ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Project leader: Feijoo, Beatriz

Researchers: Vizcaíno-Verdú, Arantxa, Sádaba, Charo

This report presents the findings of the research project “Between Healthiness and the Cult of Physique: The Impact of Fitfluencers’ Content on Adolescents’ Body Care”, known as TEEN_ONFIT. The project is funded by the Institute of Research, Transfer, and Innovation (ITel) of the Vice-rectorate of Transfer at the International University of La Rioja (UNIR), under reference number BE23-008. Additionally, it has received support from the PantallasAmigas association.

https://zenodo.org/records/12755822

Edited by: Daniel Jackson, Katy Parry, Emily Harmer, Darren Lilleker, Julie Firmstone, Scott Wright, and Einar Thorsen

We are very pleased to announce the publication of UK Election Analysis 2024: Media, Voters and the Campaign, edited by Daniel Jackson, Katy Parry, Emily Harmer, Darren Lilleker, Julie Firmstone, Scott Wright, and Einar Thorsen.

Featuring 101 contributions from over 130 leading academics and emerging scholars, this free publication captures the immediate thoughts, reflections and early research insights on the 2024 UK General Election from the cutting edge of media and politics research.

Published just 10 days after the election, these contributions are short and accessible. Authors provide authoritative analysis of the campaign, including research findings or new theoretical insights; to bring readers original ways of understanding the election and its consequences. Contributions also bring a rich range of disciplinary influences, from political science to cultural studies, journalism studies to geography.

The publication is available as a free downloadable PDF, as a website and as a paperback report.

Website URL: http://www.electionanalysis.uk

Direct PDF download: https://bit.ly/UKElectionAnalysis2024_Jackson-et_al_v1-COMPRESSED 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Democracy and representation

1. Public anxiety and the electoral process (Prof Barry Richards)

2. How Nigel Farage opened the door to No. 10 for Keir Starmer (Prof Pippa Norris)

3. The performance of the electoral system (Prof Alan Renwick)

4. Tory downfall is democracy rectifying its mistakes (Prof Stephen Barber)

5. Votes at 16 and decent citizenship education could create a politically aware generation (Dr Ben Kisby, Dr Lee Jerome)

6. “An election about us but not for us”: the lack of communication for young people during GE2024 (Dr James Dennis)

7. Election timing: masterstroke or risky gamble? (Prof Sarah Birch)

8. The dog that didn’t bark? Electoral integrity and administration from voter ID to postal votes (Prof Alistair Clark)

9. A political gamble? How licit and illicit betting permeated the campaign (Dr Matthew Wall)

10. Ethnic diversity in politics is the new normal in Britain (Prof Maria Sobolewska)

11. Bullshit and Lies on the campaign trail: do party campaigns reflect the post-truth age? (Prof Darren Lilleker)

12. Stoking the culture wars: the risks of a more hostile form of polarised politics (Dr Jen Birks)

Voters, polls and results

13. Forecasting a multiparty majoritarian election with a volatile electorate (Dr Hannah Bunting)

14. The emerging infrastructure of public opinion (Dr Nick Anstead)

15. A moving target? Voter segmentation in the 2024 British General Election (Prof Rosie Campbell)

16. Don’t vote, it only encourages them? Turnout in the 2024 Election (Prof Charles Pattie)

17. Cartographic perspectives of the 2024 General Election (Prof Benjamin Hennig)

18. Gender and vote choice: early reflections (Dr Ceri Fowler)

19. Changing Pattern amongst Muslim voters: the Labour Party, Gaza and voter volatility (Dr Parveen Akhtar)

20. Religion and voting behaviour in the 2024 General Election (Dr Ekaterina Kolpinskaya, Dr Stuart Fox)

21. Failure to connect: the Conservative Party and young voters (Dr Stephanie Luke)

22. Youthquake for the progressive left: making sense of the collapse of youth support for the Conservatives (Prof James Sloam, Prof Matt Henn)

