ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

An ECREA Media Industries and Cultural Production Section Conference

November 22-23, 2019

National Film Archive, Prague, Czech Republic

Deadline: June 15, 2019

Sponsored by the Charles University in Prague, the Media Industries and Cultural Production Section of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA), and the Czech Society of Film Studies

The Eighth Annual Screen Industries in East-Central Europe Conference (SIECE) is following up with the previous year’s topic by providing a forum for discussing the online strategies of public service broadcasters and their possible transformations into a new kind of media services. While critical studies of television in the internet era and of online distribution of audiovisual content more generally have boomed in recent years, there has not been enough attention paid to the specific challenges and opportunities that the internet brings to public service media (PSM). This is even more the case in the small countries of Central and Eastern Europe where PSM have generally limited their online presence to catch-up services and are still looking for more complex solutions to keep up with commercial and global competition. They face enormous difficulties ranging from outdated legal frameworks and financing models, a lack of skills in digital curation or data analytics, unpredictable changes in consumer habits, the impact of social media platforms, and political attacks trying to take advantage of PSM’s insecure position. At the same time, the convergence of television and the internet presents opportunities for new business models, modes of audience engagement, and conceptualisations of public value. The SIECE VIII will strive to bring together international scholars of online TV with media professionals and policymakers to draw a picture of the situation, its roots and contexts, and possible scenarios for future development within East-Central Europe and beyond.

Potential topics for papers and panels include, but are not limited to:

• Public value: how the shift to online TV makes media professionals as well as policymakers and audiences reconsider the core values of public service media possibilities for creating public value outside the designated institutional spaces of PSM
• Industry structures: shifts in the dual TV market and the place of PSM in the emerging online-TV/VOD market competition/cooperation with the commercial and global digital services strategies of overcoming the public/commercial divide (such as the “ecosystem approach”) and their dangers
• Infrastructures: issues of access and digital divide, net neutrality, mobile data, smart TV
• Digital curation and big data: balancing linear schedules with nonlinear catalogues, archival material with new content, personalized recommendation algorithms with top-down editorial selections and curation
• - Online content strategies: development of trans-platform narratives, new promotional content/strategies, novel media formats, and short-form, web-only, spreadable content as a measure to re-connect with under-served (younger) audience groups
• Online audiences: the place of PSM online viewing in “media ensembles” and “use genres” of today’s TV audiences PSM’s own concepts and measurements of online audiences
• “Public social” media or “platformization” of PSM: consequences of interactions and hybridizations between social media and PSM
• - National and supra-national policies/politics vis-à-vis online TV: the European Commission’s Digital Single Market strategy and its potential impact on PSM online services the place and role of the EBU; territoriality of copyright and geoblocking new dangers PSBs face from their political opponents after transforming into PSM PSM’s open data policy
• - Professional cultures: tensions between TV and internet cultures within the PSM institutional spaces self-conceptions of PSM employees, independent producers and freelance talent up and down the professional hierarchy “industry lores” of PSM decision-makers
• - Transnational flows and globalization: co-production, format adaptation, cross-border circulation, and localization of public service content in the internet era, threats to local content and content diversity

The Screen Industries in East-Central Europe conference investigates the region’s audiovisual media industries from all angles – local, transnational, economic, cultural, social, and political – and through a broad range of original scholarship delivered in the form of conceptual papers and empirical case-studies. We welcome papers and panels exploring these issues from a range of contexts within and beyond Europe. A selection of the conference proceedings will be published in a special English-language issue of the Czech Film Studies journal Iluminace (www.iluminace.cz).

The 2019 Screen Industries in East-Central Europe Conference is co-organized with the ECREA Media Industries and Cultural Production Section. The conference will be preceded by a PhD workshop organized by the Media Industries and Cultural Production YECREA section, which will be held on 22 November.

The 2019 SIECE Program Committee invites proposals for twenty-minute conference papers and for panels of three or four speakers focusing on any topic related to public service media’s online strategies and within and beyond the East-Central European audiovisual industries. Panels of three to four papers should include a brief summarizing reflection of between five and ten minutes, which will be delivered by an assigned respondent to facilitate discussion. Proposals for conference papers should include a title, an abstract of up to 150 words, and between three and five key bibliographical references, along with the presenter’s name, the presenter’s institutional affiliation, and a concise academic bio. Panel proposals should include a panel title, a short description of up to 100 words on the panel’s focus, and proposals of all of the papers to be delivered (including the information described above). Please submit proposals no later than 15 June 2019 to Petr.Szczepanik@ff.cuni.cz.

