ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

December 12-13, 2019

UNSW Sydney 

Deadline: September 13, 2019

The contemporary media landscape is shaped by increasing precarity and awareness of gendered issues. The global screen industry is grappling with the cultural and industrial shifts precipitated by the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements. For some, the Harvey Weinstein revelations and subsequent scandal resulted in a re-evaluation of the gendered operation of Hollywood. The industry has responded on the red carpet, through the media and in film festival juries. What role do – and can – forms of film feminisms (or cine-feminism) play within this context?

This symposium will explore questions around the state, place and forms of contemporary cine-feminisms. There is little question that women’s filmmaking is gaining new currency and profile in film festivals, in film funding and in academic publishing. Calls for greater gender equity in the film industry are resulting in shifts in the ways (some) film funding bodies allocate resources and in how (some) film festivals select and program work. Decades of lobbying by women working both within and on the margins of the film industry have been the driving force in creating these shifts, often in engagement with the long history of feminist film scholarship on the work of women behind the camera, in front of the camera, and in front of the screen. The recent commitments to greater gender equity in the film industry can also, of course, be understood as one way that the industry has responded to negative publicity (in particular, the high-profile cases of sexual harassment, sexual assault and gender-based discrimination that have captured public attention) and economic opportunity (targeting female viewers).

While this (re)newed interest in women’s filmmaking has been enabled by cine-feminisms to what extent and in what ways does – or can – it create opportunities for feminist teaching and research in the academy? What place does cine-feminism have in the academy today? When, where and how does it shape and inform how both film history and film theory are understood and taught and how questions of authorship, genre, performance, intermediality, and industry are explored? In the shifting university sector, are there particular issues that cine-feminist work bumps up against in terms of syllabus design, recognition of engagement and outreach, research funding and publications?

We invite proposals on any area related to cine-feminisms/film feminisms, including but not limited to:

• Contemporary and historical cine- and media feminisms
• Feminist screen theories and pedagogy
• “Doing” feminist screen studies
• Feminist cine-activisms – on screen, online, in press, on the streets
• Diverse feminist screen cultures in the digital age

Keynote will be delivered by Dr Anna Backman Rogers (University of Gothenberg, Sweden)

Dr Anna Backman Rogers is a Senior Lecturer in Feminism and Visual Culture at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She is the author of American Independent Cinema: Rites of Passage and The Crisis Image (Edinburgh UP, 2015) and Sofia Coppola: The Politics of Visual Pleasure (Berghahn 2018). She is also the co-editor with Laura Mulvey of Feminisms (Amsterdam UP, 2015) and the co-editor with Boel Ulfsdotter of Female Authorship and the Documentary Image: Theory, Practice and Aesthetics and Female Agency and Documentary Strategies: Subjectivities, Identity, and Activism (both with Edinburgh UP, 2017). Her current research is on the films of Lynne Ramsay and Barbara Loden’s WANDA.

CFP closes 13th of September 2019. Please send your proposals including a title, an abstract (250 words), and a short biography (80 words) to Dr Jessica Ford (jessica.ford@newcastle.edu.au) and Dr Jodi Brooks (j.brooks@unsw.edu.au) by 13th of September 2019.

January 17, 2020

Northumbria University, London Campus

Deadline: October 11, 2019

Keynote speaker: Professor Toni Bruce,Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Auckland, New Zealand

Keynote panel: to be announced in October 2019

The quality and influence of research produced by sports mediascholarsfrom a range of disciplines is improved by both an interdisciplinary approach and the direct, active involvement of stakeholders. As such, the aim of this one-day conference is to provide a platform for the knowledge exchange between scholars (from a range of disciplines), stakeholders, and practitioners who are united by a focus on sports media.

The event will take stock of the current position by examining notable case studies from the recent past. The event aims to foster new inter- and/or post-disciplinary trajectories and scholarship/practitioner collaborations. More specifically, the event hasfour objectives:

1. To stimulate conversations between academic disciplines, as well as between fields of media policy and practice;

2. To elaborate an historically-informed, future-focused research agenda that accounts for the needs and concerns of policy makers and practitioners;

3. To disseminate emerging findings and insights to a wide audience of academics and non-academics;

4. To identify and agree a series of next steps and practical actions by which to progress the Network and its concerns.

Submissions:

We welcome 15-minute papers, multi-media or documentary presentations which address the study of the gendered nature of sports media, including but not limited to such topics as:

* Methodological innovation

* Pathways to inter-disciplinary collaboration

* Sharing research outcomes with media practitioners

* Overcoming gender bias in sports media industries

* Sports media representation of female non-athletes

* Sports media, gender and race

* Inclusive and exclusive framing of trans athletes

It is intended that the symposium will lead to a special edition collection for Routledge’s /Advances in Leisure Studies /series.

Submissions are due by Friday, 11 October 2019  and should:

1. Be sent in the form of a Microsoft Word document (.doc, .docx)

2. Not exceed 300 words

3. Include the title of the paper

4. Include the author’s full name, title, position and institution

5. Include a brief professional biography (not exceeding 50 words)

Submissions should be sent to: SportMediaGender2020@gmail.com

with the subject header: /“Abstract: Sports media & gender conference 2020"/

Cost: £15 (Lunch and refreshment provided). For more details and to book a place, please visit the conference website here: https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/news-events/events/2020/01/sport-media-and-gender-2020

A small number of travel and accommodation bursaries are available for Early Career. Details on request.