23. Values in the valence election (Prof Paula Surridge)

24. Tactical voting: why is it such a big part of British elections? (Thomas Lockwood)

The nations and regions

25. Have voters fallen out of love with the SNP? (Dr Lynn Bennie)

26. The spectre of Sturgeon still looms large in gendered coverage in Scotland (Melody House, Dr Fiona McKay)

27. The personalisation of Scottish politics in a UK General Election (Dr Michael Higgins, Dr Maike Dinger)

28. Competence, change and continuity: a tale of two nations (Dr Will Kitson)

29. Election success, but problems remain for Labour in Wales (Dr Nye Davies)

30. Four ways in which Northern Ireland’s own seismic results will affect the new Parliament (Prof Katy Hayward)

31. Bringing People together or pulling them apart? What Facebook ads say about the NI campaign (Dr Paul Reilly)

32. A New Dawn For Levelling Up? (Prof Arianna Giovannini)

33. Who defines Britain? National identity at the heart of the 2024 UK General Election (Dr Tabitha Baker)

Parties and the campaign

34. A changed but over-staged Labour Party and the political marketing weaknesses behind Starmer’s win (Prof Jennifer Lees-Marshment)

35. To leaflet or not to leaflet? The question of election leafleting in Sunderland Central (Prof Angela Smith, Dr Mike Pearce)

36. Beyond ‘my dad was a toolmaker’: what it’s really like to be working class in parliament (Dr Vladimir Bortun)

37. The unforced errors of foolish men: gender, race and the calculus of harm (Prof Karen Ross)

38. Election 2024 and rise of Reform UK: the beginning of the end of the Conservatives? (Dr Anthony Ridge-Newman)

39. The Weakening of the Blue Wall (Prof Pete Dorey)

40. The Conservative party, 1832-2024: an obituary (Dr Mark Garnett)

41. Bouncing back: the Liberal Democrat campaign (Prof Peter Sloman)

42. The Greens: riding two horses (Prof Neil Carter, Dr Mitya Pearson)

43. Party organisations and the campaign (Dr Danny Rye)

44. Local campaign messaging at the 2024 General Election (Dr Siim Trumm, Prof Caitlin Milazzo)

45. The value of getting personal: reflecting upon the role of personal branding in the General Election (Dr Jenny Lloyd)

46. Which constituencies were visited by each party leader and what this told us about their campaigns (Dr Hannah Bunting, Joely Santa Cruz)

47. The culture wars and the 2024 General Election campaign (Prof John Steel)

48. “Rishi’s D-Day Disaster”: authority, leadership and British military commemoration (Dr Natalie Jester)

49. Party election broadcasts: the quest for authenticity (Dr Vincent Campbell)

Policy and strategy

50. It’s the cost-of-living-crisis, stupid! (Prof Aeron Davis)

51. The last pre-war vote? Defence and foreign policy in the 2024 Election (Dr Russell Foster)

52. The 2024 UK general election and the absence of foreign policy (Dr Victoria Honeyman)

53. Fractious consensus: defence policy at the 2024 General Election (Dr Ben Jones)

54. The psycho-politics of climate denial in the 2024 UK election (Prof Candida Yates, Dr Jenny Alexander)

55. How will the Labour government fare and what should they do better? (Prof Rick Stafford and team)

56. Finding the environment: climate obstructionism and environmental movements on TikTok (Dr Abi Rhodes)

57. Irregular migration: ‘Stop the boats’ vs ‘Smash the Gangs’ (Prof Alex Balch)

58. The sleeping dog of ‘Europe: UK relations with the EU as a non-issue (Prof Simon Usherwood)

59. Labour: a very conservative housing manifesto (Prof Becky Tunstall)

60. Why the Labour Government must abolish the two-child benefit limit policy (Dr Yekaterina Chzhen)

61. Take the next right: mainstream parties’ positions on gender and LGBTQ+ equality issues (Dr Louise Luxton)

The digital campaign

62. Local news and information on candidates was insufficient (Dr Martin Moore, Dr Gordon Neil Ramsay)

63. The Al election that wasn’t – yet (Prof Helen Margetts)

64. Al-generated images: how citizens depicted politicians and society (Niamh Cashell)

65. The threat to democracy that wasn’t? Four types of Al-generated synthetic media in the General Election (Dr Liam McLoughlin)

66. Shitposting meets Generative Artificial Intelligence and ‘deep fakes’ at the 2024 General Election (Dr Rosalynd Southern)

