ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Companion - Call for Contributions

Deadline: January 22, 2021

Chapter proposals are invited for a proposed edited companion on the seminal television series/The X-Files/ (1993-2018, Fox), its movies, spin offs (/The Lone Gunmen/, /Millennium/), and surrounding paratextual material (books, comics, fan fiction etc).

/The X-Files /became a cultural touchstone of the 1990s, transforming from a cult TV show into a pop cultural phenomenon by the end of the decade. The series’ themes and stories of mistrust of the government, conspiracy, folklore, UFOlogy, faith and spirituality resonated with post-Cold War Western society: /X-Files/ ‘mythology’ became a defining narrative arc that has influenced many television shows since. The relationship between principle protagonists, Agents Mulder and Scully, became a source of fascination for fans (so-called ‘shippers’ that longed to see a sexual relationship develop between the characters) and the press alike (poring over offscreen rumours about lead actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson). The show’s prominence converged with early widespread use of the Internet, inspiring a proliferation of fan sites, while the show itself featured telecommunication enthusiasts, not least the underground hackers, The Lone Gunmen. Many of the shows slogans have entered the contemporary lexicon, from ‘trust no one’ to ‘I want to believe’.

To celebrate the 30^th anniversary of /The X-Files/ in 2023, this companion seeks to examine the content and production of the show, its reception, its use of legend and folklore, its contemporary resonance in politics and society of the twenty-first century, and its impact and legacy on film, television, the Internet and beyond. We want the companion to examine the show from as many theoretical perspectives as possible: critical; historical; political and social, as well as examining themes of folklore and legend; identity and representation; fandom; audiences; science and technology.

Proposals are sought for 6,000-word chapters. Topics may include, but are by no means limited to:

* Paranoia and conspiracy theories

* Political histories: Watergate, JFK, The Cold War, the Bush/Clinton eras

* Law and order: /The X-Files /in the Trump era, US politics, representation of the FBI

* Race, gender and sexuality

* Faith, religion, and spirituality

* Postcolonialism

* /The X-Files /and the Internet: hackers, digital spying and surveillance

* Science and Technology of /The X-Files/

* /X-Files/ mythology, lore and legend

* Folklore and contemporary legend/in The X-Files/

* UFOlogy, aliens, flying saucers

* Belief//and scepticism

* ‘Monster of the week’

* Genre (sci-fi, horror, romance) and Intertextuality

* Production aspects: screenwriting, music, cinematography, direction, behind-the-scenes

* Location: use of space, place and landscape

* /The X-Files/: a series ahead of its time?

* Impact and perspectives on contemporary television

* /X-Files/ movies (/Fight the Future /and /I Want to Believe/)

* The reboot series (season 10 and 11) and spinoffs (including /The Lone Gunmen / and /Millennium/)

* Iconographic characters: Mulder and Scully, The Cigarette Smoking Man, Deep Throat

* Comics, books, merchandise, pop culture

* Fandom, cult audiences, fan fiction and ‘shippers’

The expansive companion seeks a unifying vision and so the editors will be working closely with authors to theme and craft chapters to ensure a consistency across the collection. We want to ensure a diversity of disciplinary voices as well as the full coverage of /The X-Files /as a cultural phenomenon and of its production contexts.

Abstracts of 250 to 300 words should be sent to *James Fenwick (j.fenwick@shu.ac.uk ) and Diane Rodgers (d.rodgers@shu.ac.uk )* email in the first instance, along with a short biography and details of institutional affiliation, by 22 January 2021.

Technical University of Munich

The Emmy Noether Junior Research Group "The media portrayal of majority and minority groups" (Stefanie Walter, PhD) invites applications for a 3-year doctoral research position (65%) with focus on qualitative content analysis.