Venue: Northumbria University London Campus, 110Middlesex St, Spitalfields, London, E1 7HT

Convenor: Roger Domeneghetti,Senior lecturer in Journalism, Faculty of Arts Design and Social Science, Northumbria University

University of Sheffield

Deadline: September 12, 2019

We are looking to recruit a part-time French-speaking Research Associate (for 5 months starting end October/beginning of November 2019) to work with us on the /FemmePowermentAfrique /project, assessing the impact of radio, and particularly Studio Tamani, on women’s rights and empowerment in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

Since 2013, Studio Tamani, a news-providing radio initiative run by Fondation Hirondelle, a Swiss-based media development organisation, has been producing and broadcasting a daily two-hour news and information programme in Mali in five languages (French, Bambara, Peulh, Tamasheq, and Sonrhaï). Its aim is to provide independent information to all sectors of society, raise awareness and contribute to the development of one of the poorest countries in the world. Studio Tamani is currently broadcasting women-themed programmes on a series of topics to raise awareness of women’s rights and empowerment.

Working in collaboration with Fondation Hirondelle in Lausanne and Studio Tamani in Mali, you will be based in the Department of Journalism Studies at the University of Sheffield and will involved in the quantitative and qualitative analysis of data, radio programmes and radio generally in Mali, but also Niger and Burkina Faso.

Fluent French is essential.

Key areas of investigation will be radio, women, politics, and Mali/Niger/Burkina Faso. Experiencein these areas will be beneficial.

You will have a good honours degree and will be undertaking or have recently completed a PhD in a relevant area.

The deadline is 12 September with interviews on 27 September.

To apply, please click here

For informal enquiries about this job, contact: Dr Emma Heywood - e.heywood@sheffield.ac.uk .

Università Svizzera Italiana

Deadline: September 15, 2019

Profile of the Faculty and of the Institute

The Faculty of Communication Sciences is committed to research and teaching excellence in innovative communication and media areas, with a strong societal and cultural import. We consider communication as a fundamental process of the organizing of social endeavours, which we approach from multiple disciplines both within the social sciences and humanities. The Faculty is embedded within a diverse, dynamic, and highly international university, fostering collaborations across faculties (Architecture, Communication Sciences, Informatics, Biomedical Sciences, and Economics).

The Institute of Media and Journalism (IMeG) was created in 2004 within the Faculty of Communication Sciences. The Institute contributes to the teaching activities at Bachelor level, particularly by providing the area of specialization in 'Communications and Media', at the Master level, by running the Master in 'Media Management and by offering PhD- level supervision. IMeG engages in research activities in the following areas: organizational analysis and business strategies adopted by media companies; the historical evolution of media production processes and the media use within different socio-political, economic and cultural contexts; and the evolution of media-related professions, with particular regard to journalism; the history of media technologies; digital usage among young people; and climate change communications. The Director of the Institute is Professor Matthew Hibberd.

Candidate Profile

The Institute of Media and Journalism (IMeG) wishes to appoint a suitably qualified and experienced candidate at Assistant Professor level to undertake academic research, service existing undergraduate module/s and to develop a new Master-level course in Digital Journalism.

The successful candidate will already hold a PhD and will have experience in publishing in peer-reviewed journals. S/he will have teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate level, including coordinating and managing modules, allowing the successful candidate the opportunity to participate in both undergraduate and master-level programmes by developing specialist journalism provision. The successful candidate will take the lead role in developing the new Masters in Digital Journalism at USI and will also help supervise doctoral student/s. IMeG currently host the European Journalism Observatory’s (EJO) Italian web site and the successful candidate will have the opportunity to work with EJO colleagues. Applications will be welcome from those who have teaching and research specialisms in a range of areas across digital journalism, including practice-based teaching, especially in the following areas:

• Journalist research and practice in Switzerland and/or Europe.
• News Reporting and understanding of key techniques and issues used across multi-platform journalism, including key standards, issues of journalistic balance and media ethics.
• Journalism and the use of big data, artificial intelligence and algorithm processing including knowledge of recent media controversies surrounding WikiLeaks, etc.
• Social media and the use of alternative-related forms of journalism.

The ideal candidate will have:

* potential to research in his/her field at an international level;

* experience in teaching including managing modules;

The ability to teach and work in various languages and a commitment to service to the University and to the academic profession are a plus.

Job Description

This post offers the opportunity and resources for a young scholar of excellence to become an important member of a vibrant research group and be involved in the Institute’s research and teaching programmes.

The successful candidate will be expected to:

* promote research internationally and locally. Switzerland provides the opportunity of accessing relevant research funds provided by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and similar institutions;

* teach courses and hold seminars on digital journalism at different levels: Bachelor, Master and Doctoral (9 ECTS per year);

* co-ordinate an assistant’s activities and act in an advisory capacity for PhD candidates; actively participate in the work of the Faculty Council and related ad-hoc committees.

The position involves 60% research, 30% teaching, and 10% service, and will start in April 2020 or as soon as thereafter. The employment package is competitive according to international standards, including also one fully funded PhD position with generous travel funds.

Residence and Language

The professor should normally take residence in Ticino (Italian-speaking part of Switzerland). The University’s postgraduate programmes are taught mainly in English, while most Bachelor classes are taught in Italian. Fluency in Italian is preferential, but is required within three years of taking up the post. B2 level of French and/or German is desirable.

Application and Required Documentation:

Applicants should submit:

* a letter of motivation addressed to the Dean of the Faculty

* a detailed CV including a list of publications, together with documentation of relevant academic qualifications, teaching, service and professional experience

* copies of a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 10 publications of relevance for the position

* names of three referees

Please send the application in digital form to concorsi.com@usi.com

Since USI aims to increase the percentage of women in research and teaching, women academics are particularly encouraged to apply.