67. Shitposting the General Election: why this campaign felt like one long meme (SE Harman, Dr Matthew Wall)

68. Winning voters’ hearts and minds… through reels and memes?! How #GE24 unfolded on TikTok (Dr Aljosha Karim Schapals)

69. Debating the election in “Non-political” Third Spaces: the case of Gransnet (Prof Scott Wright et al)

70. Which social networks did political parties use most in 2024? (Dr Richard Fletcher)

71. Facebook’s role in the General Election: still relevant in a more fragmented information environment (Prof Andrea Carson, Dr Felix M. Simon)

72. Farage on TikTok: the perfect populist platform (Prof Karin Wahl-Jorgensen)

News and journalism

73. Why the press still matters (Prof Steven Barnett)

74. When the Star aligned: how the press ‘voted’ (Prof Dominic Wring, Prof David Deacon)

75. Visual depictions of leaders and losers in the (still influential) print press (Prof Erik Bucy and Dr Nathan Ritchie)

76. Towards more assertive impartiality? Fact-checking on BBC television news (Prof Stephen Cushion)

77. The outsize influence of the conservative press in election campaigns (Prof Dan Stevens, Prof Susan Banducci, Dr Ekaterina Kolpinskaya and Dr Laszlo Horvath)

78. GB News – not breaking any rules… (Prof Ivor Gaber)

79. Vogue’s stylish relationship to politics (Dr Chrysi Dagoula)

80. Tiptoeing around immigration has tangible consequences (Dr Maria Kyriakidou, Dr Iñaki Garcia-Blanco)

81. A Taxing Campaign (Prof David Deacon et al)

82. Not the Sun wot won it: what Murdoch’s half-hearted, last-minute endorsements mean for Labour (Dr John Jewell)

83. Is this the first podcast election? (Carl Hartley, Prof Stephen Coleman)

84. A numbers game (Paul Bradshaw)

85. Election 2024 and the remarkable absence of media in a mediated spectacle (Prof Lee Edwards)

86. 2024: the great election turn-off (Prof Des Freedman)

Personality politics and popular culture

87. Ed Davey: Towards a Liberal Populism? (Dr Tom Sharkey, Dr Sophie Quirk)

88. Why Nigel Farage’s anti-media election interference claims are so dangerous (Dr Lone Sorensen)

89. Nigel Farage and the political circus (Dr Neil Ewen)

90. Binface, Beany and Beyond: humorous candidates in the 2024 General Election (Prof Scott Wright)

91. What Corbyn support reveals about how Starmer’s Labour won big (Prof Cornel Sandvoss, Dr Benjamin Litherland, Dr Joseph Andrew Smith)

92. “Well that was dignified, wasn’t it?”: floor apportionment and interaction in the televised debates (Dr Sylvia Shaw)

93. TV debates: beyond winners and losers (Prof Stephen Coleman)

94. Is our television debate coverage finally starting to match up to multi-party politics? (Dr Louise Thompson)

95. Tetchiness meets disenchantment: capturing the contrasting political energies of the campaign (Prof Beth Johnson, Prof Katy Parry)

96. “We’re just normal men”: football and the performance of authentic leadership (Dr Ellen Watts)

97. ‘Make the friendship bracelets’: gendered imagery in candidates’ self-presentations on the campaign trail (Dr Caroline Leicht)

98. Weeping in Wetherspoons: generative Al and the right/left image battle on X (Simon Popple)

99. An entertaining election? Popular culture as politics (Prof John Street)

100. Changing key, but keeping time: the music of Election 2024 (Dr Adam Behr)

101. Truth or dare: the political veracity game (Prof John Corner)

Johan Lindell

Bourdieusian Media Studies illustrates the merits of Pierre Bourdieu’s cultural sociological approach in the field of media studies, explicating exactly what a “Bourdieusian” analysis of media would entail, and what new understandings of the digital media landscape would emerge from such an analysis.

The author applies the Bourdieusian concepts of social field, capital, and habitus to understand the social conditions of media and cultural production, media users’ practices and preferences, and the power dynamics entailed in social media networks. Based on a careful illumination of Bourdieu’s concepts, epistemological assumptions, and methodological approach, the book presents a range of case studies covering television production, the field of media studies itself, media use, and social media networks.