Conference attendance is free, and the conference will be conducted in English.

Conference Organizers: Petr Szczepanik, Catherine Johnson, Pavel Zahrádka, Johana Kotišová, Giulia Manica, Maria Michalis, Julia Velkova, Kateřina Svatoňová, and Lucie Česálková, in association with the the Film Studies Department, Charles University, and the National Film Archive, Prague.

Conference Management: Jiří Anger (jiri.anger@nfa.cz; [+ 420] 778 522 720)

University of Queensland

Deadline: November 28, 2019

Apply here

Job No:505312

Area: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Salary (FTE): Advertised at multiple classifications

Work type: Full Time - Continuing

Location: St Lucia

SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION AND ARTS

The School of Communication and Arts is a large, research-intensive unit with an international reputation for outstanding research and teaching in English Literature, Art History, Communication, Media, Film and Television Studies, Journalism and Communication, Public Relations, Creative and Professional Writing, and Drama. It has over 50 academic and research staff and 11 professional staff. Our academics are widely published internationally and have extensive research backgrounds. The School is one of seven schools within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and is based on the St Lucia Campus.

The School teaches into the Bachelor of Arts, the Bachelor of Communication, the Bachelor of Journalism, and the Bachelor of International Studies, and has a suite of postgraduate coursework programs. Its postgraduate programs include Creative Writing; Writing, Editing, and Publishing; Strategic Communication; and Communication for Social Change. The School attracts a large number of Australian and international students to its research higher degree programs, which may be undertaken as PhD or MPhil.

The School has a world-class reputation in Communication and Media, which is currently ranked 32 in the QS World University rankings. Our undergraduate and postgraduate coursework programs provide a strong foundation in writing, industry engagement, practice and production skills, advanced portfolio development and a critical and strategic view of media and communication in society. Our Communication and Media courses draw on the deep expertise of a research-intensive university, coupled with up-to-date industry knowledge and trends. We aim to educate the standard bearers of professional and critical practice in Communication and Media and lead research innovation and design across the sector.

More information about the School can be accessed at https://communication-arts.uq.edu.au/

The Role

The successful appointee is to undertake teaching and administrative duties associated with the area’s current and future offerings in Communication at undergraduate and postgraduate levels; and contribute to the continued development of our research program in communication, and its allied areas.

The Person

Applicants should possess qualifications in relevant disciplines. They should have a strong desire to further develop a successful and highly-productive research career in Communication and Digital Media, proven high level teaching skills, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and the capacity to work with multidisciplinary research teams and with industry groups.

Remuneration

This is a full-time, continuing appointment at Academic level B or Academic Level C. The remuneration package will be in the range (Level B $95,771 - $113,728; Level C $117,319 - $135,276) p.a., plus employer superannuation contributions of up to 17% (total package will be in the range: Level B $112,052 - $133,061 p.a.; or Level C $137,263 - $158,272 p.a.).

Enquiries

To discuss this role please contact Professor Bronwyn Lea on +61 7 3365 2960 or b.lea@uq.edu.au.

To submit an application for this role, use the Apply button below. All applicants must supply the following documents: Cover letter, Resume and Selection Criteria responses.

For information on completing the application process click here.

Advertised: 31 Oct 2019

Applications close: 28 Nov 2019 (11:00 PM) E. Australia Standard Time

Special issue of MedieKultur: Journal of media and communication research

Deadline: January 15, 2020

Guest editor: David Mathieu (Roskilde University)

Theme editor: Ana Jorge (Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Instituto Superior Miguel Torga)

Check the Website

Academic knowledge built over the last five decades on media audiences may be called into question by algorithmic recommendations, machine learning, platform design and new metrics that describe, anticipate and shape the audience’s every move. While we hold that audiences are selective in their choice of content (Katz et al., 1974), form communities of interpretation (Fish, 1980) and are freely giving their attention to public issues (Warner, 2002), it would appear that they are now increasingly being selected, calculated, interpreted and anticipated by media on the basis of a wide range of data provided more or less willingly and consciously. This datafication of media (and) audiences – i.e. the quantification of audience mediated experiences – is not to be understood simply as a new form of knowledge, but also as a new era in the commodification of audiences, challenging our understanding of audiences as an agentic and autonomous subjects.

