ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

September 15-17, 2025

University of Bologna, Italy

Deadline: May 15, 2025

PRIN 2022 PNRR “CELEBR-AGE” FINAL CONFERENCE - organised by Ylenia Caputo, Simona Castellano, Antonella Mascio, Roy Menarini, Sara Pesce, Mario Tirino

Celebrities occupy a prominent position in contemporary (media) society for several reasons. In addition to being a form of ‘commodity’ used by the media industry (Turner, 2004), they represent devices capable of creating connections between the media world and the audience world, acting as models for inspiration.

For an ever-increasing number of subjects (people, users, audiences), the activities, speeches and performances of celebrities become symbolic materials, forms of cultural mediation through which they elaborate their own interpretations of the world. In the words of Nick Couldry (2009), it seems useful to look at celebrity as ‘a generative centre that explains the social world's functioning and its values’, i.e. a privileged access point for interpreting a set of fundamental phenomena affecting society.

Many studies have been carried out on celebrities, starting with the figures who embody this role and the type of relationship they have with their publics, also highlighting their ‘measure’ (macro, meso and micro measure, Marwick, 2007). However, few analyses have accompanied these reflections regarding ‘elderly’ celebrities, i.e. all those celebrities who have reached a certain age threshold. Their role seems to have changed compared to the past and the media spaces in which they appear are increasingly numerous and differentiated (films, TV series, social networks...) bringing significant novelties not only on a spectacular level, but also - and perhaps most importantly - on a cultural and social ones.

Ageing is increasingly evident in the world's population, with a significant impact on the economy, politics and social life of many countries. As a result, the cultural models referred to over the past three decades have changed rapidly: advertising, cinema, sports and other spheres now propagate conceptions of ageing under the banner of intellectual activism, psycho-physical well-being and social prominence.

Within a vast constellation of phenomena, events and products that, in various ways, shape new and often contradictory conceptions of ageing, the cultural discourses elaborated by celebrities assume a clear centrality in the mediatised public scene.

For this reason, it now appears necessary to analyse in depth the link between celebrity and ageing, from a multidisciplinary and transcultural perspective.

We therefore invite scholars of Film Studies, Media Studies, Sociology of Culture and Communication and, more generally, scholars interested in the study of the social, anthropological and cultural dynamics of ageing, to send in a paper relating to (but not limited to) these issues:

- celebrity ageing and fiction (films, TV series, comics, podcasts, novels, etc.);

- the role of celebrities in promoting active ageing;

- the function of ageing and the conversion of celebrity capital into other forms of capital (political, economic, etc.) in post-career life (especially for sports celebrities);

- gender differences among celebrities in their experience of ageing;

- nostalgia and ‘ageing’ celebrities;

- ageing celebrity fandom/fans;

- ageing theories in the Celebrity and Media Studies;

- theoretical analyses of the celebrity-ageing nexus from humanities and social science perspectives;

- the social role of celebrities in the evolution of beauty standards, glamour and desirability in old age;

- the role of social media in cultural discourses on celebrity and ageing;

- comparative analyses of celebrity ageing in different historical, cultural, social and geographical contexts.

Abstracts should be up to 300 words, plus key references. Papers must add a short biographical note of the author (max. 150 words). The evaluation will focus on the relevance to the conference topic, the selection of research objects and the clarity of the use of methodology. Only one abstract per author can be submitted. Pre-constituted panels (3 to 5 participants) will be welcomed.

Papers must be submitted to: celebrageunibo@gmail.com.

The conference will be held in-person only. Submission should be made by May 15th, 2025. Notification of acceptance will be sent by June 30th, 2025.

The keynote speakers will be announced soon.

No fees will be charged, but individual voluntary contributions for social dinners will be encouraged.

Please also note that conference participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements.

Routledge

Deadline: April 20, 2025

An upcoming edited volume, “Media Studies Meet Drug Research,” co-edited by Dr. Piotr Siuda (Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz) and Dr. Michał Wanke (University of Opole), seeks chapter contributions exploring the intersections of media studies and drug research. The book has received initial positive feedback from Routledge’s commissioning editors and aims to bring together scholars from both fields to examine theoretical, empirical, and methodological connections.

