ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

July 13 – 15, 2021

PhD Workshop: July 12, 2021

Online conference, hosted by Faculty of Science, Technology and Media, Mid Sweden University, Sweden

Deadline:​ February 15, 2021

International Sustainable Development Research Society (ISDRS) is pleased to announce its 27th annual conference

TRACK: Communication for sustainability

The new track Communication for sustainability was created in response of the urgency to take action and interact to achieve the UN Sustainable Development goals of the UN and contribute to new solutions for large scale societal challenges that we are experiencing. Communication scholars have an important role in counteracting social and environmental crises in developing and developed countries and provide knowledge that contributes to social transformation and sustainable development.

This track invites communication scholars and scholars from other disciplines to present and discuss research focusing on the role of communication in relation to sustainable development. Communication research has an important role to play in this transformation.

Communication is critical for understanding the needs for change, to develop change initiatives and to implement change in organizations and societies. How we communicate about change is decisive for how we perceive the need for change and what actions we perform. Leadership is inextricably linked with communication, since communication enables leaders to motivate and inspire – or to rule and divide. Theory on the communicative constitution of organizing illustrates that communication processes including conversations, meetings, texts, messages, information, meaning, and media shape the creation of organizational objectives and collective action. This is important, since business as usual is inadequate and corporations are changing their mode of operations from merely philanthropic activities to changing their mode of operation in order to address complex pressing global issues and contribute to solve environmental and social problems that range from environmental pollution to work policies for employees. To contribute to sustainable development is a necessity to run a business organization effectively, and to build trustworthy relations with publics and stakeholders. By employing the knowledge on how to use strategic communication to form relations with publics and stakeholders, increase consciousness of social and environmental issues, and sustainable options, and influence behaviors.

Communication is also fundamental to increase knowledge about new innovations and sustainable solutions and research results that can be implemented in practice. With communication materials, campaigns we can inform the general public, engage with them, raise awareness on specific actions etcetera. Without communication, there will be no transformation.

We favor a broad range of subjects in this track, and welcome research from all perspectives: critical, postmodern, interpretive and post-positivist. We urge researchers studying organizational communication, strategic communication, public relations, environmental communication, health communication, media and communication, and journalism to submit abstracts to make a difference.

Length and content of the proposed abstract to the track

Each proposed abstract should be within 300 and 500 words (including all text)

• shall be best organized (without headlines) along usual structures (e.g. intro/method/findings or results/ discussion/conclusions)
• does not need to, but can include references
• shall provide in a final section
• a. to which SDG(s) and SDG-target(s) their proposed abstract especially relate to (e.g. “SDG+Target: 14.1.”).
• b. a brief indication how the proposed contribution relates to the topic of the Conference (“ACCELERATING PROGRESS TOWARDS SDG’s IN TIMES OF CRISIS”).

Abstracts which do not outline points 3.a.) AND 3.b.) might not be given special consideration in the selection for potential publications and might be considered less relevant in the Review.

Potential publication channels

With regard to potential publications, depending on the number and quality of contributions the following publication opportunities have already been envisaged:

1. A special issue in one of the communication journals
2. An edited book on Communication for sustainable development
3. Sustainable Development. Online ISSN: 1099-1719.
4. Environmental Policy and Governance. Online ISSN: 1756-9338.

Submission

Please submit your abstract by visiting the abstract submission system (you will be required to setup an account first) at

https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/login?redirect=/stages/2332/submitter

Deadline for abstracts: January 15 2021

PLEASE ALSO CONSIDER A PARTICIPATION IN OUR PHD-WORKSHOP! https://2021.isdrsconferences.org/phd-workshop/

https://2021.isdrsconferences.org/communication-for-sustainability/

We accept abstracts, 300-500 words until January 15

Track chairs:

Catrin Johansson, Mid Sweden University, Sweden.

Catrin.Johansson@miun.se

Wim Elving, Hanzehogeschool Groningen, The Netherlands.

w.j.l.elving@pl.hanze.nl

Jody Jahn, University of Colorado Boulder, USA.

Jody.Jahn@colorado.edu

CONFERENCE:

This online conference covers sustainability in relation to all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the virtue of the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. It aims to investigate the most current trends and implications for the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development in the Global North and Global South.

We would like to kindly invite you to submit abstracts in a track relevant to your research. Submission deadline is January 31, 2021.