Deadline

Applications received by 15th September 2019 will be given priority.

Please send your electronic application to the Dean of Faculty by e-mail, addressed to:

Prof. Andrea Rocci

Facoltà di scienze della comunicazione

Università della Svizzera italiana

Via Giuseppe Buffi 13

CH-6904 Lugano

E-mail: concorsi.com@usi.ch

For further information, please contact Professor Matthew Hibberd Vice-Dean and Director, Institute of Media and Journalism (IMeG). Phone 0041 586664725. Email matthew.hibberd@usi.ch

YECREA Round Table

November 13, 2019, 16:30 – 18:00, Zurich, Switzerland

Deadline for application: November 1, 2019

The Health Communication Temporary Working Group and the ECREA Young Scholars Network (YECREA) are organizing a round table debate titled  The responsible conduct of research: The ethical challenges and considerations in health communication studies.

The event aims to encourage young scholars to exchange and share their concerns, issues, questions, dilemmas, and ideas with other scholars at different stages of their career. It will take place at the 13 November before the Get Together of the European Conference on Health Communication (ECHC) in Zurich.

Participants (young and senior scholars) that would like to take part in the round table discussion can register by sending an email with their name and affiliation to Sara Atanasova (YECREA Representative) at sara.atanasova[at]fdv.uni-lj.si.

Special Issue on Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society

Deadline: September 9, 2019

Edited by Jacob Johanssen (St. Mary’s University, jacob.johanssen@stmarys.ac.uk)

For psychoanalysis, sexuality, how it is both individually thought about and lived and how it is culturally constructed, is key to understanding both the human psyche and social change. Freud believed that the sexual behaviour of an individual, from the earliest stages of development onwards, provided key insights into how they related to others and themselves in life more generally. While Freud stressed that there is no ‘normal’ sexuality and heterosexuality was a myth, his particular theories of female sexuality were nonetheless critiqued by feminist thinkers. Initially for Freud, the symptom itself was a distorted or covered manifestation of sexual activity which related to conflicts. Those ideas were developed by post-Freudian psychoanalysts in numerous ways. It is psychoanalysis that fundamentally contributed to the theorisation and understanding of the role that sexual desires and fantasies play in our (un)conscious forms of relating to ourselves and others. While psychoanalytic schools have come to understand sexuality in different ways, other disciplines such as queer theory, cultural studies and philosophy have grappled with and drawn on those conceptualisations of sexuality. Particular notions that are often taken for granted in every day discourse – perversion, fetishism, voyeurism – were (and are) developed by psychoanalysts. The call for papers for a special issue of Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society takes psychoanalytic theories of sexuality / sexualities and how they were adapted/critiqued by other disciplines as a starting point for analysing contemporary networked media, online spaces and digital phenomena.

In the past two decades, the Internet and networked devices have not only transformed societies but also human agency and subjectivity. How we communicate and relate to others has been shaped by our engagement with and immersion in digital media, devices and platforms. Social media in particular can be seen as enablers of unprecedented levels of human communication and cooperation which result in a sense of recognition and security for individuals, at the same time users have become data points which are commodified, surveyed and tracked by companies, governments and other entities. Contemporary online communication is also often marked by strong levels of hatred, aggression and polarisation which are characterised by the symbolic, and sometimes physical, destruction of the other. This proposed special issue of Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society places a specific focus on sexualities in contemporary online spaces. Sexualities have become more flexible and fluid thanks to technology as they are facilitated through hook up apps like Tinder, or Grindr. In reproductive terms, devices connected to the Internet such as fertility and health check apps have also become available. The Internet facilitates an informative and pleasurable engagement with sexualities, be it through online content, or communities around sexual identities for example. Subjects reveal aspects about their sexualities online more than ever before. At the same time, much of mainstream pornography has been critiqued as depicting women as oppressed, sexualised objects aimed to satisfy a male gaze. Clinicians have also noted that pornography can impact young people’s sexual development in harmful ways. Perhaps somewhat related to the widespread engagement with some forms of pornography, women are discussed in certain online spaces (such as forums on Reddit or 4chan) in highly misogynistic terms. Such language is often inspired by right-wing discourse and imagery which has gained increasing visibility online. The #MeToo movement on the other hand has made use of social media for activist purposes in order to resist and expose the widespread sexual assault and harassment conducted by men. It has attracted criticism for some of the methods and narratives deployed which have led to false accusations for example.

It is safe to say that the representation of and engagement with sexualities has exploded due to digital technologies. There is scope to interpret such aspects in depth through psychoanalysis in combination with other approaches.

Possible topics include but are not limited to:

• Psychoanalytic approaches to sexuality
• Psychoanalysis and other conceptualisations of sexuality (e.g. Foucauldian, Deleuze-Guattarian, queer theoretical)
• Clinical perspectives on sexuality and digital media
• Repression and its status today
• Pleasures, unpleasures – Eros and the death drive
• #MeToo and activism against sexualised violence
• The Alt-Right and online misogyny
• Online pornography
• Livestreaming and camming
• Hook-up apps
• The Internet of Things (fertility devices, sex toys, sex robots, etc.)
• Social media
• Games and gaming cultures
• Virtual reality and forms of simulation

Please send abstracts of no longer than 500 words to Jacob Johanssen (jacob.johanssen@stmarys.ac.uk) by 09 September 2019. Accepted full papers will be due in February 2020. The special issue will be published in December 2020.

