Prof. Dr. Robert Hackett is getting together with the Communication faculty and students at IEU.

Prof. Hackett will be at the campus between November 6 and 9, 2012. He is going to attend a workshop with IUE media and communication students, will give a colloquium talk about “Media and Terrorism,” and will discuss and collaborate on research projects with the Communication faculty. The colloquium will be held on November 8 at 17:00 at D block Media Room (D002). Please find the abstract of the colloquium below.

ROBERT A. HACKETT.
School of Communication, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby
ABSTRACT on Media & Terrorism

Political violence, including terrorism, can be regarded as a form of (distorted) communication, in which media spectacles play an integral role. Conversely, mass-mediated communication can be regarded as a form of violence, and even terror, in several respects. Media are often propagandistic handmaidens to state terror. More broadly, they may help to cultivate a political climate of fear and authoritarianism, contributing to conflict-escalating feedback loops. Even more broadly, beyond media representations, dominant media institutions are arguably embedded in relations of global economic, social and cultural inequality, and thus constitute a form of structural violence. Notwithstanding its democratic potential, the Internet does not comprise a clear alternative in practice, and neither censorship of terrorist spectacles, nor the intensified pursuit of dominant forms of journalistic ‘objectivity’, offer viable ways to reduce the media’s imbrication with violence. Three potentially more productive strategies include reforming the media field from within through the paradigm of Peace Journalism, supporting the development of alternative and community media, and building movements for media reform and democratization.