ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Deadline: May 31, 2020

The Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies is accepting and processing full papers for its Special Issue dedicated to the problems of media, culture and society in Africa and Asia. Scholars are invited to submit research papers – welcoming both theoretical/conceptual work as well as empirical analyses – on a variety of aspects. This thematic issue of Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies will present fresh discussions on the current situation and challenges encountered in media studies, culture and society in the ever changing landscape in Africa and Asia as well as reflections on how democratic developments have impacted the society in both continents in order to identify and explore a range of important questions regarding its significance for the changing nature of media, culture and society in the digital age.

Contributions are expected to critically analyze current theoretical developments in communication, culture and society; reexamine and enlarge epistemology of the subjects under review; to assess media perspectives about the global South; theoretical and epistemological approaches for comparative research across both continents; provide discourse on the relevance of theories and models across different societies and media systems; and explore efforts and discussions on the theoretical cross-pollination within different continental and regional media.

Aim & Scope: This Special Issue aims to bring together pioneering, groundbreaking contributions from media and communication studies and related disciplines such as sociology, psychology and political science.

Possible topics to be examined in this Special Issue may include but not limited to:

• The core questions that need to be addressed in the current globalized and digital ecosystem with regard to media, culture and society in Africa and Asia
• How media and cultural conceptual frameworks communicate and address changing institutional, professional, and audience cultures and practices across the two continents
• Theories and concepts that explain the gap between normative theories and professional practices across different media systems, cultures and societies in both continents
• Concepts and theories needed to understand changes in media institutions in global and digital times across cultures and societies in Africa and Asia
• The impact of journalism, citizen journalism, and user generated content in journalism and media studies in established news organisations across both continents
• Reporting crises across societies in Africa and Asia
• Dealing with the online journalism and “fake news” spreading through social media, challenges and solutions
• The social media reporter; how social media impacts the culture and practice of journalism in Africa and Asia

The call invites high-quality conceptual and theoretical papers that address the topics under consideration. Manuscripts must be submitted by May 31, 2020, via Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies online submission system. Authors must indicate that they wish to have their manuscript considered for the Special Issue. Accepted articles are expected to be published on the Galactica Media’s online platform in the end of July 2020.

Those interested in submitting a paper can raise preliminary questions with the Editor: Ben-Collins Ndinojuo of University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria (ben.ndinojuo@uniport.edu.ng).

October 26-28, 2020

İzmir University of Economics, Turkey

Deadline to submit abstracts: April 15, 2020

(Dis)Continuities: Cultures, Markets & Politics

It was during the early 1900s when processes of communication were for the first time acknowledged as constituent components of social relations in modern societies. Since then, communication studies have flourished and become one of the most active fields of scholarly research mainly due to its interdisciplinarity and its inherent association with everyday life. The past century has been marked by momentous discontinuities and changes – in societal structures, in political organizations, in markets and industries, in everyday technologies and in human thought and interaction in all its forms. All these discontinuities and changes have had an impact on the field, contributing in productive ways to the vibrant flux in communication research and creating ruptures, cleavages, offshoots, camps, and approaches within the discipline. So much so that today some areas of the field are all but unrecognisable. The rise of new forms of ICTs just over the last few decades, for instance, are forcing communication scholars to embrace enormous challenges. Today we are faced with new means of production and distribution in all forms of content; innovative narrative practices that span diverse media forms have become commonplace; we see novel producers and consumers that transform markets as we have known them; we tackle data in extraordinary sizes and novel manners. In short, in the age of digitalisation, unprecedented media and communication ecologies have come into being which demand new methods of analysis and intelligibility.

While change is ever-present, there are also many continuities. Many aspects of the social world and the processes of communication intrinsic to it endure. In fact, if the old saying can be trusted, “the more things change, the more they remain the same”. Our desire and concern for emancipation, equality, empowerment, freedom, justice and struggle for a better world unwaveringly prevail as our most impending challenges. Our deepest desires, fears, longings, and anxieties are still at the heart of the human condition. We know for a fact that the centrality of communication processes in modern democratic societies remains unchanged. In turn, despite vicissitudes in communication technologies and social life, there are many continuities in communication theory and practice. Many methods, models, approaches, theories and schools of thought are still highly relevant and applicable - perhaps more so than ever.