Your responsibilities:

The applicant will be a core member of the Emmy Noether Junior Research Group "The media portrayal of majority and minority groups". The group is newly funded by the German Research Foundation and led at TUM by Stefanie Walter. It aims at analyzing similarities and differences in the media portrayal of majority and minority groups by studying them comparatively. The position will focus on the project’s qualitative component with an emphasis on qualitative content analysis and methods. The doctoral researcher will be actively involved in the project’s research activities, including the design and implementation of studies. They will also be expected to help co-author articles based on this project for publication and have the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree.

Your qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Political Science, Media and Communication, or related disciplines.
• Skills in qualitative methods and content analysis (e.g., documented in transcripts, further training, or course work).
• Experience with MAXQDA (or comparable software) is desirable (e.g., documented in transcripts, further training, or course work).
• Interest in political communication (e.g., documented in transcripts, further training, or course work).
• Strong ability to communicate in spoken and written English (required; Level B2 (or equivalent) e.g., documented by university entrance diploma or English language certificate).
• Ability to communicate in German valuable but not required (please indicate proficiency).

Our offer:

This is a 3-year research position with the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree at the Technical University of Munich, one of Germany's most highly ranked research universities (in residence). It estimated starting date is 1 March 2021. Remuneration will be in accordance with the German public service pay scale (collective agreement for state-level public servants, TV-L) at the E-13 level (65%). TUM strives to raise the proportion of women in its workforce and explicitly encourages applications from qualified women. Applications from disabled persons with essentially the same qualifications will be given preference.

How to apply:

To apply, please send the following materials as a single pdf file to: stefanie.walter@tum.de

• Cover letter (no longer than 2 pages) that explains your interest in the project and details your experience with qualitative methods and content analysis. Please include your reasons for applying for this particular position and your ideal starting date.
• Current curriculum vitae (CV).
• A copy of your academic certificates (if available, transcripts providing specific information about your university-level coursework and/or a list of courses that is informative about your substantive and methodological preparation).
• A writing sample (research paper, publication, or Master’s thesis).
• Contact details of two referees who can attest to your research and technical abilities.

All applications received by 18 December 2020 are assured full consideration

Please do not hesitate to contact Stefanie Walter at stefanie.walter@tum.de if you have any questions.

The project strongly supports the TUM's diversity policy, which seeks to increase the number of women, people with disabilities, and members of other groups traditionally underrepresented in academia. Submissions from such applicants are therefore particularly encouraged.

Data Protection Information:

When you apply for a position with the Technical University of Munich (TUM), you are submitting personal information. With regard to personal information, please take note of the Datenschutzhinweise gemäß Art. 13 Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (DSGVO) zur Erhebung und Verarbeitung von personenbezogenen Daten im Rahmen Ihrer Bewerbung. (data protection information on collecting and processing personal data contained in your application in accordance with Art. 13 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)). By submitting your application, you confirm that you have acknowledged the above data protection information of TUM.

Kontakt: stefanie.walter@tum.de

Technical University of Munich

The Emmy Noether Junior Research Group "The media portrayal of majority and minority groups" (Stefanie Walter, PhD) invites applications for a 3-year doctoral research position (65%) with focus on automated text analysis and computational social science.

Your responsibilities:

The applicant will be a core member of the Emmy Noether Junior Research Group "The media portrayal of majority and minority groups". The group is newly funded by the German Research Foundation and led at TUM by Stefanie Walter. The project will analyze similarities and differences in the media portrayal of majority and minority groups by studying them comparatively. The position will focus on the project’s quantitative component with an emphasis on automated content analysis and quantitative social science. The doctoral researcher will be actively involved in the project’s research activities, including the design and implementation of studies. They will also be expected to help co-author articles based on this project for publication and have the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree.

Your qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Political Science, Media and Communication, or related disciplines.
• Skills in quantitative methods and automated text analysis / computational social science (e.g., documented in transcripts, further training, or course work).
• Command of R (or Python) (e.g., documented in transcripts, further training, or course work).
• Interest in political communication (e.g., documented in transcripts, further training, or course work).
• Strong ability to communicate in spoken and written English (required; Level B2 (or equivalent) e.g., documented by university entrance diploma or English language certificate).
• Ability to communicate in German valuable but not required (please indicate proficiency).

