Beyond Consumer Capitalism: A Movie and Q&A with Justin Lewis CAMRI Seminar Wed, February 11 14:00 Univ of Westminster Room A7.01 Registration per e-mail to [email protected] http://www.westminster.ac.uk/camri/research-seminars/justin-lewis-beyond-con... Justin Lewis’ book “Beyond Consumer Capitalism: Media andthe Limits to Imagination” shows how consumer capitalism is unsustainable, inhibits quality of life, and limits critical thinking and the envisioning of alternatives. Accompanying the book, the Media Education Foundation has released the film “Consumerism & the Limits to Imagination”. In this event, Justin Lewis will introduce the book and the film, and there will be a screening of the movie, followed by a Q&A session. What are consumer capitalism’s problems? What is the role of the media in consumer capitalism? What are alternatives to consumer capitalism’s negative impacts on social life, the environment, the quality of life, the economy, culture, and democracy? How can we organise media and communications so that they foster a cultural environment that encourages rather than impedes human imagination? What are alternatives to consumer capitalism and capitalist media? Can we envision a different world and a different media landscape beyond consumer capitalism? This event will focus on the discussion of and new insights into such questions, which is crucial for the future of communications and humanity. Professor Justin Lewis is Dean of Research in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and Head of the School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies at Cardiff University. He has written many books about communication, the cultural industries, news and politics, including Constructing Public Opinion and Citizens or Consumers: The Media and the Decline of Political Participation. He is in the editorial board of nine journals and his latest book, Beyond Consumer Capitalism: Media and the Limits to Imagination was published in 2013. He has led a number of research projects for the BBC, the BBC Trust, Channel 4, the Office of Science and Innovation, the AHRC, the ESRC and Rowntree. He was a panel-member for the 2014 REF (as he was for the 2008 RAE) and the Welsh First Minister’s Broadcasting Advisory Panel.