ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Special issue of Internet Histories: Digital Technology, Culture and Society

Deadline (abstracts): August 1, 2019

(guest editors: Maria Eriksson & Guillaume Heuguet)

In today’s digital landscape, cultural content such as texts, films, images, and recorded sounds are increasingly subjected to automatic (or semi-automatic) processes of identification and classification. On a daily basis, spam filters scan heaps of emails in order to separate legit and illegit textual messages,1 algorithms analyze years of user-uploaded film on YouTube in search for copyright violations,2 and software systems scrutinize millions of images on social media sites in order to detect sexually offensive content.3 To an increasing extent, content identification systems are also trained to distinguish “fake-news” from “proper journalism” on news websites,4 and taught to recognize and filter violent or hateful content that circulates online.5

These examples reveal how machines and algorithmic systems are increasingly utilized to make complex cultural judgements regarding cultural content. Indeed, it could be argued that the wide-ranging adoption of content identification tools is constructing new ontologies of culture and regimes of truth in the online domain. When put to action, content identification technologies are trusted with the ability to separate good/bad forms of communication and used to secure the value, authenticity, origin, and ownership of content. Such efforts are deeply embedded in constructions of knowledge, new forms of political governance, and not least global market transactions. Content identification tools now make up an essential part of the online data economy by protecting the interests of rights holders and forwarding the mathematization, objectification, and commodification of cultural productions.

Parallel to their increased pervasiveness and influence, however, content identification systems have also been heavily contested. Debates regarding automatic content identification tools recently gained momentum due to the European Union’s decision to update its copyright laws. A newly adopted EU directive encourages all platform owners to implement automatic content filters in order to safeguard copyrights6 and critics have argued that such measures run the risk of seriously hampering the freedom of speech and stifling cultural expressions online.7 High profile tech figures such as Tim Berners Lee (commonly known as one of the founders of the Internet) has even claimed that the widespread adoption of content filtering could effectively destroy the internet as we know it.8 Content identification systems, then, are not neutral devices but key sites where the moral, juridical, economical, and cultural implications of wide-ranging systems of online surveillance are currently negotiated and put to the test.

This special issue welcomes contributions that trace the lineage and genealogy of online content identification tools and explores how content identification systems enact cultural values. It also explores how content identification technologies reconfigure systems of knowledge and power in the online domain. We especially invite submissions that reflect on the ways in which content identification systems are deployed to domesticate and control online cultural content, establish new and data-driven infrastructural systems for the treatment of cultural data, and bring about changes in the activity/status of cultural workers and rights holders. Contributions that locate online content identification tools within a longer historical trajectory of identification technologies are also especially welcomed, since digital content identification tools must be understood as continuations of analogue techniques for monitoring and measuring the qualities and identities of things.

We envision contributors to be active in the fields of media history, software studies, media studies, media archaeology, social anthropology, science and technology studies, and related scientific domains. The topic of contributions may include, but are not limited to:

• The historical and political implications of content identification tools for audio, video, images, and textual content such as machine learning systems and digital watermarking or fingerprinting tools
• The genealogy of spam filters, fake news detection systems, and other strategies for keeping the internet “clean” and censoring/regulating the circulation and availability of online content
• Comparative investigations of the technical workings of different methods for identifying content, including discussions on the challenges and potentials of indexing/identifying sound, images, texts and audiovisual content
• Reviews of the scientific theories, political ideologies, and business logics that sustain and legitimize online systems of content identification
• Reflections on historical and analogue techniques for identifying objects and commodities, such as paper watermarks and the use of signets and stamps
• Issues of censorship related to online content identification and moderation and/or discussions regarding the ethical dilemmas and legal debates that surround content surveillance
• Explorations of the implications of algorithmic judgements and measurements of identity, and reflections on the ways in which content identification tools redefine what is means to listen/see and transform how cultural objects are imagined and valued
• Examinations of the relationship between human and algorithmic efforts to identify suspect content online and moderate information flows

Submissions

Abstracts of a maximum of 750 words should be emailed to Maria Eriksson (maria.c.eriksson@umu.se) and Guillaume Heuguet (guillaume.heuguet@sorbonne-nouvelle.fr) no later than 1 August 2019. Notification about acceptance to submit an article will be sent out by 1 September 2019. Authors of accepted abstracts are invited to submit an article by 1 February 2020. Final versions of articles are asked to keep within a 6,000 word limit. Please note that acceptance of abstract does not ensure final publication as all articles must go through the journal’s usual review process.

