While globalisation can be defined in a variety of ways, global dimensions have clearly altered the contents, availability, production and distribution of educational media. National forms of reference are changing, political boundaries are shifting, and an increased awareness of socio-cultural differences within nation states are drawing attention to the multiple, contingent and situated nature of identity.

The contents and pedagogical approaches of educational media, which have traditionally depicted canonical knowledge, societal norms, regional/national identities and culturally legitimate values, have long been a subject of conflict and negotiation among curriculum authorities, politicians, textbook authors, teachers and publishing houses. A central question is now to what extent globalisation is affecting media used in school contexts, such as museums, memorials, commercial films, posters, advertisements, social network websites and other online resources. These are increasingly drawing on sources far beyond those produced for their particular local or national settings.

The Summer School thus pursues three interrelated aims. Firstly, it seeks to broaden participants’ understanding of current theories and methodologies and to explore new directions in educational media research in the light of globalisation trends. Secondly, it provides an interdisciplinary and international forum to discuss and develop new topics and globalised frames of reference within specific research contexts. Finally, it aims to consolidate and develop further an expanding network of young scholars working in this field, also with a view to future collaboration.

Methods and approaches will be presented and discussed in five panels and corresponding workshops on the following topics:

• Historical development of educational media used in schools, looking at the transnational processes involved.

• Media theory and the global dimensions of intermediality, as educational media inform and refer to other global media.

• Diversity in school learning and teaching materials, and of the users of these materials.

• Reception studies, which must now take into consideration the global relevancy of spaces influencing media use and the multiplicity of receiving positions.

• Contemporary production processes and the changes resulting from the global context of contemporary media production, e.g. the rapid and global circulation of ideas given today’s technology.

The working language of the Summer School will be English. Reimbursement of accommodation and travel costs for participants will be subject to funding.

Application deadline: 25 January 2010

Doctoral candidates and post-doctoral scholars are invited to submit abstracts related to these topics and their research interests of no more than one page, together with a cv and publication list, to Dr. Inga Niehaus at the Georg Eckert Institute (niehaus@gei.de).