Article length: 6-8,000 words

About the journal

Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society is an international, peer-reviewed journal published by Palgrave (https://www.palgrave.com/gb/journal/41282). It explores the intersection between psychoanalysis and the social world. It is a journal of both clinical and academic relevance which publishes articles examining the roles that psychoanalysis can play in promoting and achieving progressive social change and social justice.

Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society benefits a worldwide community of psychoanalytically informed scholars in the social and political sciences, media, cultural and literary studies, as well as clinicians and practitioners who probe the relationship between the social and the psychic. It is the official journal of the Association for the Psychoanalysis of Culture & Society.

Revista Lusófona de Estudos Culturais/ Lusophone Journal of Cultural Studies (Vol. 7, nº 1)

Deadline: September 15, 2019

Editors: Pedro Andrade (Communication and Society Research Centre, University of Minho) & Mário Caeiro (Superior School of Arts and Design of Caldas da Rainha, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria).

Public art is understood as a hybrid and intercultural art style that, in the context of urban or rural public spaces and times, represents and presents objects or projects, contents or forms, structures or conjunctures, or any other theme or problem, social or individual. Material public art includes monuments, statues, installations, graffiti, stencils, stickers, etc. Immaterial public art exhibits events, performances and content on websites and social networks. Thus, the practice and understanding of public art cannot be separated from its social dimensions: its contexts (public sphere, global and local cultures, cyberspace and cybertime); the respective practices (leisure, citizenship, tourism activities and actions, among others), and the corresponding target public (citizen, tourist, immigrant, etc.)

In other words, how do we communicate public art for different publics, within the city and in its public space? Inside the urban fabric of contemporaneity, everything is on the move: capital, labor, people, ideas, things, social inequalities, to name but a few of these rhythms and societal territories. In particular, within the network society, information and knowledge redefine these structures and conjunctures, by updating their own courses. Therefore, the communication of information and knowledge of public art in the city cannot but be mobile. In this context, diverse mobile cultures emerge, defined as a set of procedures, norms, beliefs, habits and practices that deal with increasingly portable information and knowledge, for example through the use of mobile phones. One of the expressions of mobile cultures is public art, whose works frequently reconstruct those innovative communication courses. And one of the processes that most contributes to the development of public art is cultural tourism. Tourist activities have gradually become a global and local phenomenon, somewhat opposite to the generalized process of immigration from the peripheral countries towards the central ones.

Thus, this issue of Lusophone Journal of Cultural Studies accepts contributions to a deeper debate and knowledge of such themes, through a reflection essentially in the following three major areas, which now hybridize with each other:

• Public art production: innovation for the public communication of urban culture and arts

Creation of cultural and art works within the urban public space; material public art (monuments, statues, installations, graffiti, stencils, stickers, etc.); immaterial public art (events, performances, content on websites and social networks); hybrid cultures and intercultural / transcultural communication in the city; history and socio-cultural memory of artistic projects in the city, by pioneering authors and actors of classical media or new media.

• Mediation of public art: valorization of urban heritage and promotion of cultural tourism through urban art

Regulation of public art by central and local state and administrative institutions; local development strategies through public arts; growth of participatory cultural investments linked to the ecology of regions and to the restructuring of urban areas; sustainability of cultural and artistic enterprises promoting public art.; emergence of industries, service mediators (tourist agencies), and creative commerces in the cultural and leisure sector, linked to public art; inclusive employability in the public arts sector and human capital in the local economy; memory institutions and urban artistic archive: museums, art galleries, cultural enterprises, local associations, groups of friends, collectors, etc.; urban public arts, cultural tourism and digital culture.

• Dissemination of public art: urban media, social networks and mobile devices

Dissemination of cultural heritage through public art; territorial promotion for the quality of life via the urban arts; implementation of public art in Unesco creative cities and smart cities; international affirmation of urban arts localities and non-places as a tourist and counter-tourist destination; central socio-cultural actors in public art networks: artists, curators, collectors, public (citizens, tourists, immigrants, etc.); mobilities of lifestyles and leisure associated with public art: use of mobile telephones in urban telemobilities, mobile companionship, slow tourism, etc.; Public Art in the City 2.0 (through urban, social and digital networks) and in City 3.0 (social-semantic networks, mobile devices, Internet of Things).

KEY DATES

• Submission deadline: September 15, 2019.
• Notification of acceptance decisions: November 31, 2019.
• Deadline for sending the full version and translated: January 31, 2020.
• Journal publication date: June 2020.

The Lusophone Journal of Cultural Studies is a peer-reviewed journal that uses a double blind review process. After submission, each paper will be distributed to two reviewers, previously invited to evaluate it, in terms of its academic quality, originality and relevance to the objectives and scope of the theme chosen for the journal’s current issue (www.rlec.pt).

Articles can be submitted in English or Portuguese. After the peer review process, the authors of the selected articles should ensure translation of the respective article, and the editors shall have the final decision on publication of the article.

Originals must be submitted via the journal’s website (www.rlec.pt). If you are accessing the Lusophone Journal of Cultural Studies for the first time, you must register in order to submit your article (indications to register here). The guidelines for authors can be consulted here.

