European Communication Research and Education Association
Edited by: Carola Richter, Melanie Radue, Christine Horz-Ishak, Anna Litvinenko, Hanan Badr, Anke Fiedler
This volume proposes a “deep internationalization” of media and communication studies by offering insights and guidance on how to integrate a cosmopolitan perspective in a variety of subfields of this discipline. Building on debates on de-Westernization and cosmopolitanism, the contributors advocate for the inclusion of both global and local perspectives and context-led approaches. They argue that acknowledging and incorporating epistemologies, topics, and methodologies from diverse regions, contexts, and backgrounds will enhance the comprehensiveness and relevance of their discipline and foster a more inclusive and meaningful understanding in communication studies.
https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-7677-8/cosmopolitan-communication-studies/?number=978-3-8394-7677-2
Edited by: Rita Gsenger, Marie-Therese Sekwenz
Over the last ten years, numerous pieces of EU legislation have been adopted in the field of digital law, including the AI Act, the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. These complex but sometimes difficult to understand legal acts play an important role in research and everyday life. In this volume, legal scholars and experts present the key EU legal acts that are relevant to social scientists, students and the general public. The volume also aims to stimulate a greater exchange between the social sciences and law, from which both disciplines can benefit. With contributions by Dr. Adelaida Afilipoaie | Valerie Albus | Dr. Lucie Antoine | Jascha Bareis, M.A. | Prof. Dr. Catrien Bijleveld, LL.M. | Jorge Constantinos | Dr. Max Van Drunen, M.Z. | Rita Gsenger, M.A., M.Sc.| Prisca von Hagen | Liza Herrmann | Julia Krämer | Eyup Kun | Dr. Lucas Lasota | Lisa Markschies | Heritiana Ranaivoson | Nik Roeingh | Jun.-Prof. Dr. Hannah Ruschemeier | Pascal Schneiders | Marie-Therese Sekwenz | Lisa Völzmann | David Wagner
https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/de/10.5771/9783748943990/digital-decade?search-click
September 22-26, 2025
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Deadline: July 15, 2025
The International Conference AI for Science will take place in Ljubljana from 22 to 26 September 2025.
It will bring together researchers, leading experts in artificial intelligence and domain scientists who apply AI to solve complex problems in their fields.
The conference will feature several thematic tracks:
Important dates:
15.7. 2025 - Paper/abstract submission deadline
21.7. 2025 - Notification of acceptance
25. 7. 2025 - Camera-ready version and Author registration deadline
Find more information on this link: https://ai4science.si/calls-for-papers/
Deadline: September 30, 2025
We welcome contributions from both academic and non-academic authors. Academic papers up to 6,000 words (excluding references) and other work up to 3,000 words are considered.
POTENTIAL RESEARCH QUESTIONS
KEYWORDS AND TOPICS
We welcome submissions adjacent to (but not limited to) the following thematic areas:
BACKGROUND
Recent developments aimed at restricting children’s access to digital and social media across the globe, including Australia, Europe, China, and some parts of the US for example, open up questions about the social constructions of childhood. Such policy changes have a direct and, in some cases, profound impact on children’s life experiences and abilities to exercise their rights in the digital environment, including engaging in public life and seeking information, and their rights to culture, leisure and play, to mention a few. In response to these developments and calls for more child-centric research, we propose a Global Studies of Childhood themed issue on ‘Children as rights holders in the digital world’.
Digital and social media use is almost ubiquitous among teenagers. Nearly all US teens (96%) report using the Internet daily (Faverio and Sidoti 2024), and globally approximately 30% of Internet users are children, with an even higher proportion of child users estimated in the Global South (Ghai et al. 2022). Young people continue to make up the highest proportion of social media users.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, children make up the majority of mobile users, although digital media use and access to devices among children and youth vary significantly across diverse settings. We also see increasing use of smartphones and tablets in early childhood globally, and although the use of social media is still limited among toddlers and preschoolers (0-4 years old) 16% of Swedish children aged 5-8 see their friends online regularly (Andersson 2023:9). In their annual study of children’s relationship with the media and online worlds, Ofcom (2024) recently reported that use of social media and apps among 5-7-year-olds in the UK has increased year-on-year. For many children, measures such as lockdowns and school closures, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, meant that even more of their daily lives moved online.