This special issue invites contributions that:

• explore critically the tensions between, on the one hand, attempts at control and commodification made possible by the datafication of media (and) audiences, and on the other hand, the reactions and agentic possibilities of audiences to comply, avoid or cope with these attempts at control;
• provide empirical basis to answer broad and worrying questions about the democratic and societal consequences of datafication, about its impact on media consumption, everyday and cultural life, by operationalizing media audiences as a key actor in mediated processes of datafication;
• shed light on and theorise new forms of relation and mutual influence that link media with their audiences in the age of datafication.

Contributions can address, but are not limited to, these topics:

• Type, nature and origin of data collected on media audiences and their purposes in media production and practice
• Media practices made possible by data that contribute to the quantification, objectification and commodification of audiences
• Coping strategies and reactions of resistance or appropriation to datafication from the part of media audiences
• Audiences’ experiences of normalization, trust, comfort, compliance, numbness, resignation, anxiety in the face of datafied media
• Implications of data collection, aggregation, analysis, prediction, profiling and brokering on audience agency
• Consequences of the quantification of human experience, the transformation of subjective experience into ‘objective’ knowledge, the algorithmic personalization and recommendation of media content on the mediated experiences and everyday life of audiences
• The transformation of news practice, public connection and audience engagement in the age of datafication
• The (lack of) transparency and accountability of data practices in media industries, and especially the challenges this poses for audiences’ capacity to read the media (their media literacy)
• The new asymmetries and power relations that data practices may bring between media institutions and audiences, or between different segments of audiences
• Cultural specificities of the processes of datafication of media and the reception by audiences, including cross-cultural variations
• Impact of datafication on theories and methodologies in media and audience research

References:

Fish, S. (1980). Is There A Text in This Class, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard U. Press.

Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1974). Ulilization of mass communication by the individual. In J. G. Blumler, & E. Katz (Eds.), The uses of mass communications: Current perspectives on gratifications research (pp. 19–32). Beverly Hills: Sage.

Warner, M. (2002). Publics and counterpublics (abbreviated version). Quarterly Journal of Speech, 88(4), 413–425.

Call for contributions and key dates:

Interested contributors to this special issue are first invited to provide an extended abstract of 500 words (excluding references) to mathieu@ruc.dk with the subject ‘Datafication of media (and) audiences’. Following a first review process, invitations will be sent to provide a full paper of 6000-8000 words (including references) through the Open Journal System, which will then go under peer review following the usual procedure of the journal MedieKultur. Invitation to submit a full paper does not guarantee acceptance for final publication in the journal. Accepted languages of contribution are English and Danish.

• January 15th 2020: Deadline for abstract submission
• February 1st 2020: Invitation to submit a full paper
• June 1st 2020: Submission of full paper
• July 31st 2020: Notification of acceptance and/or revisions
• August-October 2020: Revision period
• October 31st 2020: Final submission

About the editors:

David Mathieu is associate professor at the Department of Communication & Arts at Roskilde University, Denmark. He chairs the Audience and Reception Studies section of the European Communication, Research and Education Association and is leader of the research group Audiences & Mediated life. His current work focuses on audience and reception research in the context of social media, digitalisation of communication and datafication of society.

Ana Jorge is Guest Assistant Professor at Universidade Católica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa and Instituto Superior Miguel Torga, Portugal. She is Vice-Chair of the Digital Culture and Communication section of ECREA.

May 7-8, 2020

Vienna, Austria

Deadline: February 9, 2020

4th GIG-ARTS Conference

Organised by:

• Media Governance and Industries Research Lab & Jean Monnet
• Centre of Excellence FreuDE / Universität Wien
• LIP6 Computer Science Research Lab / Sorbonne Université &
• Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

It is now 30 years since the invention of the World Wide Web, and over fifteen years since the development of the interactive Web or also known as Web2.0. Online information and communication have never seemed easier and more accessible to everyone, thanks to the mediation of social networks, search engines, and other kinds of platforms and technologies.

With such capabilities “to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”, freedom of speech and freedom of the press should have grown to such an extent that some of the utopian visions of full participatory democracy would have appeared to be within our reach. At the very least, some of the long-standing informational imbalances concerning information flow globally, diversity of content and authors, and the accessibility of accurate information would have been taken as a given framework against which societies would have been called to solve problems and to look after citizens’ well-being.

Paradoxically, the levels of freedom and freedom of expression, as captured in global measuring instruments by a variety of institutions and organisations, do not show the expected or desired advancement. Rather there is evidence that freedom in societies and freedom of the press deteriorate.

