Classification Project

Symposium

Media Classification Systems in Conversation: A Symposium

The central media classification question is: by whom or at what age should a cultural form or object be consumed? This symposium brings together leading international figures from the academy, government, and industry to examine media classification systems. It will mark the culmination of an ARC Discovery Project focused on producing an international history of media classification systems that has worked with partner investigators in Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S.A. It is an opportunity for scholars, students, and state and industry representatives to convene and discuss the past, present, and future of media classification.

This event will feature presentations from a range of invited academic speakers, including Kirsten Cather (University of Texas), Yongchun Fu (Zhejiang University), Andrea Limberto (University of São Paulo), Monika Mehta (Binghamton University), Terry Flew (Queensland University of Technology), and Mark McLelland (University of Wollongong). We are also excited to be hosting Ben Au (Australian Classification Branch), David Austin (British Board of Film Classification), and Rafael Vilela (Content Rating Coordination, Brazil). This unique combination of speakers provides an opportunity for interesting perspectives and exchange on a broad scope of topics, including:
– Historical changes in media censorship and classification systems
– The international exchange of policies and practices
– Conceptions of childhood, youth, and parental and state responsibility
– Comparative examination of ratings practices, including by both state and non-state classification agencies
– The significance of media, genre, and technology to classification practices
– Influential individuals and organisations in classification histories
– Classification governance in the age of digital distribution

Places are limited in order to keep this a free event. Register below to indicate your interest in attending this symposium on Friday the 9th of February, 9:30am-6:00pm. We will confirm your place by Wednesday the 31st of January.

Symposium Registration

Registration, 9:30-9:45
Session 1: Media Classification Histories: Censorship, Cutting, and International Exchange, 10:00-11:30
Chair: Stephanie Hemelryk-Donald
Kirsten Cather, [Paper Title TBC]
Rachel Cole, Of Monsters and Men: Australian film censorship in the 1930s
Yongchun Fu, Sex, Violence and Us: The Censorship of Hollywood Films in China, 1994-2016
Session 2: Accounting for Publics: Communal Politics, National Specificity, and the Limits of Art, 12:00-13:30
Chair: Usha Rodrigues [TBC]
Monika Mehta, Film Regulation and the Woman Question: Padmaavat(i), the Censoring Hindu Community, and the Bombay Film Industry
Andrea Limberto and Mayra Gomes, Particularities of the Brazilian Advisory Rating System
Mark McLelland, What is Obscenity in Japan?
Session 3: Technological Challenges, Past and Present, 14:30-15:30
Chair: Nicole Moore
Terry Flew and Fiona Martin, Internet Regulation as Media Policy: Rethinking the Question of Digital Communication Platform Governance
Catherine Driscoll and Liam Grealy, Classifying New Media: New Forms of Engagement and Too Much Stuff
Session 4: Regulators in Conversation, 15:45-17:15
Chair: Catherine Driscoll
David Austin (British Board of Film Classification)
Ben Au (Australian Classification Branch)
Rafael Vilela (Content Rating Coordination, Brazil)

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