Time schedule

• 1 August 2019: due date for abstracts
• 1 September 2019: notification of acceptance
• 1 February 2020: accepted articles to be submitted for review
• Feb-April 2020: review process and revisions

About the guest-editors

Guillaume Heuguet defended a dissertation in 2018 on music and media capitalism based on a longitudinal analysis of YouTube’s strategy and products, including its Content ID system (to be published by the French National Archives in 2019). He is currently an associated researcher at GRIPIC (Sorbonne Université) and Irmeccen (Sorbonne Nouvelle). He runs the music journal Audimat and has edited a forthcoming book entitled Anthology of Popular Music Studies in French (Philharmonie de Paris, 2019).

Maria Eriksson is a doctoral candidate in media studies at Umeå University, Sweden who is currently spending time as a visiting scholar at the department of arts, media and philosophy at Basel University in Switzerland. She has a background in social anthropology and her main research interests concern the politics of software and the role of algorithms in managing the logistics and distribution of cultural content online. She is one of the co-authors of the book Spotify Teardown: Inside the Black Box of Streaming Music (MIT Press, 2019) and has previously co-edited special issues in journals such as Culture Unbound.

Link to the online version of the call for papers: https://think.taylorandfrancis.com/internet-histories-genealogies-online-content-identification/?utm_source=CPB_think&utm_medium=cms&utm_campaign=JOD09539

More information on Internet Histories: Digital Technology, Culture and Society can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rint20.

Notes

1 Brunton, Finn. Spam: A Shadow History of the Internet. Cambridge & London: MIT Press, 2013.

2 https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2797370?hl=en

3 https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/3/18123752/tumblr-adult-content-porn-ban-date-explicit-changes- why-safe-mode

4 https://thenewstack.io/mit-algorithm-sniffs-out-sites-dedicated-to-fake-news/

5 https://www.gouvernement.fr/la-france-engage-une-experimentation-inedite-en-matiere-de-regulation-appliquee-aux-contenus-haineux and https://www.letelegramme.fr/france/internet-des-amendes-pour-les-plateformes-qui-laissent-des-contenus-haineux-21-02-2019-12213979.php

6 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-3010_en.htm

7 https://www.ivir.nl/publicaties/download/Academics_Against_Press_Publishers_Right.pdf

8 https://www.eff.org/files/2018/06/13/article13letter.pdf

ECREA Mid-Year Section Conference

October 21-22, 2019

University of Helsinki, Finland

Abstract Deadline : June 1, 2019

Joint Conference of three ECREA Sections: Communication and Democracy; Digital Culture and Communication; and Media Industries and Cultural Production

Confirmed keynote speakers:

Lisa Parks, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Kaarina Nikunen, University of Tampere

In a turn to ‘infrastructuralism’ (Peters 2015), media and communication scholars are increasingly attentive to the materialities and politics of the technological, organisational and cultural infrastructures that underpin media today. Platforms, data centres, software, but also new forms of organising cultural production and labour, shape the politics of digital cultures and transform the media industries. Digital and media infrastructures have become elemental to everyday life. They are significant in reproducing existing social and cultural inequalities, as well as creating new power struggles. As digital/media infrastructures unfold in everyday life, they bring challenges across multiple domains, from the foundations of social justice to the industrial structures underpinning our everyday interactions with media and communication systems. This conference aims to address the politics and inequalities that emerge, as technological and media industries adopt, dismantle and transform infrastructures to channel and process communication flows. Media infrastructures (broadly) operate under different and uneven conditions that configure media labour, media production, and the politics of communication and access (Starosielski and Parks 2015). This conference seeks to examine digital/media infrastructures and inequalities from an inter- and multi-disciplinary perspective, inviting papers to interrogate the significance of the ‘infrastructural turn’ in media and communication studies to our understanding of media industries, democracy and digital cultures.

