ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

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:

• Empirical studies of platform governance in all of its forms, including investigations into the emerging platform infrastructures, the labor practices, technologies, and institutional arrangements that characterize new governance configurations, and the implications for users, platforms, communities, and society;
  
• Conceptual contributions that may describe and interpret current changes in platform governance, namely (but not exclusively): decentralization; middleware; bridge-building, “prosocial” or “community-based” moderation techniques and philosophies;
  
• Policy-oriented analyses of private and governmental efforts to govern platforms, including comparative studies of governmental interventions across different geopolitical contexts, through both formal regulatory frameworks and informal governance mechanisms;
  
• Normative, conceptual, or theoretical insights into aspects of platform governance, especially those that highlight gaps in current public or scholarly discourse;
  
• Historical analyses and temporal perspectives on platform governance and speech moderation more widely;
  
• Methodological innovations for studying platform governance in transition, particularly in the absence of affordable or stable platform APIs;
  
• Research on the meta-aspects of platform governance scholarship, examining how the relationships between industry, government, academia and civil society are being reconfigured, and how these shifts impact knowledge production and policy development in the field.

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:

• a short section framing the context/problem being addressed;
  
• a clear research question;
  
• conceptual framework;
  
• details about how the submission seeks to address that question, including its research design; and 
  
• a brief discussion of the paper’s contributions to the literature and/or ongoing policy debates.

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

• Deadline for abstract submission: end of day September 2, aka 00:00:00 anywhere on earth time
  
• Accepted submissions announced: mid-October 2025
  
• Online conference: December 1-2, 2025
  

Conference Organizing Committee

• Pranav Bidare, Center for Internet and Society
  
• Robert Gorwa, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
  
• Ivar Hartmann, Insper São Paulo
  
• Clara Iglesias Keller, Weizenbaum Institute, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
  
• Emillie de Keulenaar, University of Copenhagen
  
• Diyi Liu, University of Copenhagen
  
• João C. Magalhães, University of Manchester
  
• Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, University of Copenhagen
  

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):

• Ontological and Epistemological Foundations of Dialogue.
  
• The Epistemic Functions of Dialogue
  
• Psychological and Cognitive Barriers to Dialogue
  
• Dialogue and Positive Freedom.
  
• Dialogue and Recognition.
  
• Dialogue, Debate, Discussion, Conversation
  
• The Phenomenology of Listening and Encounter.
  
• Dialogue and Education.
  
• Dialogue in Digital Spheres.
  
• Dialogical Resistance and Praxis.
  
• Dialogue, Power, and the Public Sphere.
  
• Dialogue and Democracy
  
• Dialogue as Method
  
• Dialogue and the Arts
  
• Dialogue and Monologue
• Ethics of Dialogue
• Approaches to Dialogue in the History of Philosophy and Communication Theory

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. 

Application

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:

• Letter of motivation
  
• CV 
  
• Documentation of qualifications (exam certificates and PhD diploma) 
  
• Complete publication list (attached publications must be marked with an asterisk). The list must be structured systematically and divided into the following categories:
  
• • Peer-reviewed publications:
  • • Monographs and anthologies
    • Articles in journals
    • Book chapters/anthology contributions, etc.
  • Non-peer-reviewed publications:
  • • Publications disseminating research findings, etc.

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. 

• Research plan.
  
• Documentation of other work on the dissemination of research.
  

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:

• Brad J. Bushman, The Ohio State University, USA: Blood, gore, and video games: Effects of violent content on players
  
• Lenka Kollerová, Czech Academy of Sciences / Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic: When teachers intervene in school bullying: How morality and bias related to peer exclusion shape anti-bullying efforts
  
• Jörg Matthes, University of Vienna, Austria: Cutting one head, growing two: The struggle to combat digital hate 
  

Call for abstracts is now open with an extended deadline of July 6. See all the detailed information here: https://irtis.muni.cz/woa

November 11-14, 2025

Lusófona University, Portugal

September 26, 2025

The Media Literacy and Civic Cultures Lab – MeLCi Lab (Lusófona University, CICANT) is organising its V Autumn School from 11 to 14 November 2025 in the form of a bootcamp to boost research hands-on skills. 

The MeLCi Lab Autumn School invites applications from PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career scholars for a four-day intensive online program focused on innovative research methods at the intersection of AI, Communication, and Media Studies.

