ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

in cooperation with ESA RN21 “Quantitative Methods”

March 15-21, 2021

Gaborone, Botswana

Deadline: 31.03.2020 (Call for Session Organizers)

Dear Colleagues,

we are happy to announce that the “Global Center of Spatial Methods for Urban Sustainability” (GCSMUS) together with the Research Committee on “Logic and Methodology in Sociology” (RC33) of the “International Sociology Association” (ISA) and the Research Network “Quantitative Methods” (RN21) of the European Sociology Association” (ESA) will organize a “1st International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Spatial Methods for Urban Sustainability” (“SMUS Conference”) which will at the same time be the “1st RC33 Regional Conference – Africa: Botswana” from Monday 15.03 – Sunday 21.03.2021, hosted by the University of Botswana in Gaborone, Botswana. The main conference days will be from Thursday 18.03. – Saturday 20.03.2021. There will be travel grants GCSMUS members and African scholars can apply for.

The seven-days conference aims at promoting a global dialogue on methods and should attract methodologists from all over the world and all social and spatial sciences (e.g. area studies, architecture, communication studies, educational sciences, geography, historical sciences, humanities, landscape planning, philosophy, psychology, sociology, urban design, urban planning, traffic planning and environmental planning). Additionally, the conference programme will include advanced methodological training courses, Ph.D. workshops and a social programme. Thus, the conference will enable scholars to get in contact with methodologists from various disciplines all over the world and to deepen discussions with researchers from various methodological angles.

With this mission, we invite scholars of all social and spatial sciences and other scholars who are interested into methodological discussions to suggest a session topic. Conference sessions should mainly address a methodological problem. All sessions on general issues of social science methodology and epistemology as well as on qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches are equally welcome. In addition, we especially invite scholars to suggest session topics on one of the following issues:

‒ spatial methods and analysis

‒ cross-cultural methods and issues of comparability

‒ decolonizing social science methodology

‒ methods of and for the Global South

‒ methodological issues relevant for specific world regions (e.g. Africa, America, Asia, Europe)

‒ monitoring and evaluation methods and analysis

‒ applied research methods on urban design, urban planning, traffic planning and environmental planning

‒ arts- and design-based methods

‒ participatory and action research methods

‒ interdisciplinary and collaborative research methods

‒ big data, digital methods and cross-disciplinary research

‒ methods for values research, global wellbeing and sustainability

‒ methods for analysis of space and social inequality (e.g. space and class, gendered spaces, space and age, space and race)

If you are interested in organizing a session, please submit an abstract containing the following information to (botswana2021@mes.tu-berlin.de) by 31.03.2020:

• Session Title
• Session Organizers (Name, Email-Address, Institutional Affiliation)
• Session Abstract (containing a short description of the session and the type of papers you want to be submitted to the session).

If you do not receive an acknowledgement of submission within three working days, please resend your submission. The conference organizers will inform you, if your session has been accepted, by 13.04.2020. Please note that all sessions apply to the rules of session organization named in the RC33 statutes and GCSMUS Objectives (see below).

Please find more information on the above institutions on the following websites:

‒ “Global Center of Spatial Methods for Urban Sustainability” (GCSMUS): www.mes.tu-berlin.de/spatialmethods

‒ ISA RC33

‒ ESA RN21

‒ University of Botswana in Gaborone

If you are interested in getting further information on the conference (such as Calls for Abstracts) and other GCSMUS activities, please subscribe to the GCSMUS newsletter by registering via the following website:

https://lists.tu-berlin.de/mailman/listinfo/mes-smusnews

Please also kindly forward this information to anybody to whom it might be of interest.

Rules for Session Organization

(According to GCSMUS Objectives and RC 33 Statutes)

1. There will be no conference fees.

2. The session organizers and speakers will be expected to cover the costs of their accommodation and travel expenses themselves. However, members of GCSMUS partner institutions will be able to apply for a travel grant via their home institution. In addition, there will be travel grants for non-GCSMUS scholars from Africa who present a paper or organize a session. Travel grants will cover travel costs and living expenses. Details on the application process will follow later this year.

3. The conference language is English. All papers therefore need to be presented in English.

4. All sessions have to be international: Each session should have speakers from at least two countries (exceptions will need good reasons).

5. Each paper must contain a methodological problem (any area, qualitative or quantitative).

6. There will be several calls for abstracts via the GCSMUS, RC33 and RN21 Newsletters. To begin with, session organizers can prepare a call for abstracts on their own initiative, then at a different time, there will be a common call for abstracts, and session organizers can ask anybody to submit a paper.

7. GCSMUS, RC33 and RN21 members may distribute these calls via other channels. GCSMUS members and session organizers are expected to actively advertise their session in their respective scientific communities.

