ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

May 7-8, 2020

Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon

Deadline: January 20, 2020

The emergence of radio introduced profound changes in public communication, changing patterns of information dissemination at local, national and international levels. While in the early 1920s broadcasting was mostly operated by small stations listened to by a small group of people who owned radio sets, before the end of the decade large stations had already emerged on the scene, aiming to reach nationwide or even international audiences. The audio medium soon became a central instrument in the construction and dissemination of national cultures and shared identities. While this was obviously the case in the interwar dictatorships, in Western democracies broadcasting (first radio and later on television) also took centre stage in the dissemination of popular culture and was seen as a powerful tool of propaganda and of creation of national identities (MacKenzie, 1986; Douglas, 1999; Scannell & Cardiff, 1991; Hilmes, 2008) as well as of imagined communities (Anderson, 1983). In the case of the Imperial nations this role was extended overseas with radio becoming the most important medium for uniting the home countries with those living in the far reaches of the empires, though not unproblematically.

A growing body of literature on the history of imperial and colonial broadcasting, as well as of sound, have been contributing to the understanding of the role of radio technologies, broadcasting and music in the 20th century in forging audible and sonorous empires. However, the ways in which different imperial countries used radio to create a sense of nation and colonial identities among those living in different geographies and historical periods remains an open question that may well require different theoretical and methodological approaches, questions and answers. Firstly, how did different imperial projects engage with broadcasting, and how did they use radio as both an imperial and colonial tool across different geographies? How has broadcasting been incorporated and appropriated (similarly and differently) within different colonial settings alongside the rise of the anti-colonial liberation movements? How did different imperial nations embrace technological transformation in the field of broadcasting and of sound in order to achieve their goals? Which were the different broadcasting programming strategies adopted by distinct imperial nations and colonial rules in different territories? In which way have conditions and choices in radio reception shaped imperial and colonial broadcasting? Which were the broadcasting and sound practices that posed resistance to imperial and colonial radio strategies and policies? What role did the audio medium play during decolonization and how did broadcasting institutions change and adapt in the aftermath of colonialism?

The conference “Crossing Borders with a New Medium: Radio and Imperial Identities” seeks papers that tackle these and other issues of (inter)national and cross-border broadcasting practices and policies in different colonial settings. It aims to discuss how radio purposively served the idea of Empire while also serving as a tool to fight colonial rule alongside the rise of pro-independence movements.

Hence, papers dealing with the following topics will be highly appreciated (non-exhaustive list):

• Radio and national identities;
• Imperial and colonial broadcasting institutions;
• Radio professionals in imperial and colonial broadcasting contexts;
• Programming in international broadcasts;
• Reception of Imperial and colonial broadcasts;
• Technologies used for international broadcasting;
• Radio, ethnicity and race;
• Radio and practices of resistance;
• Broadcasting and colonial subjectivities;
• Radio and colonial independences;
• Radio and decolonization;
• Media entanglements in imperial contexts;
• Intermedial approaches to radio history in colonial contexts;
• Media systems in colonial and decolonial settings;
• Radio and music market in imperial and colonial contexts;
• Challenges of oral history.
• Sources and archives dealing with broadcasting in colonial settings;

All presenters selected will have a 20-minute slot to present their work, followed by Q&A.

How to Submit?

Please send a title and a 400 word abstract in Word or Pdf format before 20 January, 2020 (deadline) to broadcasting.empire@gmail.com .

Author name(s), institutional affiliation(s) and contact information should be sent on a separate file or on the body of the e-mail.

Authors will be notified of acceptance on 7 February 2020.

Conference fee

Full fee: 100€ (early bird) / 130€ (includes lunches and coffee-breaks)

Reduced fee for students: 50€ (early bird) / 65€

The conference will be hosted by the Research Centre for Communication and Culture (CECC) at Universidade Católica Portuguesa and will take place within the framework of the research project “Broadcasting to the Portuguese Empire: Nationalism, Colonialism, Identity” funded by FCT and FEDER.