Recent Developments and Children's Digital Worlds
Recent public debate across several international settings focuses predominantly on the risks and perceived harms associated with children’s digital screen and social media use. Governments and policymakers have advocated for implementing new age restrictions and other restrictive measures, such as restricting children’s use of smartphones. Most social media platforms require users to be 13 or older to have a user account. However, age limits are regulated differently across different countries, and recently, we have seen some rollback of younger teenagers’ access to social media, such as Australia’s social media ban for under 16-year-olds; France’s lobbying for an EU-wide policy, modelled on French law, requiring parental authorisation for children under 15 to use a social network service; mirrored by a similar call for a 15+ age limit by Denmark’s Prime Minister; Instagram’s introduction of a ‘teen’ (parental control) version in the UK; and several other countries implementing restrictions aimed at limiting social media use for teenagers under 16 (Livingstone and Sylwander 2025). The Australian social media ban is seen as a test case keenly observed across the globe by those actors seeking to advocate for regulatory interventions.
Accountability in a highly commercialised online environment is paramount, and making social media platforms, apps, and other online services more responsible for user safety is important. Policies aimed at strengthening children’s rights in online environments concerning datafication, privacy, and consent are positive developments. However, debates on the ‘banning of’ or introducing new restrictions to children’s access to digital and social media are dominated by deficit approaches and relatively narrow protectionist perspectives, with the view to protect children from various harms and risks, either as mediated through social media platforms (e.g., bullying, exploitation, ideological influencing) or as associated with the use of devices (e.g., screen time) or the techno-social dimension of platforms (e.g., ‘addiction’, social pressures). Increasingly, evidence is emerging on how simplistic approaches to limiting children’s time spent on screen-based media have proven ineffective. However, more importantly, little attention has been given to the impact on groups of marginalised children and young people for whom the digital connections offered by social media and other internet-based platforms are vital. The impact of restrictive approaches, for example, on refugee and migrant young people, LGBTQ+ children, and children with disabilities, as well as other invisibilised groups (Jordan and Prendella 2019), is not greatly understood and notably absent from both policy and public discourse. Furthermore, little attention has been given to the role of digital and social media in children’s political discourse and civic participation, which may be impinged upon following rollback measures.
EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
Please email an abstract of 500 words (250 words for non-academic work) and a short bio of each author to guest editors by September 30th at gscspecialissue@gmail.com
Please feel free to direct any queries to the editorial team: gscspecialissue@gmail.com
TIMELINE
Please Note: all accepted articles can be published online first with SAGE Journals and provide authors with an accepted, reviewed paper at that time with all scholarly attributes awarded.
About the Journal:
Global Studies of Childhood is a space for peer-reviewed research and discussion about issues that pertain to children in a world context, and in contemporary times. Journal description: https://journals.sagepub.com/overview-metric/GSC
For a full version of the call, see: https://journals.sagepub.com/page/gsc/call-for-papers
About the Editors:
Helena Sandberg is Professor of Media and Communication Studies, Lund University, Sweden. She is the PL of DIGKIDS Sweden, researching the introduction of digital media in early childhood, and member of the Swedish advisory group for policy on Children and Youth's Digital Media use, and Health.
Olu Jenzen is Professor of Media and Digital Culture, University of Southampton, UK, with expertise in LGBTQ+ social media youth cultures. She is PL on the AHRC-funded project Creativity, Community & Resilience, researching trans and gender diverse young people’s collective resilience and community building in the UK through a strength-based and youth-led participatory approach.
Tessa Lewin is a Senior Research Fellow in the Participation, Inclusion and Social Change cluster at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK, specialising in gender politics, sexuality, visual activism, and child rights. She co-led the Rejuvenate project on children’s rights and participation.
CAIS
The Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) funds innovative research on the societal impact of digital transformation. We support individual researchers (fellows) and collaborative projects (working groups).
Fellowships: Time and Space for Focus and Inspiration
A fellowship at CAIS provides the freedom to dedicate yourself to your research and the opportunity to become part of a vibrant interdisciplinary community. Step away from daily work routines to gain new perspectives and build lasting connections.