During this joint-ECREA section conference, we aim to engage with questions concerning inequalities and the infrastructures of digital culture, media industries and (digital) democracy through addressing topics such as (but not limited to):

• The value, significance and relevance of infrastructure studies to media industry studies, the study of media and democracy, as well as digital culture
  
• The industries and labour that operate and control specific technological media infrastructures, such as data centres, cloud computing, cable/satellite networks, content delivery networks
  
• The politics and power dynamics of digital/media infrastructures
  
• The significance of digital/media infrastructures in everyday life, especially related to the reproduction of social inequalities
  
• The impact of digital/media infrastructures on culture, society, politics and democracy
  
• The impact of digital/media infrastructures on media labour and cultural production
  
• The organisational and cultural infrastructures of the media industries
  
• Experiences and affective relationships that emerge in connection with media infrastructures
  
• Forms of logistical media
  
• Temporalities of media infrastructures
  
• Emerging questions for the foundations of social justice in the digital media infrastructural turn
  

Submission details

Please submit a 300-word abstract for individual proposals.

Panel proposals should include a 300-word panel rationale plus individual 200 word abstracts from a minimum of four speakers.

All abstracts for individual as well as panel proposals should be submitted through EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=infrastructuresandin

Deadline for submission is 1 June 2019. Notifications of acceptance will be issued by 30 June 2019.

Registration and Fees:

• Early bird and ECREA-members fee: €100 (until 12th August)
• Early bird reduced student fee (for students who are also ECREA members): €50 (until 12 August)
• Full fees and non-ECREA members: €120 (to be paid until the 15th of September)
• Student, non-ECREA member fee: €60 (to be paid until the 15th of September)

For more information and enquiries, contact:

• Julia Velkova, University of Helsinki at julia.velkova@helsinki.fi
• Anne Kaun, Södertörn University at anne.kaun@sh.se
• Sander de Rieder, University of Ghent at sander.deridder@ugent.be

Or consult the conference website.

Scientific Committee:

• Ysabel Gerrard, University of Sheffield
  
• Catherine Johnson, University of Huddersfield
  
• Ana Jorge, Research Centre for Communication and Culture, Universidade Católica Portuguesa
  
• Anne Kaun, Södertörn University
  
• Maria Michalis, University of Westminster
  
• Christina Neumayer, IT-University of Copenhagen
  
• Sander de Rieder, University of Ghent
  
• Emiliano Treré, University of Cardiff
  
• Julia Velkova, Consumer Society Research Centre, University of Helsinki
  

Related conferences in Helsinki during that same week:

ECREA section conference on “Communication Rights in the Digital Age”, 24-25 October, keynote speaker is Philip Napoli (Duke University):

https://www.helsinki.fi/en/conferences/communication-rights-in-the-digital-age/call-for-papers

Alexanteri conference 2019 on “Technology, Culture, and Society in the Euras­ian Space”, 23-25 October, among the keynote speakers are Benjamin Peters (University of Tulsa) and Natalie Koch (Syracuse University).

https://www.helsinki.fi/en/conferences/technology-culture-and-society-in-the-eurasian-space/

December 5-6, 2019

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany)

Deadline: July 15, 2019

The ECREA Communication and Democracy Section invites contributions to an off-year workshop on the political implications of privacy. Questions related to the individual and organizational management of information boundaries spread across the field of communication and media studies. Herein, politics, in a narrow and broader sense, play a role in myriad ways:

• How can one conceive of privacy as realized within mediated societal and communicative relations?
• How can we explore the management of privacy affecting processes of institutionalized and practice-based joint decision-making?
• How is privacy imprinted in technology?
• Which notions of privacy play a role across policies and media?

This workshop explores contemporary and future directions of communication and media research perspectives on political implications of privacy. Beyond well-established fields of media related privacy research, such as media psychology or privacy activism, we seek for debates across the discipline. Political dimensions of privacy emerge in diverse communication and media subfields, such as political communication, journalism, media management or visual communication. We invite diverse contributions, irrespective of whether relational, rational, contextual, differential concepts of privacy or even approaches beyond privacy, such as data justice, are applied.