Our offer:

This is a 3-year research position with the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree at the Technical University of Munich, one of Germany's most highly ranked research universities (in residence). The estimated starting date is 1 March 2021. Remuneration will be in accordance with the German public service pay scale (collective agreement for state-level public servants, TV-L) at the E-13 level (65%). TUM strives to raise the proportion of women in its workforce and explicitly encourages applications from qualified women. Applications from disabled persons with essentially the same qualifications will be given preference.

How to apply:

To apply, please send the following materials as a single pdf file to: stefanie.walter@tum.de

• Cover letter (no longer than 2 pages) that explains your interest in the project and details your experience with quantitative methods, automated text analysis/computational social science. Please include your reasons for applying for this particular position and your ideal starting date.
• Current curriculum vitae (CV).
• A copy of your academic certificates (if available, transcripts providing specific information about your university-level coursework and/or a list of courses that is informative about your substantive and methodological preparation).
• A writing sample (research paper, publication, or Master’s thesis).
• Contact details of two referees who can attest to your research and technical abilities.

All applications received by 18 December 2020 are assured full consideration.

Please do not hesitate to contact Stefanie Walter at stefanie.walter@tum.de if you have any questions.

The project strongly supports the TUM's diversity policy, which seeks to increase the number of women, people with disabilities, and members of other groups traditionally underrepresented in academia. Submissions from such applicants are therefore particularly encouraged.

Data Protection Information:

When you apply for a position with the Technical University of Munich (TUM), you are submitting personal information. With regard to personal information, please take note of the Datenschutzhinweise gemäß Art. 13 Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (DSGVO) zur Erhebung und Verarbeitung von personenbezogenen Daten im Rahmen Ihrer Bewerbung. (data protection information on collecting and processing personal data contained in your application in accordance with Art. 13 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)). By submitting your application, you confirm that you have acknowledged the above data protection information of TUM.

Kontakt: stefanie.walter@tum.de

Spring 2021

School of Education and Communication, Jönköping University/ online

Deadline: December 12, 2020

During spring 2021, the PhD course “Sustainable Communication”, 7,5 hp will again be offered at the School of Education and Communication, Jönköping University, Sweden. The course is webbased (Zoom) and in English, and addresses how communication in various forms and in various institutions might contribute to (un)sustainable processes in society.

Please find the course syllabus and schedule here: https://ju.se/en/research/doctoral-programmes/doctoral-programmes-at-the-school-of-education-and-communication/phd-courses.html

Please submit your application at the latest on Nov 22 here: https://ju.se/en/research/doctoral-programmes/doctoral-programmes-at-the-school-of-education-and-communication/phd-courses.html

Questions can be emailed to Professor Ulrika Olausson, ulrika.olausson@ju.se.

Deadline: December 7, 2020

The Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King's College London has the pleasure of hosting a launch of the collection published by the Oxford University Press (eds. Virginia Crisp and Gabriel Menotti).

Date & Time: Wednesday 9 December, 16.00-18.00 (GMT)

All welcome!

This is a virtual seminar. Joining instructions will be sent the day before the event. Please register: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-practices-of-projection-histories-and-technologies-tickets-129714937871

16:00 – 16:15 Practices of Projection: Histories and Technologies

Introduction from the editors – Virginia Crisp & Gabriel Menotti

16: 15 – 17:00 Session 1

5-minute presentations from each contributor followed by questions and discussion

17:00 – 17:45 Session 2

5-minute presentations from each contributor followed by questions and discussion

Contributors’ Biographies

Introduction

Gabriel Menotti works as an Assistant Professor in Moving Image Studies at Queen’s University, Ontario, and as an independent curator. He holds a PhD in media and communications from Goldsmiths, University of London, and an­other from the Catholic University of São Paulo. His projects have been presented in venues such as the São Paulo Biennial, Transmediale Festival, Centre Pompidou, and the International Symposium of Electronic Arts (ISEA). Menotti has authored and edited books on the topics of image and technology. His latest work is Movie Circuits: Curatorial Approaches to Cinema Technology, a monograph published by Amsterdam University Press (2018). Together with Virginia Crisp, Menotti co­ordinates the Besides the Screen network.