More information about the conference, tracks, submission of abstracts and registration can be found on https://2021.isdrsconferences.org/.

Please also have a look at the PhD workshop that will be held on July 12, 2021.

More information on https://2021.isdrsconferences.org/phd-workshop/.

Technische Universität Braunschweig

At Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute of Communication Sciences, Prof. Dr. Monika Taddicken, and Institute of Educational Psychology, Prof. Dr. Barbara Thies, three positions are vacant as of July 1st(or by agreement) in a fixed-term employment (for four years) in the Junior Research Group “Communicating Scientists: Challenges, Competencies, Contexts (fourC)” as

1 Postdoctoral researcher (m/f/d), EG 14 TV-L

2 Graduate research assistants (m/f/d), EG 13 TV-L

with the possibility of a doctorate and other qualification goals. The Junior Research Group focuses on analyses of the communicating scientists and their challenges – both on the individual and the institutional level – for an effective science communication to the public. Within the research group, individual and institutional level are systematically combined, research methods are triangulated. The JRG leader (assuming solid experience in science communication research and / or technology acceptance research) coordinates the project and supervises the PhD students: one of whom is more focussing on the individual and institutional analyses, the development of the institutional frame and the transfer to the public, the other more on the development, realization, evaluation and implemention of the training and its transfer. However, both will work hand in hand. The leader is responsible for the consolidation of their work.

Tasks:

Researchers will work closely together and will get the chance to work independently and pursue research that makes important contributions to the success of the Junior Research Group. They will closely cooperate with a multidisciplinary group of value partners The postdoctoral researcher will take on leadership tasks and coordinate the research efforts of the graduate research assistants. All researchers will present their work at workshops and conferences across the globe.

Requirements:

• Very well completed scientific higher education in the field of communication science or related courses of studies (Master’s degree) and/or psychology,
• Professional excellence (particularly of postdoctoral researcher)
• Strong interest in science communication and empirical research methods
• Very good knowledge of empirical methods and data evaluation (SPSS or R); knowledge of computational methods advantageous
• Motivation for a doctorate or further qualification goals in the subject area
• Very good knowledge of written and spoken English
• International visibility and experiences in international research (particularly of postdoctoral researcher)
• Ability to work independently, commitment and team spirit.

Payment depends on the assignment of tasks and fulfilment of personal requirements up to EG 13 TV-L (for the graduate research assistants) respectively EG 14 TV-L (for the postdoctoral researcher).

The Technische Universität Braunschweig has set itself the strategic goal of significantly increasing the proportion of women. Female scientists are therefore strongly encouraged to apply. Disabled persons with the same aptitude will be given preference. Proof must be enclosed. Applications from people of all nationalities are welcome.

Personal data will be stored for the purposes of the application procedure.

Applications with the usual documents (letter of motivation, curriculum vitae in tabular form, copies of certificates, possibly a one-page sketch of possible project topics; please summarize in one file) should be sent by e-mail to March 15th, 2021:

Technische Universität Braunschweig

Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft

Prof. Dr. Monika Taddicken

Bienroder Weg 97

38106 Braunschweig

m.taddicken@tu-braunschweig.de

Application costs cannot be refunded.

University of Sheffield - Department of Journalism Studies

Apply here: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/CDY332/lecturer?fbclid=IwAR1oCvrsejjsXsrPsOeIPHamVRXwMGeIJTiHkDhJ8k-CVPwslkON3Y8hp_M

Location: Sheffield

Salary: £41,526 to £49,553 (Grade 8)

Hours: Full Time

Contract Type: Permanent

Placed On: 2nd February 2021

Closes: 1st March 2021

Job Ref: UOS027475

Salary: Grade 8 (£41,526 - £49,553 per annum. Potential to progress to £55,750 per annum through sustained contribution)

The Department of Journalism Studies is one of the major journalism research and teaching establishments in Europe. Our staff are drawn from both journalism and academia and we have an excellent network of national and international contacts, in journalism, civil society organisations and in the academic world. We have a thriving international community of postgraduate research students, taught postgraduates and undergraduates. Our alumni are working in newsrooms in the UK and abroad as reporters, editors, producers, presenters while others have gone on into the media and communications sector more broadly as well as into academic careers.