We look forward to a productive workshop setting with lively, cross-disciplinary academic exchange that encourages future academic networking. Limited travel grants can eventually made available for doctoral and post-doctoral researchers (decision pending). The evening program includes visiting the beautiful Mainz old town Christmas Market.

Keynotes:

• Constanze Kurz (Chaos Computer Club)
• Sami Coll (University of Geneva)

Submission:

Please submit a 500 words abstract until 15 July 2019 to politcsofprivacy@20uni-mainz.de

Notification of acceptance will be issued by 31. August 2019.

Publication:

We will invite a selection of papers to contribute to a special issue of the open access journal “Media and Communication”. Guest editors are: Johanna E. Möller (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz), Jakub Nowak (Marie Curie-Skłodowska University), Judith E. Möller (University of Amsterdam) and Sigrid Kannengießer (University of Bremen).

Organization and further information:

• Johanna E. Möller (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz), johanna.moeller@uni-mainz.de
• Jakub Nowak (Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin), jakub.nowak@poczta.umcs.lublin.pl

October 2, 2019

Leeds Beckett University, UK

Deadline: May 31, 2019

Graduate Student/PhD Workshop jointly held by ECREA’s Crisis Communication Section and Young Scholars Network (YECREA) at the 6th International Crisis Communication Conference on October 2, 2019 at Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom.

We would like to invite all Young Scholars to apply for the comprehensive YECREA Graduate Student/PhD Workshop until May 31. The workshop is organised within the ECREA's Crisis Communication Section / 6th International Crisis Communication Conference that will take place in Leeds from October 3 – October 5, 2019.

The aim of the workshop is to provide a forum for doctoral students whose Ph.D. and research interest is related to the wide and interdisciplinary field of Crisis Communication. The cost, inclusive of a simulation or social media workshop, is £80. This will include lunches, tea, and snacks throughout the two days as well as any materials for the workshop.

October 2 from 9 am – 6 pm (including lunch, tea and snacks)

(Note: We decided to tighten up the schedule a bit and start on October 2 instead of October 1)

Panel Discussion: In the morning of the workshop, Professor Dr. Ralph Tench (Leeds Beckett University, UK), Professor Dr. Stephen Croucher (Massey University, NZ) and Dr. Keri Stephens (The University of Texas at Austin) will give short presentations on their research in connection to crisis. Points of reference are: Corporate Social Responsibility, Cross-Cultural Research, New Media and Citizen-Led Crisis Response. Afterwards, there will be time for a comprehensive Q&A in order to discuss all questions around these topics and the PhD process in general.

PhD Presentations: Afterwards, participants present an outline of their Ph.D. project and receive feedback by distinguished scholars with a broad experience in supervising PhD projects – Dr. Ralph Tench and Dr. Audra Diers-Lawson (both Leeds Beckett University), Dr. Stephen Croucher (Massey University, NZ) and Dr. Keri Stephens.

Preparing the PhD Presentations:

The presentations should address the following questions:

1.  What is the problem that motivated you to conduct the research presented? 2. What is (are) your leading research question(s)?
2. How do you try to answer these questions methodologically?
3. What do you hope to contribute to your field of research?
4. Optional: What are your (preliminary) findings? 6. Which challenges are you facing at the moment?

While regular conference panels rarely offer the opportunity for speakers to receive in-depth feedback, this workshop is conceived as a separate and more personal space to present to and receive feedback from experienced scholars as well as learn more about Crisis Communication and possible connection points within your research. The workshop mainly aims at Ph.D. students whose research project is still at an early stage, but it is also possible to participate if you already have preliminary findings. After a presentation of up to 20 minutes, the senior scholars serving as respondents will provide an initial feedback, followed by a Q&A session involving the other workshop participants as well.

Application:

To apply for the workshop, please prepare the following two documents:

• an extended abstract of up to 500 words outlining your project (literature excluded)
• a short letter of motivation stating why you would like to participate and which questions you want to see addressed; it should also mention your doctoral advisor as well as a rough time schedule for your project.

