Date: Mar 21, 2011

What Happens to Democracy When Everyone Talks at Once?

School of Communication to Host 75th Anniversary Symposium

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY – In recognition of the 75th Anniversary of Hofstra University, the School of Communication will present a conference titled Communication, Technology and Democracy: A Hofstra 75th Anniversary Symposium.  What Happens to Democracy When Everyone Talks at Once? The conference will take place on March 23, 2011 from 9:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.

The 9:30 a.m. opening session, From News Flash to Flash Drive to Socialnet Revolution?, will discuss how new communications technologies are transforming political reality worldwide.  It will be moderated by Evan Cornog, Dean of the School of Communication, and will take place in Studio A, Dempster Hall, South Campus.

The keynote address will take place at 11:15 a.m. and will be delivered by Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Elizabeth Ware Packared Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication and Walter and Leonore Annenberg Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania; Hofstra University Joseph G. Astman Distinguished Conference Scholar.  Her lecture is titled From Phonographs to Facebook:  How Media Shape the Rhetoric of Presidents and Those Who Aspire to the Job. This will take place in the Helene Fortunoff Theater, Monroe Lecture Center, South Campus.

Session A will take place at 2:55 p.m. in room 211 Breslin Hall, South Campus.  The topic is Public Screening: Television and Citizenship from Postwar to Post-Television.  Panelists will consider the influence of television on the transformation of the political sphere and conceptions of citizenship, from the network era of the 1950s to multiple platforms in the 21st century.

Session B will take place at 4:30 p.m. in room 211 Breslin Hall, South Campus.  In a discussion titled On the Fringe: Alternative Media Practices and Civic Participation in the 21st Century, panelists will explore the role of media in providing a voice for citizen participation outside of the dominant media paradigm and organization in the 21st Century.  Key discussions will center on existing outside of the mainstream corporate media model, civic voices in digital spaces, media criticism as social action, and funding for sustaining the alternative voice.

Admission to all events is free.

For more information,visit http://www.hofstra.edu/socsymposium.

About Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from about 150 undergraduate and more than 160 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business; engineering; communication; education, health and human services; and honors studies, as well as a School of Law and the Hofstra-North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. With a student-faculty ratio of14-to-1, our professors teach small classes averaging 22 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis. Hofstra offers a faculty whose highest priority is teaching excellence. The University also provides excellent facilities with state-of-the-art technology, extensive library resources and internship programs that match students' interests and abilities with appropriate companies and organizations.  The Hofstra community is driven, dynamic and energetic, helping students find and focus their strengths to prepare them for a successful future.

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