For more information about the project visit: https://www.broadcastingempire.com

University of Jyväskylä

Deadline: November 30, 2019

University of Jyväskylä is currently seeking to recruit 1-3 Assistant and/or Associate Professor (tenure track) starting August 1st 2020 or as soon as possible thereafter, in the position of an Assistant Professor for a fixed term of 3-5 years and in the position of Associate Professor for a fixed term of 5 years.

The position is allocated to the university’s profiling area Multiliteracies for social participation and learning across the life span (https://www.jyu.fi/hytk/fi/tutkimus/meilla_tutkitaan/multiliteracies-for-social-participation-and-in-learning-across-the-life-span-reclas-2), which is a joint scheme by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Education and Psychology. An important focus in the profiling area is on digital and media practices across the whole life span and the role of media in civic engagement and community involvement.

You’ll find the job advertisement and the application form at following link: https://rekry.saima.fi/certiahome/open_job_view.html?did=5600&jc=12&id=00007957&lang=fi

The closing date for the applications is Saturday, November 30th 2019.

Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV)

Deadline: November 24, 2019

Apply here: APPLY

In the past few years, interest in the colonial past has returned to contemporary Dutch society – as elsewhere in the world – with a fierceness that was unexpected for some. This phenomenon ranges from pleas to embrace the colonial past on the one hand, to calls to decolonize our ways of thinking, academic institutions and the production of knowledge on the other hand. Public debates seem increasingly polarized when it comes to topics such as the transformation of ‘Zwarte Piet’ (‘Black Pete’) as a Dutch tradition; white privilege or innocence; the aftermath of slavery and its impact on both descendants of formerly enslaved and descendants of abolitionists and former plantations owners; or the accountability of the Netherlands with regard to its role in Indonesia’s war of independence. What is this vivid historical engagement about? Who is involved (ranging from individuals to communities and institutions)? Why and how does polarization take place, and to what extent and how does it relate to historical cultures in formerly regions colonized by the Dutch, in particular in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, more precisely Indonesia, Suriname and the Antilles, and the diaspora?

For KITLV, as a formerly colonial institute reflecting on its own past, these questions are topical and a starting point for a fresh research agenda that aims to understand the nature and impact of colonial legacies, connections and disconnections, within and between the various regions that have been part of a Dutch colonial space. In that postcolonial framework KITLV has a vacancy for a PhD-research project that focuses on an exploration of the functioning of postcolonial memory, and the dynamics of memory cultures in Netherlands, Indonesia and/or the Caribbean, and the diaspora. Candidates with a research experience or interest in these issues are invited to apply.

There is no disciplinary limitation except that applicants must be trained in the humanities and/or social sciences. We particularly welcome applicants with a background in history, anthropology, political science, cultural studies (including literature), or law, or a combination of these disciplines. An interest and ability to work across disciplinary boundaries will be considered an advantage, as is experience in working with postcolonial communities. Proposed topics of study may be related, but are certainly not limited, to: identity formation of postcolonial groups; the development of multidirectional memory; the role of possibly traumatic memories in identity formation; memory and counter- or post-memory across generations; and the role of generation in the transfer of traumatic memories; the role of ‘lieux de mémoires’/material heritage/sites and oral history in relation to postcolonial meaning, memories and identifications. The PhD candidate may connect his/her research to the postcolonial groups just mentioned, but may also identify other relevant communities that have developed within the specific Dutch colonial past of the Netherlands.

The PhD candidate will have a great deal of flexibility in determining the course of his/her research. To that end, we ask applicants to submit a proposal (maximum of 1000 words) in which they describe their potential project, including a research question, sub-questions, methodology and a rough schedule for completion of the work.

The research position is funded by the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV), an institution of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). The PhD candidate will be appointed at, and embedded in, KITLV (www.kitlv.nl) while also formally attached to Leiden University. Leiden is a pleasant, historical city located between Amsterdam and The Hague. Supervision will be provided by KITLV. The PhD candidate will work at the KITLV’s office on Leiden University’s campus in Leiden.