The documents must be submitted to Janina Schier (Janina.Schier@ifkw.lmu.de) until May 31, 2019. In case your proposal is accepted, you will receive a notification by mid-June 2019. There is no need to be a member of the Crisis Communication Section to apply, but please note that the capacity of the workshop is limited. A jury will select the applications according to standards of academic quality like theoretical foundation, stringency, and originality.

If you are also interested to register for the subsequent conference dealing with Risk and Crisis Communication in Leeds (October 3 – October 5), please check the conference website: https://leedstalkspr.com/crisis6-2019/.

We will also be sharing more updates on the workshop and the conference through our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ECREACrisisComm/

University of South Wales – Faculty of Creative Industries

Deadline: May 21, 2019

Read more here

The University Of South Wales (USW) Group is a major player in UK higher education with more than 30,000 students from 120 countries. Within the United Kingdom, USW is unique in the breadth of its role, encompassing a modern university and two subsidiaries in Wales’s national conservatoire, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, and The College Merthyr Tydfil.

The USW Faculty of Creative Industries is one of the largest providers of creative education in the UK with over 2500 students studying across a portfolio of over 30 undergraduate and postgraduate courses, all contained within a campus in the heart one of the country’s most vibrant and creative cities.

Our research culture is shaped by a collaborative approach to applied research that works closely with industry, arts organisations, and government to provide creative solutions to contemporary global challenges. This ethos of partnership for change is reflected in our REF 2014 research impact, which is ranked in the top tier for creative industries research in the UK.

Investment in Creative Economy

Working in partnership with HE and industry collaborators, the Faculty of Creative Industries has been successful in securing a Creative Cluster (https://ceprogramme.com/news/rd-investment-set-to-provide-step-up-for-creative-industries/) award from the AHRCs Creative Clusters Programme and an Audiences of the Future Demonstrator Award (https://www.ukri.org/innovation/industrial-strategy-challenge-fund/audience-of-the-future/#pagecontentid-4) from UKRI

Clwstwr (http://www.clwstwr.org.uk/) is an ambitions R& together with major industry partners including public broadcasters, the local independent production sector, screen agencies and Welsh Government. It aims to put innovation at the heart of media production in South Wales - moving Cardiff’s thriving screen sector from strength to leadership. This five-year programme builds on the phenomenal growth of Cardiff as a centre of screen production to create new products, services and experiences.

Audience of the Future is a UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) (https://www.southwales.ac.uk/news/news-2019/usw-joins-audience-future-collaboration-help-create-ground-breaking-immersive-experiences/) funded project that seeks to evolve content delivery and audience engagement beyond traditional broadcast, with an eye to capturing 100,000 participants (viewers/players) through the duration of this 2-year project.

As partners with developers, Tiny Rebel Games, Potato, and Sugar Creative, we will produce a sustainable and mutable platform for content delivery that will use Augmented Reality technology (mobile phone) for multi-user participatory storytelling. Story arcs may take the form of ongoing serials, singular events or a combination of the two. Events may be located in physical and thematically relevant spaces. The project will be based around an iconic and globally recognised entertainment brand.

Research Fellow, Audience of the Future (Impact and Evaluation)

Grade F Full-time Fixed-term 1st July 2019-31st December 2020

This post will provide expert insights to support the evolution and evaluation of USW’s contribution to the Audience of the Future Demonstrator project. The post holder will liaise with USW and the consortium to organise masterclasses, workshops, hypothesis testing and play-testing. The post holder will document and evaluate processes employed in the development of the project and disseminate research around findings for both a research and industry audience. The post holder will have a good understanding of creative development, and software development processes and a good understanding of Augmented Reality projects and their wider implications. The post holder will have time allocated to develop new research initiatives (including high-quality published outputs and grant applications) in support of the Faculty of Creative Industries’ emerging research strength in Immersive Technology Research. They will report to Corrado Morgana (PI on the AoF project) and will work closely with the Faculty Head of Research, Professor Ruth McElroy.