We seek applications from ambitious, highly motivated and talented individuals who will be keen to play an active role in maintaining and enhancing the department’s national and international reputation for research and teaching excellence. The appointee will make a key contribution to advancing the competitive position of the Department. They will also contribute to our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

We are committed to a teaching and research programme that takes an increasingly interdisciplinary approach to the fields of journalism, politics, communication and digital media and we are seeking applicants who will further enhance the next phase of its research and impact profile in these areas. You will hold a PhD in a relevant subject area, have an established research profile evidenced through publications in high quality international peer reviewed journals. We would particularly welcome applicants that will be able to contribute to our MA courses in Global Journalism and International Public and Political Communication in the areas of (new) media and digital cultures, online communities and practices and digital media and communication and information practices used both by journalists and user communities.

We’re one of the best not-for-profit organisations to work for in the UK. The University’s Total Reward Package includes a competitive salary, a generous Pension Scheme and annual leave entitlement, as well as access to a range of learning and development courses to support your personal and professional development.

We build teams of people from different heritages and lifestyles from across the world, whose talent and contributions complement each other to greatest effect. We believe diversity in all its forms delivers greater impact through research, teaching and student experience.

To find out what makes the University of Sheffield a remarkable place to work, watch this short film: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LblLk18zmo, and follow @sheffielduni and @ShefUniJobs on Twitter for more information.

We value your feedback on the quality of our adverts. If you have a comment to make about the overall quality of this advert, or its categorisation then please send us your feedback.

University of Strathclyde

We are currently advertising a Chancellor's Fellow post in Race/ Migration/ Postcolonial Studies at University of Strathclyde. Applications in any of the subject areas in the School of Humanities - which includes Journalism, Media & Communication - will be considered.

We already have multi-disciplinary expertise in areas such as: race and digital health; queer postcolonial writing; diaspora and migration; transnational history; histories of decolonisation. We now aim to support the development of an outstanding early/mid-career researcher whose work creates synergies between research areas across the School, as well as facilitating further inter-disciplinary collaboration across the Faculty.

We particularly welcome candidates whose research sits within the School’s broad research themes: Heritage, Culture and Place; Communication, Language and Translation; or Gender.

The successful applicant would teach in their home discipline, as well as contributing to research-led curriculum development at School/Faculty level.

Deadline 21st February.

Full details: 

Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow in Race/Migration/Post-Colonial Studies (Humanities) (342281)

https://strathvacancies.engageats.co.uk/…g==(strathvacancies.engageats.co.uk)

Deadline: March 31, 2021

The Annual of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" - Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication invites authors to submit articles for its issue 28, year 2021.

Researchers are invited to submit their original research articles 5 000 –7 000 words in length. The authors who have an interest in publishing their articles must consult the journal’s guidelines for manuscript submissions prior to submission. All submitted articles will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. All manuscripts must be submitted through the online submission manager Annual of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.

Special issue of the Journal of Language and Politics

Issue edited by Benjamin De Cleen, Jana Goyvaerts, Nico Carpentier, Jason Glynos, Yannis Stavrakakis and Ilija Tomanić Trivundža

The entire issue can be accessed via https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/15699862/20/1

This special issue of the Journal of Language and Politics considers the past, present and future of discourse theory as a conceptual framework and interdisciplinary research practice that is deployed across a wide range of fields, including political studies, discourse studies, media and communication studies, critical management studies, and policy studies.

The focus of the special issue is on work inspired by the poststructuralist and post-Marxist discourse theory originally developed by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe (1985), but one central aim of the special issue is to highlight the interdisciplinarity of discourse theory and the dialogue betweend discourse theory and other traditions.

There are eleven articles in this special issue. Following the English translation of a text by Ernesto Laclau hitherto only published in French - Politics as the Construction of the Unthinkable - the ten subsequent polemic-programmatic articles reflect on ways forward for discourse theory.

The aim being to further discourse theory, the editors' invitation to the authors, originating from different disciplines, was to critically and constructively engage with discourse theory, reflect on its strengths but also its limitations, and to propose paths for future theoretical development as well as for rigorous and innovative research practice.

