The incredible fourteenth volume of The Researching and Teaching Communication Series has recently been published. We asked the coordinating editor of this volume, Maria Francesca Murru, and both of the series editors, Nico Carpentier and Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt, about how such unusual books are created within the framework of the European Media and Communication Doctoral Summer School.
Can you describe the last book from the series?
Maria Francesca Murru (MFM): As with the previous editions, the last book gives a vivid account of the plurality of research interests and analytical perspectives that come together within the SuSo community. The book collects contributions from lecturers and students that took part in the 2018 edition of the European Media and Communication Doctoral Summer School (SuSo), and two chapters from SuSo alumni. The book coherently reflects the great variety of disciplinary traditions and methodological backgrounds that distinguish the field of Communication and Media Studies as a whole, and that have found in the SuSo a great opportunity to meet, debate and cooperate. What was especially apparent in this year’s cluster of contributions is that our field of study focuses on a wide variety of media technologies (from old to new), demonstrating that contemporary societies are not characterized by the replacement of technologies, but by the always unique articulations, integrations and intersections of old and new.
How would you describe The Researching and Teaching Communication Book Series?
Nico Carpentier (NC): I have always seen the Researching and Teaching Communication Book Series as the main publication outlet for the SuSo books. We did have one other book in the book series at the 2007 ICA Conference, but that was the only exception. We found it crucial to have a platform for distributing the SuSo books, also making visible that these 13 books belong to the same project, with the same editorial principles and the same objectives. For instance, we always worked with large editorial teams including the so-called flow managers of the SuSo (who were the SuSo staff members that coordinated the subgroups of students). Another basic principle was that the e-books should always be open access. That's why we created the online platform and made sure all books remained available there. It has now become a SuSo archive, with a large collection of chapters that can still be accessed for free. Open access aligned well with the principles of the SuSo, which was also very much about the gift – the gift of mutual support, the gift of kindness and friendship, and even the gift of constructive critique.
Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt (PPV): Some years, generous donors have allowed us to publish the books on paper, other editions are only online. But all of the books are a mix of papers from senior and junior scholars and all of them highlight the very current edge of media research in Europe without a very strong disciplinary bias. In particular, the abstracts section gives an interesting review of communication scholarship across the years.
Where does this idea of publishing a book summarising "the best" from the SuSo come from?
NC: I think we should be a bit careful with the label of "the best", because the SuSo was about quality and excellence, not about selecting the best. Bringing competition into the SuSo (and into academia) might not be the best (pun intended) possible idea. We did have to make a selection, always with deep regrets, because we couldn't include chapters written by all 40 or 50 PhD participants. To make sure that all voices were represented, we always included the abstracts of the PhD projects of all participants, in the second part of the book. But yes, there was a selection, and quality criteria of course played a decisive role. But we were also sensitive about capturing the diversity of our participant group, in relation to gender, age, region, etc. The choice wasn't always easy, as many of our participants were still figuring out some of the basic components of the their projects, and weren't always 100% ready to write a book chapter.
In addition, we tried to get as many SuSo staff to publish their work, but they didn't always have the time to write a chapter for us. After all, their teaching at the SuSo was already a voluntary contribution to the SuSo (another gift), and we were a bit careful not to ask for too much from them.
PPV: The original idea was also linked to the European Erasmus Life Long Learning funding that supported the summer schools in Tartu (2006-2009) and in Ljubljana (2010-2012). Adding a book as a "dissemination output" felt like a very scholarly addition to the SuSo. But as Nico tells, the idea of "the best" has never been the core of the book, rather "a careful selection" from the SuSo. The book has also provided a way to have a continuation between the different SuSo groups, supporting the growth of a community within the student body.
How has the whole series evolved over the years?