For further information, please contact: rlec@ics.uminho.pt

Special issue on AI & Society: Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Communication (Springer)

Deadline: November 1, 2019

Editor-in-Chief: Karamjit S. Gill, editoraisoc@yahoo.co.uk

Guest Editors: Sofia Serholt, Sara Ljungblad & Niamh Ni Bhroin: sofia.serholt@gu.se (contact author)

http://link.springer.com/journal/146

This special issue seeks research contributions that explore the topic of Critical Robotics Research as an important emerging paradigm in the area of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) and related fields, including in particular the emerging field of Human-Machine Communication (HMC) (Guzman, 2018).

In recent years, the design, use and study of robots and AI have increased in a variety of social settings, ranging from, e.g., therapy and care for older adults, to education and domestic life. In parallel with these developments, voices have been raised advocating for more human-centered and holistic approaches to research on robot technology (Ljungblad, Serholt, Barendregt, Lindgren, & Obaid, 2016; Šabanović, 2010). In particular, the need to critically address underlying technology-driven values (Fernaeus, Jacobsson, Ljungblad, & Holmquist, 2009; MacKenzie & Wajcman, 1999), and to question the role of machines in the process of communication (Guzman, 2018) have been emphasized. More interdisciplinary work is also required to assess the design and use of robots in an increasing range of social settings. The aim of this special issue is therefore to foster research contributions that explore the design and use of robots in social domains through holistic, interdisciplinary and ethical perspectives. Contributions that critically investigate the use of robots, and make visible the challenges and dilemmas of robot use both in communication with, and in the immediate surroundings of, humans, are especially encouraged.

The notion of Critical Robotics was first introduced at the workshop Critical Robotics - Exploring a New Paradigm held at the Nordic forum for Human-Computer Interaction (NordiCHI) in 2018 (Ljungblad et al., 2018). The call to the workshop was initiated by Applied Robotics in Gothenburg: a group of researchers affiliated with the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, which was formed due to their shared experiences in robotics-centered research projects and their perceived need to look beyond the social robot as a taken-for-granted solution to a range of societal challenges. The call was inspired by the paradigm shifts that have occurred in the field of HCI in recent years, where research moved away from the optimization of man-machine interaction, towards theory about the computer and the human mind, to finally settle on a focus on interaction as phenomenologically situated where approaches related to participation, values, philosophy and ethics began to play a more prominent role (cf. Bødker, 2006; Harrison, Tatar, & Sengers, 2007; Koskinen, Zimmerman, Binder, Redstrom, & Wensveen, 2012). In parallel with HCI, the robotics field is now experiencing a similar shift as demonstrated by the Robophilosophy Conference Series that began in 2014, the establishment of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics, as well as notable research projects devoted to exploring issues of ethics, sustainability, and responsibility in the area of social robotics, such as “Responsible Ethical Learning With Robotics” and “Integrative Social Robotics—A New Framework for Culturally Sustainable Technology Solutions”.

Emerging research related to Critical Robotics is now beginning to take form (cf. a recent workshop on critical design in HRI held at the International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (Lee et al., 2019), and a recent proposition to consider more exploratory design approaches familiar to HCI also in HRI (Luria, Zimmerman, & Forlizzi, 2019)). Through the lens of Critical Robotics Research, this special issue aims to establish a forum in which design and research on robots can be problematized.

Submissions are invited for the following topic areas:

• Human-Robot Interaction
• Human-Machine Communication
• Child-Robot Interaction
• Robotics and Digital Citizenship
• Robotics and Privacy
• Social Robotics
• Education
• Robotics, AI
• Philosophy
• Design
• Ethics/Applied Philosophy
• Psychology
• Digital Humanities
• Media and Communication Studies
• Robotics in Therapy and Healthcare
• User Experience Design

SPECIAL ISSUE THEMES

Possible topics welcomed in this special issue include, but are not limited to:

 Ethical perspectives on social robotics that are grounded in empirical studies

 Ethical and/or philosophical perspectives on critical robotics research that are grounded in philosophy of technology or speculative design

 Robots and AI grounded in real life situations or case studies

 Critical studies of robots in social settings (e.g., breakdowns in interaction, social consequences for vulnerable groups, abuse scenarios, etc.)

 Possible theories and methods of critical robotics

 Stakeholders’ perspectives (e.g., teachers, patients, students/parents, medical staff, etc.)

 Metacriticism on previously published studies (e.g., design studies, field studies, or experiments)

 Conceptual discussions on underlying technology-driven values as pertained to robotics and AI in particular

 Process-oriented or holistic design studies of robots

 Qualitative or mixed-methods studies of social robots in naturalistic settings

 Experimental studies, including those that have found that robots had some negative effect, or no effect, on the studied phenomenon (i.e., “negative results”)

CONTRIBUTION TYPES

Contributions are welcome across two formats:

• Original Papers: All papers are double blind peer-reviewed by two reviewers and the guest editorial team.
• Open Forum: Papers published in the open forum may include working papers, emerging research, and discussion papers, and come from graduate students, researchers, practitioners and others interested in the topics of the special issue.

Contributions should target a broad audience, including academics, designers, as well as the average reader. Open forum contributions will be double-blind peer-reviewed by one reviewer and the guest editorial team.

ABOUT THE AI & SOCIETY JOURNAL

AI & Society is an International Journal which publishes refereed scholarly articles, position papers, debates, short communications and reviews. Established in 1987, the journal focuses on the issues of policy, design, applications of information, communications and new media technologies, with a particular emphasis on cultural, social, cognitive, economic, ethical and philosophical implications. AI & Society is broad based and strongly interdisciplinary. It provides an international forum for 'over the horizon' analysis of the gaps and possibilities of rapidly evolving 'knowledge society', with a humanistic vision of society, culture and technology.

