What are the convergences, divergences and entanglements of mediatized politics in India and Turkey? We have convened this workshop to to explore the possibilities of transnational collaborative research on media and politics in these two countries. Based on the successful model of earlier India-Turkey transregional projects convened by the SSRC, the event is designed as an open-ended discussion on the broad topic of “media and politics” (each of these terms are very broadly construed). The invited participants will present on any aspect of this broad theme, with short (c. 20-30 min) presentations. We expect that the comparative themes would emerge organically out of the interchange and questions from an audience comprising people who are not familiar with the particular case in question (e.g. India scholars would not know much about Turkish media-politics
relations and vice versa), but who find resonances with common questions, themes, puzzles, etc.
The overall idea is to generate a set of common research ideas and questions through defamiliarization, and see how an uncommon comparative geography, that juxtaposes India and Turkey instead of the usual India-Europe paradigm, pushes new theoretical ideas and understandings forward. With this broad mandate, participants are invited to define and address the theme of “media and politics” in light of their own research interests. This includes the possibility of not engaging strictly with media per se, but with broader issues of representational authority and practice, and situating the current moment of mediatized politics in India and Turkey in broader and older social-historical lineages and contexts.
Organizers:
SSRC, New York: Transregional Virtual Research Institute (TVRI)