The great Latin American scholar in the field of communication, Jesus Martín-Barbero will give a guest lecture at Roskilde University, on Monday 10 May 2010, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon in room 40.2.25.

Professor Martín-Barbero will lecture on:

Diversidad cultural y convergencia digital
[Cultural diversity and digital convergence]

The lecture will be in Spanish, without translation, followed by a discussion. In the discussion, participants may put questions in English. To learn more about professor Martín-Barbero’s academic record, see his brief CV.

Professor Karin Wilkins, University of Texas, Austin, is guest professor at Roskilde University 6-19 September 2009. She will participate in the PhD course on mediated communication initiatives 8-10 September. On 12 September Karin Wilkins will lecture in Malmö (see below).

Professor Wilkins will give an open lecture in the Ørecomm Open Seminar series at RUC on Monday 7 September at 13:15 in room 42.2.37 (slides available here as pdf):

Changing Communication for Social Change
Having suffered some well deserved blows, “development communication” as a field of scholarship and practice has been transitioning in approach and in name to “communication for social change.” At this critical juncture, it is time not only for appreciation of this transition, but also for critical reflection on potential future paths for this field. Following a brief overview of how central issues in the field have changed over time, I consider continuity and change in our current approaches. In many ways, dominant ideological approaches to development still prevail within larger bilateral institutions, whereas more alternative approaches find more possibilities in flexible nonprofit and nongovernmental institutions, nurtured through dialogues across and within practitioners and academics. Changes within our attempts to promote social change are not linear though, as suggested in models of societal transition from so-called “tradition” to “modernity,” but rather ebb and flow in relation to the agendas and practices of communities and institutions negotiating communication practices within political-economic structures. I will conclude with some questions for us to consider as we work toward improving our potential to create better strategies for “social change,” such as what themes and approaches become excluded from these parameters.

Professor Wilkins will also lecture on a similar theme at Malmö University’s Communication for Development programme (in K3) on Saturday 12 September, 9:30-12:00, room: U521. See the full ComDev seminar programme here (in the left menu, click on Seminars). Note in the seminar programme that on Friday 11 September at 13:00 you may follow professor Thomas Hylland Eriksen’s lecture on Globalization. Both lectures are webcast (register before!).

On 25 and 26 March 2009 Alfonso Gumucio Dagron will lecture at Roskilde and Malmö universities, in the Ørecomm Open Seminar series. Gumucio is director of programs at the  Communication for Social Change Consortium. Among his recent publications is the Communication for Social Change Anthology: Historical and Contemporary Readings, co-edited with Ørecomm co-director Thomas Tufte.

Stefan Helgesson will speak about “World Literature? Some Alternatives for Transnational Literary Studies” at a seminar in the Ørecomm Open Seminar Series to be held at K3, Malmö University, 3 March 2009, 9:15 – 11 am. The seminar will be webcast.

Stefan Helgesson is lecturer and researcher in comparative literature at Uppsala University, Sweden, and literary critic at Dagens Nyheter. He is the writer of several books on Southern African literature, including his PhD dissertation “Sports of Culture: Writing the resistant subject in South Africa” (1999) and the recently published “Transnationalism in Southern African Literature” (2009). He has been one of the editors of the four-volume “Literary History: Towards a Global Perspective” (2006).

If you are not able to come in person to the seminar, it will be webcast on the ComDev portal: www.k3.mah.se/comdev (GMT 8.15-10 am). In order to access the live lecture function (and archive), you just need to apply for membership (click on the link in the left menu!).

As a preparation for the seminar you are recommended to read the introductory chapter in Mads Rosendahl Thomsen,  Mapping World Literature. New York: Continuum, 2008.

At the Ørecomm meeting at Roskilde University 8 December 2008, in the Ørecomm Open Seminar series:

Anders Hög Hansen, MAH gave a very inspiring seminar about memory, art and social change. Drawing on a series of examples from art performances in Sweden (Alfredo Jaar), Canada and Germany, Anders illustrated the centrality of memory and the potential social processes around art forms that explore memory (memorial art).

Johanna Stenersen, Örebro University, subsequently presented her first ideas regarding her upcoming PhD project. She only just started as a PhD student in October 2008. Her work is going to be about the role of communication in rights-based sexual and reproductive health projects and programs. Her empirical focus is on Nicaragua. Her focus will be on civil society practitioners (ie community driven NGOs, community radio and likewise) and their relation with government and with the international donor community.

Guest lecture by Paolo Mefalopulos, Senior Communication Officer, World Bank Development Communication Division. Tuesday November 4th, 2008, at 13.30-16 hrs, Roskilde University, Dept of Communication, Business and Information Technologies, Room: 43.3.29

What is the World Bank perspective on the strategic use of communication in enhancing development processes? How does the World Bank work in this field, and what are the development challenges, and related benefits, in which ‘comdev’ is applied?

The field of development communication is in a process of growth and change, both as an academic field of research as well as the field of practice. This became apparent at the 1st World Congress of Communication for Development, organised by World Bank, FAO and the Communication Initiative in Rome in October 2006. This event gathered almost one thousand policy-makers, academics and practitioners of the field.

This afternoon session, presented by Dr. Mefalopulos, will be divided in two parts. The first will provide an introduction to the Development Communication Division of the World Bank, illustrating how it conceives the field as well as briefly introducing the basic functions, services and methodology applied when supporting operations in client countries. The second part will be a more interactive and hands-on session, which through a case study will engage all present to participate in the strategy design and implementation of a communication program.

About Paolo Mefalopulos

Paolo Mefalopulos holds a doctorate degree in communication from the University of Texas at Austin. With a background in a national tv network and in a training institution of a major private corporation, both in Italy, he moved into development cooperation in the late 1990ies. He has worked with international agencies such as UNESCO, FAO and the European Union. At FAO, Mefalopulos was part of a team that developed an innovative methodology known as PRCA – Participatory Rural Communication Appraisal, adopted by many projects around the world. Currently he is a senior communication officer in the Development Communication Division of the World Bank. He has published a number of articles and books on communication for development. His most recent work is titled Development Communication Sourcebook: broadening the boundaries of communication (2008). His main expertise is in participatory communication research and planning of development projects and programs.

For further information, contact Thomas Tufte, ttufte@ruc.dk