We welcome enquiries prior to application - for an informal discussion about either Research Fellow post, please contact Corrado Morgana (corrado.morgana@southwales.ac.uk; Tel: 01443 661838). For discussions about the Lectureship in Creative Industries, please contact Dr Rob Campbell (robert.campbell@southwales.ac.uk; Tel: 01443 668558) or Professor Ruth McElroy (ruth.mcelroy@southwales.ac.uk; Tel: 01443 668591). These positions are based at Atrium, USW’s Cardiff Campus. The terms and conditions of the post (including grade and salary) will be those of the University of South Wales.

• Name of Institution: University of South Wales
• Location: Cardiff
• Categories: Research
• Salary: £35,211 – £40,792
• Reference: U10096
• Closing Date: 21/05/2019

University of South Wales – Faculty of Creative Industries

Deadline: May 21, 2019

More here

The University Of South Wales (USW) Group is a major player in UK higher education with more than 30,000 students from 120 countries. Within the United Kingdom, USW is unique in the breadth of its role, encompassing a modern university and two subsidiaries in Wales’s national conservatoire, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, and The College Merthyr Tydfil.

The USW Faculty of Creative Industries is one of the largest providers of creative education in the UK with over 2500 students studying across a portfolio of over 30 undergraduate and postgraduate courses, all contained within a campus in the heart one of the country’s most vibrant and creative cities.

Our research culture is shaped by a collaborative approach to applied research that works closely with industry, arts organisations, and government to provide creative solutions to contemporary global challenges. This ethos of partnership for change is reflected in our REF 2014 research impact, which is ranked in the top tier for creative industries research in the UK.

Investment in Creative Economy

Working in partnership with HE and industry collaborators, the Faculty of Creative Industries has been successful in securing a Creative Cluster (https://ceprogramme.com/news/rd-investment-set-to-provide-step-up-for-creative-industries/) award from the AHRCs Creative Clusters Programme and an Audiences of the Future Demonstrator Award (https://www.ukri.org/innovation/industrial-strategy-challenge-fund/audience-of-the-future/#pagecontentid-4) from UKRI

Clwstwr (http://www.clwstwr.org.uk/) is an ambitions R& together with major industry partners including public broadcasters, the local independent production sector, screen agencies and Welsh Government. It aims to put innovation at the heart of media production in South Wales - moving Cardiff’s thriving screen sector from strength to leadership. This five-year programme builds on the phenomenal growth of Cardiff as a centre of screen production to create new products, services and experiences.

Audience of the Future is a UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) (https://www.southwales.ac.uk/news/news-2019/usw-joins-audience-future-collaboration-help-create-ground-breaking-immersive-experiences/) funded project that seeks to evolve content delivery and audience engagement beyond traditional broadcast, with an eye to capturing 100,000 participants (viewers/players) through the duration of this 2-year project.

As partners with developers, Tiny Rebel Games, Potato, and Sugar Creative, we will produce a sustainable and mutable platform for content delivery that will use Augmented Reality technology (mobile phone) for multi-user participatory storytelling. Story arcs may take the form of ongoing serials, singular events or a combination of the two. Events may be located in physical and thematically relevant spaces. The project will be based around an iconic and globally recognised entertainment brand.

Research Fellow, Audience of the Future (Audience Research)

Grade F Full-time Fixed-term 1st July 2019-31st December 2020

This post will deliver rich insights into the audience and consumer experience of immersive technology. The post holder will work closely with the AoF team to support proto-type testing, consumer research and deep understandings of how audiences may use Augmented Reality technology (mobile phone) for multi-user participatory storytelling. The post would suit a researcher who enjoys working across disciplines and industry/HE to deliver rapid, meaningful insights to developers using a range of research methods. The post holder will have time allocated to develop new research initiatives (including high-quality published outputs and grant applications) in support of the Faculty of Creative Industries’ emerging research strength in Immersive Technology Research. They will report to Corrado Morgana (PI on the AoF project) and will work closely with the Faculty Head of Research, Professor Ruth McElroy.