The PhD candidate is expected to:

• Conduct research, including field research in Southeast Asia and/or the Caribbean;
• Publish on the basis of this research, culminating in at least two journal articles and a PhD dissertation completed within the allotted timed (four years at 1.0 fte; five years at 0.8 fte);
• Collaborate with supervisors and peers on the development of the broader research agenda;
• Participate in conferences, workshops, and other scholarly activities.

REQUIREMENTS

The successful candidate should:

• Hold a recent MA or Mphil in the humanities or social sciences from an internationally recognized university;
• Excel academically, as shown in the transcripts and CV;
• Have an excellent written and spoken command of English;
• Be a native or advanced Dutch speaker, or be willing to learn; knowledge of Indonesian and/or a relevant Caribbean language will be considered an advantage;
• Have affinity with, and preferably experience in, the field of Southeast Asian and/or Caribbean studies;
• Have an advanced level in one of the local languages in these regions;
• Be highly motivated and able to work independently;
• Have good social and organizational skills.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Appointment will be according to the terms of the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO NU). We offer a 1,0 or 0.8 fte position for one year with the possibility of a three- or four-year extension. The function is validated in the University Function Ordening system (UFO) under the profile “PhD Candidate”. Gross monthly salaries are in accordance with the CAO NU, increasing from € 2325 per month initially, to € 2970 in the fourth year excluding 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% year-end bonus on a full time basis. We offer an extensive package of fringe benefits.

KITLV is committed to diversity, inclusiveness, and equal opportunities.

EMPLOYER

Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV)

The Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV-KNAW) is an Academy research institute. The KITLV conducts interdisciplinary and comparative historical research. Its research focus is Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, with an emphasis on Indonesia and the ‘Dutch’ Caribbean. It is particularly interested in such issues as state formation, violence and citizenship, processes of mobility and the formation of ethnic and national identity. KITLV is active in the humanities, social sciences and comparative area studies and works closely with Leiden University.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Questions may be directed to Dr. Esther Captain (captain@kitlv.nl)

We will not respond to any supplier enquiries based on this job advertisement.

University of St Andrews - School of Philosophical, Anthropological & Film Studies

Deadline: December 9, 2019

Location: St Andrews

Salary: £33,797 to £40,322

Hours: Full Time

Contract Type: Fixed-Term/Contract

Placed On: 16th October 2019

Closes: 9th December 2019

Job Ref: 249196

Fixed Term: 52 months

Start: 1 June 2020 or as soon as possible thereafter

https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BWA903/research-fellow-history-of-rat-catching-ar2279mr?fbclid=IwAR1PPAr3oKj-uXzsSfUMGJqq5uwWAAxuyxbEucaPkyiys7Fdkc3X3D_Kzwc

The Department of Social Anthropology, with funding provided by the Wellcome Trust is sponsoring a project entitled The Global War Against the Rat and the Epistemic Emergence of Zoonosis.

The project, led by Dr Christos Lynteris (PI), will run at the University of St Andrews from 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2024. The project team will consist of two postdoctoral research fellows who will work independently and in collaboration with each other and the director of the project.

The post will be held for 52 months, starting 1 June 2020 to 30 September 2024.

The Research Fellow will examine rat-catching practices and campaigns as these unfolded in colonial and metropolitan contexts (including but not limited to British India, the USA, and Brazil) so as to understand how they led to the emergence of new forms of human-rat interaction, and how they contributed to the development of scientific understandings of zoonosis.

Applicants must hold a good first degree and have been awarded or be close to be awarded a PhD in a relevant field of research (history, anthropology, regional studies, animal studies). Applications are encouraged with regard to any relevant field of studies, including medical history, medical anthropology, regional studies and animal studies. Applicants who can demonstrate experience in a) medical historical/anthropological research on animal-borne diseases; and/or b) historical/anthropological research on medical epistemology, are also encouraged to apply regardless of regional research experience.

Applicants must submit a letter of support and a writing sample in support of their application. This can be any published work up to 10,000 words or a thesis chapter.