Contributions are invited on topics including:

• Theoretical and conceptual frameworks linking media and drug research
  
• Identity, stigma, and agency in drug-related and media environments
  
• Representations, narratives, and moral panics
  
• Digital platforms, online drug markets, and algorithmic influence
  
• Policy, governance, and surveillance across both fields
  
• Methodological and ethical innovations in interdisciplinary research
  

Key deadlines:

*Extended abstract submission: April 20, 2025

*Notification of acceptance: April 30, 2025

*First drafts due: October 1, 2025

*Final drafts due: December 31, 2025

Further details are available here: https://drugsproject.pl/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CfP_Media_Studies_Meet_Drug_Research.pdf 

Scholars interested in contributing are encouraged to submit proposals or share this call with relevant colleagues. For inquiries or discussions on potential topics, please feel free to contact the editors.

September 12, 2025

University of London, UK

Deadline: May 16, 2025

This is a call for papers for the upcoming MeCCSA Postgraduate Network (PGN) Conference, which will be hosted in the Professor Stuart Hall Building at Goldsmiths, University of London on Friday, 12 September 2025.

The theme of this year will be Media and Instability. The committee welcomes contributions that critically explore the intersection of media and instability from any disciplinary, interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary perspective and engage with the theme in unique and innovative ways. Abstracts should be a maximum of 300 words in length.

We are also delighted to offer up to five £50 bursaries to help presenters cover some of their conference-related expenses. Candidates wishing to apply for the bursary will be required to submit a further 200 words detailing the relevance, timeliness and rationale of their work.

Submissions can be completed via the form here, which also contains a detailed introduction to the potential developments of the conference theme. We invite all research from any areas and strongly encourage PhD students to apply even if their proposed work does not directly align with the specific topics we suggest in the form. 

The deadline for abstract submissions is Friday, 16th May 2025 at 12pm (BST).

We look forward to receiving submissions and welcoming all of you to Goldsmiths this year! For further enquiries, do not hesitate to reach out to Miriam Suleiman (msule004@gold.ac.uk).

All very best,

The 2025 MeCCSA PGN Conference Committee

October 23-24, 2025

Sandstraße 4/5, Bremen, Haus der Wissenschaft, ZeMKI, University of Bremen

Deadline: March 15, 2025

20th Anniversary Conference

Media and communication research has traditionally focused on the present, often asking: What are the consequences of each “new” medium? How do digital media and their infrastructures impact contemporary cultures and societies? With this conference, however, we aim to shift the perspective—from analyzing present-day impacts to envisioning future possibilities. What can we learn from the current mediatization and datafication of society to imagine possible futures? What roles might media discourses, technologies, and practices play in ongoing and future societal transformations?

In raising these foundational questions, the conference is broadly situated within the fields of media, communication and information research. Topics may include:

• the role of media discourses, technologies, and practices in narrating and shaping the future;
  
• the importance of media policy and governance in building better futures;
  
• recent technological developments such as communicative AI and their potential role for future media environments;
  
• ways in which our narratives of the past, media history, and archeology shape our imaginaries of the future;
  
• digital gaming and emerging forms of entertainment;
  
• future media-related challenges for future sustainability and quality of life;
  
• and methodologies in media and communication research that address emerging media-related developments from a forward-looking perspective.
  

With discussion topics like these, the ZeMKI’s 20th anniversary conference is not about speculative forecasting but is grounded in media and communication research. We aim to explore long-term trends emerging from today’s media-related transformations and reflect on our visions of the future.

We invite those who have previously engaged with us—our cooperation partners, ZeMKI fellows, guests, and friends—and those interested in starting new conversations. Presentations may cover any area of media and communication research, provided they also address the question of where a mediatized and datafied society might be heading.

Abstracts of up to 500 words can be submitted by March 15th, 2025 via this online submission form.

Participation is free of charge.

Download the call as a PDF file.

Travel

Public Transport

Bremen Central Station is centrally located in the city center and is connected to the public transport network (BSAG) by bus and streetcar. The journey time to the university is 20 minutes (streetcar 6 in the direction of “Universität” to the stop “Bremen Universität/Zentralbereich”).

Car or Intercity Bus

The central bus station is located in the center of Bremen, right next to Bremen Central Station.