As a fellow, you can spend either six or three months in Bochum, Germany. During this time, we will cover your sabbatical leave from work through financial compensation (e.g. for a teaching substitute) or provide grants of up to 2.000 € per month. In addition, we will provide a fully furnished apartment free of charge. You can invite guests for collaboration and receive financial support for research expenses. Private offices and meeting rooms with modern facilities offer optimal working conditions.
You can apply for our regular open call, or for our special call “Creating a Human-Centered Future: Exploring the Promise of Industry 5.0”.
Find out more: https://www.cais-research.de/en/cais-college/fellowships/
Working Groups: Boost Your Research Collaboration
A working group at CAIS enables you to assemble your own team of experts from different locations to collaborate in a stimulating environment.
We provide modern meeting facilities and catering for groups of up to ten members. In addition, we will cover travel and accommodation expenses. You can spend up to three weeks in Bochum or get together for several shorter meetings.
Find out more: https://www.cais-research.de/en/cais-college/working-groups/
Application
The next deadline for applications is 31 July 2025. You can currently apply for a fellowship taking place between October 2026 and March 2027, or for working group meetings taking place from March 2026 onwards. Please use the application forms provided on our website.
The funding program is open to excellent scholars and practitioners at all career stages and from all disciplines. Both fundamental research and applied projects are welcome.
Questions? Please contact esther.laufer@cais-research.de.
December 1-2, 2025
online
Deadline: September 2, 2025
Platform governance continues to grow in importance and intellectual vibrancy as an interdisciplinary field of research. A changing mix of competing platform companies faced with various efforts to regulate, influence, or control them and their offers has become an ever more central feature of many societies. As monolithic services begin to fracture and decentralized platform infrastructures, some governments assert their power and authority, and new constellations of actors emerge, we witness more than mere technical transitions and instead realignments in the political economy of platforms and societies. These changes manifest through multiple frictions across state, market, and civil society – between digital sovereignty and transnational platform operations, established market leaders and nascent alternatives, context and consistency, regulatory intent and practice, and between pragmatic appraisals and normative aspirations. Understanding these transitions demand empirical analysis and may require new conceptual and methodological approaches.
The 2025 Platform Governance Research Network (PlatGovNet) online conference seeks submissions focused on these issues. We welcome a wide range of different perspectives and interests, including, but not limited to, submissions that focus on the complex and contentious politics of platforms, for example new (geo)political tensions, developments around generative artificial intelligence, and the wider diversity of rarely examined actors including smaller platforms, non-state actors, and middleware initiatives.
This is the third PlatGovNet international online conference, which brings together researchers engaging with the social and political questions posed by the transformation and emerging realities of the platformized societies. We seek to fostercutting-edge interdisciplinary research that critically engages with the social and political questions posed by a broad range of digital platforms. Beyond showcasing current research and getting feedback, the conference helps participants build community and find collaborators.
Relevant Research Topics
In particular, network members are typically interested in:
We are keen on incorporating multiple perspectives from researchers located all around the world, so we encourage submissions from under-represented groups and diverse cultural and geographic backgrounds. We are especially interested in perspectives outside of U.S. and European contexts and will strive to accommodate multiple participant time zones in the conference program.
Submission Guidelines
Please submit extended abstracts of 800-1000 words via EasyChair at this link: https://easychair.org/cfp/PlatGovNet2025
Abstracts will be blind peer-reviewed and should include:
Authors of selected abstracts will present their ongoing work at the online conference. Submission of a complete paper before the Conference will not be required, although the organizers and PlatGovNet will, where useful, seek to help advise participants on possible avenues for publication.
This conference is open to all interested researchers and members of civil society and will have no registration fee.
Timeline
Conference Organizing Committee
September 22-23, 2025
Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Deadline (EXTENDED): July 4, 2025
ECREA Philosophy of Communication Section, 2025 workshop
Institute for Media and Communication Studies
In an age acutely defined by digital fragmentation, the relentless logic of the attention economy, and increasingly polarized public spheres, dialogue emerges not merely as endangered but as an existential, epistemic, and civic necessity. This workshop seeks to radically revisit and reclaim the notion of dialogue, not only as a communicative ideal but also as a foundational philosophical practice, an ethics of relationality, a crucial means of co-constructing shared worlds, and an essential practice for cultivating positive freedom. We approach this exploration keenly aware that dialogue never occurs in a vacuum, but always within, and often constrained by, pre-existing discourses that articulate and enact power, shaping what is considered sayable, knowable, and legitimate.
