NPHFI Tenth Annual Conference, Newcastle University, UK, 10-11 November 2017
Fake news is a term that has become familiar in late 2016 and early 2017, not least because of international political developments. But is it necessarily a new phenomenon? The control, presentation and manipulation of news has played a key role in the, sometimes tumultuous, history of Anglo-Irish relations. And a similarly important role in the assertion and subversion of power in colonial, totalitarian and radical societies throughout history worldwide.
To what extent does fake news, and its close relative propaganda, represent active falsification of information and the dissemination of misinformation, as opposed to the reporting of mistakes or errors due to confusion? What are the implications of the accusation of fake news for a report or news outlet? How does historical perspective change the evaluation of whether something is fake news? The Newspaper and Periodical History Forum of Ireland (NPHFI) seeks to investigate this phenomenon and its historical application in the print media at its tenth annual conference. Papers are invited that interrogate and/or challenge these questions from a range of disciplinary perspectives.
The focus of papers should be on print media.
Topics that may be addressed include, but are not, limited to:
· Propaganda, political lobbying and activism.
· Irish views of Britain and British views of Ireland.
· News manipulation across the political spectrum.
· Representations of ‘the Other’.
· War reporting and embedded reporting.
· Representing and reporting civil unrest and conflict worldwide.
· Fake news and celebrity.
Papers may address any historical period, up to and including the present day, and any geographical region.
To submit a proposal please email an abstract of no more than 250 words to the NPHFI secretary, Dr James O’Donnell, at nphficonference@gmail.com.
Abstracts must contain a clear title and present clearly the main thesis / argument proposed. Each abstract must also include name(s), affiliation, institutional address and email address(es) of the author(s).
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 31 May 2017
The Newspaper and Periodical History Forum of Ireland seeks to achieve
gender balance on its conference panels and welcomes proposals from researchers of all career stages working in academia, media, and in
professional organisations.