IMPORTANT DATES

• Abstract submission: November 1, 2019
• Manuscript submission: April 1, 2020
• Notifications: July 1, 2020
• Submission final versions: September 1, 2020
• Target publication date: February 2020

SUBMISSION FORMATTING

Contributors are asked to submit a paper between 6000-8000 words in the AI & Society’s manuscript format. You can find more information about formatting under the section "Instructions for Authors" http://www.springer.com/computer/ai/journal/146.

For inquiries and to submit your manuscript, please contact: sofia.serholt@gu.se

SPECIAL ISSUE GUEST EDITORS

Submission to the Guest Editor: Dr. Sofia Serholt, DP of Applied IT, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden: sofia.serholt@gu.se

Sofia Serholt is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Applied IT at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Her research concerns the use of ICT in educational settings, including schools and public libraries. In her dissertation titled Child– Robot Interaction in Education, she studied how children interacted with an empathic robotic tutor designed through the EU-funded project EMOTE in a classroom setting, focusing on instruction, social interaction, and breakdowns, as well as perceptions and normative perspectives of teachers and students on the use of educational robots with a particular focus on ethics. She is an active member of Applied Robotics in Gothenburg, regularly engages in public speaking at public events, and her research has received extensive coverage in Swedish and international press. Her research was appointed one of the top advancements in research and technology in 2017 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. She holds a PhD in Applied IT with specialization in Educational Sciences, and a Master of Education.

Sara Ljungblad is Senior Lecturer in Interaction Design at the joint department of Computer Science and Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology and Gothenburg University. She is the research leader of the working group Applied Robotics in Gothenburg, focusing on design and critical perspectives on robotic solutions for everyday life. She finished her Ph.D in Human-Machine Interaction in 2008 at Stockholm University. Ljungblad was a WP leader 2010 in the EU project Living with robots and interactive companions (LIREC, 2007-2011) and worked in the EU project Embodied Communicating Agents project (ECAGENTS, 2004-2007). She has also received funding to be an in-house researcher at a design and innovation agency in Gothenburg, where she conducted world-wide user studies at hospitals in a design award winning project, studies of design work and developed accessibility guidelines for designers in a project with Swedish Television (2011-2014). Ljungblad’s research focuses on human-centred design and design skills in the area of HCI and in human-robot interaction (HRI). She has conducted several studies on robots in everyday contexts including healthcare, disability aids, and toys. Her work on user experience and design of robotic solutions has been published in top-tier venues (e.g. CSCW, HRI).

Niamh Ní Bhroin is a researcher at the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Oslo. Her research explores how young people, in particular minority and Indigenous youth, use and interact with digital media, including robotics. Niamh is also interested in the relationship between technological innovation and social change and the implications these broader processes have for young people. Niamh has a PhD from the University of Oslo (UiO). She is currently coordinating a research project called ‘Living the Nordic Model’ at UiO. This interdisciplinary project explores Nordic childhood(s) from the lived, everyday experiences of Nordic citizens and institutions.

References

Applied Robotics in Gothenburg https://cse.gu.se/english/about/interactiondesign/research/applied-robotics-in-gothenburg

Bødker, S. (2006). When second wave HCI meets third wave challenges. Paper presented at the 4th Nordic conference on Human-computer interaction: changing roles, Oslo, Norway.

Fernaeus, Y., Jacobsson, M., Ljungblad, S., & Holmquist, L. E. (2009). Are we living in a robot cargo cult? Paper presented at the 4th ACM/IEEE international conference on Human robot interaction, La Jolla, California, USA.

Foundation for Responsible Robotics: https://responsiblerobotics.org/

Guzman, A. L. (Ed.). (2018). Human-Machine Communication: Rethinking communication, technology and ourselves. New York: Peter Land.

Harrison, S., Tatar, D., & Sengers, P. (2007). The three paradigm of HCI. Paper presented at the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '07).

Koskinen, I., Zimmerman, J., Binder, T., Redstrom, J., & Wensveen, S. (2012). Design Research Through Practice: From the Lab, Field, and Showroom: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers Inc.

Lee, H. R., Cheon, E., Graaf, M. d., Alves-Oliveira, P., Zaga, C., & Young, J. (2019, 11-14 March 2019). Robots for

Social Good: Exploring Critical Design for HRI. In Proceedings of the 2019 14th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) (pp. 681-682). doi: 10.1109/HRI.2019.8673130

Ljungblad, S., Serholt, S., Barendregt, W., Lindgren, P., & Obaid, M. (2016). Are We Really Adressing the Human in Human-Robot Interaction? Adopting the Phenomenologically-Situated Paradigm. In J. Seibt, M. Nørskov & S. Schack Andersen (Eds.), What Social Robots Can and Should Do: Proceedings of Robophilosophy 2016 / TRANSOR 2016 (pp. 99-103): IOS Press.

Ljungblad, S., Serholt, S., Milosevic, T., Toft Norgaard, R., Ni Bhroin, N., Lindgren, P., Ess, C., Barendregt, W., & Obaid, M. (2018). Critical Robotics - Exploring a New Paradigm. In Proceedings of the 10th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (NordiCHI'18), Oslo, Norway.

Luria, M., Zimmerman, J., & Forlizzi, J. (2019). Championing Research through design in HRI. Paper presented at the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

MacKenzie, D., & Wajcman, J. (1999). Introductory essay: the social shaping of technology. In D. MacKenzie & J.

Wajcman (Eds.), The Social Shaping of Technology (2 ed., pp. 3-27). Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.

