Call for abstracts for accepted panel - IPrA conference - July 3-8, 2011 - Manchester, UK

[Pilar Garces Blitvich]

Dear colleagues

Apologies in the event of cross-postings. 
Pilar G. Blitvich and I (Nuria Lorenzo-Dus) are organizing a panel on ‘The 
discourse of reality television. Multidisciplinary and cross-cultural 
approaches’ for the IPrA conference (July 2011) and we have some slots available 

for papers that cover the areas described in the abstract below within the 
regions of Africa, Asia and the Middle East. If you are interested, please let 
submit an abstract (following IPrA guidelines: 
http://ipra.ua.ac.be/main.aspx?c=.CONFERENCE12&n=1403 ) before 30 September to 
n.lorenzo-dus at swansea.ac.uk
 
We look forward to hearing from you,
Nuria Lorenzo-Dus and Pilar G. Blitvich 


Call for Abstracts to be considered for accepted panel on ‘The discourse of 
reality television. Multidisciplinary and cross-cultural approaches’


IPrA Conference, 3-8 July 2011, Manchester, UK
Panel Organizers: Nuria Lorenzo-Dus (Swansea University, UK) and Pilar G. 
Blitvich (University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA)
 
Abstract:
Reality television has been under considerable scrutiny within the broad 
academic fields of sociology and cultural and media studies (e.g. Bonner 2003, 
Hill 2005, 2007). This is in part due to the paradox surrounding reality 
television, whereby critics bemoan its rise at the same time that they 
acknowledge its extraordinary appeal and influence. Considerably less work has 
been conducted on the discourse of reality television. Exceptions here include 
empirical studies on authenticity and sociability (Thornborrow and Morris 2004, 
Tolson 2006), on persuasion in makeover television (Giles 2002, Lorenzo-Dus 
2006), on ideology in travel shows (Jaworski et al 2003a/b, Gieve and Norton 
2007) and on impoliteness and conflict talk in exploitative shows, ranging from 
quizzes (Culpeper 2005) and courtroom shows (Lorenzo-Dus 2008) to hybrid 
documentaries (Bousfield 2007, Pardo 2008) and various contest shows (Blas 
Arroyo 2009, Lorenzo-Dus 2009).  These disparate studies have advanced our 
knowledge of the extremely hybrid and fluid genres in which reality television 
is instantiated.  However, there has been to date no systematic attempt at 
bringing together key debates, challenges and opportunities in the investigation 

of the discourse – or indeed the discourse practices – of reality television. 
The rationale behind proposing this panel now and in the context of IPrA 2011 is 

precisely to fill this important gap. 

A focus on the discourse of reality television is not to be confused with 
limiting the discourse-based approaches to be embraced. Indeed, and as the 
sub-title of the panel proposal indicates – there is a dual, 
mutually-encompassing focus to the proposed panel: multi-disciplinary and 
cross-cultural.  The former pays testament to the multitude of frameworks from 
which insights can be gained into how the genre crafts identities, ‘reality’ and 

ideologies, to name but a few key issues. As for the cross-cultural dimension of 

our proposal, this is in recognition of not only a veritable tradition of 
discourse-analytic research that has warned against analytic ethnocentrism but 
also, and specifically, of the little attention thus far paid within the ‘global 

phenomenon’ of reality television to the national / cultural characteristics 
that may emerge in its localised variations (but see, for example, Aslama and 
Pantii 2007, Roscoe 2001) 

Areas to be developed in the panel include the following:
-          impoliteness in exploitative shows
-          performance and stylisation
-          ideological constructions (e.g. aestheticisation of poverty, crime, 
            and other socio-political issues)
-          cross-cultural adaptations of ‘global’ reality show formats
-          cultural and identity values, including gender, age and other 
           ‘transportable identities’ 

 
Papers working within critical discourse studies, talk-in-interaction, 
interactional sociolinguistics (e.g. im-politeness), feminism and broadcast talk 

traditions are therefore equally welcome. 
 Pilar G. Blitvich, Ph.D. | Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics 
UNC Charlotte | Department of English
9201 University City Blvd. | Charlotte, NC 28223
Phone: 704- 687 2126 | Fax: 704-687-3961
pgblitvi at uncc.edu | http://www.english.uncc.edu/blitvich.html