NC: Things remained quite stable, over time. But of course, you can see the influence of the local SuSo organiser, who became the coordinating editor from book 7 onward. With some exceptions, we often stayed in one location for three years, and with the book series we had Tartu, Ljubljana, Bremen and Milan. These books are always a bit different because of that, which was signified by a new cover design every time we moved. There were also more substantial changes: photography became more important, for instance. And in the last years, we opened up the SuSo book for SuSo alumni, who could also publish a book chapter in the SuSo books, years after attending 'their' SuSo. Leif Kramp continued to coordinate this part, and it was a nice way to express that SuSo PhD participants remained connected to the SuSo over time. And of course, I left the role of the SuSo international director to Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt, two years ago, which meant that my involvement in the SuSo, and in the SuSo books, decreased.
How do you decide what would be the topic of the book and how do you choose what to publish?
NC: The selection process was well-structured, with flow managers selecting the 6 PhD student chapters, Leif selecting the alumni chapters, and the SuSo staff being invited by the coordinating editor. We worked with our authors until all chapters were good. And in that sense, the SuSo book, for the contributing PhD students, was an extension of the pedagogical project of the SuSo itself, helping participants to improve. It's no secret that the title came last. We did not use a pre-set theme. The SuSo didn't have a pre-set theme either, because we wanted to be as inclusive as possible with the SuSo. Our staff was quite diverse, so we could handle the thematic diversity of our field reasonably well. In other words, there was no reason to restrict the access to the SuSo on the basis of a theme that would privilege one particular subfield of Communication and Media Studies.
MFM: As a student and then organiser, I have always appreciated the possibility offered by the SuSo to encounter and experience the variety of research interests, theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches that characterise our field. To deal with this diversity is one of the most intriguing and hardest challenges of doing research in this area. Both the SuSo and the book offer a prototype of best practices that can lead to exposing the richness of that diversity. SuSo with its value of gifting, offers a “safe” environment where the variety can be experienced not as a threat but as a fertile and inspiring occasion of mutual exchange. The book, and especially the related editorial task of finding a title that can grasp the thematic variety of the contributions, can be a precious occasion for a meta-reflection on the deep tensions that cross our field and that work silently but effectively under the surface of heterogeneity. In an age of pressing specialisation, this is not an insignificant detail.
What is the hardest part of the editorial process?
PPV: As with any book process, there are hard parts – selection of contributors has indeed been one, but then due to the financial constraints related to the SuSo, the book production has always been extremely fast-paced. After meetings in August, students and lecturers had to produce their texts already by October for fast editing and typesetting, so that the book would be out before the end of the calendar year. Later, when we lost our financial support from the EU, the book process became a bit slower, but still, the hectic pace at which the books have been produced has been quite trying. The second challenge has definitely been related to to the fundraising to finance the SuSo and the book. This has got harder and harder over the years and is perhaps the most difficult thing for the local organisers.
MFM: As in any edited book, the hardest part is to coordinate the efforts of many people while meeting the deadlines and pursuing a general coherence in formats and contents. However, this task has been progressively made easier by the availability of a cluster of codified and well-established procedures that have been developed over the long tradition of the SuSo. Moreover, the kind support of past editions' editors provides a constant supply of good advice and useful suggestions.
Do you remember some interesting personal stories connected with this book series?
NC: Sometimes we included more situationist projects (as chapters) in the book series. For instance, in 2018, we included the new lyrics for the Mamma Mia Abba song that one subgroup had written for their final presentation at the SuSo. It captured the spirit of the SuSo very well, I believe. I think my favourite stories from the book chapters relate to when two students from different countries and also with slightly different disciplinary backgrounds have been invited to co-author their papers.
What are your plans for the future?
PPV: The future of the book series is very much open at the moment. For the SuSo of 2019, there will be no book, instead, the students are working hard to send in their articles to the special issue of Mediální studia / Media Studies to be published next year. This time, we invited a few more students to submit their papers but kept the spirit of openness, accessibility and supportive academic spirits as the key features of any SuSo activity. The book series will wait for its time. I am sincerely hoping that we have not yet seen the last of it, but what the next edition will be and when is yet to be determined.
Download the book HERE.