The School combines practical workshops and keynote lectures, allowing participants to develop hands-on skills with classical and AI-driven methodologies.

In 2025, the school’s AI tracks are specifically designed to meet the needs of media studies and PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, and early-career scholars. Participants will explore case studies and practical examples directly relevant to media analysis, digital journalism, and content curation. The sessions will address unique challenges in media-related research, such as bias in content classification, audience segmentation, and the interpretative complexity of multimedia annotation. Interactive workshops and tailored exercises will enable participants to apply AI tools to media-specific datasets, ensuring immediate applicability and facilitating deeper understanding through experiential learning.

In this sense, contributions for the following tracks (not exclusively) will be considered.

Track 1: AI in Research Practice: Foundations, Methods, and Ethics

1. Foundations of current AI tools → Recent natural language processing (NLP) breakthroughs, particularly through large language models (LLMs) such as GPT-4, Claude, and Gemini, have significantly transformed research methodologies across disciplines. The unprecedented accessibility and effectiveness of zero- and few-shot prompting techniques have led to widespread adoption, sometimes even replacing traditional human coders (Gilardi et al., 2023; Grossmann et al., 2023; Ziems et al., 2024). Yet, these powerful tools introduce critical concerns regarding reproducibility, transparency, and ethical use. Prompt stability and variability in LLM responses—affected by minor prompt adjustments—can challenge the replicability and accountability of research (Barrie et al., 2025). This subtrack equips researchers in communication science with essential knowledge of the theoretical foundations of contemporary AI tools, highlighting methodologies and best practices for their ethical and accountable use.

2. Accountable Literature Search Using AI Tools → AI-powered tools such as SciSpace and Litmaps have radically improved the efficiency and comprehensiveness of literature searches. However, the convenience of these tools requires heightened researchers’ accountability. This subtrack guides participants through strategies to validate AI-generated results, critically assess literature coverage, and maintain transparent documentation practices, ensuring methodological rigour and reliability in AI-assisted literature reviews.

3. AI-Assisted Data Annotation in Research Pipelines → Data annotation is a cornerstone in research pipelines, traditionally relying heavily on human coders. However, AI-based annotation tools are emerging as viable and highly effective alternatives, particularly for large datasets. Barrie et al. (2025) highlight that prompt stability—the consistency of AI-generated annotations across multiple semantically similar prompts—remains a significant challenge. This subtrack introduces participants to AI-driven annotation, focusing on practical approaches to enhancing annotation consistency through frameworks like Prompt Stability Scoring (PSS). Participants will gain hands-on experience in assessing and improving the reliability of AI annotations, integrating responsible AI practices into their research workflows.

Track 2: Communication, Audiences, and Civic Cultures in the Age of AI

1. Civic Cultures and Artificial Intelligence → AI can play a crucial role in how citizens engage with the digital world in contemporary times, and a set of opportunities and challenges emerge from it (Sarafis et al., 2025). This subtrack explores the impact of AI-driven platforms and recommendation algorithms on civic engagement, activism, and media literacy.

2. Digital Citizenship and Media Literacy in an AI-Mediated World → Leveraging AI and overcoming its challenges requires the development of broad and critical skill sets, the definition of which is still fuzzy (Chiu et al., 2024). This subtrack intends to explore critical media literacy skills in the era of misinformation, deepfakes, and algorithmic personalisation.

3. Data Ethics, Equity, and Inclusivity in AI Research → Different biases can emerge from the use of AIs, and the ethical implications of using different tools for knowledge production are still unclear. While AI is frequently represented as either a magical solution or a looming threat, our Autumn School aims to demystify AI, exploring its realistic capabilities, limitations, and responsible use (Ferrara, 2024; Ntoutsi et al., 2020). This subtrack will focus on responsible research practices, equity grants, and inclusive research design for underrepresented communities.

Participants do not require previous experience with AI or data science, as introductory modules will provide a foundational understanding.

The Autumn School will be conducted online and in English.

For inquiries, please contact: melci.lab@ulusofona.pt

Call for proposals deadline

Deadline: 26th September  2025

Notification of Acceptance: 13th October 2025

Registration: 27th October

See details about how to submit a proposal at the bottom of this page.