Illustrating the craft of Bourdieusian media studies and shedding new light on key dynamics of digital media culture, this book will appeal to scholars and students working in media studies, media theory, sociology of media, digital media, and cultural production.

https://www.routledge.com/Bourdieusian-Media-Studies/Lindell/p/book/9781032421179

ECREA has become a member of the Advisory Committee of the European Audiovisual Observatory, a decision which was greenlighted by the Observatory’s Executive Council in its Tbilisi meeting on 13 June this year.

ECREA represents a community of media and communication scholars across Europe, bringing together researchers and educators from a broad spectrum of universities, research, and educational institutions throughout various European regions. A significant portion of ECREA’s membership is devoted to exploring the audiovisual communication sector, including television, radio, film, post-broadcast television, video streaming platforms and podcasts, for example. This focus is particularly relevant to the work conducted by members of several ECREA sections, including Audience and Reception Studies, Digital Culture and Communication, Film Studies, Media Industries and Cultural Production, Radio and Sound, Television Studies, and Visual Cultures.

The Strasbourg-based Observatory is part of the Council of Europe. It functions as a clearing house for information about the audiovisual sector in Europe, covering film, television and on demand services from an economic and legal point of view. The information it produces is available in the form of publications, on-line reports, databases, and newsletters, almost all available free-of-charge at: www.obs.coe.int. The Observatory also shares its information via numerous conferences and conference presentations throughout the year. The Observatory’s Advisory Committee currently brings together 41 different European and international professional organisations representing the various branches of the audiovisual industries. Sectors such as film production, distribution, exhibition, public and private broadcasting, and the press are represented within this body. The Advisory Committee meets twice a year in order to inform the Observatory on the information needs and concerns of the various different branches of the audiovisual industries.

John Downey, ECREA president, stated that “an enriching and mutually beneficial exchange of academic data and research would now be possible between the members of ECREA and the Observatory.”

The European Audiovisual Observatory expressed enthusiasm about ECREA’s membership. "We welcome ECREA to our community," said Susanne Nikoltchev, Executive Director of the European Audiovisual Observatory. "ECREA’s membership of our Advisory Committee is in line with the Observatory increased efforts to reach out to academic communities working within the audiovisual sphere.” She added that future exchanges could potentially “support our work to understand and make more transparent the general legislative and market structures that frame the European audiovisual sector."

Read the original post here: https://www.obs.coe.int/en/web/observatoire/-/ecrea-joins-the-advisory-committee-of-the-european-audiovisual-observatory 

Moment

Deadline: September 15, 2024

Three concepts/ three disciplines have been chosen for Moment’s upcoming December 2024 issue. The Triptych is no longer only a painting in which three paintings connected to each other and the painting in the middle is taken as the central. Instead of paintings/panels, Moment, follows around the “different” writings which make and/or destroy the connection of this trilogy while the art is forming an inseparable completeness in between philosophy and communication in this issue. 

What kind of study /work comes out when academic study/studies is/are written in an interdisciplinary style and make use of the concepts, questions, and accumulations of the fields of Philosophy-Art-Communication? In terms of theoretical and methodological point of view how these studies effect each field? Should creativity be considered only for or in the art? Could scientific study literally be “creative”? Is philosophy always difficult? Is art unreachable and Is communication always be/stay connected? How could be possible to consider these fields all together and construct new thoughts which remind us of the triptych? If you are willing to answer all these questions as well as the other questions which give rise to these questions, we invite you to contribute to the Triptych: Philosophy-Art-Communication in order to find out how these three fields be considered as side by side through togetherness and/or disjunctions of Philosophy-Art-Communication and show the results to everyone. 

The suggested themes below are given in order to give you an idea on how to contribute to this issue. Provided that you study each theme with the concepts that make this triptych, we would like you to remind that you are not limited with these. You are only and only limited with the Triptych.   