Ambitious goals of freedom to express one’s own identity and opinion at the global public sphere on an equal basis and free from fear of retaliation or misuse evaporate for many, such as those subjected to hate speech, those persecuted by autocratic authorities and the great majority of citizens whose personal data become de facto ownership of private companies.

Misinformation, spread not only by politically extreme groups but also by “normal”, mainstream parties in the (desperate or calculated) attempt to influence voters, can undermine the quality and freedom of global debate. Information conflict thus becomes even more an object of state rivalry and diplomacy, but also the tool for the erosion of citizenship as the utmost form of participation in the commons. These phenomena are coupled with the fact that even values once considered unquestionable, such as the value of independent journalism, the value of human rights such as privacy and dignity, are being challenged.

The technological capabilities allowed the world over to express and share information and opinions, to connect and form alliances. However, they have also enabled the spread of misinformation, have been undermining the human right to privacy on digital communication channels, subjected vulnerable groups to more vulnerability, and provided for economic models putting at stake the fundamental pillars of democracy. Within this context, policies governing the fate of users’ data, citizens’ freedoms and the integrity of content have fallen short of helping pave the path to the desired communication environment. Regulatory responses capturing communication and information have oscillated between forms of a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction to resist any attempt to provide for the normative standards of content and a tendency to securitise communication as a matter of national security.

Importantly, critics argue that even where governance has allowed for more democratic processes in raising concerns and suggesting solutions, the gaps in connecting the dots are glaring. If governance refers to the role of ideas and principles, the role of actors and the processes of negotiation and solution, it is urgent to return, on the one hand, to the basic and fundamental rights questions and take stock of the achievements of hitherto frameworks. On the other hand, it seems crucial to interrogate what futures exactly are current policy frameworks shaping, especially in relation to a politics of care for young citizens and hence the future generations?

After having addressed global internet governance as a diplomacy issue at its first edition held in Paris in 2017, how to overcome inequalities in internet governance at the second edition held in Cardiff in 2018, and the role of Europe in the global governance of the internet at its third edition held in Salerno in 2019, this year’s GIG-ARTS conference turns its attention to the governance of online information, to address the relation of citizens to the quality of content online as an often neglected area of regulation and governance of the internet. In that respect, the conference continues the conversation on internet governance turning its attention from institutions and structural factors to the role of content and misinformation as an object of governance, and to internet users as forces of change. GIG-ARTS is inviting you to this conversation to help shape the debate of what kinds of futures might be desirable and envisioned in the process of internet governance, who and which actors might be most suitable to help shape such governance goals and under which conditions might these be achieved.

Hence, in addition to general internet governance issues and topics, submissions are particularly welcome on the following possible areas of investigation:

• The governance of fundamental freedoms online between global platforms, conflicts of jurisdictions and extraterritorial legislation
• The role of European and global institutions in shaping the conditions of free expression online
• Responsibility and liability of platforms and other intermediaries in content regulation
• Restrictive regulation and the securitization of content
• Privacy, misinformation, democracy: challenges to internet governance
• Structural role of individual targeting, behavioural advertising and other economic models of online platforms on the reshaping of fundamental freedoms and democracy
• From nudging to manipulation: consequences on autonomy and human dignity
• Successive copyright reforms and their impact on freedom of expression, freedom of the press and democracy
• Changes in and challenges to journalism practice through intentional misinformation
• Governance from below: how practices and principles by civil society aim to shape the conditions of technology for the advancement of democracies and human wellbeing
• Youth and access to information; news and misinformation in the online world; the purpose of thinking towards the future

Submission Information and Publication Opportunities

Authors are invited to submit their extended abstracts (no longer than 500 words), describing their research question(s), theoretical framework, approach and methodology, expected findings or empirical outcome. Submitted abstracts will be evaluated through a peer-review process.

Abstracts and authors’ information should be submitted through the Easychair conference management system at: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=gigarts2020

Authors of selected submissions will have the opportunity to submit their full manuscript for publication.