The University of Bremen is located on the A27. Coming from the A1 highway, change to the A27 at Bremer Kreuz in the direction of Bremen-Bremerhaven, leave the A27 at the Universität/Horn-Lehe exit and drive in the direction of Centrum/Universität.

Sufficient parking spaces are available on the campus and in the University Technology Park, but these are subject to a charge.

via the Airport

City Airport is well connected by the BSAG streetcar line 6. The journey to the city center takes 11 minutes, to the university it takes 36 minutes (streetcar 6 in the direction of “Universität” to the stop “Bremen Universität/Zentralbereich”).

Accomodation

Bremen has a wide range of accommodation options near the main train station and the airport – Bremen has almost 30 hotels in the city center alone. You can find an overview here.

Radisson Blu Hotel Bremen

Böttcherstr. 2

28195 Bremen

Book Now

H+ Hotel Bremen

Wachtstraße 27-29

28195 Bremen

Book Now

B&B Hotel Bremen-City

Findorffstraße 28-32

28215 Bremen

Book Now

Hotel Ibis Budget (at Main Station)

Bahnhofsplatz 41B

28195 Bremen

Book Now

Andrea Esser, Jeanette Steemers, Alessandro D'Arma

Culture, Media & Creative Industries

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the publication of a free downloadable Final report on young audiences in Europe (16-34) (2025) and their engagement with British screen entertainment (films and TV) on streaming and broadcast services. It compares experiences in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.  Here are the details:

Esser, A., Steemers, J., & D'Arma, A. (2025). Screen encounters with Britain. What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture? FINAL REPORT. King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-204

https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/322938157/Final_Report_20250211.pdf

Please share with colleagues, students and whoever else might be interested.  

Earlier Country reports can also be accessed as follows:

Italy: Esser, A., Hilborn, M., Steemers, J., & D'Arma, A. (October 2024). Screen Encounters with Britain - Interim Report Italy: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture? King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-195 

Netherlands:  Esser, A., Hilborn, M., & Steemers, J. (May 2024). Screen Encounters with Britain - Interim Report Netherlands: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture? . King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-177

Germany: Esser, A., Hilborn, M., & Steemers, J. (September 2023). Screen Encounters with Britain - Interim Report Germany: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture?. King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-139

Denmark: Esser, A., Hilborn, M., & Steemers, J. (September 2023). Screen Encounters with Britain - Interim Report Denmark: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture?. King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-118

Deadline: March 31, 2025

Dear colleagues, 

We invite you to submit abstracts for the planned special issue on ‘Predictive Governance in the 21st Century – Governing Futures through Forecasting Algorithms’. Deadline for 300-500 word abstract submission is 31 March 2025. Invited full texts (max. 8000 words) must be submitted by the end of September 2025. Further information can be found via this link: https://uni-bielefeld.sciebo.de/s/eiU2a6lj28tNceq. 

October 8, 2025

University of Wrocław, Poland

Deadline: March 26, 2025

The University of Wrocław, in collaboration with the CoREM Consortium, invites PhD students to submit presentation proposals for the academic seminar "Intergenerational Pedagogies of Memory: Arts, Curatorship, and Youth Participation," which will take place on October 8, 2025, in Wrocław, Poland.

This event marks the launch of the European-funded project "Collective Remembrance: Engaging Youth Through Curatorial Practices" (CoREM), coordinated by Pompeu Fabra University under the direction of Dr. Macarena García González. The project aims to engage young people in historical memory and genocide education through curatorship at institutions such as the POLIN Museum in Warsaw, the Museum of History of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in Yerevan, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona (MACBA).

The seminar will feature international academics and professionals discussing key topics related to the project. Two PhD students whose research is relevant to CoREM will be selected, offering them the opportunity to contribute to developing methodologies that promote youth participation in curating historical narratives.

Submission Requirements

Applicants must submit:

• Proposal title.
  
• 300-word abstract.
  
• Academic CV.
  
• Motivation letter (400-500 words).
  

All documents must be combined into a single PDF file, named using the format "CoREM_Seminar_[LastName]_[FirstName].pdf," and sent via email to Dr. Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak (justyna.deszcz-tryhubczak@uwr.edu.pl) with the subject: "CoREM Seminar Proposal - [Name]."