Table of contents

1. An introduction to the special issue on ‘Discourse Theory: Ways forward for theory development and research practice’

Benjamin De Cleen, Jana Goyvaerts, Nico Carpentier, Jason Glynos, Yannis Stavrakakis and Ilija Tomanić Trivundža

pp.: 1–9

https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20077.dec

2. Politics as construction of the unthinkable

Ernesto Laclau (translated by Marianne Liisberg, Arthur Borriello and Benjamin De Cleen)

pp.: 10–21

https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20078.lac

3. Moving discourse theory forward

Benjamin De Cleen, Jana Goyvaerts, Nico Carpentier, Jason Glynos and Yannis Stavrakakis

pp.: 22–46

https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20076.dec

4. Discourse, concepts, ideologies

Michael Freeden

pp.: 47–61

https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20051.fre

5. Logics, discourse theory and methods

Jason Glynos, David Howarth, Ryan Flitcroft, Craig Love, Konstantinos Roussos and Jimena Vazquez

pp.: 62–78

https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20048.gly

6. The political nature of fantasy and political fantasies of nature

Jelle Hendrik Behagel and Ayşem Mert

pp.: 79–94

https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20049.beh

7. Critical fantasy studies

Jason Glynos

pp.: 95–111

https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20052.gly

8. Doing justice to the agential material*

Nico Carpentier

pp.: 112–128

https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20045.car

9. Towards webs of equivalence and the political nomad in agonistic debate

Tom Bartlett and Nicolina Montesano Montessori

pp.: 129–144

https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20046.bar

10. “Symbolic photographs” as floating and empty signifiers

Ilija Tomanić Trivundža and Andreja Vezovnik

pp.: 145–161

https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20050.tom

11. The (discursive) limits of (left) populism

Yannis Stavrakakis

pp.: 162–177

https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20047.sta

12. Beyond populism studies

Benjamin De Cleen and Jason Glynos

pp.: 178–195

https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20044.dec

September 15-17, 2021  (due to Covid-19 postponed from 23-25 September 2020)

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Deadline: March 1, 2021

The 2nd Biennial Conference on Food & Communication

Keynote speaker: CAROLYN STEEL

Food is a key means through which we construct and represent ourselves discursively. Food features as a powerful cultural signifier, often evoking associations with issues of gender, class, race and identity. Food-related activities, such as grocery shopping, meal preparation and eating, along with the public and private spaces in which these activities occur, provide the basis for many of our complex daily communicative practices. Food also is located at the core of many of the most challenging social issues of our time, often manifested in oppressive relations of inequality, and in the placement of food at the center of calls for social justice.

“We are witness to major changes in how the relationships between food systems and consumers are constructed discursively.”

Not surprisingly, food has been an important focus of research across the humanities and social sciences, from history to sociology, cultural studies, political studies and beyond. This conference extends that focus by providing an international platform that foregrounds the role of communication in the production, distribution and consumption of food. The aim of the conference is to address discourses, texts and communication evolving in relation to both widespread dissatisfaction with existing food systems and to visions for a more sustainable and regenerative future of food.

Scholars are invited to explore the cultural and discursive construction of food. This may include analyses of political and policy texts on food sovereignty, food security, food safety and nutrition, food waste, sustainability and climate change; texts produced by the food industry, including advertising, packaging, labeling, menus, social media and other means of food marketing; consumer and media narratives on “the pleasures of the table”; and texts promoting gastronomic tourism, to name just a few.

Today, cumulative food-related crises and controversies have become central to ongoing attempts to address the health of the global population and the planet. As a result, we are witness to major changes in how the relationships between food systems and consumers are constructed discursively.

“In response to these issues, scholars are welcome to explore narratives about the emergence of alternative solutions to current food practices, and new imaginaries about the future of food.”

1 Food as cultural signifier / text / medium, including food as:

• Expression of cultural identity
• Cultural capital
• Object of commodity activism
• Expression of cultural appropriateness
• Expressions and critiques of cultural appropriation
• Basis of ritual and community bonding

2 Representations of food, including:

• Journalistic and documentary coverage of the food and agricultural industries
• Food as the focus of entertainment media (narrative cinema, reality TV, celebrity programs, etc.)
• Food in social media
• Commercial communication about food (advertising, PR, lobbying, industry narratives)
• Political discourses (e.g., food safety, sovereignty, security; sustainability; regenerative agriculture; access to food; food deserts; animal welfare; etc.)
• Scientific and technical communication

3 Public knowledge (and lack of knowledge) about food, including:

• Food literacy (health, nutrition, safety and risk, etc.)
• Environmental impacts (e.g., waste, pollution, climate change)
• Cultural origins, history, appropriation

4 The mediation of food activism:

• Communication for direct action (protest, demonstration, petition, boycott, etc.)
• Commodity activism (through promotion strategies and consumer choices)

5 Imaginaries about the future of food, including:

• New sources (e.g., insects, algae, in vitro meat)
• Genetic engineering of plants and animals
• Hydroponics
• Aquaculture
• Transparency, traceability, blockchain, etc.
• Food during and after COVID-19
• Visions of alternative cultural, political and economic futures of food production, distribution and consumption

Abstracts of 300-500 words and queries can be submitted to: foodandcommunication@fdv.uni-lj.si

Abstracts may also be submitted via the web page below where further information can be found.

www.foodcommunication.net

Notifications of acceptance will be sent out in early April 2021.