Applications are particularly welcome from women and ethnic minorities, who are under-represented in Arts posts at the University. You can find out more about Equality & Diversity at https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/edi/

The University is committed to equality for all, demonstrated through our working on diversity awards (ECU Athena SWAN/Race Charters; Carer Positive; LGBT Charter; and Stonewall). More details can be found at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/edi/diversityawards/

Interviews will held in the week commencing 25 January 2020

Please quote ref: AR2279MR

May 26, 2020

Gold Coast, Australia

Deadline: December 20, 2019

The last five years have seen a sea change in debates around regulation of digital platforms. There is a growing view that nation-state regulation is warranted to address public concerns about the market power, lack of accountability and lack of transparency of the leading tech giants. This symposium will bring together communications and media policy and industry researchers to consider critical issues around digital platform regulation.

Location: Function Room – G42_4.23, Griffith University Gold Coast Campus, 1 Parklands Drive, Southport, Gold Coast (venue accessible from Broadbeach via G-Link light rail).

Institutional sponsors: Queensland University of Technology Digital Media Research Centre, University of Sydney Department of Media and Communication, Griffith University Centre for Social and Cultural Research, and the Australian Research Council.

ICA division affiliations: Communications Law and Policy Division, and the Media Industries Interest Group of the ICA

Post-Conference Organizers: Professor Terry Flew (Queensland University of Technology), Dr. Fiona Martin (University of Sydney) and Dr. Rosalie Gillett (Queensland University of Technology).

Link to website: https://research.qut.edu.au/digitalplatformreg/2019/10/14/international-communication-association-2020-post-conference-call-for-papers/

Conference description:

As online activities and experiences are increasingly mediated through digital platforms, a series of scandals and ‘public shocks’ (Ananny & Gillespie, 2017) have raised concerns about privacy and security, the misuse of user data, algorithmic biases, and the public distribution of objectionable and sometimes abhorrent content through the internet (Flew, Martin, & Suzor, 2019). Legislators and regulators in many countries are now engaged in public inquiries and the development of new laws to apply public interest standards to digital platforms, as First Amendment arguments about freedom of online expression and claims that the platforms are simply intermediaries are increasingly under challenge (Napoli, 2019). Leading scholars have identified digital platforms as being central to 21st century communication and media policy (Just & Puppis, 2018; Picard & Pickard, 2017), and debates about the relationship between individual rights and social responsibilities for digital platforms have been noticeably shifting from the quasi-libertarian logics of only a decade ago (Gillespie, 2018).

At the same time, there is a lack of consensus about what digital platform regulation could, or should involve. It is unclear, for instance, whether it should involve a refining of existing forms of communications and media policy to incorporate the role now played by digital platforms as quasi-publishers of increasingly popular digital media content, or whether the principal issues such as monopoly power and consumer protection are best addressed by variants of economic policy e.g. proposals to treat digital platforms as ‘information fiduciaries’ in their handling of user data (Balkin, 2018; Dobkin, 2018). The balance between nation-state regulation and supranational governance is also a subject of considerable debate, as is the extent to which ‘soft law’, and platform-brokered arrangements such as the Twitter Trust & Safety Council and the proposed Facebook Oversight Board may substitute for nation-state regulation. At a time of growing tensions among leading world powers, the divergence between forms of internet governance, and the possibility of a global ‘splinternet’ also needs to be considered (Mueller, 2017).

This post-conference forms a part of ongoing work being undertaken by Professor Terry Flew (Queensland University of Technology), Professor Nicolas Suzor (Queensland University of Technology ), Dr. Fiona Martin (University of Sydney), Associate Professor Tim Dwyer (University of Sydney), Professor Philip Napoli (Duke University), Professor Josef Trappel (University of Salzburg), Dr. Rosalie Gillett (Queensland University of Technology), and Lucy Sunman (University of Sydney) as part of a three-year Australian Research Council Discovery Project, Platform Governance: Rethinking Internet Regulation as Media Policy (Australian Research Council Discovery-Project DP190100222 – 2019-2021).