Format

Online

Dates

11 to 14 November 2025 – V MeLCi Lab Autumn School

TIME (Lisbon time zone)

V MeLCi Lab Autumn School Schedule

Check here for details. 

How to apply 

Interested participants must send their application (in English) by 26 September 2025, including:

• Updated Curriculum Vitae (máx. 3 pages); 
  
• Candidate’s research statement that includes a description of their doctoral dissertation, research questions and methods (máx. 2 pages);
  
• Motivation letter describing your current perspective on AI, specific concerns or interests regarding AI’s role in media practices, and your preferred track/subtrack(s) máx. 1-2 pages;

Please send your application as a ZIP file to melci.lab@ulusofona.pt with the subject “Application for the V MeLCi Lab Autumn School”.

Target-group

PhD Students

Early Career Researchers (with a PhD obtained in the last five years)

Fee *

Lusófona University, CICANT PhD Students 70 euros

PhD students from other Institutions 100 euros

Others 150 euros

*The best participant will not pay the fee

Keynote Speakers

To be announced shortly.  

Organisers

Bruno Saraiva

Carla Sousa

Lúcia Mesquita

Manuel Marques-Pita

Maria José Brites

Zuil Pirola

December 11-12, 2025

Virtual

Deadline: July 30, 2025

Organizers: Filipa Subtil, LIACOM/ESCS-Politécnico de Lisboa, Portugal and Rafiza Varão, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil

Portuguese- and Spanish-language version of the call are available here: https://hms.mediastudies.press/pub/mundo-de-lingua-portuguesa

## Call for Papers

Communication and media studies have historically been narrated or recounted from canons centered on the Anglophone world, especially the USA, erasing intellectual traditions, voices, and contexts that have grown up outside of and challenged this hegemony. This symposium will give participants an opportunity to map, critique, and celebrate the histories of communication studies in the Portuguese-speaking world - including Portugal, Brazil, Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP), East Timor, Macau, and the diasporas - by inquiring into how the dynamics of colonialism, post-colonialism, dictatorships, and globalization have shaped the field. We have a twofold commitment: to decentre dominant narratives, highlighting epistemologies, institutions, and marginalized figures; and to connect the multiple Portuguese-speaking world traditions, exploring transatlantic dialogues and tensions and resistances. We encourage papers that explore connections among Portugal, Africa, Brazil, East Timor, and Macau, as well as connections with other countries and regions in the “Global South.”

We invite proposals that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

1. Field Genealogies

* National or regional histories of communication and media studies in Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, East Timor, and Macau;

* Influential figures, forgotten pioneers,(e.g. women and members of other marginalized groups), as well as intellectual networks;

* The role of universities, associations, and scientific journals in establishing the field.

2. Colonialism, dictatorships and resistances

* Communication as an instrument of power during Portuguese colonialism and the dictatorships of the 20th century;

* Communication theories and practices developed in contexts of anti-colonial struggle and post-independence;

* The place of the portuguese language as a vehicle of domination and/or emancipation.

3. History of the transatlantic dialogues and hegemonies

* The influence of Anglo-Saxon, French, and German traditions on the Portuguese-speaking world;

* Circulation of ideas between Brazil, Africa, Asia and Portugal: appropriations, adaptations, and resistances;

* The myth of the “universality” of North American models and their local critiques.

4. Alternative epistemologies

* Decolonial, feminist, and anti-racist perspectives in Portuguese language studies;

* Indigenous, Afro-diasporic, and community knowledge in the history of communication research;

* The impact of social movements (e.g. land struggles, Indigenous rights, Black feminisms) on communication theory.

5. Contemporary challenges

* The place of the Portuguese-speaking world in global debates in the history of communication;

* Digitalisation, platforms, and new forms of exclusion/epistemocide;

* Pedagogical proposals for decolonizing communication education.

In this way, we hope to contribute to a broader global understanding of the history and traditions of communication research in the Portuguese-speaking world as well as to foster new opportunities for collaboration between researchers and academics from different parts of the world.

### Organization

This symposium is an initiative of LIACOM/Escola Superior de Comunicação Social, Politécnico de Lisboa, ICNOVA and the Faculdade de Comunicação, Universidade de Brasília, in partnership with Associação Portuguesa de Ciências da Comunicação, Associação Moçambicana de Ciências da Comunicação e da Informação, Sociedade Brasileira de Estudos Interdisciplinares da Comunicação, and with the scholar-run US journal History of Media Studies. Our aim is to strengthen critical research networks in the Portuguese-speaking community.