The contemporary dominance of monological forms of expression, often performative, algorithmically amplified, and emotionally charged, threatens to erode the very conditions for authentic dialogical encounter. This erosion is compounded by inherent human tendencies: our reasoning is frequently driven by partisan loyalties and identity-protective cognitions, creating anthropological and psychological impediments that render the cultivation of genuine dialogue—and by extension, the exercise of positive freedom—both more challenging and more urgent. This necessitates a critical engagement not only with our own biases but also with the power structures embedded in our communicative ecosystems.
We propose to explore dialogue as a liminal space where understanding is not a pre-existing entity to be unilaterally imposed, but rather emerges processually and intersubjectively. This emergence is contingent upon profound openness, radical listening, and mutual recognition of the Other in their irreducible particularity – a feat requiring conscious effort against our more primal, self-justifying inclinations, critical vigilance towards how discourse itself can marginalize or silence, and an active exercise of our capacity to co-determine our shared realities.
Can dialogue, in its Socratic spirit of maieutic inquiry, still function as a robust method of philosophical investigation and critical thinking in a world increasingly structured by immediacy, curated visibility, and self-affirming echo chambers, especially when confronted with our innate biases and the subtle yet pervasive workings of discursive power? What does it truly mean to think with others, engaging in a shared pursuit of understanding that consciously strives to transcend motivated reasoning and actively challenges hegemonic narratives? How can dialogue serve not only as a method of inquiry but as a practice that cultivates positive freedom: the capacity to act, to participate meaningfully, and to co-shape our institutions and collective life, even against the grain of dominant discourses? How might embodied dialogical practices resist the pervasive atomization, the instrumentalization of communication, and the deficit of presence that characterize contemporary societies, while simultaneously fostering the self-awareness needed to navigate our own cognitive limitations and our complicity in, or resistance to, prevailing power dynamics? How can dialogue cultivate the phronesis (practical wisdom) needed to navigate complex ethical and political landscapes with humility, intellectual honesty, active agency, and a critically discerning eye for power? How can, in turn, cultural practices, such as art, open dialogues in an increasingly disaffected world?
This event is an invitation to collectively reflect, converse, and experiment with the multifaceted possibilities of dialogue: as a rigorous philosophical method, as an ethical praxis rooted in care and responsibility, and as a vital force for community-building, democratic renewal, and the empowerment of individuals to exercise their positive freedom by critically engaging with and seeking to reshape the discourses that define our world, fully acknowledging the profound challenges this entails.
We welcome contributions that engage with (but are not limited to):
Please send your abstract by July 4 (deadline extended) to the Management Team of the ECREA Philosophy of Communication section via EasyChair at https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=ecreaphilcomm2025 AND BY EMAIL ioan.suhov2@mail.dcu.ie
Abstracts should be 300–500 words long.
Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen
The Department of Communication, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), invites applications for a postdoctoral position in digital media and communication research beginning January 1, 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter.
The position is a fixed-term position for three years.
Introduction
The successful applicant will become part of the project entitled, GREENWATCH – Green Surveillance: Imagining a Sustainable Internet of Things, funded through a European Research Council Advanced Grant, 2025-2029. The project examines the potentials and challenges of employing the Internet of Things (IoT) as a communication system monitoring the effects of human activities of Earth’s ecosystems, which further entails surveillance of human individuals and social institutions. The position represents a unique opportunity to participate in interdisciplinary and culturally comparative work covering China, Europe, and the United States, and to contribute to theory development on a strategic issue with global ramifications.
Duties and Responsibilities
The successful applicant will undertake computational and other quantitative analyses of public debate in China, Europe, and the United States regarding the pros and cons of employing the Internet of Things (IoT) as a communication system monitoring the effects of human activities of Earth’s ecosystems.
Qualification requirements and assessment criteria
Employment as a postdoc requires academic qualifications at PhD level.
Applicants must have specific theoretical and methodological competences in research on digital media and communicative practices, with a particular emphasis on computational approaches. Other things being equal, applicants with previous experience in methods such as natural language processing, representation learning, and/or large-scale text analysis will be preferred.
Applicants must be fluent in speaking and writing both English and Mandarin.
More information on careers at UCPH and the requirements for different academic positions is available at: Career at The University of Copenhagen – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).