Confirmed speakers:

• Sandra Braman, Texas A&M University
• Stuart Cunningham, Queensland University of Technology
• Tim Dwyer, University of Sydney
• David Hesmondhalgh, University of Leeds
• Ramon Lobato, RMIT University
• Sora Park, University of Canberra
• Victor Pickard, University of Pennsylvania
• Nicolas Suzor, Queensland University of Technology
• Josef Trappel, University of Salzburg
• Krisztina Rozgonyi, University of Vienna
• Dwayne Winseck, Carleton University

We invite submissions relating to current platform governance debates. Possible topics include:

• The relationship between digital platforms and traditional media industries
• Platformization of the Internet and its implications for online speech and digital content regulation
• Public interest rationales for regulation in an age of digital platforms
• The economics of digital platforms and questions of market power in multisided markets
• Applicability of media and communications laws, policies and regulations to digital platforms
• Comparative international studies of digital platform regulations
• Divergence in digital media policies and the prospects of a global ‘splinternet’
• Models of regulation, including self-regulation, co-regulation and ‘soft law’, and their applicability to digital platforms
• Questions of trust relating to digital platform regulation
• Implications of populist politics for digital platform regulation.

Submission and participation details:

We invite authors to submit abstracts of 300-500 words addressing conference objectives. We are particularly interested in diverse international and comparative perspectives on these topics. Please make sure you include a title for your abstract. Abstracts will be automatically excluded that are poorly written, or do not address the themes of the post-conference. Abstract submissions will be reviewed and final decisions communicated by January 15th, 2020.

For any enquiries and to submit your extended abstract, please email Dr. Rosalie Gillett at digitalplatformregulation@qut.edu.au.

• Closing date for abstracts: Friday, December 20, 2019.
• Author notifications: Wednesday, January 15, 2020.
• Registration opens: Wednesday, January 15, 2020.
• Registration deadline: Thursday, April 30, 2020.
• ICA 2020 conference: 21-25 May, 2020
• Digital Platform Regulation Post-Conference: Tuesday 26 May 2020

Publication outcomes:

Publication outcomes are under consideration include a special issue of the journal Global Perspectives on “Trust in the Digital Economy”, to be edited by Terry Flew and Sora Park, and a possible edited book.

Registration fees:

The registration fees for the post-conference will be $US50 for those in full-time academic positions from Tier A countries, and $US30 those from Tier B and C countries, graduate students, and those in employment exception positions (adjunct, sessional and part-time positions). The registration fees will cover refreshments for two breaks and lunch. Information on ICA Country Tiers can be found at https://www.icahdq.org/page/tiers.

All attendees will need to create an ICA profile in order to register. We also expect that all presenters will attend the post-conference event for the full day. Speakers are expected to register for the event unless otherwise advised.

April 29-30, 2020

McGill University, Montreal

Deadline: December 31, 2019

Organized by:

Jhessica Reia, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Art History and Communication Studies, McGill University

Will Straw, James McGill Professor of Urban Media Studies, Department of Art History and Communication Studies, McGill University

Over the last decade, the study of the night has emerged as an international, interdisciplinary field of scholarly research. Historians, archaeologists, geographers, urbanists, economists and scholars of culture and literature have analyzed the night time of communities large and small, across a wide range of historical periods. The study of the night has expanded in tandem with new attention to the night on the part of city administrations, organizers of cultural events (like nuits blanches and museum nights) and activists fighting gentrification, systems of control and practices of harassment and exclusion which limit the “right to the night” of various populations.

In this context of this new attention to the night, we invite proposals for an international conference, in English and French, on relationships between media and the night. We are open to papers focussing on old and new media, from any disciplinary perspective, and dealing with any historical period or geographical area. Possible topics may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• The place of media consumption and circulation within the 24-hour cycle;
• Formal and stylistic features of media treatments of the night;
• Media constructions of the transgressive, marginal or identitarian night;
• Specialized media directed at (or produced by) communities of the night;
• The role of media forms (or platforms) in tracing itineraries of night-time activity;
• Media tools to enhance the safety and accessibility of the night;
• “Intermedial” dimensions of media’s relationship to the night (e.g., electric lighting and photography; late-night television and classic cinema, etc.);
• The challenge of imagining “night” genres for 24-hour streaming services;
• Archiving the night;
• Pre-digital or digital practices of mapping the night;
• Night, social media and data visualization;
• Night media and energy infrastructures.