Virginia Crisp is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King’s College, London. She is the author of Film Distribution in the Digital Age: Pirates and Professionals (Palgrave, 2015), and co-editor of Besides the Screen: Moving Images through Distribution, Promotion and Curation (Palgrave, 2015). She is the cofounder, with Gabriel Menotti, of the Besides the Screen network (www.besidesthescreen.com).

Session 1

Amanda Egbe is an artist, filmmaker, and researcher. She is currently a Lecturer in Media at the University of Bedfordshire. She has been awarded a number of commissions and residencies for her installation and film work, as well as screening her films nationally and internationally. Her research is concerned with new and emerging digital technologies, archives, and media production practices.

Stefania Haritou studied philosophy and film in Greece and the UK. She is researching the various forms of film practices, besides the screen. Currently she is interested on children's film education and cinematic creativity.

Anthony Head is an artist- designer and Professor of Digital Media Art and Design at Bath Spa University. His research practice includes coding as an artistic medium and often uses 3D graphics to create immersive interactive experiences. For several years, Anthony has worked with Leila Sujir on Elastic 3D Spaces as codirector, in a suc­cessful international partnership. Anthony’s current research is exploring wearable devices as inputs for immersive experiences, drawing in 3D space, and the potential for mixed- reality headsets.

Leila Sujir is an artist, Associate Professor in Intermedia and Chair of the Studio Arts Department at Concordia University in Montreal. Over the last thirty years, she has been building a body of video/video installation artworks exploring immigration, migration, nation and culture. Sujir is a founding member of Hexagram. Her works have been shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Tate Gallery in England.

Mo White aka Dr. Mary C. White is an artist and writer. Mo works in moving image (film and video) and photographic media and has exhibited widely, including exhibitions in New York, Dublin, Athens, Berlin, Oslo, Belfast, and Birmingham. Her research concerns gender, diasporic and queer identities, and their effects on contem­porary artists and art practices, and she has published on these topics. Mo is a Lecturer in Fine Art at Loughborough University in Leicestershire.

Su-Anne Yeo is a sessional instructor at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, Canada. She is also a faculty associate of the Hong Kong Studies Initiative at the University of British Columbia.

Session 2

Yiyun Kang is an artist who generates immersive experiences with moving image. She is currently working as a Visiting Lecturer at Royal College of Art. Kang’s works have been exhibited in V&A, Venice Architecture Biennale, Shenzhen Biennale, Taipei MOCA, Seoul Museum of Art and CONNECT, BTS.

Cornelia Lund is an art, film and media theorist and curator living in Berlin. Since 2004, she has been co-director of fluctuating images (fluctuating-images.de), a platform for media art and design. Her research interests include documentary practices, audiovisual artistic practices, design theory, as well as de- and postcolonial theories.

Adeena Mey is a researcher and curator. He is managing editor of Afterall Journal and a lecturer at Lausanne University of Art and Design (ECAL), Switzerland.

Andreia Machado Oliveira is a Multimedia artist with expertise in the fields of art and technology, contemporary subjectivity, and interactive systems. Associate Professor in the Graduate Program in Visual Arts and in the Undergraduate Program in Fine Arts at Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Brazil.

Adrian Palka is assistant professor in the School of Media and Performing Arts at Coventry University and associate member of CDare(Centre for Dance Research). His research and practice centre on sound performance, image projection and the mediation of post memory. His contribution to this volume is based on following in the footsteps narrated in an inherited diary to Siberia where is father and grandfather had been exiled in WW2. More information in www.palkadiaries.co.uk

Felix Rebolledo Palazuelos holds a doctorate in social and institutional Psychology from UFRGS Porto Alegre and an MA (SIP) from Concordia University (2013), Montreal. He is a Lecturer in Screenwriting and Documentary Theory at Centro Universitário Franciscano in Santa Maria, Brazil. He is researcher at InterArtec/ Cnpq and LabInter / Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil, and member of the SenseLab (Montreal).

