Representation matters – but to whom? And how?

This iteration of the Critical Approaches to Black Media Culture conference considers the ongoing significance of representational analysis as well as the critical possibilities enabled by the turn to resonance in Black media and cultural studies. Our theme, Representation and Resonance, invites original research into images and storytelling, circulation and flows, and reception practices.

While we especially invite papers on this topic, we are open to any and all critical inquiry into Black media culture, broadly defined. Our hope is to bring together any and all scholars interested and invested in Black media culture, regardless of discipline or method.

Hosted by the Tulane University Department of Communication, the conference will be held on Tulane’s Uptown campus from February 19-21, 2026. This year’s keynote speakers are Racquel Gates (Columbia University) and Kristen Warner (Cornell University).

We welcome proposals for 15-20 minute presentations that engage with Black media culture, broadly defined.

We sincerely regret that the conference venue is unable to support remote participation.

Topics may include but are not limited to:

• theories of and critical frameworks for Black cinema and media
• intersections with feminist studies, queer studies, disability studies, and trans studies
• images and storytelling
• historiographies and histories of Black film and media
• archival practice and research
• production cultures and media industry studies
• authorship and auteurism
• narratives and genres
• aesthetics and forms
• distribution histories and practices
• circulation of Black media culture
• exhibition histories
• reception histories and audience studies
• social media entertainment and user-generated content
• Black digital spaces and practices
• studies of fans and fandoms
• teaching and pedagogical approaches to Black media culture

Please submit proposals of 250-500 words to this Google form by November 1, 2025. Individuals who wish to attend but not present are encouraged to fill out the form as well, putting N/A where appropriate, so that we have a proper head count.

Acceptances will be made by November 15, and a tentative schedule will be posted by December 1.

Conference registration for tenured and tenure-track professors will be $200. For precariously employed and independent scholars as well as graduate students, it will be $100. Due to catering costs, these rates apply to presenters and non-presenters.

This conference is generously supported by the Maurice L. Silverstein Cinema Studies Lectureship Fund.

Questions may be directed to the conference organizers – Ava L’Herisse, Jerome Dent, and Pete Kunze – at blackmedia@tulane.edu.