Proposals (with title) should be approximately 350 words, in French or English, and submitted by email to jhessica.reia@mcgill.ca by December 30, 2019. Please note that, while the organizers are unable to cover the travel and accommodation costs of participants, we will and will not charge a registration fee.

https://theurbannight.com/

Social Studies

Deadline: November 1, 2019

The journal Social Studies is announcing a call for papers for a monothematic issue with a working title Media representations and narratives of masculinities across Europe. The editors of the issue are Inês Amaral and Sofia José Santos (University of Coimbra).

This special issue aims to bring together critical analysis focusing on media representations, discourses, narratives and counter-narratives of what it means to be and behave “like a man” in today’s Europe. It wishes to contribute to a comprehensive reflection on the stereotypes that underlie discourses in the mass media and in the online media, and on how cultural productions co-opt, confront, criticize, renegotiate and seek to promote gender alternatives that challenge gender inequality.

This special issue welcomes theoretical and empirical articles that use qualitative, quantitative or mixed methodologies and focus on media representations and narratives of men and masculinities, their relation to policy and legislation, counter-narratives to the stereotyped representations of gender roles, the relation between feminism and masculinities and the fallout of the MeToo movement, social media activism, digital literacy, critical media literacy and other related topics. Papers focusing on research methods with which to address these issues are also welcome.

Abstracts should be sent to the journal address (socstud@fss.muni.cz) and to the editors (ines.amaral@uc.pt and sjs@ces.uc.pt). More detailed information is available on request. The deadline for abstract submission is 1st November 2019, full papers are expected by 1st March 2020.

About the journal

Social studies/Sociální studia (print ISSN 1214-813X, online ISSN 1803-6104) is a fully open-access journal, indexed in SCOPUS and ERIH PLUS. The journal is published since 2004 at the Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, both electronically and in print. Starting in 2015, the journal accepts English-language thematic issues and contributions.

Website: https://journals.muni.cz/socialni_studia

University of Colorado Boulder (USA)

Deadline: December 1, 2019

Requisition Number: 21763

Location: Boulder, Colorado

Employment Type: Faculty

Schedule: Full-Time

Posting Close Date: 01-Dec-2019

Apply here: https://jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDetail/Professor-Open-Rank/21763

The Department of Media Studies in the College of Media, Communication and Information (CMCI) at the University of Colorado Boulder is seeking applications for an Assistant or Associate Professor in Media Studies specializing in critical media theory, with a focus on one or more of the following areas: media industries, media infrastructures, big data, social media, and platform and software studies. Preference would be given to applicants whose research emphasizes the politics of data exclusion and discrimination, or that focuses on other forms of online mistreatment (harassment, bullying, doxing, etc.), based on gender, race, ethnicity, class, and sexuality both within and across borders. In addition to excellence in research and teaching, the successful candidate will demonstrate a dedication to extend the mission of our interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate programs. The position is anticipated to begin in August 2020.

Who We Are

The Department of Media Studies offers a dynamic program of study that emphasizes the creative and analytical skills needed to operate in a complex media environment and to gain a deep understanding of the history and development of various means and forms of communication. We teach courses in media history; media activism; globalization and culture; Postcolonialism and decoloniality; media and religion; disruptive media entrepreneurship; media and human rights; popular culture, gender, race, class, and sexuality; media and food politics; audience studies, among many others. We offer an exciting Master’s degree in Media and Public Engagement and a well-ranked PhD program in media studies which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2019.

Established in 2015, the College of Media, Communication and Information is at the forefront of the revolution in communication and digital technology. CMCI prides itself on offering students an interdisciplinary education with a focus on innovation and creativity. Our students and faculty from six departments and an independent PhD program think across boundaries, innovate around emerging problems and build culture that transcends convention.