It is these continuities and discontinuities in both social life and the field of communication studies that frame the theme of this year’s Communication in the Digital Age Symposium. Hence, the symposium theme (dis)continuities aims to bring together different academic disciplines/approaches/issues represented within the field of communication studies. A better understanding of these continuities, discontinuities and changes will enable us to make better sense of the ways in which contemporary societies function and the role of communication in them. Driven by our belief in the importance of such a discussion, we invite communication scholars working in all related fields to contribute to the symposium with their work. We welcome abstracts for scholarly papers and themed panels related to the theme of the symposium.

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

• Histories, theories and models
• Media, gender and LGBTQ+
• Children, youth and media
• Law, governance and politics
• Ownership, production and distribution
• Audience and reception
• Media and/of diaspora
• Global media studies
• Networks, clusters and minorities
• Old and new modes of cinematic narration
• Interactive media and digital platforms
• Media activism and social movements
• Ecology and sustainability
• Big data and digital humanities
• Corporate identity, image and reputation
• Brands, consumers and new markets
• Perception, persuasion and engagement
• New approaches in public relations and advertising
• Ethics, crises and community impact
• Intercultural/transcultural communication and diversity
• Mediatization and/of politics

For further information http://cida2020.ieu.edu.tr/

For inquiries cida2020@izmirekonomi.edu.tr.

May 15-16, 2020

University of London

Please do register for Liberalism Inc: 200 years of the Guardian, a conference at Goldsmiths, University of London on 15/16 May.

• Friday 15 May, 6-8pm: opening keynote with Gary Younge (former editor-at-large of the Guardian) and respondents Bev Skeggs and Richard Seymour.
• Saturday 16 May, 10am-6pm: main conference with keynotes from Alan Rusbridger (former editor-in-chief of the Guardian), Ghada Karmi (author of Return: A Palestinian Memoir) and Mark Curtis (author of Dirty Wars and Secret Affairs).

Panels include: The Guardian and Empire, Regulation, Racism and Populism, Feminism, Foreign Coverage, Bias - and more!

Free registration is here and the whole event takes place in the Professor Stuart Hall building at Goldsmiths, University of London.

If you want more information, please get in touch (d.freedman@gold.ac.uk)

Studies in Communication Sciences (SComS)

Deadline: July 31, 2020

Edited by Dimitris Serafis, Jolanta Drzewiecka, Sara Greco

We are seeking contributions for a thematic section of Studies in Communication Sciences (SComS) – a peer-reviewed open-access journal of communication and media research – exploring discursive constructions of migration.

The massive movement of migrant and refugee populations from war and conflict zones to Europe in summer 2015 created a state of emergency for the member-states and institutions of the European Union (EU). More specifically, in the context of the so-called “refugee crisis” (2015-2017) new fences and borders were raised in Europe as well as alarming racist and hateful discourses were disseminated (see Mussolf 2017; Assimakopoulos et al. 2018). 

During this polarized period, studies that adopt a critical perspective focused on the examination of migration, racism and xenophobia across various fields of research in communication sciences (see e.g. Krzyzanowski, Wodak & Triantafyllidou 2018). This thematic section aims at advancing this perspective in communication sciences by gathering cutting-edge research revolving around the discursive/communicative constructions of the migratory phenomenon and the related new forms of racism traced in various European countries (e.g. Greece, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, United Kingdom etc.). In doing so, this issue attempts to present coherent research tools and approaches to expose racism and xenophobia cultivated in Europe during the past years of "crisis," thereby facilitating cultural and critical resistance to these very problems. We are looking forward to receiving submissions from different disciplines in the broader area of communication that combine critical, interdisciplinary perspectives, innovative methodological approaches, and rigorous empirical analyses of the discursive/communicative construction of migration in different European countries during the “refugee crisis”; we also encourage papers that compare discourses in more than one European country. 