We welcome enquiries prior to application - for an informal discussion about either Research Fellow post, please contact Corrado Morgana (corrado.morgana@southwales.ac.uk; Tel: 01443 661838). For discussions about the Lectureship in Creative Industries, please contact Dr Rob Campbell (robert.campbell@southwales.ac.uk; Tel: 01443 668558) or Professor Ruth McElroy (ruth.mcelroy@southwales.ac.uk; Tel: 01443 668591). These positions are based at Atrium, USW’s Cardiff Campus. The terms and conditions of the post (including grade and salary) will be those of the University of South Wales.

Name of Institution: University of South Wales

Location: Cardiff

Categories: Academic

Salary: £35,211 - £40,792

Reference: U10097

Closing Date: 21/05/2019

University of South Wales – Faculty of Creative Industries

Deadline: May 21, 2019

The University Of South Wales (USW) Group is a major player in UK higher education with more than 30,000 students from 120 countries.  Within the United Kingdom, USW is unique in the breadth of its role, encompassing a modern university and two subsidiaries in Wales’s national conservatoire, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, and The College Merthyr Tydfil.

The USW Faculty of Creative Industries is one of the largest providers of creative education in the UK with over 2500 students studying across a portfolio of over 30 undergraduate and postgraduate courses, all contained within a campus in the heart one of the country’s most vibrant and creative cities.

Our research culture is shaped by a collaborative approach to applied research that works closely with industry, arts organisations, and government to provide creative solutions to contemporary global challenges. This ethos of partnership for change is reflected in our REF 2014 research impact, which is ranked in the top tier for creative industries research in the UK.

Investment in Creative Economy

Working in partnership with HE and industry collaborators, the Faculty of Creative Industries has been successful in securing a Creative Cluster (https://ceprogramme.com/news/rd-investment-set-to-provide-step-up-for-creative-industries/) award from the AHRCs Creative Clusters Programme and an Audiences of the Future Demonstrator Award (https://www.ukri.org/innovation/industrial-strategy-challenge-fund/audience-of-the-future/#pagecontentid-4) from UKRI

Clwstwr (http://www.clwstwr.org.uk/) is an ambitions R& together with major industry partners including public broadcasters, the local independent production sector, screen agencies and Welsh Government. It aims to put innovation at the heart of media production in South Wales - moving Cardiff’s thriving screen sector from strength to leadership. This five-year programme builds on the phenomenal growth of Cardiff as a centre of screen production to create new products, services and experiences.

Audience of the Future is a UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) (https://www.southwales.ac.uk/news/news-2019/usw-joins-audience-future-collaboration-help-create-ground-breaking-immersive-experiences/) funded project that seeks to evolve content delivery and audience engagement beyond traditional broadcast, with an eye to capturing 100,000 participants (viewers/players) through the duration of this 2-year project.

As partners with developers, Tiny Rebel Games, Potato, and Sugar Creative, we will produce a sustainable and mutable platform for content delivery that will use Augmented Reality technology (mobile phone) for multi-user participatory storytelling. Story arcs may take the form of ongoing serials, singular events or a combination of the two. Events may be located in physical and thematically relevant spaces. The project will be based around an iconic and globally recognised entertainment brand.

Lecturer in Creative Industries (Grade F Full-time Fixed-term 4 years)

This post will appeal to an ambitious early career researcher committed to delivering excellent teaching on a primarily theoretical degree course. The post holder will be expected to have an emerging track-record in creative industries research with expertise in one or more of the following: television and screen studies; creative industries policy; media business; media policy. Protected time will be allocated to the post holder to develop research with impact as part of their annual workload. The post holder will work closely with the Faculty Head of Research, Professor Ruth McElroy as well as the teaching team on BA (Hons) Media, Culture and Journalism, reporting to Dr Rob Campbell (Academic Subject Manager Media and Journalism).