Key dates

• Deadline for abstract submissions: 9 February 2020
• Notification to authors: 19 March 2020
• Programme publication: 9 April 2020
• Conference dates: 7 & 8 May 2020

GIG-ARTS 2020 Co-Chairs

• Meryem Marzouki (LIP6, CNRS & Sorbonne Université, France)
• Katharine Sarikakis (Media Governance and Industries Research Lab & Jean Monnet
• Centre of Excellence FreuDE, University of Vienna, Austria)

GIG-ARTS 2020 Scientific Programme Committee

• Francesco Amoretti (University of Salerno, Italy)
• Eric Brousseau (Université Paris Dauphine, France)
• Andrea Calderaro (Cardiff University, United Kingdom)
• Jean-Marie Chenou (Universidad de los Andes, Colombia)
• Loreto Corredoira y Alfonso (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain)
• Wolfgang Hofkirchner (The Institute for a Global Sustainable Information Society, Austria)
• Matthias C. Kettemann (Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut, Germany)
• Joanna Kulesza (University of Lodz, Poland)
• Nanette S. Levinson (American University Washington DC, USA)
• Robin E. Mansell (London School of Economics, United Kingdom)
• Meryem Marzouki (CNRS and Sorbonne Université, France)
• Trisha Meyer (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium)
• Michèle Rioux (Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada)
• Mauro Santaniello (University of Salerno, Italy
• Katharine Sarikakis (University of Vienna, Austria)
• Yves Schemeil (Sciences Po Grenoble, France)
• Ingrid Schneider (University of Hamburg, Germany)
• Jan Aart Scholte (University of Gothenburg, Sweden) (TBC)

Venue

The conference will be held at the Concordia Press Club, in the heart of Vienna (https://concordia.at/).

Conference Registration and Fees

Registration fees are 100 EUR for regular participants and 50 EUR for students showing proof of status. The conference fees include a participant kit as well as coffee breaks and meals.

GIG-ARTS 2020 Communication Details

• Website: http://events.gig-arts.eu
• Email for information: events@gig-arts.eu
• Submissions: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=gigarts2020
• Twitter: @GigArtsEU - Hashtag: #GIGARTS20
• Mailing list for updates: http://tinyurl.com/yc7rvxm4

Paris-Lodron University Salzburg, Department of Communication (Intercultural and Transcultural Communication)

Deadline: November 27, 2019

A new PhD position is available at the Department of Communication Studies (within the field of Intercultural and Transcultural Communication), starting 1st March 2020. The successful candidate will be offered a four-year position at the University of Salzburg.

Main duties and responsibilities

• supporting the research and teaching endeavours of the transcultural communication team
• taking on administrative duties
• carrying out individual research
• teaching duties comprise two hours a week from year three onwards
• the PhD thesis has to be defended and published within 4 years

Qualification requirements

We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with experiences in intercultural competence (theories & methods), intercultural trainings (training design & evaluation), intercultural mediation, cultural studies, empirical data analysis as well as interest in the concept of resilience and various interdisciplinary avenues (e.g. cognitive sciences) regarding communication.

• The applicant must hold a master’s degree in communication studies or an affiliated discipline.
• Personal characteristics
• Agreeable, conscientious, flexible, industrious and adaptable to new environments.

We offer

• · exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment (https://kowi.uni-salzburg.at)
• · an inspiring work environment with dedicated colleagues

Salary and conditions

PhD candidates work 30hrs a week and are remunerated € 2.148,40 a month (14x a year). The place of work is Salzburg City, Austria.

For further information please call: +43 (0)662 8044-41-92

About the application:

The application comprises:

• CV including information on educational background, work experience, preprints and publications.
• Any relevant publications.
• Certified copies of relevant transcripts and diplomas.
• Contact information for at least two references.
• Documentation of fluency in English and/or German.

Other documents which the applicant finds relevant may also be included. We might ask for further documents when necessary during the hiring process.

Please submit your application electronically: bewerbung@sbg.ac.at

Please refer to application number: GZ A 0066/1-2019 in your covering letter.

Application deadline: 27th November 2019.

November 26-28, 2020

Auckland, New Zealand

Deadline: March 15, 2020

Important Dates

• Abstract submission deadline: on or before March 15, 2020
• Abstract acceptance: maximum of 60 days after abstract submission
• Full papers: on or before July 31, 2020
• Early Bird Registration: on or before July 31, 2020

The conference theme covers a broad area signifying the imperative power of change. Change is a constant in human communication. From climate change to technological innovation, communication and media play an integrative role for sustainable and progressive development. Mass Media likewise plays a crucial role in shaping public perception and influencing the powers that be. The conference explores how change is managed, embraced and adapted in communication and media. More research in this area is needed to fully explicate the complexities and nuances involving change –climate change and change management communication, paradigm shifts, cultural, technological and linguistic dynamics in diaspora and more. The 2020 ACMC International Conference is pleased to invite papers addressing the conference theme. Streams include but are not limited to:

• Reinventing communication paradigms
• Broadcast media in flux
• Media influence and impact
• Public Relations theory and practice
• Social media, digital media and dynamic technologies
• Advertising, adaptations and changing perspectives
• Communication, education challenges and changes
• Love, life, popular culture and the new media
• Democracy and disinformation
• Language, culture and the dynamics of change
• Ethnicity, identity, gender and the media
• Climate change communication, global crisis and the Asia-Pacific

Submission Guidelines

Email Abstract to: acmc2020@asianmediacongress.org

Abstract length: 300 to 500 words, in RTF, DOC or DOCX file (we will not accept PDF files)

Font: Tahoma, size 11

Author info: Full name (please indicate if Mr. or Ms.), Position/Title, Affiliation (University, College or Company), Paper Title

Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich

Deadline: January 7, 2020

"Scientific Assistant" (Post-Doc; 100%; E13/A13aZ) as of 1 March 2020

The Department of Media and Communication (Prof. Dr. Romy Fröhlich) is currently seeking applicants for the post of  a Scientific Assistant (Post-Doc; E13/A13aZ; temporary full-time position). The position is initially limited to three years. If the evaluation is positive, it can be extended for further three years (maximum duration six years). The remuneration is paid according to E13 TVL or A13 as a temporary civil servant. At this position, the implementation of a habilitation is made possible and expected.

Tasks:

The responsibility in research and teaching extends thematically to the area of strategic-persuasive communication/organisational communication/public relations. Research, publication and teaching experiences in this area are desirable. Active participation in the division’s research projects and/or the independent acquisition and implementation of own projects as well as the support and participation in tasks of (self-)administration and in the supervision of students, examinations and dissertations is expected. The task of the applicant also includes the organisation and implementation of courses of five semester hours per week, particularly in the Master's programme "International Public Relations" (teaching in English is possible). In order to ensure active participation in the self-administration and committee work of the department, a command of the German language is expected.

We are looking for a highly motivated, enthusiastic and independently working member of staff with an enthusiasm for science who is willing to familiarise himself/herself with further areas of responsibility. Good networking with PR practice would be an advantage.

Requirements:

In addition to the general employment law requirements, applicants must have a university degree in communication science (media research, etc.), a relevant above-average doctorate, very good knowledge and experience in the field of statistics/(multivariate) data analysis and methods of empirical communication research (preferably qualitative and quantitative methods of content analysis). In addition, pedagogical-didactic knowledge and experience in the field of university teaching as well as very good knowledge of English are expected. International publications, stays abroad and experience in project management or in the acquisition and implementation of third-party funded projects are advantageous.

The University of Munich is striving to increase the overall proportion of women in scientific personnel and thus explicitly invites qualified women to apply in accordance with the above-mentioned recruitment requirements. 

Preference will be given to handicapped applicants with equal qualifications.

Application address

Prof. Dr. Romy Fröhlich 

Institute for Communication Science and Media Research 

Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich 

Oettingen Street 67 

80538 Munich, Germany 

Please send your application by January 7 2020 by e-mail to froehlich@ifkw.lmu.de at the latest. The application documents should be summarized in a PDF file with a maximum size of 2 MB, complete with letter etc. If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Romy Fröhlich (froehlich@ifkw.lmu.de).

Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania

Deadline: February 1, 2020

The Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania invites applications for a “CARGC Postdoctoral Fellowship.” This is a one-year position renewable for a second year based on successful performance.

Description

The Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication (CARGC) produces and promotes scholarly research on global communication and public life. As an institute for advanced study dedicated to global media studies, we revisit enduring questions and engage pressing matters in geopolitics and communication. Our vision of “inclusive globalization” recognizes plurality and inequality in global media, politics, and culture. Our translocal approach fuses multidisciplinary “area studies” knowledge with theory and methodology in the humanities and social sciences. This synthesis of deep expertise and interdisciplinary inquiry stimulates critical conversations about entrenched and emerging communicative structures, practices, flows, and struggles. We explore new ways of understanding and explaining the world, including public scholarship, algorithmic culture, the arts, multi-modal scholarship, and digital archives. With a core commitment to the development of early career scholars worldwide, CARGC hosts postdoctoral, doctoral, undergraduate, and faculty fellows who collaborate in research groups, author CARGC Press publications, and organize talks, lectures, symposia, conferences, and summer institutes.