Submissions relating (but not limited) to the following disciplinary perspectives are invited: 

• Political Communication 
• (Social) Media Communication 
• Intercultural Communication
• Discourse Theory 
• Discourse Analysis 
• Critical Discourse Analysis 
• Argumentation 
• Linguistics 
• Rhetoric 

Submission guidelines

The journal welcomes submissions in English, German, French, or Italian, but the abstracts must be in English. All submissions should be uploaded on the SComS platform: www.scoms.ch.

Paper submissions will be due 31 July 2020. Final acceptance depends on a double-blind peer review process. The expected publishing date of this special issue is April 2021.

For any further information, and if you wish to discuss the relevance of your research proposal to this thematic section, please contact Dimitris Serafis (dimitrios.serafis@usi.ch).

Timeline:

• Full papers are required no later than July 31, 2020
• 1st review will be provided by September 30, 2020
• 2nd submission should be submitted by November 15, 2020
• 2nd review and notification of acceptance will be provided by December 31, 2020
• Final papers should be submitted by February 15, 2021

Since 01.01.2020, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is funding the “Global Center of Spatial Methods for Urban Sustainability” (GCSMUS) via the DAAD program “Higher Education Excellence in Development Cooperation – exceed”. GCSMUS is based at Technische Universität Berlin (Germany) and connects 48 institutional partners from 48 countries and 8 world regions.

Focusing on the Sustainable Development Goal #11 of the Agenda 2030 to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”, the center aims at developing transdisciplinary spatial methods in order to improve both the academic education in the spatial disciplines and planning practice via evidence-based and low-impact urban development (LIUD). SDG # 11 addresses all dimensions of sustainability namely:

• social sustainability by reducing poverty, spatial segregation and social inequality on various dimensions (e.g. class, gender, race/ethnicity, age and disability)
• economic sustainability by overcoming economic exclusion, creating career and business opportunities for all income groups and building resilient societies and economies
• ecological sustainability by reducing negative environmental impacts of cities, by reducing the negative impact of disasters and climate change on cities and by protecting and safeguarding the world’s natural and cultural heritage.

SDG #11 in particular aims at giving access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing, green and public spaces, transport system as well as basic services (such as water, food, electricity, sanitation, waste deposal, internet, heating and/or cooling, clean air, education, work/jobs, health care, leisure activities and sports.

In order to achieve these goals, the center is organized as a peer-learning process and will implement several strategic Actions between 2020 and 2024. While some of the center’s activities are for GCSMUS-member-institutions only, many activities such as international conferences, workshops as well as other events and funding opportunities are open also to non-members.

If you are interested in being informed about these activities or the center’s activities in general, please kindly subscribe to our newsletter by registering via the following website: https://lists.tu-berlin.de/mailman/listinfo/mes-smusnews

More information on the center can be found on: www.mes.tu-berlin.de/GCSMUS

If you have any other inquiries on the center, please kindly contact the GCSMUS Office by sending an email to: smus@mes.tu-berlin.de

Deadline: February 29, 2020

Both celebrity and fan studies have experienced significant growth in recent years. While different in trajectory, both fields are intimately connected through an emphasis on the impact and implications of popular culture. Often scholars in fan and celebrity studies examine similar cultural phenomena from different scholarly perspectives; be it representation or responses to media texts, construction or deconstruction of famous persona, or the affordances of online platforms to foster interaction. To date, a consolidated approach to the study of fans and celebrities and points of intersection, is relatively rare.

Two conferences were held at the end of 2019 in Australia aimed to address the intersections between celebrity and fan studies. One conference, focusing on fan studies, was held by the Fan Studies Network Australasia (FSNA); the other on fame, celebrity and fandom held by the Fame and Persona Research Consortium (FPRC). To extend the discussion from the conferences and further explore intersections between fan and celebrity studies, a proposal for an edited volume will be submitted to the University of Iowa Press.

