On December 10th, Merlyna Lim delivered a public keynote speech at an international conference on “Media and the Politics of Transformation in the Arab world and Asia” held at Freie Universität Berlin. Organized jointly by the Institute for Media and Communication Studies and Center for Middle Eastern and North African Politics, the conference seeks to inquire on how media and mobilization processes evolve in the context of restricted media systems and state dominated public spheres.
Lim’s speech is entitled “Sticks and Stones, Clicks and Phones: Contextualizing the Role of Digital Media in the Politics of Transformation”. Integrating theories and perspectives drawn from social sciences (social movement research in particular) and communication/media studies, the speech offers an interdisciplinary framework to understand the complex relationship between media and the politics of transformation, with digital media as a focal point. Drawing on empirical analysis from the Middle East and Asia, this speech also attempts to identify regional patterns and constellations of digital media as an instrument for protest, mobilization, and democratization. Some central questions include, but are not limited to: Are there similar characteristics and mechanisms in media activism and mobilization across the regions? How much does regional and national context define mobilizations and social movements? What specific roles can digital media play in the politics of transformation?
Following her Berlin engagement, Merlyna Lim also delivered two public lectures in Bandung, Indonesia, on December 22nd. In one full day event attended by hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty of the School of Communication, University Padjajaran, Lim’s lectures revolved around digital media, protest, and activism. Lim’s lectures are entitled, subsequently, “Leftism to Selfieism: A Quarter of a Century of Digital Activism in Indonesia” and “Digital Media & Contemporary Global Protests”.
Lim’s Global Protests Timeline
Wednesday, January 13, 2016 in Communication News, News
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