Associated costs Fee

Fee for conference attendance is 120 EUR. Food is included.

An optional conference dinner costs 35 EUR (three courses of local dishes and local wine). Dinner will take place on Thursday evening, September 16th, 2021 at Gostiln na gradu.

Travel and accommodation costs will need to be covered by participants themselves.

The conference will take place in-person if traveling is possible, with some remote/online coverage. If traveling is not possible for some participants due to health concerns related to COVID-19, we will make it possible for those individuals to participate remotely (online).

We kindly ask participants that submitted their abstracts last year, when the conference was cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic, to resubmit.

Dr. Andreja Vezovnik, University of Ljubljana, Chair of Local Committee and contact person

Dr. Ana Tominc, Queen Margaret University Edinburgh, Chair of Program Committee

Moment

Deadline: March 1, 2021

Critical studies of men and masculinities, in Hearn’s account (2002; 2008), have been rapidly developing as of the 1980s. Met with great suspicion at first, the field is now widely accepted within the critical gender studies, especially along with Connell’s pioneering studies on “hegemonic masculinity” and “masculinities” (Connell, 1987; 1995; 2000; Connell and Messerschmidt, 2005). There is no doubt that the criticisms and discussions of feminist and LGBTQIA+ studies have played a considerable part in the expansion of the field. Not to mention Coles’ “multiple dominant masculinities” (2007; 2008) and Anderson’s concepts “inclusive masculinity” and “orthodox masculinity” (Anderson, 2009; Anderson and McCormack, 2018), all of which have made significant contributions to the field.

As we all know, gender identities could be inclusive as well as dismissive, just as is the case with any other identity category, and reproduce themselves through not only universalities but also partialities. Likewise, as argued by Slootmaeckers (2019) regarding “competing masculinities”, “technologies of the self” indicate the productive forces whereas “technologies of othering” indicate the destructive forces in identity construction.

Political strategies of marginalization, domination, and discrimination inextricably contain elements of oppression and consent based on heteronormative motives and the sustainability of patriarchy, just like all discriminatory discourses such as nationalist, homophobic, misogynist, and speciesist discourses.

Othering strategies of “masculinities” not only marginalize the cluster of “men” that they are within but also dominate the subject positions other than the “masculine subject”, strengthening the systems of power. They secure and maintain their positions in each and every critical phase of the construction of male subject’s identity from infancy to childhood and adulthood through such discourses as being a “good” boy, a “good” father, and an “ideal” husband and brother, all of which rely on family, government and laws, the fundamental elements of gender.

The current pandemic has revealed even more the circumstances created and sustained by masculinities. Criticizing men and masculinities seems to be even more significant today when male domination, heterosexism, and discrimination and violence against women, LGBTQIA+, animals, and nature have increased to a great extent. Reflecting on alternatives and emphasizing the possibility of other masculinities is now of utmost importance.

As Moment Journal, we ask “Where are men and masculinities headed to?” in current circumstances.

The suggested themes for the Masculinities issue include -but are not limited to:

• Men, masculinities and health
• Men, masculinities and the body
• Men, masculinities and sports
• Masculinities at work
• Masculinity and violence
• Norms and codes of masculinity
• Masculinity discourses
• Masculinity studies
• Cultures of masculinity
• Spaces of masculinity
• Relationships between men
• Homophobia, transphobia and masculinities
• Heteronormativity and masculinities
• Patriarchy, male dominance and masculinity
• Gedagogies of masculinities
• Gender regime and masculinities
• Masculinities and sexuality
• Representations of masculinity in the media
• Masculinities in series and films
• Masculinities in social media
• Masculinities in literature
• Life cycles of men
• Socialization of men
• Ideals of masculinity
• Sons, fathers and masculinities in family
• Militarism, nationalism and masculinities
• Men, masculinities and change
• Alternative masculinities
• Feminism and masculinities
• Masculinity theories
• Social movements regarding masculinities

You can submit your papers to https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/moment until March 1, 2021.