Submission deadline: March 26, 2025

Notification of acceptance: April 12, 2025

Selected participants will receive support for accommodation for up to three nights and a travel expense reimbursement of up to 300 EUR. Additionally, they will be invited to attend the internal CoREM Consortium seminar on October 9, 2025.

For more information, please contact Dr. Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak at the email address above.

https://www.upf.edu/web/joviscom/noticies/-/asset_publisher/ZdlBO3f8Y0u1/content/convocat%25C3%25B2ria-per-a-estudiants-de-doctorat-seminari-acad%25C3%25A8mic-sobre-pedagogies-intergeneracionals-de-la-mem%25C3%25B2ria/maximized

October 23-24, 2025

Vilnius, Lithuania, Sinemateka

Deadline: April 15, 2025

Conference organisers: The DIGISCREENS team (University of Bergen, Örebro University, University of Granada, Cinema and Media Research Center at Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre)

Selection committee: Jono Van Belle (Örebro University, Sweden), Angela Rivera (University of Granada, Spain), Lina Kaminskaitė-Jančorienė (Cinema and Media Research Center at Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre)

The rise of streaming platforms has changed the production, distribution and consumption of films and TV series. On the one hand, streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, or Max have increased the possibilities for viewers to watch content produced in a wide variety of national contexts. On the other hand, some policies, such as the European Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVSMD), have sought to level the market between domestic and transnational platform suppliers and protect the production of film and television in Europe (Lobato 2019; Kostovska et al. 2020). This competition to preserve the European audiovisual sector raises a number of questions about programming, content, and viewing habits as well as how audiences negotiate their identities in relation to what they watch.

The DIGISCREENS’ team invites participants to focus on how digital audiovisual platforms contribute to transform social and cultural dynamics in Europe in the era of streaming. This conference, concluding our project, aims to connect researchers working with films and TV series on streaming platforms from the perspective of policy, production and distribution, social and cultural values on screen or audience reception. We hope to bring together industry actors and academics to assess how the current audiovisual media landscape affects (a) the construction of identity and understanding of the other through global, yet culturally specific, mediations of gender, race, class, sexuality, and other social aspects, and (b) the negotiation of democratic values such as equality, inclusion, and solidarity.

We welcome submissions on (but not limited to):

* (trans)national audiovisual media policy;

* impact of audiovisual policy on global and national streaming platforms;

* audiovisual policy and negotiation of democratic values (equality, inclusion and solidarity);

* audiovisual policy and negotiation of identity (gender, race, class, sexuality, etc.) and diversity;

* the impact of global streaming platforms for European national film or TV industries;

* representation of diversity and identity (gender, race, class, sexuality, etc.) in films and TV series distributed on streaming platforms;

* audience viewing habits and streaming platforms;

* audience reception and representation of diversity and identity (gender, race, class, sexuality, etc.) in films and TV series;

* audience preferences choosing content;

* identities and diversity of audiences and streaming platforms;

* streaming and research methods;

* streaming audiovisual media and data.

The project DIGISCREENS is supported by The Research Council of Norway, Research Council of Lithuania, FORTE: Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, la Agencia Nacional de Investigación del Ministerio de Ciencia e Investigación, under CHANSE ERA-NET Co-fund programme, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, under Grant Agreement no 101004509.

For more info about the DIGISCREENS project: https://www.uib.no/en/digiscreens

Send your an abstract (max 300 words) and a short bio digiscreens.conference@gmail.com before Tuesday 15th of April. Participants will be notified by the 15th of May.

May 20, 2025

New Brunswick, USA

Deadline: March 10, 2025

We’re excited to share the call for the interdisciplinary PhD Symposium that will be held as part of the 17th Annual ACM Web Science Conference 2025 (WebSci’25).

Applications should be up to 3 pages (including references, appendices, etc.), single-blind submissions, and the student should be the single author. Submissions will be accepted through March 10th, 2025 (AOE) at the following Google form link: https://forms.gle/eiZDoUi6e2b5NKpc6. Accepted submissions will be included in the WebSci’25 companion proceedings and allowed for oral presentation during the PhD Symposium on 20 May 2025 in New Brunswick, NJ, USA.

Full details about the WebSci’25 Symposium can be found at: https://www.websci25.org/call-for-phd-symposium/ and are copied below.

