The Politics of Casting in Media is two-day free-to-attend conference hosted by the Faculty of Creative Industries at the University of South Wales. The goal of this interdisciplinary event is to shed light on, and gain a deeper critical understanding of, media casting as a myriad and multifaceted practice. The conferences traces histories of casting from around the globe and addresses current key debates that casting in media faces today, exploring systems of casting and the identities of those cast, or indeed marginalised, across media pertaining to gender, race, sexuality, class, age, disability, and/or nationality.

As an online event we are delighted to have a range of international delegates and attendees, adding further depth to the study of media casting by covering various wide-reaching topics including media representations, processes of casting within specific nationalities, debates around diversity and inclusion, the role of celebrity, and audience engagement with casting. We are also extremely delighted to have internationally renowned scholars Dr Kristen J. Warner (University of Alabama) and Dr Shelley Cobb (University of Southampton) as our event keynotes. In doing so, we aim to support meaningful conversations and relationships between academia, industry, and wider external bodies that impacts both scholarly knowledge and production cultures within the creative industries.

A core goal of the event is building bridges between academia and industry. With this, we are thrilled to have Hijinx (the Cardiff-based professional theatre and screen media company producing and promoting opportunities for actors with learning disabilities and/or autism), Hijinx actor Justin Melluish (starring in current series of Craith on S4C), Severn Screen (producers of Craith for S4C and Hidden for BBC) close the conference with an industry roundtable. As part of Clwstwr, the roundtable will explore some of the real world practical changes that can be implemented to make casting and production cultures more diverse and inclusive. 

To register for the event please follow the link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-politics-of-casting-in-media-online-conference-tickets-191619447927