Unfortunately, we do not accept papers out of the theme.

Theme Editors:

Emek Çaylı Rahte & Mehmet Bozok

SUBMISSIONS | AUTHOR GUIDELINES

References:

Anderson, E. (2009). Inclusive Masculinity: The Changing Nature of Masculinities. New York: Routledge.

Anderson, E. & McCormack, M. (2018). Inclusive Masculinity Theory: Overview, reflection and refinement. Journal of Gender Studies, 27(5), 547-561. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2016.1245605

Coles, T. (2008). Finding Space in the field of Masculinity: Lived Experiences of Men’s Masculinities. Journal of Sociology, 44(3), 233-248. https://doi.org/10.1177/1440783308092882

(2007). Negotiating the Field of Masculinity: The Production and Reproduction of Multiple Dominant Masculinities. Men and Masculinities, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X07309502

Connell, R. (2005 [1995]). Masculinities. Berkeley: University of California Press.

(2000). The Men and The Boys. St Leonards: Allen & Unwin.

(1987). Gender and Power: Society, the Person and Sexual Politics. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Connell, R. and Messerschmidt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept. Gender and Society, 19(6), 829-859.

Slootmaeckers, K. (2019). Nationalism as competing masculinities: homophobia as a technology of othering for hetero- and homonationalism. Theor Soc, 48, 239–265 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-019-09346-4

May 5-8, 2021

Online conference (hosted from Siegen, Germany)

Deadline (EXTENDED): January 31, 2021

The 4th International Geomedia Conference

The phrase “off the grid” is commonly understood to refer to the voluntary decoupling from established infrastructure networks such as electricity, water or gas supply. The implication is one of material independence and a self-sufficient lifestyle. Going “off the grid” means making yourself invisible by rebuking the social and technological structures that normally organize our lives. It is entering, or returning to, uncharted territory. The grid from which you disappear is often imagined like a web that we are woven into, at once providing security – of cultural connectivity, opportunities to work, or societal participation – while also limiting individual, political or technological agency.

The grid also speaks to the geographic coordinate system, an all-encompassing global structure which makes it possible to accurately locate any point on earth. This unified grid represents a dominant ordering principle for everything “locatable”. It is part of the technological infrastructure of many platforms, services and applications which fall under the definition of geomedia, most prominently the Global Positioning System (GPS). In this regard, “off the grid” is a move away from such Cartesian notions of space towards a situated relational account of (quotidian) practices carried out with, through, or in relation to, geomedia.

Going off the grid has also been seen as a form of renunciation of the conveniences of the late capitalist (media) world in order to lead a supposedly slower, less stressful and eventually less superficial life – as inspired by the transcendentalism of the likes of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. But with so many people relying on the grid for purposes of work and entertainment in recent times, what does this mean for our relation to geomedia? What does going off the grid look like now? This presupposes, of course, that there is ipso facto a grid – an infrastructure – which one can connect to freely at any time. But a great number of people do not get to choose to decouple from the grid – a fact that speaks to questions of access to the socio-material infrastructures underpinning geomedia and associated communities and practices.

Arguably, practices of surveillance and countersurveillance concern the implicit or even involuntary participation in corresponding infrastructures. Here, optimization for a range of tasks and activities routinely involves a certain kind of surveillance; a default setting in the running of all kinds of media platforms used for navigation, video streaming or online gaming. In this, surveillance is wrapped up with profit-seeking practices, and the extraction of value from the ‘data fumes’ of platform users, who enter a form of “cooperation without consensus” as they stream movies, hire taxis, host videoconferences, ride public transport, or go on dates. In these various iterations, surveillance might look different, and/or be practiced in distinct ways to traditional forms of state or corporate surveillance, increasingly dependent on technological protocols and standards that not only underpin the grid but also govern our use of geomedia. One consequence is that the relation between private and public spheres is transformed, and introduces new questions of governance, exploitation and marginalization. It is of crucial importance, who is online, and who is offline might as well not exist. Yet these optimization processes are also subject to countermeasures that constitute new modes of existence – from anonymous accounts and the use of VPNs, to location spoofing, and other tricks and techniques to hide, erase, or obfuscate user activity and location.