8. Speakers can only have one talk per session. This also applies for joint papers. It will not be possible for A and B to present at the same time one paper as B and A during the same session. This would just extend the time allocated to these speakers.

9. Session organizers may present a paper in their own session.

10. Sessions will have a length of 90 minutes with a maximum of 4 papers or a length of 120 minutes with a maximum of 6 papers. Session organizers can invite as many speakers as they like. The number of sessions depends on the number of papers submitted to each session. E.g. if 12 good papers are submitted to a session, there will be two sessions with a length of 90 minutes each with 6 papers in each session.

11. Papers may only be rejected for the conference if they do not present a methodological problem (as stated above), are not in English or are somehow considered by session organizers as not being appropriate or relevant for the conference. Session organizers may ask authors to revise and resubmit their paper so that it fits these requirements. If session organizers do not wish to consider a paper submitted to their session, they should inform the author and forward the paper to the local organizing team who will find a session where the paper fits for presentation.

12. Papers directly addressed to the conference organising committee (and those forwarded from session organizers) will be offered to other session organizers (after proofing for quality). The session organizers will have to decide on whether or not the paper can be included in their session(s). If the session organizers think that the paper does not fit into their session(s), the papers should be sent back to the conference organizing committee as soon as possible so that the committee can offer the papers to another session organizer.

June 22-26, 2020

Zurich, Switzerland

The University of Zurich and the Doctoral Program Democracy Studies are pleased to invite young scholars to the 7th Swiss Summer School Democracy Studies on FRONTIERS OF DEMOCRATIC INNOVATIONS

The Topic

Democratic innovations are institutions and practices that increase and deepen citizen participation in political decision-making. The Summer School offers insights into hot-topics and frontiers of democratic innovations from theoretical, empirical, methodological, and normative viewpoints. Young scholars can also present their own work on democratic innovations and will receive substantive and in-depth feedback from leading experts. During the Summer School, there are also many opportunities for one-on-one discussions and networking.

The Program

The Summer School comprises an intensive program of lectures, seminars, and young scholars‘ presentations. Five teaching days are scheduled, each offers a unique perspective and insights. A keynote speech addresses the overall topic. And exciting social activities will complement the academic program.

The Keynote

Maija Setälä will deliver the public keynote on „Renewing Democracy through Democratic Innovations: A Functionalist Perspective“

Credits

ECTS credits will be awarded for participation in the full academic program.

The teaching days consist of two parts, lectures and workshops. The lectures will be given by internationally renowned scholars. In the workshops, young scholars will present their individual research on the basis of a paper which will be discussed intensively by the experts in their field.

While young scholars attend each lecture and workshop, they apply for the workshop in which they wish to present their paper

Subject Area: Participation and Development 

Local Expert: Katja Michaelowa (University of Zurich)

International Expert: Brian Wampler (Boise State University)

Subject Area: Democracy in Digital Public Spheres: On Algorithms, Dissonance and Disruption

Local Expert: Frank Esser (University of Zurich)

International Expert: Ulrike Klinger (FU Berlin)

Subject Area: Innovations in Direct Democracy

Local Expert: Thomas Widmer (University of Zurich)

International Expert: Maija Setälä (University of Turku)

Deliberation and Democracy: A (surprisingly) Contestable Relationship

Marco Steenbergen (University of Zurich)

André Bächtiger (University of Stuttgart)

Participatory Budgeting in Asia: Democratic Innovations in Democratic, Semi-democratic and Authoritarian Systems

Daniel Kübler (University of Zurich)

Baogang He (Deakin University)

Who Can Apply

The Summer School is open to doctoral students, postdocs, and advanced master students worldwide in social sciences such as political science, political philosophy, media and communication science, and related disciplines. Participation is competitive and limited to 20 young scholars.

Fee

The registration fee includes participation in all academic sessions and social activities as well as accommodation, coffee breaks and lunches. Reduced or no fees can apply.

Grant A small number of grants is available.

Deadline

The deadline for application is March 1, 2020.

Notifications of acceptance will be sent by April 15, 2020.