June, 28 – July 1, 2021

School of Communication Universidad de Navarra (Pamplona, Spain)

Deadline: January 30, 2021

https://www.isem.es/phd-program/factum-fashion-communication-conference/?lang=en

Conference Chairs

• Teresa Sádaba, ISEM Fashion Business School (Madrid, Spain)
• Marta Torregrosa, ISEM Fashion Business School (Madrid, Spain)
• Lorenzo Cantoni, USI – Università della Svizzera italiana (Lugano, Switzerland)
• Francesca Cominelli, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris, France)
• Nadzeya Kalbaska, USI – Università della Svizzera italiana (Lugano, Switzerland)

The Conference

Hosted by the University of Navarra, the Conference “Fashion communication: between tradition and future digital developments” is a major academic event, which aims to promote theoretical and empirical interdisciplinary work on how various communication practices impact upon fashion industry and on societal fashionrelated practices and values. In particular, the relation between tradition and innovation, as well as the impact of new technologies, digital communication and the internet will be under scrutiny.

Main goals of the Conference:

• to consolidate Fashion Communication as an academic field
• to establish and consolidate an international and interdisciplinary network of scholars in the field of Fashion Communication
• to share methodological approaches
• to expand the dialogue between communications studies, heritage studies and Fashion-related disciplines
• to support junior researchers

Topics of interest

The major topics of interest focus on communication aspects in the Fashion domain and also reflect key research topic emerged in the previous Factum 2019. They include but are not limited to:

• Communication of sustainability and ethical issues in Fashion
• Corporate communication in the fashion domain Digital Fashion Communication (e.g. digital media channels, blogging, User Generated Contents, online reputation)
• Fashion brands and communication with consumers
• Fashion communication in the retail environment
• Fashion shows as a communication object
• Intangible Cultural Heritage dimension of Fashion
• Intercultural Communication in Fashion
• Media in Fashion
• Visual communication in Fashion

Paper formats

Full Papers, presenting a major original contribution, up to 12 pages in length.

Research Notes, presenting an in-progress research (e.g.: by a PhD candidate), up to 5 pages in length.

All papers should be formatted according to the provided template, available online, at Springer Guidelines.

Accepted papers will be published in a Proceedings volume by Springer.

Submissions: https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=factum2021#

All papers will be double-blind peer-reviewed by experienced researchers who are members of the scientific review committee. To ensure blind-review process, please, keep your submission anonymous. Final acceptance will depend on whether the author(s) can adequately address review comments to the satisfaction of the reviewers.

Key dates

• Full papers are required no later than 30 January 2021
• Notification of acceptance will be provided by 28 February 2021
• Final papers should be submitted by 26 March 2021

Location and venue

The Conference will take place in University of Navarra, Pamplona (Spain), hosted by ISEM Fashion Business School and the School of Communication.

For further inquiries, please, contact: María del Rocío Elizaga Puig, Editor’s assistant FACTUM21, factum21@unav.es

Christine Trueltzsch-Wijnen

This book explores the socially and individually determined nature of media literacy, addressing the central question of how individuals’ media activity can be explained and evaluated. It examines people's media activity through the relationship between their competence to act and actual actions. Further, the book discusses the social factors that foster self-determined media activity, including people's abilities and skills and the associated knowledge that facilitates such skills, from the perspectives of various social science disciplines. Lastly, it applies these theoretical reflections to two empirical studies. Overall, this book provides a fundamental introduction to theories of media socialization, media literacy and media competence, and to the relation between media and socialization. It analyses international discourses on children, media, media literacy, and digital literacy. This book is of interest to scholars and researchers in the field of media studies, including media sociology and media education, communication, and cultural studies.