Yet the grid is not all-encompassing, nor all-powerful. Whilst countersurveillance efforts resist, fight back and oppose, alternative geomedia projects imagine the grid differently – sometimes even plotting its demise. From community broadband initiatives, to independent media organizations, post-capitalist streaming platforms, and citizen science projects; there is a continued, concerted effort to build alternatives to state-based, or company-owned geomedia, operating at various scales from the hyper-local to the global. Through these efforts, organizers and participants question the foundations of our collective social and technological infrastructures, redefining what it is to care, share, distribute, cultivate or reallocate funds, resources, opportunities and ideas – bringing new geomedia, and new imaginaries of hope (or perhaps fear), into existence.

Keynote Speakers:

• Caren Kaplan – University of California at Davis, USA
• Nanna Verhoeff – Utrecht University, Netherlands

• A.N. Other - tbc

Suggested paper topics include, but are not limited to:

• Politics, philosophy and ethics of going off grid
• Grid as Network, Grid as Default (Geomedia and Infrastructure)
• Physical Geography/Relational Geography
• Inhabiting Digital Geographies (VR, hybrid spaces)
• Geomedia in the Global South
• Urban and Rural Geomedia
• The ‘geo’ in Geomedia, the ‘media’ in Geomedia
• Governing Geomedia (smart city, sensor media, infrastructures, surveillance & countersurveillance)
• Geomedia Activism
• Digital detox, rationing, quarantine and isolation
• Geomedia Histories

Geomedia 2021 welcomes proposals for individual papers as well as thematic panels in English.

Individual paper proposals: The author submits an abstract of 200–250 words. Accepted papers are grouped by the organizers into sessions of 5 papers according to thematic area.

Thematic panel proposals: The chair of the panel submits a proposal consisting of 4–5 individual paper abstracts (200-250 words) along with a general panel presentation of 200–250 words.

Discussion forum: The chair of the discussion submits a general panel presentation of 300–450 words along with the names of the discussants and their respective fields of expertise. Please include your local time zone to aid our scheduling efforts.

Mini-workshop: The chair of the workshop submits a workshop outline of 300–450 words. Please include the expectations and/or requirements the participants should fulfill in order to join the workshop. Please include your local time zone to aid our scheduling efforts.

Conference timeline

• October 31st 2020: Submission system opens
• January 31th 2021: Deadline for all papers and proposals
• February 25th 2021: Notes of acceptance and registration opens
• March 15th 2021: Last day of registration

Conference website

Information about registration, conference programme, venue, social events and practical arrangements will be posted continuously on the conference website starting September 1st: www.geomediastudies.com.

Contact: You can reach us at info@geomediastudies.com.

University of Sheffield, UK

The Department of Sociological Studies at The University of Sheffield wishes to recruit a Lecturer and a Senior Lecturer in Digital Media and Society, starting on 1 June 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The positions are open to candidates with expertise in digital media as they relate to core sociological issues (such as inequality, diversity, identity, everyday life or work). We particularly welcome applications from people with expertise in race and digital media or Chinese digital and social media.

Successful candidates will play a key role in contributing to the Department’s portfolio, maintaining its high standards of teaching through delivering modules in Digital Media and Society on BA and MA programmes in this area. They will have a PhD in a relevant discipline, expertise in digital media and society and experience of teaching in this area. They will be able to provide evidence of excellent digital media and society research.

The Department of Sociological Studies is committed to understanding society and social change, and to research and teaching that improves people's lives, especially those of the most vulnerable. We are proud to be one of the top social science research departments in the UK, with an international reputation for excellence in research and teaching across Sociology, Social Policy, Social Work and Digital Media and Society. To find out more about our Digital Media and Society research, visit: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/socstudies/research/digital-media-and-society.

Job Reference Number: UOS027412

Contract Type: Open Ended

Working Pattern: Full-time

Faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences

Department: Department of Sociological Studies

Salary: Lecturer Grade 8: £41,526 - £49,553 per annum with potential to progress to £55,750 per annum through sustained exceptional contribution.

Senior Lecturer Grade 9. £52,560 - £59,135 per annum with potential to progress to £68,529 per annum through sustained exceptional contribution.

Closing Date: 1st March 2021

Interview Dates: Thursday 25 and Friday 26 March 2021.

To find out more go to: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/jobs