For more about postdoc positions and qualification requirements, see the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities: Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (in Danish only).
Applicants will primarily be assessed in relation to their research qualifications, including their publications, ability to conduct independent research and participate in research collaborations, and their experience with research management. In addition, the applicant’s research plan and research potential will be assessed in relation to the GREENWATCH project described above.
Applications must be submitted online in PDF or Word format. Click on the “Apply now” button at the bottom of this advertisement to apply.
Applications must be written in English and must include the following attachments:
Applicants can attach a maximum of 3 publications. The publication dates must be clearly marked on the list. The selected publications must be uploaded as attachments and numbered 1-3.
Only documentation in English will be assessed.
Applicants are invited to familiarize themselves with the Faculty of Humanities’ strategic landmarks here: Strategic landmarks – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).
Salary and terms of employment
Terms of appointment and salary will be in accordance with an agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The salary range for Postdocs starts at approximately DKK 38,700 (EUR 5,190) + a 18.07 % contribution to the pension scheme. It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis.
The recruitment process
Once the deadline for applications has expired, the Head of Department will consider advice from an appointment committee and select applicants for further assessment. All applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted. The Head of Department then sets up an expert assessment committee to consider the applications. The selected applicants will be informed who is serving on the committee, and will be offered the opportunity to comment on the committee’s assessment of their application before an appointment is announced.
Further information on the recruitment process at University of Copenhagen can be found here: Recruitment process – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).
An Equal Opportunity Workplace
The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment, and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity, etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, please see HR Excellence in Research – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).
International applicant?
The University of Copenhagen offers a variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during relocation and career counselling for expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark here: For international researchers at the University of Copenhagen – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).
Contact information
Further information about the recruitment process is available from HR email: hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk, please refer to ID number: 211-2222/25-2I #2.
Additional information about the position, including an outline of the GREENWATCH project, can be obtained from the PI of the project, Professor Klaus Bruhn Jensen, email: kbj@hum.ku.dk.
The deadline for applications is 23:59 [CEST] on September 12, 2025.
Any applications or additional material submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.
Link to application system:
https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/?show=164371
November 19-21, 2025
Tübingen University, Germany
Deadline: June 30, 2025
https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/278964
Joint conference of the DGPuK Divisions of „Media, Public Sphere, Gender“ and „Visual Communication“
From baby monitors to livestreams, from migrants crossing borders to digital navigation systems in our pockets; from Black Lives Matter demonstrations to COVID-19 tracking apps, and from Woman, Life, Freedom to influencers staging their journeys through social media – these examples demonstrate how people get and are set in motion with and through "their" media.
But who or what is actually mobile? How do people on the move become visible through mobile, networked media technologies, and who or what remains invisible? What role do gender and power relations play in this? How do mobilities and visualities shape each other? To what extent do different social categories and inequalities shape regimes of mobility and visibility from an intersectional perspective? In addition, the discussion of methodological challenges will be given space: How can mobile media use be analysed when both people and media are constantly moving? How can research methods be flexibilised to adequately capture the ephemerality of visual content and the processuality of media practices? This conference invites to engage with the topic of mobility from a media and communication studies perspective, both theoretically and methodologically.
November 29-28, 2025
Masaryk University, Brno (Czech Republic)
Deadline (EXTENDED): July 6, 2025
Workshop on Aggression is a friendly, medium-sized conference and an annual event for all European and international researchers in the field of empirical aggression research, enabling a platform for the presentation and discussion of the newest research findings, theoretical advancements, and practical applications in aggression research. Workshop on Aggression is an ideal place for scientific exchange between researchers with different theoretical and methodological backgrounds concerning aggression. This year's focus is on Aggression, media, and digital technologies. In the face of the dynamic development of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, we are especially interested in submissions on basic and applied research on the intertwined relation of (communication) media, digital technologies and aggressive behaviour. Likewise, we welcome contributions that identify how to prevent and diminish cyberaggression. However, all submissions that cover the breadth of topics within the field of aggression research are invited.
READ MORE:
We are proud to announce three interesting keynotes, delivered by established researchers and esteemed colleagues in aggression research:
Call for abstracts is now open with an extended deadline of July 6. See all the detailed information here: https://irtis.muni.cz/woa
SUBSCRIBE!
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