Conference to discuss modern tribalism
EDMOND — The public is invited to the University of Central Oklahoma’s Mass Communication Department’s annual media ethics conference to hear national and international speakers address modern tribalism and polarization.
“This conference will feature something for every person on campus and in the community,” said Duncan Rowan, conference co-director. “Whether we know it or not, we’re all a part of a tribe, and it’s important to know how all these tribes interact in the age of social media.”
The “Modern Tribalism: Polarization and the Social Connect/Disconnect” conference will be from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 10 in UCO’s Nigh University Center Grand Ballrooms B and C, with a reception immediately following. It is being organized by students in the Media Conference Leadership class, advised by Joe Hight, endowed journalism ethics chair.
The conference will include a panel on polarization and its impact on marginalized communities, a questionand-answer session on ethics from a global perspective and a keynote, on social media and the First Amendment.
At 9 a.m., Mary Carver, chair of the UCO Mass Communication Department, will introduce UCO President Don Betz, who will offer welcoming remarks and introduce the emcee.
The emcee, Michael Walker III, will discuss the meaning behind the conference’s name and introduce the first panel’s moderator, Scott Williams, CEO and chief solutions officer of NxtLevel Solutions. The panel, “Tools of Polarization and the Impact on Marginalized Communities,” will focus on exploring the effects of social media on socially marginalized groups.
“We want to shed light and give people a sense and a want to understand each other,” said Trevor Stone, conference co-director.
Olga Kravtsova, project coordinator for the Russian Press Council, will lead the discussion in “Ethics from a Russian Perspective.” This question-andanswer session, moderated by Katerina Tsetsura, associate professor at the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, will seek to unveil the truth behind the stigma of Russian media.
The conference keynote, “The First Amendment In Peril?,” will feature Ken Paulson, president of the First Amendment Center. Introduced by Joe Wertz, president of FOI Oklahoma, Paulson will focus on the challenges and impact that social media has on the First Amendment.
All are welcome to the reception starting at noon in the Nigh University Center Ballroom A, next to the conference ballrooms. Rowan and Stone will give brief remarks to close the conference and debut a video on the First Amendment.