How to Apply

Detailed information and the application form are available at www.ipz.uzh.ch/en/s3ds

Contact democracyschool@ipz.uzh.ch

April 14-19, 2020

Interuniversity Center (IUC) Dubrovnik 

Co-organized with the ECREA CEE Network

Course directors and lecturers:

• Zrinjka Peruško, University of Zagreb, Croatia
• Carmen Ciller, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain
• Steffen Lepa, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
• Paolo Mancini, Università di Perugia, Italy
• Snježana Milivojević, University of Belgrade, Serbia
• Slavko Splichal, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Miklós Sükösd, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

This year’s lecturers also include:

• Laia Castro Herrero, Department of Media and Communication Research, University of Zurich
• Epp Lauk, Department of Communication, University of Jyvaskyla,
• Helmut Scherer, Institut für Journalistik und Kommunikationsforschung of the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover
• Miklós Sükösd, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
• Lenka Vochocová, Department of Media Studies, Charles University, Prague
• Dina Vozab, Department of Media and Communication, University of Zagreb

In Central and Eastern Europe it is 30 years since the socialist regimes collapsed, and democracy was introduced. The theoretical framework of the “transition” is no longer employed, even the “consolidation” discourse and approach is over. The thirty years of transformation have been diverse. The same original critical juncture of the fall of socialism has been differently used and shaped by different actors, countries or institutions, to produce different results. Not only is there a division of CEE into those who are now members of the EU and those who are not, but there is also a division between those who have consolidated some level of democracy and those who have consolidated some degree of authoritarian regimes. The authoritarian backsliding is a fact that can no longer be treated as a phase in the consolidation of democracy, but must also be recognized as one type of result of the transformations. Can we say that the media systems in this region of the world have acquired a settled shape, a form/character that is durable and stable? Will a new critical juncture will be necessary in order to re-start developments along the road to consolidated democracy and democratic media systems development?

What shaped these diverse developments? Why did some countries consolidate democracy and free media systems, and others have hybrid or authoritarian regimes with captured media? How do these changes compare to the changes of other European media systems? Should we compare media systems or media cultures? We will in this course and research conference examine conditions and variables of media change from modernization to socialism, and from socialism to post-socialism. We will explore ways to study change in media systems, focusing both on the temporal and spatial frames, and will examine transformations necessary in the political, economic and cultural fields. And we will examine which combination of historical conditions from the longue durée or more recently are responsible for certain types of outcomes of media systems. The focus of the course & research conference will extend also to different media related and journalistic practices in the region in focus.

A one day methodological hands-on workshop on fsQCA will be a part of the program.

This 9th "slow science" IUC-CMS is an interdisciplinary research conference & post-graduate course open to academics, doctoral and post-doctoral students in media, communication and related fields engaged with the issue of media and media systems, that wish to discuss their current work with established and emerging scholars and get relevant feedback.

Invited research conference participants will deliver keynote lectures with ample discussion opportunities. In this unique academic format, student course attendees will have extended opportunity to present and discuss their current own work with the course directors and other lecturers and participants in seminar form (English language) and in further informal meetings around the beautiful old-town of Dubrovnik (UNESCO World Heritage) over 5 full working days (Tuesday to Saturday).

The working language is English.

Participation in the course for graduate (master and doctoral) students brings 3,5 ECTS credits, and for doctoral students who present their thesis research 6 ECTS. The course is accredited and the ECTS are awarded by the Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb (www.fpzg.unizg.hr). All participants will also receive a certificate of attendance from the IUC.

Enrolment

To apply, send a CV and a motivation letter to zperusko@fpzg.hr. Students who wish to present their research should also send a 300 word abstract. The course can accept 20 students, and the applications are received on a rolling basis. After notification of acceptance you need to register also on this web page https://www.iuc.hr/course-details.php?id=1206

The IUC requires a small enrolment fee from student participants. Participants are responsible for organizing their own lodging and travel. Affordable housing is available for IUC participants. Stipends are available from IUC for eligible participants, further information at https://www.iuc.hr/iuc-support.php. For information on these matters please contact the IUC secretariat at iuc@iuc.hr.

Venue Information

The Inter-University Centre was founded in Dubrovnik in 1972 as an independent, autonomous academic institution with the aim of promoting international co-operation between academic institutions throughout the world. Courses are held in all scientific disciplines around the year, with participation of member and affiliated universities.

Additional Information

For further information about academic matters please contact the organizing course director: professor Zrinjka Peruško zrinjka.perusko@gmail.com, Centre for Media and Communication Research (www.cim.fpzg.unizg.hr), Department of Media and Communication, Faculty of Political Science (www.fpzg.unizg.hr), University of Zagreb (www.unizg.hr).

BOOK - contributors call

Deadline: July 31, 2020

Publisher: To be confirmed

Date of publication: 2022

Editor: Chris Hart, University of Chester, UK

Three mainstream publishers have shown an interest in receiving a full proposal on Detective dramas 1960s-80s.  To see if there is sufficient interest in this project I would like to invite short proposals to contribute to a potential book on this subject. What follows is a short overview of the main themes for consideration, but they are not exclusive. I am sure there are many more you would like to suggest.

British (and some American) action crime dramas of the 1960s, 70s and 80s featured some of the most interesting, eccentric and utterly unbelievable characters. If there was ever an era of classic television detective drama then the period between the mid-1960s to the early 1980s was it - or was it? The stories were bizarre, unbelievable, sets cheap, acting tongue in cheek and misogyny generally widespread.