https://www.springer.com/de/book/9783030563592?gclid=CjwKCAiA-_L9BRBQEiwA-bm5fnmtLgN4E_Z87iucB6ApV50nymF-Pn5kIjZr0WrkjI86pWryKZPLyxoC-gUQAvD_BwE

Deadline for Submission for Live Presentations: 15 January, 2021

Because it was not realistic to plan & host a live conference in 2021 for the Crisis Communication Section, we are offering two different avenues for presentation of research in 2021:

• Live Panel Sessions (two-hours each) on the first Friday of each month from 5 February – 2 July

• Live/pre-Recorded Presentations (up to 20 minutes each) posted on our website

Theme for Crisis2021: Risk & Crisis Communication & the ‘New Normal’

As the world responds to 2020 and all of the new challenges it has posed, risk and crisis communication researchers, students, and practitioners have the opportunity to explore issues of work environments, politics, social justice, disasters, ‘ordinary’ crises, learning and teaching, wellbeing, social responsibility, and technology to name just a few areas connected to the tumultuous year we have all experienced. We are calling for abstracts that look forward from Covid-19 to the future across industries and even for reflective discussions about the role of risk and crisis communication.

You can submit an individual abstract or a panel proposal.

Panel Proposals

These will only be considered for the live sessions.

For panel proposals:

• There should be either 3 or 4 speakers representing at least two different institutions

• Preference will be given to multi-national panels

• Panels should have a clear theme, brief (paragraph) justification for the theme, and list the speakers and brief summaries of their proposed presentations

Individual Abstracts

Individual submissions will be considered for the live panels (if submitted before 15 January) unless otherwise noted in the submission, to include:

• Author(s) name(s), institutions, and email(s)

• Preference for live panel or pre-recorded
• Detailed abstract (no more than 700 words) for the presentation

We aim to accept as many abstracts as possible both for the live sessions and pre-recorded presentations. Don’t worry – the pre-recorded presentations CAN but don’t HAVE to include you on camera – they can simply be PowerPoint presentations with voice overs.

More details and submission available at: https://ecreacrisis.com/call-for-participation-crisis2021/

University of Bergen

There is a vacancy for a postdoctoral research fellow position within media studies. The position is part of the department's commitment to strategic communication and the postdoctoral fellow will be linked to two of the department's research groups: the rhetoric group and the media use group. The position is for a period of four years with 25% of the total appointment time is a duty to be performed at the department.

The research theme for the post-doctoral fellow is trust, credibility (ethos), and strategic communication. In unison with the research groups for rhetoric and audience studies the fellow will develop a project examining how citizens view and engage with strategic communication and communication from experts. A core question is how utterances from experts are interpreted, negotiated, and used in a society characterized by media platforms run by algorithms, decreasing trust in experts and a high degree of competing claims from different sources.

The applicant should focus the project on the fields of rhetoric and audience studies and is encouraged to tie the project to one or more themes of global challenges, such as climate, migration, or health.

Deadline: January 8, 2021

Read more about and apply for the position here: https://www.jobbnorge.no/…ies

KU Leuven, Belgium

The School for Mass Communication Research (KU Leuven, Belgium) is offering a academic staff position (open rank) on Media and Health communication. SMCR is looking for a colleague who is an expert in one of the following subdomains of health communication:

(1) effects of media use on various health (e.g., addiction, suicide,…) or societal issues (e.g., hate speech, sustainability,…), and ways of responding to these effects with communication and intervention,

(2) the development and testing of mediated promotion and intervention campaigns aiming to advance public health or societal wellbeing,

(3) health information seeking and effects (e.g., resistance to health

information, public service announcements,…), and/or

(4) technological perspectives on health communication (e.g., effects of VR on health outcomes, potential of mHealth in health promotion, artificial intelligence,…).

Teaching will contain several courses at the Bachelor’s and Master’s level and will include theoretical and methodological courses on communication science in general and digital media in particular.

Interested candidates can apply for this job no later than February 21, 2021 via the online application tool. For more information see https://www.kuleuven.be/…=en