-Philosophy of Communication    -Old / New            -Same/Different        -Visual Communication

-Philosophy of Art                         -Traditional               -Digital Art              -Digital Game

-Theories of Art and Aesthetics      -Historical                -Modern                   -Good/Bad                         

-History of Art                                 -Everyday               -Postmodern              -Beautiful/Ugly                  

- Art Movements                           -Conceptual                -Face / Body              -Intertextuality      

-History of Communication          -Reflective                   -Silence                    - Experience

- Theories of Communication        -Self-Reflective          -Interdisciplinary      -Play

-History of Philosophy                 -Contemporary Philosophy   -Pop Philosophy -Hermeneutics           

You may submit your writings/studies/works to our upcoming issue, in which we cannot accept those that are not related to the theme, until September 15, 2024 to the following link: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/journal/2305/submission/step/manuscript/new 

Theme Editors: Burcu Canar,   Evren Sertalp

University of Fribourg (Switzerland)

The Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Fribourg (Switzer- land) invites applications for the full-time open-rank position of Professor in “Digital Journalism" (Assistant Professor with tenure track or Full Professor). The professorship is with the Department of Communication and Media Research (DCM) and comes with one fully funded PhD position. The ap- pointment begins in fall 2025.

Profile:

The professorship requires a specialization in digital journalism research from a social sci- entific perspective. In their research, candidates should critically explore how digitalization reshapes the production and dissemination of news. They may focus, for instance, on the transformation of journalistic practices and routines, newsroom structures, business models and editorial strategies, and/or the interrelationship between journalism and society. Candidates have to be familiar with social scientific research methods (both qualitative and quantitative). Additional research experience in media economics is not mandatory but would be of particular interest.

Language:

Teaching will be in French and English. Ideally, candidates should also be able to teach in German. The University of Freiburg is bilingual (French/German). Knowledge of German (level B1 oral) is expected. If this is not the case, it must be acquired within two years of taking the position.

Requirements:

Candidates must have completed a Ph.D. in communication studies or a closely related discipline (with proven experience in media and communication). They need a high-quality publication record, as well as positively evaluated teaching experience in the required specializa- tion. Moreover, experience in acquiring competitive third-party research grants is advantageous.

Teaching:

The teaching load is 6-7 hours per week and includes courses on (digital) journalism re- search (bachelor level), on media economics (bachelor level) as well as on social science research methods (master level), and on topics within the candidate’s research specialization (master level).

The University of Fribourg offers excellent working conditions and a competitive salary. Seeking to promote an equitable representation of women and men, the University strongly encourages applica- tions from women. Having signed the DORA declaration, the University of Fribourg emphasizes qual- itative assessment of academic achievement.

Candidates should send their complete application in a single PDF file that includes

• a cover letter describing their motivation and qualifications for the position;

• a CV including lists of their publications, presentations, teaching experience, research projects/grants, and contribution to academic service (administrative duties);

• teaching evaluations;

• a one-page statement of current and future research interests (research statement);

• a one-page statement with the candidate’s teaching philosophy (teaching statement);

• the names of three professional references;

• three academic papers recently published, forthcoming, or under revision

to Ms. Jolanda Wehrli (jolanda.wehrli@unifr.ch), secretary at the DCM, until September 22, 2024.

October 28-31, 2024

Lisbon (Portugal)

Deadline: September 13, 2024

The Media Literacy and Civic Cultures Lab – MeLCi Lab (Lusófona University, CICANT) is organising its IV Autumn School on 28-31 October 2024 in the form of a bootcamp to boost research hands-on skills. The school is designed to provide PhD students and postdocs with practical knowledge of classical and cutting-edge research methods. To this end, the school embraces an interdisciplinary approach by welcoming debate from different theories and methodological integration (qualitative and quantitative). The School will bring together a group of international scholars for workshops and keynotes. 

The upcoming MeLCi Lab Autumn School 2024 specifically aims to introduce PhD students and early research fellows in communication science, social science and related fields to the transformative influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on their field. The focus is on the intersection of AI, media literacy, and civic cultures. Notable scientists such as Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Web and a leading advocate for data rights, and Yoshua Bengio, a pioneer of Deep Learning, emphasise the criticality of understanding AI in our ever-more digital society.

For example, as social media platforms increasingly use AI and machine learning algorithms to curate content, it is fundamental to understand how these algorithms work and influence online interactions. Authors such as Safiya Noble (2018), author of "Algorithms of Oppression", and Eli Pariser (2011), who coined the term "filter bubble", have shed light on this issue. They highlight the importance of comprehending the biases and assumptions built into these algorithms and how they can inadvertently perpetuate harmful stereotypes or misinformation. Thus, Algorithmic literacy is crucial for future researchers in our field to understand how AI can empower and challenge democratic communication.