While probably meaning nothing to contemporary media consumers, media students or even current media industry practitioners, programmes such as The Avengers, The Persuaders, Jason King, and Randall and Hopkirk were globally successful (international distribution - North America, Europe, South Africa, Australasia, and world-wide) and, therefore, deserve our attention - not only as instances of nostalgia but as examples of what creative, skillful and imaginative individuals can produce. Some of the features of these programmes to think about include the following,

* Many leading characters had no obvious employment other than righting wrongs - such as Paul Temple, Danny Wilde and Lord Brett Sinclair, Mrs Peel and Steed, and none was married or had partners.

* Most belong to or work for special, sometimes secret governments departments, secret organisations and private agencies - all dedicated to maintaining world peace by regularly defeating the wicked, evil plans of social misfits who have a grudge against society.

* Assertive, confident and independent women with martial arts were common, Mrs Peel often practised Kung Fu on burly villains, other female characters drove powerful motorcycles, sports cars, and a Mini Moke. As in a Jane Austen novel, the women were very accomplished.

* Supernatural powers, though not common, did feature as the anchor on two programmes, one with the ability to see the ghost of a PI partner, the other was Dr Sharron Macready with her extrasensory powers.

* Incredible fashions abounded, some actors doing their own wardrobe – men with kipper-ties, penny round collars, bright colours, velvet, cravats, long hair, stiff with hair spray, bowler hats and gloves in summer — women agents in leather jumpsuits, high leather boots, mini-skirts and input from international clothes designers.

* Comic, tongue-in-cheek and bizarre stories, of stolen identities, mistaken identities, dead persons coming alive, characters impersonating themselves, people instantly turning to ash, dentists as villains, and computer-controlled murders.

* Vintage and supercars always featured - Ferrari's, Aston Martin's, vintage Bentley's, Ford Capri's, and Austin Mini's - with British characters driving British marques and villains driving 'foreign' cars.

* Most had surreal storylines, often about thwarting threats transcending national interests, from cybertronic beings, invisible villains, the vainglorious and fantastic technology.

* Sexism and racism were rife - with skinny bikini-clad young women, damsels in distress, and women needing a man to rescue them. Baddies having terrible foreign accents, often Russian, sporting bushy moustaches, cigarette smoking and wearing faded cream jackets.

* Throughout social class, privilege and wealth featured, with cool funky London mews-flats, expensive vintage cars, exotic locations and exciting activities. A liberal distribution of titles such as Lords, Judges and Sirs, though few Ladies, and plenty of daughters of rich fathers in need of rescue.

The dramas to be included are as follows:

• The Baron 1966-67
• Virgin of the Secret Service 1968
• Danger Man 1960-68
• Man in a Suitcase 1967-68
• The Champions 1968-69
• Paul Temple 1969-1971
• Department S 1969-70
• Special Branch 1969-1974
• Jason King 1971-72
• Sexton Blake 1967-71
• Paul Temple 1969-1971
• The Persuaders 1971-1972
• The Main Chance 1969-75
• Public Eye 1965-1975
• The Zoo Gang 1974
• The Avengers / New Avengers 1961-1977
• Randall and Hopkirk 1969-70
• The Protectors 1972-74
• Quiller 1975
• Return of the Saint 1978-79
• The Professionals 1977-83

The book also aims to have a section on the producers, directors, writers and musicians and other creative and technical trades, such as,

• Dennis Spooner
• Monty Berman
• Terry Nation
• Philip Broadley
• Robert S. Baker
• John Creasey
• Gerry Anderson
• Brian Clemens
• Albert Fennell
• Sidney Hayers
• Laurie Johnson

DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF expressions of interest: Friday, July 31, 2020

Feel free to email with questions.

Please send your abstract/proposal not exceeding 300 words with a brief biography to: c.hart@chester.ac.uk

Format your proposal as follows:

1. Please include your name
2. Email address
3. Institutional affiliation (if relevant)
4. Postal address
5.  Abstract

About the editor

Chris studied sociology, economics and linguistics and has been active in mainstream publishing and book authoring for over three decades. Currently teaching advertising and branding alongside media studies, Chris is best known for his work on literature reviewing, Talcott Parsons, heroines and heroes and, national identity.

The Journal of Sonic Studies 

Deadline: July 1, 2020

Sound at home is the hum of appliances, the babble of water piping, the chatter of media, and the creaking of a wooden floor; it seeps in from other homes and from the world outside – traffic, music, shouting; it is the disconcerting, unfamiliar sounds of the places that have become temporary homes; it is sounds which go unheard in their familiarity.

