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PDF Mission Statement
The War and Media Studies Special Interest Group encourages an intensive study of the representation and conduct of war and militarism in all media forms. It aims to bring scholars and practitioners working in the fields of cinema, radio, television, communications, new media, and sound and music studies together with experts in the history and practice of military communications, journalism, and commercial cultural production. Group members address a variety of issues related to military communications—from the history of signaling, reconnaissance, psychological operations, and surveillance in wartime to the various efforts to represent and manage public perceptions of war from propaganda efforts and public affairs techniques to commercial news coverage and the phenomenon of militainment. We are also interested in the ways media may be used to challenge the legitimacy of war and militarism. Our mission is to provide a forum for scholars and students to present new research on war and media and to help shape the larger interdisciplinary field of War Studies.
Goals and Objectives
- To cultivate research on war and media within SCMS by facilitating the annual organization of panels and other sessions on media and war by
- fostering communication and collaboration among SIG members and with other SCMS groups
- organizing a yearly meeting at the SCMS conference during which scholars sharing these interests may come together to formulate specific projects such as screenings, conferences, and publications on topics that fall under the rubric of War and Media Studies
- To reach out to other scholars and professional organizations concerned with the history and culture of war, especially the relationship between media and militarism, and encourage their participation and membership in SCMS.
- In that way, to promote interdisciplinary collaboration among scholars working in cinema and media studies and scholars working on similar subjects in other disciplines, for instance rhetoric, history, political science, sociology, trauma studies, gender/race/sexuality studies, surveillance studies, cultural studies and peace studies.
- To increase the participation of War Studies scholars in SCMS and to encourage submissions on the topic to
JCMS.
- To encourage cinema and media studies scholars to contribute more actively to the War and Peace Studies communities by fostering interactions with groups like the War and Media Network and encouraging submissions to journals like Media, War & Conflict.
- To maintain a web site articulating the interests and values of the Group and act as a forum for its members and other similar organizations.
By-Laws
- All members of the War and Media Studies Interest Group must be members in good standing of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS).
- Annual meetings of the Group will be convened at the SCMS conference.
- Two members of the War and Media Studies SIG will serve as co-chairs for three-year terms. Election of the Co-chairs shall be conducted at the first annual meeting of the Group during the 2015 conference, with the outcome reported to the SCMS Board of Directors. Since this will be the first meeting and the terms are staggered, one member will run for a three-year term and the second will run for a two-year term. All subsequent terms will be for three years.
- In addition to the co-chairs, a graduate student representative will be elected at the first annual meeting of the Group during the 2015 conference.
- It will be the responsibility of the Co-Chairs to:
- communicate with the membership
- organize the annual meetings and prepare minutes of the business discussed
- request appropriate funds to support the War and Media Studies SIG and its activities
- report annually to the SCMS Board of Directors on the Group's activities and attendance figures for the last meeting
- advise on the maintenance of the website and related social media outlets
- It will be the responsibility of the graduate student representative to coordinate graduate student networks within the War and Media Studies SIG and to facilitate communication between graduate students and the Group.
- Each year the Co-Chairs will submit a request to the Program Committee of the SCMS conference for a time and space to meet, as well as funding to support relevant programming (in response to the annual call made by the Committee to SIGs).
- At all meetings of the Group, ten members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The vote of the majority of members present at a meeting at which a quorum is present constitutes the action of the Group.
- Any member of the War and Media Studies SIG may make a proposal regarding the SIG or its activities.
- Members must forward to the co-chairs all proposals prior to placing the proposal before the SIG membership. It is the responsibility and duty of the co-chairs to then forward all proposals to membership. However, no approval by either or both co-chairs is required for proposals to be advanced to membership.
- When issues are submitted to the members of the Group for vote via e-mail, the members shall have seven business days to respond. The subject line of the e-mail shall contain the word 'vote' to alert members to act.
- Within the voting time period specified in each proposal, members may debate the merits of any proposal as much as they like.
- Members may vote only once on any proposal. Members are thus encouraged to carefully consider any and all arguments regarding a proposal before voting.
- Action on behalf of the Group may be taken without a meeting if a majority of the members of the Group provide consent by writing or e-mail. The written consents shall be filed with the minutes of the next meeting.
Join Now > Contacts
Nathan Blake, Chair (Term: 06/2022-06/2024)
Cortland Rankin, Chair (Term: 03/2022-03/2024)
Maximillian Berwald, Graduate Student Representative (Term: 06/2024 - 06/2025)
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