Project: Integrative Social Robotics—A New Framework for Culturally Sustainable Technology Solutions: https://www.carlsbergfondet.dk/da/Forskningsaktiviteter/Forskningsprojekter/Semper-Ardensforskningsprojekter/Johanna-Seibt_Integrative-Social-Robotics

Project: REELER - Responsible Ethical Learning With Robots: http://www.reeler.eu/

Robophilosophy Conference Series: http://projects.au.dk/robophilosophy/robophilosophy-conferences/

Šabanović, S. (2010). Robots in Society, Society in Robots. International Journal of Social Robotics, 2(4), 439-450. doi: 10.1007/s12369-010-0066-7

24th DiscourseNet conference

May 18-20, 2020

Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium

Deadline: December 16, 2019

Website: https://discourseanalysis.net/en/DN24

Travel instructions and other information can be found on the conference website.

Contact: for all questions concerning the conference please contact discoursenet24@gmail.com 

This conference provides a forum for researchers who seek to analyze, challenge, and (re)think the concept and the practice of propaganda in the light of contemporary forms of discourse and communication across the ideological spectrum.

We invite authors to examine the relationship between concepts such as propaganda, ideology, hegemony and discourse in today’s digital environment. Both empirical and theoretical contributions are welcome.

The notion of propaganda was seminal to the field of communication studies in the beginning of the 20th century. It derives its negative connotations from the way mass media have been intentionally used by state and corporate actors for partisan interests. Even though the term ‘propaganda’ may have grown out of fashion – both inside and outside of academia – its practices have not.

Notions such as ‘public relations’, ‘advertising’, ‘political marketing’, ‘public diplomacy’, ‘political marketing’ and ‘advocacy’ have now transplanted propaganda even though they often refer to similar discursive strategies of persuasion or (dis)information. As the term ‘propaganda’ grew less popular new terms emerged in order to label similar communication strategies that shape contemporary discourse and communication until this day.

Many critical approaches in discourse studies have treated propagandistic modes of communication through the lenses of ‘ideology’, ‘hegemony’, ‘discourse’ and ‘power’. However, whereas all propaganda is ideological, not all ideology manifests itself as propaganda. Likewise, whereas all propaganda operates through discourse and communication, not all discourse or communication performs the function of propaganda.

Different forms of critical discourse studies have paid attention to ideological phenomena, but the term propaganda is remarkably absent from this field of inquiry. This may be explained with reference to underlying theoretical premises of specific discourse theoretical and discourse analytical approaches, a hypothesis that may also be explored at this conference.

In a global context marked by ‘a return of the political’, by an intensification of political debates across the political spectrum, and by a (re-)articulation of old and new political fault lines crossing local, regional, national and/or transnational contexts, the seemingly outdated notion of propaganda may provide a useful entry point for examining the (partially) strategic modes of communication practiced by activists on all sides of the ideological spectrum.

If propaganda is no longer associated exclusively with traditional institutional actors such as the state or corporations, the political and communicative strategies of social and political actors such as eco-activists, AltRight trolls, neoliberal think tanks or the peace movement may be (re)thought in terms of propaganda. This brings us back to the old question whether (specific forms of) propaganda hinder or facilitate democracy. It also leads us to explore uses of digital and algorithmic propaganda in contemporary populist projects.

Regardless of the question whether and how the term propaganda is used, ‘strategies’ of white, black and grey propaganda are practiced on an everyday basis while new ways of doing propaganda continue to be developed. In fact, propaganda practices are constantly being adapted to specific social, political and technological developments. As new technologies become available, the range of actors able to practice propaganda expands.

We welcome contributions that focus on the multimodal propaganda strategies and material (text, images, video, digital content, digital education, algorithms, Virtual Reality) of states, political parties, and corporate actors. We equally welcome contributions focusing on the communicative activities of social movements, think tanks, algorithms, advertising agencies, social media and public relations counselors. All abstracts fitting one or more of the following themes will be considered but we also leave space for interesting contributions that may not be that easy to classify.

• Theme 1: Conceptual and methodological issues for studying activism and propaganda
• Theme 2: Historical and contemporary transformations in activism and/or propaganda
• Theme 3: Democratic and anti-democratic modes of discourse, communication and ideology
• Theme 4: Digital and multimodal forms of activism, persuasion and disinformation
• Theme 5: Transdisciplinary dialogues on discourse and communication as propaganda and/or activism

We especially welcome papers that rethink the notions of propaganda and activism in relation to key concepts in discourse studies. Such notions include power, subjectivity, reflexivity, critique, identity, context, language use and multimodal communication. Papers may also focus on the ethical problems that come with propagandistic activities. For instance, what does propaganda mean for notions such as knowledge, political correctness, freedom of speech or critical awareness?

As the field of discourse studies is inherently transdisciplinary, we welcome authors from disciplines as varied as communication science, psychology, sociology, philosophy, literature, media studies and linguistics. Likewise, we seek to provide a forum for all methodological and theoretical orientations provided that the authors connect with the themes outlined in this call for papers.

Deadlines

• Deadline for submitting abstracts: December 16th, 2019
• Notification of acceptance for abstracts: January 27th 2020
• Deadline for payment of registration fee: April 1st, 2020

Submission of abstracts

All other information concerning the conference can be found here: http://www.discourseanalysis.net/en/DN24

Please submit your abstracts on the conference registration website here: https://dn24.sciencesconf.org

Payment of fees

Fees include (a) catering expenses for coffee breaks and lunches throughout the conference and (b) a one-year obligatory DiscourseNet membership fee worth 30 euros which enables you to participate in DiscourseNet events.