In this call, the Journal of Sonic Studies asks authors to explore relationships between notions of home and the auditory. We encourage studies that consider home as a permanent dwelling for families and individuals as well as studies that consider the homely in a more abstract sense, as an ideal to long for or a place to dream of or run from. The broad aim of this special issue is an interest in explorations of the home as that which is close, most habitual – and perhaps therefore often overheard – as well as the methodological considerations that follow. Examinations might follow the home as private and secure, but we also encourage studies where sound at home reveals itself as problematic and “unheimlich” (cf. Raahauge 2009; Freud 1919).

Concretely, we ask how home designs and technologies shape the soundscapes and atmospheres of the home, how they are negotiated and how they influence the dynamics of the different occupants of the home? What kind of “acoustic agency” (Cusick 2013) is expected of the home – and what is available? How do we explore “acoustemologies” (Feld 2012) of the homes of the present and the past? What can we learn from the changes they might have undergone? What methodologies allow us to explore habitual sounds, and can we re-enchant (Mannay 2010; Sikes 2006) these sounds? What is the meaning of sounds that are transported into or out of the house deliberately or inadvertently? How do the other beings that we share our homes with influence our sense of home through their “sonic traces” (Schulze 2018) and kinetic melodies? What characterizes our own “homebody” (Steinbock 1995)?

Proposals for this special issue might speak to some of the following subjects and points of discussion, but are not limited to:

• Soundscapes and acoustemologies of the home and the homely
• The shifting historical role of sound technologies in homes
• Power relations and acoustic agency of the homely
• Methodological approaches to studies of the intimate and the well-known
• Histories of sensing, habituation and overhearing sounds
• Sounds as mediations between the home and its surroundings
• Sound as indicators of safety versus uncanny sounds.

Deadline

Potential contributors are invited to submit full articles by July 1st, 2020

For more information, or to submit an article, please contact sandra.lori.petersen@anthro.ku.dk or m.a.cobussen@umail.leidenuniv.nl

Guest editors

Mette Simonsen Abildgaard, cultural historian of technologies, Aalborg University, Marie Koldkjær Højlund, composer and audio designer, Aarhus University, Sandra Lori Petersen, anthropologist, University of Copenhagen will be guest editors of this special issue.

The Journal of Sonic Studies is a peer-reviewed, online, open access journal providing a platform for theorists and artist-researchers who would like to present relevant work regarding auditory cultures, to further our collective understanding of the impact and importance of sound for our cultures. The editors welcome scholarly as well as artistic research and also expect all contributions to have a firm theoretical grounding. Priority is given to contributions that explicitly use the Internet as a medium, e.g. by inserting A/V materials, hyperlinks, and the use of non-conventional structures. JSS invites potential contributors to use the Research Catalogue as the platform in which the submission is presented (see http://www.researchcatalogue.net/). Other submission guidelines can be found at sonicstudies.org/guidelines .

Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism, Charles University in Prague

https://fsv.cuni.cz/en/phd-researcher-mistra-environmental-communication-research-programme

Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University is looking to hire a PhD Researcher, supervised by Nico Carpentier, as part of the MISTRA Environmental Communication Research Programme for the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism.

The MISTRA Environmental Communication (MEC) Research Programme is a four-year research project, based in Sweden and implemented by an international consortium, which includes the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University. A brief overview can be found here: http://nicocarpentier.net/mistra/.

This specific position consists out of PhD research that implements the fifth work package of MEC, which is entitled “Environmental communication in (social) media and the arts: Opening spaces for fifth discursive encounters”. The main research objective of work package five is to study the discursive struggle between the different environmental and sustainability discourses that circulate in Swedish arts and media, and to develop discursive strategies to open up existing discursive patterns and constellations for a constructive engagement with new or marginalised perspectives.

Each candidate must:

• The excellent command of both English AND Swedish (written and spoken) is a key requirement for this position.
• The work location is Prague, in the Czech Republic.
• We are seeking candidates with a genuine interest in, and knowledge of environmental communication, social constructionist theory, participatory research and discursive-material analysis. Candidates should have a good general overview of social theory in the social sciences and humanities, and master the main methodologies used in these disciplines. A collaborative and inquisitive mindset are equally important.

• Moreover, candidates need to possess a Master’s degree. Candidates with any suited disciplinary and interdisciplinary background are welcome to apply. Candidates with high grades for their prior degrees will be given priority.

Duties:

The holder of the position shall primarily devote her/himself to this project and the implementation of the tasks outlined below, in combination with the requirements of the PhD programme (as outlined in the documents mentioned below).

The main task of the PhD researcher is to focus on one of the three areas of study of work package 5, namely mass media, with attention for two genres, namely documentaries and television programmes that focus on environmental problems and that have been recently produced in Sweden.