CMCI strives to be a community whose excellence is premised on diversity, equity and inclusion. We seek candidates who share this dedication and demonstrate an understanding of the experiences of those historically underrepresented in higher education. We welcome applications from minoritized racial and ethnic identities, ciswomen, non-normative genders and sexualities, persons with disabilities, and others who have encountered legacies of marginalization.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

This position will teach two courses each semester in a variety of media-related topics with an expectation to develop courses in the candidate’s own area of research expertise. Our department strongly values pedagogical and curricular innovation and we welcome strong leadership and vision in service.

Benefits

The University of Colorado offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO Pass. The University of Colorado Boulder is one of the largest employers in Boulder County and offers an inspiring higher education environment. Learn more about the University of Colorado Boulder.

Be Statements

Be Engaged. Be Inspired. Be Boulder.

What We Require

A PhD in Media Studies or a related discipline is required.

What You Will Need

A strong commitment to interdisciplinary collaborations and public advocacy and outreach.

Strong potential for academic scholarship (at the Assistant level) or evidence of an established and advanced research record (at the Associate level).

What We Would Like You To Have

Distinguished teaching experience

Special Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials:

1. Cover letter outlining interest in the position and research and teaching interests.

2. Curriculum Vitae.

3. Statement of Teaching Philosophy.

4. Statement of Research Interests.

5. An example of scholarly and/or creative work.

6. You will need to submit (3) references for this position. These individuals will be contacted and asked to submit a letter of recommendation as part of your application materials. This information will be kept confidential and viewable only by the search committee.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. To ensure full consideration, applicants should submit all materials by December 1, 2019.

Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, applications must be submitted through CU Boulder Jobs.

Posting Contact Information

Posting Contact Name: Boulder Campus Human Resources

Posting Contact Email: Recruiting@colorado.edu

The University of Colorado Boulder is committed to building a culturally diverse community of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to contributing to an inclusive campus environment. We are an Equal Opportunity employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

April 30-May 2, 2020

University of Oregon Portland

Deadline: December 20, 2019

http://whatis.uoregon.edu

What is Information? (2020) will investigate conceptualizations and implementations of information via material, representational, and hybrid frames. The conference-experience will consider information and its transformational æffects—from documents to data; from facts and fictions to pattern recognition; from physical information to differential equations; and from volatility, uncertainty, and ambiguity to collective intelligence and wisdom.The tenth annual What is…? examines tapestries, temperaments, and topologies of information lenses and practices—including—social and technical, mathematical and semantic, physical and biological, economic and political, cultural and environmental information. Thus, information can be understood as physical (e.g. fingerprints and tree rings), for instruction (e.g. algorithms and recipes), and about epistemic systems (e.g. maps and encyclopedias). 

Next year’s gathering expands on What is Technology? (2019), which explored technology as tools, processes, and moral knowledge, as well as problem-solving and intelligent inquiry.Scholars, government and community officials, industry professionals, scientists, artists, students, filmmakers, grassroots community organizations, and the public are invited to collaborate. We welcome submissions for papers, panels, roundtables and installations.

Presentations / panels / installations may include the following topics (as well as others):

• What is information? Are data and information synonymous? Is information material/concrete, symbolic/abstract, or both? What distinguishes information from knowledge and wisdom?

• Is information freedom? What is meta-data?  What are information systems, flows, and gaps?

• What approaches or lenses are used to study information? How do they relate to emerging disciplines? 

• What are information science and information art? What are relationships between STE(A)M and ICT?

• How are the natural sciences and information sciences continuing to converge (e.g. bioinformatics)? 

• Is information at the core of music, architecture, design, craft, and/or science and technology studies? 

• Is biology itself information or only a representation? What are data science, machine learning and visualization? How are informatics enhancing medicine and the environment via regenerative systems?

• What is the philosophy of information? What are information literacy, ethics, education, & aesthetics?

• What are networks? What are relationships between information, technology/media, and message?

• What are information ecologies, information environments, and how do/can they facilitate public good? 

