A two-week SPARC-MHRD workshop titled “Planetary Postmedia Studies: Dissensus, Diagrams and Disruption” was inaugurated on 6 August 2019 at Mir Anis Hall, Jamia Millia Islamia.
The workshop is being organised by the Centre for Culture, Media & Governance (CCMG), JMI, from 6–24 August 2019, under the SPARC scheme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India.
Purpose of the workshop
The programme aims to critically examine contemporary postmedia practices through theoretical frameworks, particularly those associated with philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. It seeks to develop a deeper understanding of new media by focusing on its structural, philosophical, and socio-technical dimensions.
Key participants and remarks
- Prof. Biswajit Das, Director, CCMG and Indian Principal Investigator of the SPARC project, highlighted the Centre’s focus on foundational research in communication studies and emphasized the importance of addressing the “why, how, and what” of social media rather than only its events and impacts.
- He welcomed international instructors:
- Alex Taek-Gwang Lee (International PI, SPARC project)
- Joff P. N. Bradley (International Co-PI, SPARC project)
Dr. Manoj NY, Assistant Professor at CCMG and Indian Co-PI, outlined the conceptual framework of the workshop, focusing on post/non-human epistemology and the evolving nature of media theory in the context of technological change.
The international instructors expressed their appreciation for participating in the programme and emphasized its relevance in addressing global transitions in media and communication studies.
The workshop is expected to provide participants with a critical foundation in postmedia studies, exploring how computation and technological change are reshaping communication, subjectivity, and perceptions of time.