The research question of the PhD researcher’s project concerns 1/the identification of the discursive struggles within a selection of mass media case studies, and 2/the development of strategies to open up the discursive positions for more constructive engagements.

The PhD researcher’s project will start with a mapping of all recent relevant output, in the three areas (mass media, social media and arts), and will then focus on the mass media area, selecting and analysing six cases studies, using discourse-material analysis to analyse the selected media material and the media producer interviews. In the last stage, the development of discursive strategies will be structured in two ways, through the development of training packages, and through the organisation of an exhibition. Moreover, the research project will be strengthened through participatory research methods, to be applied throughout the entire research project, wherever possible.

Active participation in the Institutes’ PhD activities, such as seminars, workshops, etc., is expected. Other tasks within the Institute, including administrative work, can also be part of the employment. The PhD researcher is also expected to actively contribute to the (written) academic publications of the MEC work package 5 team.

We offer:

The position is a full-time position, with a total duration of 44 months, starting on/around 1 March 2020, but the position’s continuation will be subject to a yearly evaluation.

The gross monthly salary will be 24.000 CZK, complemented by a PhD stipend of 11.000 CZK.

The application includes:

(1) a letter in which the applicant describes her/his research interests and the motivation to apply;

(2) a one-page research note, outlining how the candidate proposes to ground the research in social constructionist theory;

(3) a second one-page research note, outlining how the candidate proposes to implement the tasks described in this document, including a time schedule

(4) a CV, with the copies of the relevant diplomas and certificates that prove the candidate’s eligibility for doctoral studies in Media and Communication Studies;

(5) minimally two letters of recommendation and the contact information to these reference persons;

(6) publications (co-) authored by the applicant (if any);

(7) other documents that the applicant wishes to add.

The application must be submitted via email to kariera@fsv.cuni.cz at the Personnel Affairs Department of the Dean’s Office, the Faculty of Social Sciences Charles University, Smetanovo nábřeží 6, 110 01 Praha 1, Czech Republic. Deadline for applications is the 10th of February 2020.

The application must be identified as “PhD Researcher - MISTRA”.

We only accept applications that are submitted as described in this announcement, and we reserve the right to close the vacancy without any person being hired.

Charles University is striving to promote gender equality through gender diversity.

Additional information

A list of suggested literature is available at http://nicocarpentier.net/mistra/readings.html

A general description of the doctoral program of the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism can be found at: https://iksz.fsv.cuni.cz/sites/default/files/uploads/files/prirucka_phd_2019.pdf (currently in Czech only)

https://karolinka.fsv.cuni.cz/KFSV-1059.html (in Czech)

https://fsv.cuni.cz/en/admissions/phd-programmes (in English)

More information about the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism is available at https://iksz.fsv.cuni.cz/en.

For more information about the content of the position, Nico Carpentier can be contacted, by e-mail at nico.carpentier@fsv.cuni.cz. See also http://nicocarpentier.net/.

For more information about the financial dimensions of the position, Alena Marcova can be contacted, by e-mail at alena.marcova@fsv.cuni.cz.

May 4-5, 2020

London, UK

Deadline: February 15, 2020

The inaugural Communication for Change Festival invites abstracts for papers, posters, exhibitions, workshops, and film screenings on the festival’s theme of ‘Connections’.

The Festival is hosted by the Institute for Media and Creative Industries, Loughborough University in London and organised in collaboration with: the Migrant Memory and the Post-colonial Imagination (MMPI) project; and the Rethinking Democracy (REDEM) research platform, Malmö University. It will be hosted at Loughborough University’s vibrant London campus in East London on May 4-5, 2020.

Festival Theme: ‘ Connections’

We live in a time where the social cohesion of our society is threatened and at risk. We are experiencing social and political conflict that suggest profound disconnections between what we aspire to do or become, and what is possible. Realities and imaginaries often connect poorly, many can’t make ends meet, and divisions between communities, cultures, nations are prevalent. Practices of communication both divide and bridge communities. In this context, the festival theme, ‘Connections’, draws attention to how the research and practice of communication for social change enhances a variety of connections, both disciplinary, temporal, spatial and relational. How do we connect the past with the present, the realities of the global North and South, the lives in one community to another, or the online media practices with the offline. How are disconnections overcome and connections enhanced?

Submitting an abstract

The festival seeks to foster a creative and interdisciplinary exploration of this topic, inviting abstracts from a broad gamut of inter-related fields of research and practice, such as: communication for social change and development, memory studies, conflict and development studies, media and cultural studies, migration studies, and postcolonial/decolonial studies. We equally invite abstracts from the perspectives of social change practitioners, activists, students and artists. The Festival creates a space to explore ways of (re)building connections in highly divided contexts such as civil conflict and war, apartheid and partition, and separation through inequalities.