We call for submissions for chapters and invite scholars in both celebrity and fan studies to consider the practical, theoretical and social implications of intersections between celebrity and fan studies. We invite submissions from scholars in all regions of the world, but especially encourage submissions from scholars researching celebrity and fan studies in Asia and the Pacific.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

* Online fan/celebrity interactions

* Offline fan/celebrity interactions

* Overlap between on/offline fan and celebrity practices

* Intersections between fan and celebrity studies

* Rethinking para-social relationships

* Diversifying study of media texts, fans and celebrities

Submission materials:

Please submit 800-word extended abstracts addressing the following:

* Theoretical/conceptual framework

* Methodology

* Argument

* Indicative conclusions

Please also include a 150-200-word bio.

Extended abstracts should be sent to: cjcelebrityresearch@gmail.com by February 29th 2020.

Key Dates:

• Submission of extended abstracts: February 29th 2020
• Notification of acceptance: March 15th 2020
• Submission of book proposal: June/July 2020

Cardiff University

Cardiff University, School of Journalism, Media and Culture, supported by the ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership for Wales, invites applications for PhD study, with the possibility of a fully-funded studentship, available to start in October 2020. We expect to make doctoral studentship awards in the area of “Journalism and Democracy”

The School of Journalism, Media and Culture (JOMEC) has a long-standing reputation as a world-leading centre for innovative teaching and research. Researchers engage with pressing contemporary issues and debates bringing together theory and practice. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework assessment, our research was ranked 2nd in the UK in terms of its quality and impact.

A key strength of JOMEC's research environment is the ongoing dialogue between research and practice-based staff delivering impactful research and policy.

JOMEC's cutting-edge research findings are shared through weekly seminars featuring speakers from across the UK and internationally. We also host the renowned biennial ‘Future of Journalism' conference bringing together scholars and practitioners from around the world contributing to a lively research environment.

JOMEC's state of the art facilities at Two Central Square situates us at the centre of local and national media, including BBC Cymru/Wales whose brand-new headquarters is situated next door. Our location facilitates building of strong industry links, boosting students' employability through access to major media organisations within the important and growing sector of the creative and cultural industries.

JOMEC academics have multi-disciplinary backgrounds from across the social sciences and humanities; have a strong tradition of teamwork and collaborative publications, and a substantial industry base. Pathway Convenor: Dr Cynthia Carter email: cartercl@cardif.ac.uk

Studentship's are ‘open' awards and applicants should consider approaching a potential supervisor before submitting their application. Information on the research interests of JOMEC staff can be found on our academic staff webpage.

STUDENTSHIP AWARD, ELIGIBILITY, TYPE OF AWARD (1+3 OR +3?)

See the ESRC Wales DTP website for further details: http://walesdtp.ac.uk/

HOW TO APPLY

A completed application form submitted to through the University's online application system (see details here) by the deadline of 12.00 noon, 3 February 2020.

The application must contain the following documents:

1. Covering letter: Please address to Dr Cynthia Carter. The covering letter must set out your reasons and motivation for applying to study at Cardiff University, and the “Journalism and Democracy” pathway; your understanding, and expectations of doctoral study; and your academic interests generally, and particularly of those relating to your proposed research. The letter should be no more than two pages and specify whether you wish to apply on a +3 or 1+3 basis.

2. Academic / Professional Qualifications and where appropriate proof of English Language Competency (7.5 IELTS with a minimum of 7.0 in each sub score).

3. References: All applications require two academic references to be submitted in support. Candidates must approach referees themselves and include references with their application.