Understanding AI is no longer an option; it is necessary, particularly for communication science students. Inspired by works from scholars such as Nick Bostrom and Stuart Russell, this school will provide students with a non-technical understanding of AI, its implications, and its applications in communication science. We aim to demystify AI and illuminate its role in the future of communication.

The school will be held in English.

Call for proposals deadline

Deadline: 13 September 2024

See details about “how to apply”  a proposal at the bottom of this page.

Format: Online

Themes:

1.1. Introduction to AI: a non-technical overview

1.2. Role of AI in media: from media production to consumption

1.3. AI and information disorder: understanding AI's role in the spread and detection of the so-called “fake news”

1.4. Algorithms: understanding how to study the roles and effects of algorithmic literacy

1.5. AI in civic cultures: how AI is transforming civic participation

1.6. Ethical considerations: discussing the ethical implications of using AI in media and communication

Sub-themes:

2.1. Innovative Methodologies

2.2. Linking big and small data methods

2.3. Qualitative and participatory research

2.4. Social Platforms for Research

2.5. Communication research: scientific writing and dissemination

2.6. Arts-based dissemination

Dates

28 to 31 October 2024 – IV MeLCi Lab Autumn School

Schedule

Check here for details.

How to apply

Interested graduate students and postdocs must send their application  (in English) by 13 September 2024, including,

1. Updated Curriculum Vitae (máx. 3 pages);

2. Candidate’s research statement that includes a description of their doctoral dissertation, research questions and methods (máx. 2 pages);

3. Motivation letter specifying what you bring and expect from the School (indicating explicitly what themes and sub-themes are of your particular interest) máx. 1-2 pages;

Send your application as a ZIP file to [melci.lab@ulusofona.pt] with the subject “Application for the IV MeLCi Lab Autumn School”

Call for Proposals Deadline: 13 September 2024

Notification of Acceptance: 30 September 2024

Target-group

PhD Students

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

Maximum number of participants

20 students

Fee *

Lusófona University, CICANT PhD Students 70 euros

PhD students from other Institutions 100 euros

Other 150 euros

*The best participant will not pay the fee; one Equity Scholarship to support the fee will also be awarded.

October 25, 2024

Venezia-Mestre (Italy)

Deadline: July 30, 2024

Dear ECREA mailing list subscribers, 

we are pleased to share with you an academic initiative on the topic of Communication.

"COMUNICAZIONE TRA SAPERI E SAPER-FARE" is a day of studies promoted by the Salesian University Institute of Venice - IUSVE. It will take place on 25 october 2024 in Venezia-Mestre.

Scholars who, from different disciplinary approaches, address their research interests to communication issues are invited to participate with a contribution of both a theoretical and empirical nature.  

THE LANGUAGE OF THE CONFERENCE IS ITALIAN BUT ALSO PROPOSALS IN ENGLISH WILL BE WELCOME.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE DIFFERENT PANELS IS AVAILABLE HERE (https://www.iusve.it/call-for-abstract-comunicazione-tra-saperi-e-saper-fare/#:~:text=IUSVE%20organizza%20una%20giornata%20di,alcuni%20importanti%20temi%20di%20riflessione).

Please send your abstract proposal (max 600 words), indicating your first name, last name, affiliation, proposal title and the panel you would like to take part in, to the email: ricerca.comunicazione@iusve.it.

- The deadline for submission of abstracts is 30/07/2024

- Notification of acceptance is expected by 10/09/2024

- There is no fee to participate, but you must register by 30 August 15/09/2025

- The detailed programme, with logistical information, will be circulated from 30/09/2024

Wishing that this could be an opportunity to discuss important issues, we will look forward to your proposals.

The organising committee

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Noah Mozes Department of Communication and Journalism at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem invites outstanding candidates in communication to apply for an open-rank tenure-track position starting July, 2025.

The department is particularly interested in candidates specializing in research areas in media and communication that can relate to and complement the work currently done at the department, which focuses on digital and social media; political communication and conflict; journalism studies; social psychological processes; language, discourse and communication; visual media; as well as theory, history, and philosophy of communication and media.

Applicants must hold a Ph.D. degree at the time of hire, and demonstrate an active research program including peer-reviewed international publications in the relevant area. The person hired will teach introductory and advanced courses in communications in their areas of specialization. They will also be expected to supervise Masters and Ph.D. students and to contribute to departmental and university service. Courses can be taught in English.

