*CFP* "THE PRESS & DIVIDED SOCIETIES", NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL HISTORY FORUM OF IRELAND

The Press & Divided Societies

Newspaper and Periodical History Forum of Ireland, Belfast

November 8th and 9th 2019

Print media have played a significant role in the social and cultural life of every society and while they may not tell us what to think on any issue, they undoubtedly shape the environment in which we do that thinking. Throughout history the press has helped to shape how readers related to their world, sometimes by stressing commonalities in terms of national identity building, and other times by highlighting and/or stressing divisions in society.

The Newspaper and Periodical History Forum of Ireland (NPHFI) invites papers that examine the press and divided societies from a range of disciplinary perspectives. The 2019 conference will take place at the Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s University, Belfast on Friday and Saturday November 8th and 9th 2019.

The focus of this year’s conference is on how print media reported, represented, alleviated or perpetuated division in societies. We welcome papers that address such a focus via any aspect of print media history – journalistic biography and practice, reportage, features, comment and opinion, advertising, supplements, photography, illustrations, cartoons and technology.

Papers are not required to specifically address Ireland and may address any historical period. However, the focus of papers must be on print media and / or its intersection and interaction with other forms of media insofar as they relate to the history of print media.

Topics that might be examined include, but are not limited to:

• The press and politics in divided societies 
• The press and economic and/or social divisions 
• The press and cultural divisions / identity politics 
• The press and religious divisions / ecumenism 
• The press and ethnic and/or linguistic divisions 
• The press and gender / sexual divisions 
• The press and rights campaigns in historical context 
• The press and ‘othering’ processes in historical context

To submit a proposal please email an abstract of no more than 250 words and a 100 word biographical note to the NPHFI secretary Ray Burke at nphficonference@gmail.com

Abstracts must contain a clear title and present clearly the main thesis / argument proposed and must also include name(s), affiliation, institutional address and email address(es) of the author(s). Deadline for submission of abstracts: 7 June 2019.