4. Curriculum Vitae: Maximum two pages.

5. Research Proposal: A maximum of 1000 words, not including bibliographic references and we suggest the following five headings in your proposal:

• Title, aims and purpose of the research;
• Brief overview of the relevant academic literature;
• Proposed design/methods;
• Academic contributions of your research.
• Bibliographic References

Short-listed applicants will be invited to interview, which are expected to occur in late February/early March 2020. A short-list of applicants will then be put forward to a Panel from ESRC Wales DTP Management Group at which final decisions with regard to studentship awards will be made. Successful applicants can expect to hear by early April 2020.

Funding Notes

Short-listed applicants will be invited to interview, which are expected to occur in late February/early March 2020. A short-list of applicants will then be put forward to a Panel from ESRC Wales DTP Management Group at which final decisions with regard to studentship awards will be made.

Successful applicants can expect to hear by early April 2020.

The Ada Lovelace Institute

The Ada Lovelace Institute - https://www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/ - (Ada) and the UK Arts & Humanities Research Council are building a network to bring a humanities-led, interdisciplinary perspective to studies of AI and data ethics. This project is led by Dr Alison Powell at the Department of Media and

Communication at the London School of Economics. The project is looking for a research officer (postdoctoral scholar or experienced, non-PhD track researcher) for an initial 13-month term (starting April 2020) to work between the LSE Department of Media and Communication and Ada. This post will help create an interdisciplinary network, by:

• framing a creative, humanities-led perspective on AI and data ethics, particularly through translation across disciplines and between research, practice and policy 
• building up a repository of research 
• convening workshops and events
• mapping and managing relationships between researchers and practitioners, and contributing themselves to creative, critical and novel research on data and AI ethics.

It will involve writing, convening, commissioning and creating.

Candidates who are comfortable working across disciplines, especially between arts, design, social science and computer science are warmly welcomed.

More information is here: https://jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/5154/0/258428/15539/research-officer-data-and-ai-ethics

University of Amsterdam

At the Department of Media Studies, University of Amsterdam we have an opening for a PhD position in new media/software studies. The PhD student will work in the international, interdisciplinary project e-LADDA (https://e-ladda.eu), funded as a Marie Curies Innovative Training Network.

The profiles we look for (in total 14 PhD students across several organizations) are detailed here: https://www.ntnu.edu/e-ladda/individual-projects1.

Look for project ESR13 "Apps for learning: A software studies analysis of mobile applications for language development in children". We will focus in particular on atypical children (e.g., with autism, Down syndrome, etc.) so you will have the opportunity to really make a difference for these children and their families.

Deadline for applications: January 24th, 2020, 23:00 CET

Apply at https://www.ntnu.edu/e-ladda/recruitment

Curtin University (Australia)

Internet Studies at Curtin University (Perth, Western Australia) is hiring a 2-year, full-time, level B Postdoctoral Research Fellow to work on an Australian Research Council (ARC) funded project looking at Social Media Influencers as Conduits of Knowledge in East Asia and Australia.

The candidate will be working closely with Dr Crystal Abidin and based in the School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry (MCASI), which explores new technologies and values the creative industries and social sciences. The School aims to encourage creative and critical reflection while engaging with relevant industries.

You will bring to the role:

* A PhD, preferably in Humanities or Social Sciences.

* Demonstrated experience in conducting traditional or digital ethnographic fieldwork – highly desirable.

* Competence in an East Asian language, preferably Chinese, Japanese or Korean – essential.

* A record of high-quality, peer-reviewed research publication, preferably demonstrating expertise in social media studies.

* Demonstrated high level communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to interact with students and staff with cross-cultural sensitivity.

* Demonstrated commitment to applying policies, procedures and legislation, as well as maintaining data security and confidentiality.

* Demonstrated project management skills with the ability to manage and implement project plans to achieve desired outcomes within required constraints.

Deadline for applications is 03 February 2020.

More information + Apply via the link here: https://staff.curtin.edu.au/job-vacancies/?ja-job=84194&fbclid=IwAR2rcFCAdkztZK8c-D15fKDfTDtlI0T5IlzLLifhTLE_JIJapOzmGfBT8RM