CARGC postdoctoral fellows work on their own research, typically a book manuscript, and collaborate with staff and postdoctoral, doctoral and undergraduate fellows. They may design and teach one undergraduate course during their second year. They present a CARGC Colloquium and publish one CARGC Paper with CARGC Press. Fellows are provided a stipend of $50,000, a research fund of $3000, health insurance, a work space, computer and library access.

CARGC Fellows integrate primary sources and regional expertise in theoretically inflected, historically informed, comparative, translocal and transnational analyses of media, technology, geopolitics and culture. Candidates challenging normative paradigms and incorporating non-Western theories, sources and contexts, are especially welcome. Ongoing research groups focus on theory and history in global media studies, geopolitics and the popular, digital sovereignty, and radical media and culture. We recommend that applicants read our 5 year-report to familiarize themselves with our mission and priorities. This year we are particularly interested in candidates working on the Middle East and/or Latin America with Arabic and/or Spanish primary sources, though all candidates will be actively considered.

This is a residential fellowship. CARGC strives to be an inclusive community of scholars driven by intellectual curiosity and exchange, and rooted in the life of the Annenberg School, the University of Pennsylvania, and the city of Philadelphia . To foster mentoring and collaboration at all levels, we expect fellows to be fully engaged in the life of the center. Postdocs are therefore expected to work at our beautiful sixth floor premises—CARGC’s “World Headquarters”—on the Penn campus at least four days a week.

Eligibility

We welcome applications from scholars with PhDs awarded by an institution other than the University of Pennsylvania between May 1, 2018 and May 1, 2020. The appointment typically starts on August 15.

Submitting Your Application

A complete application consists of:

• Cover Page – include your name and contact information, dissertation supervisor name and contact information, defense date (if degree not awarded), and 100-word abstract of your project.
• Research Proposal (not to exceed 1000 words) – include research questions, topic significance, theoretical framework, methodological design, clear description of primary sources and necessary language skills, and work plan with projected date of manuscript completion and publication.
• Statement of institutional fit (not to exceed 250 words) – explain how your project aligns with CARGC’s mission, fits with one or more CARGC research themes listed above, and contributes to the field of global media and communication studies. Please refer to our 5-year report for more information.
• CV (not to exceed two single-spaced pages, minimum font size 11) – list degrees, peer-reviewed publications, academic non-peer-reviewed publications, public scholarship, invited talks, conference papers, other relevant qualifications, specific research and language skills.
• Project bibliography (not to exceed one single-spaced page, minimum font size 11) – include primary and secondary sources.
• Letters of recommendation – three are required, including one from the dissertation supervisor, stating unequivocally expected date of Ph.D. defense (if degree not yet awarded).
• Up to two publications (not to exceed 50 pages in total) – published peer-reviewed articles preferred.

Timeline

All materials except reference letters must be sent as a single PDF document to cargc@asc.upenn.edu by February 1, 2020. Because of the volume of applications, we are unable to read drafts of submissions. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. Applicants should arrange for their letters of recommendation to be sent to the same address by the same date. We expect to contact finalists for phone interviews by mid-March and make final decisions shortly thereafter.

Additional Information

If you have additional questions, please email us at cargc@asc.upenn.edu. Do not contact CARGC staff individually.

The University of Pennsylvania is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. For more information, go to http://www.upenn.edu/affirm-action/eoaa.html.

View and share call online here: http://bit.ly/cargc2020postdoc

Mid-late April 

Madrid, Spain

Deadline: January 15, 2020

Since the twilight of the last century, game studies have emerged to become a legitimate discipline by which to study digital entertainment products as part of the Humanities. Deriving from this phenomenon are historical game studies, which have blossomed in the last decade and help us understand the uses of and discourses about the past in gaming. Most of the works, however, have focused on Western computer games using an analytical approach that also draws from a Western heritage, despite the importance of the Asian market, especially the Japanese one, after the 1983 crash of the American game industry. Furthermore, in recent decades the production of videogames in countries like China, South Korea and Taiwan has been reaching global audiences. Therefore, we have deemed it relevant to focus the 3rd Complutense’s Historical Game Studies Conference on this Asian phenomenon.

The 2020 Conference follows an open call for papers system. The organization will evaluate positively those contributions built on original and appropriate theoretical frames and methodological apparatuses (in preference to purely descriptive ones).

