumption:
The Global and the Local
	Ms. B. Manjula, CMCS, TISS
	Dr. B. P. Sanjay, S. N. School, Univ. of Hyderabad
Discussant	Dr. Vinod Pavarala, S. N. School, University of
	Hyderabad
Session II
Open Forum on Media Education: Opportunities and Challenges
	Dr. Shobha Ghosh,
	Head, Dept. of English, SIES College
	Dr. Sudhakar Solomon Raj
Discussant	Dr. B. P. Sanjay, S. N. School, Univ. of Hyderabad
Key Note Address (open to public)
	Mr. Shekhar Gupta,
	Editor-in-Chief, Indian Express
Saturday 11th February
Session III
Moral Panics: Negotiating Gender
	Dr. Shohini Ghosh, Jamia Milia Islamia
	Ms. Shilpa Phadke, PUKAR Gender & Space
Discussant	Mr. Venkatesh Chakravarthy
Session IV
Rethinking the City and Urban Identity
	Mr. Venkatesh Chakravarthy,
	Filmmaker and researcher
	Mr. Abeer Gupta, Filmmaker and researcher
	Ms. Paromita Vohra, Filmmaker
(Screening of ‘Cosmopolis : Two Tales of a City’)
Discussant	Mr. Rahul Srivastava, Researcher,PUKAR
	Associate
Session V
Panel on Media Censorship
	Mr. Amit Khanna, Chairman,
	Reliance Entertainment
	Ms. Surabhi Sharma, Filmmaker
Discussant	Ms. Shohini Ghosh, MCRC, Jamia Milia Islamia
Film I: ‘SheWrite’ by Drs. Anjali Monteiro and K. P. Jayasankar
Discussant	Ms. Shilpa Phadke, PUKAR Gender & Space
Special Screening:
Once Upon a Time There was a Utopia by Lasse Naukkarinnen
Sunday 12th February
Session VI
New Technologies and Old Boundaries
	Mr. Shuddhabrata Sengupta, SARAI
	Prof. Vinod Pavarala, S. N. School,
	University of Hyderabad
Discussant	Mr. Indranil Chakravarty,
	Comet Media Foundation
Session VII	Imaging Resistance
	Ms. Madhusree Dutta, Majlis
Discussant	Mr. Farooque Shaikh, Actor and Activist
Film II: ‘Naata’ by Dr. Anjali Monteiro and Dr. K. P. Jayasankar
Discussant	Dr. Amita Bhide, TISS
Session VIII	Open Forum: Participant Presentations
	Ms. Sujata Babar, Abhivyakti, Nashik
	Ms. Mridu Chandra, Filmmaker
(Screening of ‘The Other Side of Childhood’)