Important dates

• PhD Symposium proposal submission: March 10, 2025 
  
• PhD Symposium proposal notification: April 1, 2025
  
• Camera ready version due: April 8, 2025
  
• PhD Symposium Date: May 20, 2025
  

Note that all submission deadlines are end-of-day in the Anywhere on Earth (AoE) time zone.  

Overview 

We are pleased to announce the Interdisciplinary PhD Symposium at WebSci’25 happening in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA on 20 May 2025. This symposium will offer PhD students the opportunity to present and discuss their research plans and ongoing research for an interdisciplinary audience. We aim for a lively and engaged discussion, maximizing early-stage ideas exchange and interdisciplinary discussion on emerging or novel ideas/research. This Symposium provides an opportunity for PhD students to receive constructive feedback and aims to bring together early-career and senior scholars working on related topics.  

Submission Guidelines

We are seeking up to 3 pages (including references, appendices, etc.) single-blind submissions, and the student should be the single author. All papers should adopt the current ACM SIG Conference proceedings template (acmart.cls). Please submit papers as PDF files using the ACM template, either in Microsoft Word format (available at https://www.acm.org/publications/proceedings-template under “Word Authors”) or with the ACM LaTeX template on the Overleaf platform, which is available at https://www.overleaf.com/latex/templates/association-for-computing-machinery-acm-sig-proceedings-template/bmvfhcdnxfty. In particular; please ensure that you are using the two-column version of the appropriate template.

Submissions will be accepted through March 10th, 2025 (AOE) at the following Google form link: https://forms.gle/eiZDoUi6e2b5NKpc6

All contributions will be judged by the PhD Symposium Program Committee. Accepted submissions will be included in the WebSci’25 companion proceedings and allowed for oral presentation during the PhD Symposium on 20 May 2025.  

Submission Themes 

We welcome quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research, including techniques from the social sciences and computer science. We welcome papers on a wide range of topics at the heart of Web Science, including but not limited to:

Understanding the Web

• Trends in globalization and fragmentation of the Web
  
• The architecture, philosophy, and evolution of the Web
  
• Automation and AI in all its manifestations relevant to the Web
  
• Critical analyses of the Web and Web technologies
  
• The Spread of Large Models on the Web
  

Making the Web Inclusive

• Issues of discrimination and fairness
  
• Intersectionality and design justice in questions of marginalization and inequality
  
• Ethical challenges of technologies, data, algorithms, platforms, and people on the Web
  
• Safeguarding and governance of the Web, including anonymity, security, and trust
  
• Inclusion, literacy and the digital divide
  
• Human-centered security and robustness on the Web
  

The Web and Everyday Life

• Social machines, crowd computing, and collective intelligence
  
• Web economics, social entrepreneurship, and innovation
  
• Legal and policy issues, including rights and accountability for the AI industry
  
• The creator economy: Humanities, arts, and culture on the Web
  
• Politics and social activism on the Web
  
• Online education and remote learning
  
• Health and well-being online
  
• Social presence in online professional event spaces
  
• The Web as a source of news and information
  

Doing Web Science

• Data curation, Web archives and stewardship in Web Science
  
• Temporal and spatial dimensions of the Web as a repository of information
  
• Analysis and modeling of human and automatic behavior (e.g., bots)
  
• Analysis of online social and information networks
  
• Detecting, preventing, and predicting anomalies in Web data (e.g., fake content, spam)
  
• Novel analysis techniques for Web and social network analysis
  
• Recommendation engines and contextual adaptation for Web tasks
  
• Web-based information retrieval and information generation
  
• Supporting heterogeneity across modalities, sensors, and channels on the Web.
  
• User modeling and personalization approaches on the Web.
  

PhD Symposium Chairs

Arpita Biswas (Rutgers University)

Jianing Li (Rutgers University)

Kenny Joseph (University of Buffalo)

Yphtach Lelkes (University of Pennsylvania)

October 30-31, 2025 

Stockholm, Sweden 

Deadline: May 1, 2025 

The conference aims to foster engaged debates about, and a comprehensive understanding of, challenges related to the quickly transforming algorithmic society, for media users across Europe. We welcome a wide range of approaches and look forward to discussions that will contribute to scientific analysis of our contemporary media world. 

Read more: https://www.sh.se/english/sodertorn-university/calendar/events/2025-10-30-ecrea-audience-and-reception-studies-2025