• What is political economy of information? How do information & socio-cultural factors æffect each other?

• What are current approaches to the study of information professions, audiences, and psychology? 

• How does information highlight gender, race, indigenous, and/or global environmental concerns?

• How can contemplation, empathy, kindness, and/or responsibility be studied via information?  

• What are patterns of digital divides? What comes after post-truth (e.g. cyber-physical)?

• What are data-mining and threat detection or privacy in the cyber-defense/cyber-security age? 

• Can apps, games, and immersive media help us to adapt to the ever-changing information landscape?

• What laws/regulations/policies are appropriate for information? How are information & value(s) related? 

Conference Organizers: Janet Wasko and Jeremy Swartz (University of Oregon)

Send 150-word abstracts for papers, panels, installations, and exhibits by DECEMBER 20, 2019, to: Janet Wasko,  jwasko@uoregon.edu  (University of Oregon , Eugene, Oregon)

Deadline: October 25, 2019

Editors: Sara Bannerman (McMaster University) and James Meese (University of Technology Sydney)

In January 2018, Facebook declared that it would no longer prioritise news content in its NewsFeed. Instead, it would surface posts from 'friends and family', with the goal of bringing 'people closer together' (Mosseri, 2018). Facebook had stopped promoting particular forms of news before (like clickbait headlines) but they had always retained a broad commitment to distributing news content. However, the change in 2018 represented a major pivot for a platform that had increasingly become a central intermediary for online news distribution. In response, digital-first publications, who had staked their business model on Facebook's ability to surface news to audiences, started to lay off staff in significant numbers. These new disruptive news enterprises (like Buzzfeed and Mic) were supposed to usher in a new future for news. However, it appeared that their business models were as unstable as those of their print predecessors.

These recent developments have not gone unnoticed by governments. Policymakers and politicians across the world are starting to examine the role that platforms and algorithms play in the distribution of news. Inquiries in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and elsewhere have explored the consequences of the algorithmic distribution of news. Alongside these national inquiries, a broader international discussion has focused on the apparent rise in disinformation and the increasingly partisan nature of political discourse. This discussion has intensified recently, leading to the formation of an International Grand Committee on Big Data, Privacy and Democracy composed of elected officials from governments around the world.

This edited collection will respond to this international policy moment and examine the challenges posed by the algorithmic distribution of news. It will critically assess recent media policy developments in this space and explore the broader economic, political and industrial transformations associated with algorithmic distribution. In doing so, we aim to offer a comprehensive account of this moment of institutional change, which has significantly altered the distribution and consumption of news (see Nielsen 2018).

The book will be split into two sections. The first section will consist of thematic chapters (5 - 6,000 words) and the second section will feature shorter case studies (3 - 4,000 words) describing and analysing recent policy developments related to algorithmic distribution in particular countries. We are currently in discussions with interested publishers and seeking contributions for both sections.

Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

• International governance of the algorithmic distribution of news, including the formation and operation of the International Grand Committee;
• Measures to support media diversity in light of algorithmic distribution, including measures to support local, Indigenous, alternative, independent, ethnic, women's and minority news media;
• Case studies of countries (for section two): how have particular countries approached regulatory problems in light of the algorithmic distribution of news?
• Subsidies and tax exemptions that respond to the algorithmic distribution of news;
• Discussions of regulations intended to ensure the objectivity and/or transparency of search and recommendation algorithms;
• Regulatory measures that respond to layoffs and closures of news outlets;
• Intersections between copyright law and news aggregation (such as the EU's Article 11, the 'Google News tax;'
• The relationship between news, platforms, and competition law;
• Regulation of targeted advertising in relation to news;
• Histories of early forays into online (or social) news distribution;
• Analyses of innovative forms of news distribution;
• Civic risks associated with algorithmic distribution (or online engagement);and
• Detailed analyses of relevant inquiries or reform proposals.

If you are interested in contributing to either section, please send a short chapter or case study proposal (of about 400 words) and a biography (150 words) by the 25th of October 2019 to james.meese@uts.edu.au and banners@mcmaster.ca.