Proposals should be sent to asiangamesconference@gmail.com and will consist of a title, an abstract of no more than 400 words, up to 5 key words and a selection of bibliography in a text document with the name of the contributor. They will be blind peer reviewed by a scientific committee of five experts. The accepted languages are English and Spanish. Research topics proposed by the organization are as follows:

• History of videogames and gaming culture in East Asia: producers and developers, evolution of franchises, chronologically defined audiences, their practices and their evolution…
• Western games consumed in East Asia and vice versa: impact of historical computer game franchises around the globe, ports, localization of historical games in order to adapt their discourses to foreign audiences…
• Representations of foreign history in Asian videogames: how Asian developers reimagine foreign history (Operation Europe: Path to Victory, Uncharted Waters, Bladestorm Valkyria Chronicles…), adaptation of historical elements in contexts of fantasy (Fate, Granblue Fantasy…), historical anthropomorfism (Azur Lane, Girl’s Frontline…)…
• Representations of Asian history in Asian videogames: Sengoku Basara, Samurai Warriors, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Nobunaga’s Ambition, Touken Ranbu…
• Computer game genres and gender/sexual identities: historical games marketed to gender-based audiences (otome games, bishoujo games), sexuality and history in East Asian games (moé)…
• Transmedia visual culture: relationship between historical games and comics (manga, manhwa, manhua), animation, film, advertisement…
• Reception dynamics: fan activities (cosplay, fanzines, doujinshi, modding, pilgrimages…), fan cultures around historical videogames…

Deadline for abstracts is January 15, 2020. Authors of selected contributions will be notified approximately one month after the deadline. The two-day long conference will be held at Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Madrid, Spain) mid-late April 2020.

If you have any questions regarding the Conference, please contact us at asiangamesconference@gmail.com. We are looking forward to your contributions.

April 16-17, 2020

Istanbul (Turkey)

Deadline: March 2, 2020

7th International Communication Days

Faculty of Communication is hosting the seventh International Communication Days on 16 - 17 April 2020. This year’s symposium title is “Communications Education in the Digital Age”. The symposium series, attracting great interest both nationally and internationally, have been held annually since 2014 with themes such as digital addiction, digital culture and digital transformation.

The main title of this year’s international symposium is “Communications Education in the Digital Age”. In our age, digitalization has led to significant transformations in the media sector and it is inevitable that the educational institutions will develop an educational approach appropriate for this transformation. The accreditation processes initiated in the faculties of communication are indicative of efforts to adapt to the standards of excellence and requirements of the age in higher education institutions. It is important to update the curriculum which forms the basis of communications education in accordance with the requirements of digitalization. Furthermore, it is crucial to replan the educational tools, materials and techniques. It is significant both in terms of meeting the expectations of the sector and professional success of the students that the institutions providing communication education keep up with the times. All these require new approaches to be brought forward, discussed and planned in communications education

Symposium will last for two days and will comprise esteemed scholars from both Turkey and abroad including Prof. Erik Knudsen, Prof. Halil Nalçaoğlu, Prof. Maureen Ellis, Prof. Neira Cruz Xose Antonio and Assoc. Prof. Rocio Ovalle. In addition, as in the previous year, distinguished academics in the field will be moderating the sessions at the symposium.

Communications Education in the Digital Age Symposium is an international peer-reviewed scientific event. At the symposium, oral and poster presentations are welcome. The scientific committee of the symposium includes esteemed academics from home and abroad.

Topics may include but are not limited to:

• Communications education and accreditation
• Rethinking communication sciences in the digital age
• Journalism education in the digital age
• Radio and television broadcast education in the digital age
• Film education in the digital age
• New media education
• Public relations education in the digital age
• Advertising in the digital age
• Visual communication design education in the digital age
• Digital arts education
• Communications arts education in the digital age
• Communications education and artificial intelligence
• Media sector in the digital age: requirements, expectations

Submitted abstracts will be peer reviewed by the referees of Scientific Committee and the accepted papers will be published in the abstract booklet. Afterwards, authors may prefer to have their papers included in full paper booklet or in the Faculty of Communication’s Academic Journal “Etkileşim”. In that case, their work will be peer reviewed for the second time.

Hosted by Uskudar University

Contact e-mail: ifig@uskudar.edu.tr

7th International Communication Days Important Dates:

Abstract Submission Deadline: March 2, 2020

Announcement of the Program: April 6, 2019

You can find the detailed information about the symposium in our website: https://ifig.uskudar.edu.tr/en/2020