Regular fee: 100 euros

Reduced fee (for participants without institutional funding only): 80 euros

Payment instructions will be published after the notification of acceptance for abstracts (after January 27th, 2020).

Organizing committee

The head of the organizing committee for DN24 is Jan Zienkowski (PReCoM, Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium).

The 24th DiscourseNet conference is hosted by PReCoM (Pôle de Recherches sur la Communication et les Médias / Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles. The conference is organised in partnership with ReSIC (Centre de Recherche en Information et Communication / Université Libre de Bruxelles).

• Marie Dufrasne (PReCoM, Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium)
• Loredana Guerriero (communication PReCoM, Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium)
• Carine Manimoye (communication PReCoM, Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium)
• Marie Mathen (PReCoM, Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium)
• Geoffroy Patriarche (PReCoM, Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium)
• Cédric Tant (PReCoM, Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium)
• Victor Wiard (PReCoM, Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium)
• Jan Zienkowski (PReCoM, Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium)

Scientific board members

• Johannes Angermuller (School of Languages and Applied Linguistics, Open University, United Kingdom)
• Laura Calabrese (ReSIC, Dept. des sciences de l’information et de la communication, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium),
• Benjamin De Cleen (DESIRE, Free University of Brussels, Belgium)
• Florence Delmotte (Centre de Recherche en Science Politique, Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium)
• Marie Dufrasne (PReCoM, Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium)
• Aurora Fragonara (Dept. of Foreign Languages, Literature and Cultures, University of Bergamo)
• Michael Kranert (Modern Languages and Linguistics, University of Southampton, United Kingdom)
• Jan Krasni (School of Advanced Studies, University of Tymen, Russia)
• Pieter Maeseele (Media, Policy & Culture, University of Antwerp, Belgium)
• Jens Maesse (Institute of Sociology, University of Giessen, Germany)
• Geoffroy Patriarche (PReCoM, Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium)
• Kaushalya Perera (Dept. of English, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka)
• Sandrine Roginsky (Institut Langage et Commmunciation (ILC) – UCLouvain)
• Jaspal Singh (University of Hong Kong, China)
• Jan Zienkowski (PReCoM, Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles, Belgium)

Deadline: November 4, 2019

The Martin Buber Society of Fellows aims at fostering interdisciplinary academic discourse at the highest level among outstanding young scholars (post-doctoral).

Candidates who have completed their PhD at an Israeli or German university, as well as citizens of Israel or Germany who have received their PhD in any country, are eligible to apply. Applicants must have their PhD degree in hand no earlier than October 1st, 2015, and no later than July 1st, 2020¹. Application is open for those specializing in all fields of the Humanities and the Social Sciences². We are looking for creative humanists and social scientists with broad intellectual horizons. No connection of the subject matter to Jewish studies or Israel is required.

Each year the Academic Committee of the Martin Buber Society of Fellows selects up to ten exceptionally gifted young scholars (up to five from Israel and five from Germany). The Fellows are asked to move to Jerusalem and stay in residence. They receive a monthly stipend of approximately 9000 NIS and an additional housing subsidy that can be used either for apartments in the university’s Student Village (on campus) or to help with rental costs elsewhere in town. Non-Israeli fellows who move to Jerusalem with their family are eligible for additional support.

Fellows have the opportunity to pursue their individual research under optimal conditions for the term of their fellowship and are expected to become part of the vibrant scholarly community in Jerusalem, reflecting the widest possible disciplinary spectrum in the Humanities and the Social Sciences and embodying a spirit of shared intellectual adventure. They are obliged to participate in biweekly colloquia, workshops, lectures, study excursions, and other cultural and academic activities of the MBSF. Discussions in the Martin Buber Society take place in English (not in Hebrew or German).

Scholarships are granted for a maximum of four years, beginning October 1, 2020 (subject to review at the end of each year), on the basis of a detailed proposal of a research project of major scope and innovative character. Indeed, an imaginative proposal (no longer than 5 pages) that proves the applicant’s ability to carry out cutting-edge research in her or his field is the most important part of the application.

The deadline for applications for 2020-2021 is November 4, 2019. The Academic Committee of the Martin Buber Society will meet before the middle of February to choose the new cohort of fellows. Outstanding candidates will be invited--at short notice at the beginning of February-- for an interview either in person or via Skype.

The application process is simple (a CV and a list of publications, a 1-page abstract of the PhD, a research proposal of 5 pages, and two recommendation letters) and begins with registration at http://scholarships.huji.ac.il; the entire process of registration and application is done online through this link.

It is crucial to read the instructions on the website before starting the application process (which is entirely online).

The MBSF is committed to diversity and equal opportunity and encourages applicants from all backgrounds and communities to apply.

The Martin Buber Society of Fellows, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Mandel Building, Room 3221, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, 91905.

For further information about the Martin Buber Society of Fellows, for application timeline and frequently asked questions please check our website: http://buberfellows.huji.ac.il/.

For further inquiries please contact Ms. Gabi Ben-Zion at buber.fellows@mail.huji.ac.il | Tel. 00972 (0)2-5883901

________________________________________________________________________

¹ For German institutions, the day of the disputation is the decisive date; for Israeli institutions, the date on the letter of approval of the dissertation. Applicants with children under the age of five (at the time of the November 4 deadline) get an extra year, and may apply if they have their PhD no earlier than October 1st 2014.

² Applications that are purely technical in nature, such as in the fields of applied economics or practical law, will be not be considered.