Abstracts should be 200 - 300 words, and should indicate:

• Activity type (poster, paper presentation, fishbowls, workshop, film screening, other)
• Participant type (academic, MA student, PhD student, practitioner, activist, artist, other)

Deadline for submission of abstracts: February 15

Deadline for registration without paper: March 13.

Please send your submissions to CfSCFestival@lboro.ac.uk

Questions about the Festival? Contact j.noske-turner@lboro.ac.uk

May 26, 2020

Queensland, Australia

Deadline: March 1, 2020

2020 International Communication Association (ICA) Post-conference

The 2020 ICA post-conference on “Strengthening Communication for Social Justice through Education and Research” aims to build a network of associates with existing and emerging academic programs and to strengthen educational and scholarly initiatives. This event is a post-conference following the 70th ICA Conference 2020, and will be held on 26 May 2020 at The University of Queensland, Australia.

This event seeks to provide an interactive and dialogic space to explore the pedagogic relevance of key themes associated with Communication for Social Justice and to investigate the extent to which they have been incorporated into formal academic teaching and research programs. The conference will discuss emerging trends and shifts in the dynamics in the teaching and research of Communications for Social Justice. The discussion will also explore emerging and innovative trends in communication for social justice, considering the role of digital and other mediated technologies.

We invite communication scholars and researchers, students and anyone who is interested in pedagogy and research on communication for social justice, to register in the one-day ICA post-conference. For more information and the call for abstract, please click here. To register for the post-conference, please click here.

Organizers: Pradip Thomas & Elske van de Fliert, The University of Queensland (pradip.thomas@uq.edu.au; e.vandefliert@uq.edu.au); Karin Wilkins, University of Miami (kwilkins@miami.edu); Silvio Waisbord, George Washington University (waisbord@gwu.edu)

September 10-12, 2020

Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy

Deadline: April 1, 2020

ESA RN18 Mid-Term Conference 2020

Conference website: https://rn18esa.wordpress.com

European Sociological Association (ESA) ‐ Research Network 18: Sociology of Communications and Media Research in cooperation with the:

• Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST) of the Polytechnic University of Turin and the University of Turin
• Italian National Sociological Association (AIS) – Section: Cultural Processes and Institutions
• Italian Scientific Society of Sociology, Culture, Communication (SISCC)
• Antonio Gramsci Piedmont Institute Foundation

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

• Tiziana Terranova (University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’, Italy): Hypersocial Networks: for a critical genealogy of the social network topos
• Peter Thomas (Brunel University London, UK)
• Donatella Della Ratta (John Cabot University, Rome, Italy): Twenty-Twenty Critical Theory Toolkit: Take the Red Pill and live happily in the age of algorithmic (in)humanity

We live in times of deepening economic, political, social, ideological and ecological crises that are expressed in widespread precarious labour, the commodification of (almost) everything, the rise of new nationalism, populism and authoritarian forms of capitalism, and ecological destruction. The display of power and counter-power, domination and spaces of power struggles, and the commons and the commodification of the commons characterise modern society. Contradictions and antagonisms between the haves and the have-nots shape contemporary Europe and beyond. Media and communication are fields of conflict in this power struggle: they are power structures and sites of power struggles, able to support both the expansion and the commodification of the commons.

On reflection of the conference place, Turin was the city where Gramsci lived, was politically active and where he set up the weekly newspaper ‘L’Ordine Nuovo’ and acted as editor of the newspaper ‘Il Grido del Popolo’. Gramsci exerted influence on the study of culture and communication in society. ESA RN18’s mid-term conference in Turin is an occasion for media/communication/cultural sociologists to ask: What is the relevance of Gramsci and other approaches and thinkers inspired by Marx for the study of communication and society today?

ESA RN18 calls for contributions that shed new light on theoretical and analytical insights that help to shape critical media sociology in the 21st century, in particular, but not exclusively, addressed to any of the following:

1. Critical Media Sociology and Capitalism

2. Critical Media Sociology and Critical Theory

3. Critical Media Sociology and Critical Political Economy of Media, Information and Communication

4. Critical Media Sociology, Gramsci and Hegemony

5. Critical Media Sociology and Ideology Critique

6. Critical Media Sociology and Cultural and Communication Labour

7. Critical Media Sociology and Digital Labour

8. Critical Media Sociology, New Nationalism and Authoritarianism

9. Critical Media Sociology, Consumption and Production in Urban Processes

10. Critical Media Sociology, Patriarchy and Gender

11. Critical Media Sociology, Social Inequality, Identity and Subjectivities

12. Critical Media Sociology, Ecology and Climate

13. Critical Media Sociology, Democracy and the Public Sphere

14. Critical Media Sociology and the Left

15. Critical Media Sociology, the Commons and Alternatives

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

• Abstract submission deadline: 1 April 2020
• Notification of selected abstracts: 15 May 2020
• Conference dates: 10-12 September 2020