The deadline for submissions is 30 September 2024.

Full application details can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/2p92fs77

Inquiries should be directed to Professor Amit Pinchevski, Chair of the Department of Communication and Journalism: amitpi@mail.huji.ac.il.

October 8-11, 2024

Doblerstr. 33, 72074 Tübingen, Germany

Deadline: July 15, 2024

https://uni-tuebingen.de/de/263562

Organized by: Michael Herrmann (Tübingen Forum for Science and Humanities, University of Tübingen) and Dr. Helena Atteneder (Institute of Media Studies, University of Tübingen)

Human societies constantly change at many levels, from individuals to communities and nation states. Historically and at present societies have become more or less polarized, more or less cooperative, more or less integrated. 

To understand and perhaps even predict these trends and their consequences, there is a complex interaction between the individual, the social and the structural. Network as a basic principle structuring society, as a metaphor for human interaction, is a relevant subject for various research disciplines, long before Castells developed the "network society" as a relevant label for a certain form of social organisation.

Complex networks – ranging from the Internet to different (online) social networks – influence our lives. From communication networks, social networks, biological systems, neural networks, to technological networks such as the internet: many of these networks are similar in the sense that they share basic properties.

It is thus important to understand these real-world networks themselves and the factors which influence its dynamics. Computer-intensive mathematical modelling approaches quantify and infer potential regularities and patterns in order to uncover a correspondence to the real world target system.

How can we use networks as a tool for both theoretical and empirical investigations?

Questions we raise:

1) What are suitable application areas?

2) How can graphs/dynamical systems/agent-based models/visualization methods be used as a tool to understand (unexpected) collective behavior?

3) To what extent do the formal properties of (computational) networks influence the emergence of biases (and inequality)?

4) What social implications can arise from the application of a commercialized network logic and how can these be critically analyzed?

5) What are the challenges involved and what are the methodological limitations?

Invited Speakers (confirmed):

Luis F. Alvarez Léon, Geography, Darthmouth College, USA, https://geography.dartmouth.edu/people/luis-f-alvarez-leon

Fariba Karimi, Computational Social Science, Graz University of Technology, Austria, https://csh.ac.at/fariba-karimi/

Daniel Kostic, Philosophy, Leiden University, Netherlands, http://daniel-kostic.weebly.com/

Melanie Nagel, Political Science, University of Tübingen, Germany, https://fatk-tuebingen.de/das-team/melanie-nagel/

Joan Ramon Rodriguez-Amat, Media and Communication Science, Sheffield Hallam University, UK, https://www.shu.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/staff-profiles/joan-rodriguez-amat

Poster/Presentation sessions for participants

During the Autumn School there will be two 90 min slots for poster/presentation sessions. In addition to the presentations by our invited speakers and intensive workshop sessions, participants will have the opportunity to present their own research here and receive valuable feedback. Participants can present and discuss their current research projects (dissertations, projects, paper drafts, etc.) that should be thematically connected to the overall topic of the Autumn School. Please indicate in your application whether you wish to present and, if applicable, submit an abstract (max. 300 words, excluding literature). The selection of contributions will be made by the program committee.

Application & Deadlines

The Call for Applications is distributed internationally. We welcome submissions from master students, PhD students and early career researchers from all disciplines. Please submit the following

● Your CV

● A short motivation letter (half to one page)

● An abstract of max. 300 words (exc. literature) in case you want to present in the poster/presentation session

to: info@tfw.uni-tuebingen.de

Deadline: July 15th, 2024

Applicants will be notified latest by July 31st, 2024. 

If you have any questions, please contact info@tfw.uni-tuebingen.de.

About us:

The Tübingen Forum for Science is a central institution of the University of Tübingen. The "Forum" aims to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue, by crossing institutional and disciplinary boundaries. It connects international students and (young) researchers through Summer & Winter schools and organizes academic conferences on interdisciplinary timely and fundamental questions. Promoting interdisciplinary collaboration in teaching and research may help tackle social problems which cannot be addressed by individual disciplines in isolation. We are funded by Udo Keller Stiftung Forum Humanum and Tübingen University.

You can find further information here: https://uni-tuebingen.de/tfw