Media Dynamics in South Asia
The centrality of mediation to social, economic, and political processes in South Asia has become increasingly evident in recent years. The media has become a substantial economic sector, with considerable strategic and symbolic importance for career decisions and for the fortunes of South Asia in the global economy. The intense mediation of the political arena has seen a wide range of media formats taking on the role of actors in the day-to-day operation of the democratic process and in the conduct of international relations. The use of media technologies for enabling the interlocking fields of education, employment, and consumption makes their functions and potentials a necessary concern for the social sciences and humanities. Beyond their utility, the expressive content of the media requires a deep engagement with cultural reproduction across the region.
Media Dynamics in South Asia curates an interdisciplinary approach that addresses media studies as a field of interlocking interests in politics, economics, culture, technology, gender, and education. Our imperative for expanding the breadth of media studies in this way serves the larger task of uncovering the various relationships, transactions, and interactions that characterize social change as a dynamic process. At the same time, our broad sociological approach to different aspects of the media requires us to account in depth for the conditions, concerns, and challenges specific to the region. It is no longer sufficient to maintain a paradigm for media analysis conceived elsewhere and transplanted, often uncomfortably, to various locations in the subcontinent.
Rather, the presence of a large, sophisticated, and fast-moving media environment in South Asia promises sufficient depth to support original and innovative research approaches and the production of a future teaching curriculum grounded in the regional experience. The series seeks to play a critical role in establishing the necessary resources for supporting the growth of media studies in South Asia.
Adrian Athique is associate professor of cultural studies at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Vibodh Parthasarathi is a founding faculty and associate professor at the Centre for Culture, Media and Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India.
S.V. Srinivas is professor at the School of Arts and Sciences, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India.