Abstracts should be sent to:

Conference Organising Committee, rn18esasubmission@gmail.com

Abstracts should be sent as an e-mail attachment (400-600 words including title, author name(s), email address(es), and institutional affiliation(s)). Please insert the words “ESA RN18 Submission” in the subject. Although we do not provide a template for the abstract submission, we expect abstracts that include a rationale, research question(s), theoretical and/or empirical methods applied, and potential results and implications. Each abstract will be independently reviewed by two members of the ESA RN18 Board based on the call for papers.

CONFERENCE FEES

• 90 Euro for ESA RN18 members / 110 Euro for non ESA RN18 members (conference dinner included)
• 60 Euro for ESA RN18 members / 80 Euro for non ESA RN18 members (without conference dinner)
• 25 Euro for students (Bachelor and Master) (without conference dinner) / 55 Euro (conference dinner included)

The registration details, including the registration form, will be available on the conference website in spring 2020: https://rn18esa.wordpress.com

You can become a member of ESA RN18 by joining the ESA and subscribing to the network. The network needs material support, so we encourage you to join or renew your membership. The network subscription fee is only 10 Euro: https://www.europeansociology.org/membership/become-a-member

Participation support for 4 PhD students and/or independent researchers will be available. This will not cover all costs, but part of them (accommodation and full conference fee). Preference will be given to presentations that suit the overall conference topic.

If you want to apply for participation support, please send an extended abstract (600 - 800 words), biographical information (up to 250 words) and indicate this in your abstract submission by adding the sentence ‘I want to apply for participation support for PhD students / independent researchers’. The notifications about participation support will be sent out together with the notifications of acceptance or rejection of presentations. Additional information to prove your position as a PhD student or independent researcher will be requested.

CONFERENCE VENUE

The conference will be hosted by the Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning. The Department is located at the Castello del Valentino, Viale Mattioli 39, 10125 Turin, Italy (see: http://www.dist.polito.it/en).

The ESA RN18 organising committee is led by:

• Dr Marisol Sandoval, Coordinator of ESA RN18, City University London, UK
• Dr Thomas Allmer, Coordinator of ESA RN18, University of Innsbruck, Austria
• Dr Paško Bilić, Vice-Coordinator of ESA RN18, Institute for Development and International Relations, Croatia

The local organising committee is led by:

Dr Tatiana Mazali, Chair of the local organising committee, Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning, Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy

June 27-29, 2020

LCC International University, Klaipeda, Lithuania

Submission Deadline: February 29, 11: 59 p.m. (Pacific Time)

Host: Communication Association of Eurasian Researchers (CAER)

The Communication Association of Eurasian Researchers (CAER) welcomes submissions that focus on various aspects of communication in, with and about Eastern and Central Europe. This conference will serve as an opportunity to truly “internationalize” the field of communication, providing opportunities for transnational “bridge building”. This will have a plentitude of positive potentialities naturally percolate, producing new global connections, creativity, and commonalities in a world beset with division, delimitation, and difference.

Internationalization, as outlined by the National Communication Association and the American Association of State Universities and Colleges accomplishes the goals of making global citizens of our students, linking international academic communities, enhancing national and international security, and enlivening and expanding faculty research and scholarship.

Potential ideas for building bridges between communication scholars from the East and West could revolve around the following subjects (though this list is not limiting or exhaustive, but rather generative):

• Growing misunderstandings between governments
• Growing misunderstandings between governments and publics
• Misinformation, disinformation, and other manipulation through communication
• Declining trust in traditional authorities
• Polarization and radicalization
• Threats to peace and security
• Threats to human rights and dignity
• Future of democracy and democratization
• Lack of social justice
• Unsustainable practices
• Depletion of natural environment

We will engage the contemporary issues by discussing research contributions from international scholars with the ambition to:

• Establish a bridge to connect scholars from different paradigmatic, cultural, and geographical locations.
• Envision future bridges to engage communication scholars with broader communities to analyze, understand, and perhaps even mitigate some of the current issues.

CAER seeks to be a place where through scholarship we transcend many of the divisions of politics or geography, finding common ground through the language and practice of communication research.

To submit to the conference: Please submit a 250-word abstract of your paper by the deadline listed above. If you are submitting a panel (preference will be given to paper panels), with abstracts for each proposed presentation.

Submit your abstract by filling out this form: https://forms.gle/kEw4LYGAMi7DZ4qw9