### Calendar

Extended abstracts (3.000 characters including spaces and excluding bibliography) must be sent in Portuguese, English or Spanish by 30 July 2025 to:

historia.dos.estudos.de.com.pt@gmail.com

Decisions will be announced by 30 September 2025.

Registration for the symposium will run from 1 October to 15 November 2025. To help with the costs of simultaneous translation and the organisation of the event, a symbolic registration fee will be charged (20 euros/120 reais). If the participant does not have institutional support, he/she/they should contact the organization in order to assess a possible waiver from the registration fee.

Papers must be sent to the organizers by 30 November in order to be circulated among commentators.

### Other relevant information

Potential publication in History of Media Studies journal: http://hms.mediastudies.press

Selected papers may be considered for publication in a special issue of the open access, scholar-run journal History of Media Studies. The deadline for submitting full articles for peer review will be 30 May 2026.

September 9, 2025

The University of Sheffield 

Deadline: July 10, 2025

Online presentations are also accepted.

R. Murray Schafer said that “the sense of hearing cannot be closed off at will. There are no earlids. When we go to sleep, our perception of sound is the last door to close and it is also the first to open when we awaken” (Schafer, 1977, p. 11). The experience of  “Thinking through sound” is not only a sensory experience but also its a phenomenon that shapes how we perceive the society and the world, and make meaning of life.  This notion also intersects with different fields: media, philosophy, cultural studies, gender, acoustic ecology, musicology, audio accessibility, urban sounds, artificial intelligence, among others. But what is the conception of thinking through sound in the different areas of studies? Sound manifests itself in various formats and shapes across different times and spaces. How can we think through sound in both everyday life and broader societal issues? How can we think our research through sound -even if sound is not the center of the research? In what ways does sound contribute to other disciplines and vice versa? How can sound shape our methodologies?  Can sound play a role in how we reflect on and within our research practices? Can sound play a role in revealing the archive of resistances, tracing the history and building identity? Keeping this in mind, how can sound be used as a tool in research? These questions are an invitation to explore the multiplicity of sound—as medium, metaphor, method, and memory. We are inviting paper abstracts, proposals that revolve around, but not limited to, the following areas:

• Art, Creativity and Culture
  
• Sound, Technology and Communication
  
• Gender, Sexuality and Sound
  
• Memory and Archives
  
• Urban Spaces and Acoustics
  
• Acoustic Ecology and Activism
  
• Sound and Epistemology
  
• Sound/ Music Industries
  
• Music Production and Sound Design 
  
• Cinema and Sound
  
• Therapeutic Sounds 
  

Submission Guidelines:

Deadline for Abstracts: 10 July 2025

Format: 300-500 word abstract

Include: Name, institutional affiliation, short bio (max 100 words), and indication if you prefer to present online or in person

Submit to: https://forms.gle/vhRNBpNegTiMx8RdA

This event is an opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue, share your research, and contribute to a growing field of radio and sound. We look forward to hearing from you

With warm regards,

ECREA Postgraduate Conference Team

November 20, 2025

Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon, Portugal

Deadline (EXTENDED): July 4, 2025

Dear colleagues,

We hereby announce the new deadline for submitting abstracts for the I LIACOM International Conference, under the theme “The (Un)Sustainability of the Media”, which will be held on November 20, 2025, at the School of Communication and Media Studies – Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon (ESCS-IPL).

We inform you that the call for papers has been extended until July 4, 2025, for the following parallel sessions:

• Journalism: Sustainability in an ecosystem looking for solutions
  
• Media Literacy and Communication: Challenges for Citizenship
  
• Brands, Advertising, and Consumption in the Age of Media (Un)Sustainability
  
• Mobilizing for Change: The Role of Public Communication Campaigns
  
•  Disruptions and continuities in communication professions
  

For more information about the conference and details on submitting proposals, please do not hesitate to contact us (conferencia.liacom@escs.ipl.pt), or visit the official conference website: https://liacom.escs.ipl.pt/en/conferencia-liacom/

We look forward to your participation and would like to thank you in advance for sharing the new deadline with your networks and institutions.

Best regards,

Jorge Veríssimo and Sandra Miranda