We welcome enquiries prior to application - for an informal discussion about either Research Fellow post, please contact Corrado Morgana (corrado.morgana@southwales.ac.uk; Tel: 01443  661838). For discussions about the Lectureship in Creative Industries, please contact Dr Rob Campbell (robert.campbell@southwales.ac.uk; Tel: 01443  668558) or Professor Ruth McElroy (ruth.mcelroy@southwales.ac.uk; Tel: 01443 668591). These positions are based at Atrium, USW’s Cardiff Campus. The terms and conditions of the post (including grade and salary) will be those of the University of South Wales.

Person Specification

• Name of Institution: University of South Wales
• Location: Cardiff Campus
• Categories: Academic
• Salary: £35,211 – £40,792
• Reference: U10095
• Closing Date: 21/05/2019

ECREA Communication History Section Workshop

September 11-13, 2019

Vienna, Austrian Academy of Sciences

Deadline for submissions (EXTENDED): May 15, 2019

Populism appears to be on the rise for several years now and extreme ideologies as well as radical politics strive for power in many European democracies and around the globe. Public debate and political pundits suggest that there is a link between the proliferation of radical politics, trenches of polarization between political camps and across societies on the one side and contemporary media environments on the other. The emphasis on allegedly new phenomena such as fake news, echo chambers, hate speech or digital platforms as drivers of political polarization and as vessels of agitation, often neglects that mediated communication has always played a vital role in both safeguarding democracy as well as putting it in jeopardy.

For this workshop, the ECREA Communication History Section invites scholarly presentations to shed light on political communication that fosters populist and radical politics in a historical perspective and across various political and cultural settings in Europe and beyond, to learn from the past for contemporary challenges.

The goal is to understand the role media played as potential accomplices or carriers of populist agitation (e.g. in autocratic regimes or out of commercial premises), and as amplifiers of extreme political positions or groups and populist sentiment (e.g. sensationalist and simplistic reporting or excessive coverage for populist tropes). Media and mediated communication can however also act as countering forces and adversaries of radical politics and aim to tame blatant populism or maintain forums for civilized debate. The workshop is also interested in works that help to deconstruct or re-evaluate assumptions about counter publics, alternative media, both for democratically progressive or rather revisionist and reactionary goals, and it aims to assemble a broad portfolio of perspectives on the topic covering a variety of historical periods, national or supranational settings and media involved. We are interested in research that addresses the full scope of media history from early prints to the digital age.

More specifically, this ECREA Communication History Section Workshop will be open to papers dealing with:

- Populist communication strategies over time, spreading mistrust against social, cultural or political elites. We are interested in studies of how this played out in various settings and what communicative strategies were employed by populists from different political camps and for various ends. The anti-elite stance of populist rhetoric includes antagonizing legacy media and the institution of journalism, to discredit information and critical coverage. How was “the press” or were “the media” but also “science” antagonized by populists, and how did in the contrary media portray their own role as an antidote against populism and as guardians of democracy? Did the media contribute to the rise of populism by providing a forum for populist actors or being advocates on behalf of the people, with a critical attitude toward power holders and building on the same principles as populist communication? And for what reasons (power, influence, profit, ideology…)?

- Rumours, myths, lies and conspiracy theories. All of them have a long history of being used as a pretence to spark public outrage, or moral panic, to motivate uprisings or isolate social groups as scapegoats or fall guys for political gain. The workshop is interested in popular myths, catastrophic rumours and allegations as means of political controversy and the strategies and logics of fear mongering.

- Simplistic answers for complex problems. Typically, populist rhetoric is anti-elite and advocating for an ingroup (us) which would be threatened or abused by the elites or a perilous outgroup (them). We are interested in research, highlighting the historical dimension of propaganda against vulnerable social groups, minorities, foreigners, socially weak, handicapped, anti-Semitic or misogynist agitation.

- Persistence and discontinuities in how alternative media reached out and aimed to mobilize, inform or counteract public communication. In how far were the public observation and valuation favourable to such endeavours and when was it critical? How do the features and affordances of certain media support populist agitation, and can populism be linked to specific media ensembles?

- Political extremism and mainstream politics. What is considered a “radical” position is not an absolute but relative and transient. The workshop will thus welcome contributions which address the construction of mainstreams, centres, peripheries and extremes in political debate, public discourse or academic analysis, and how these categories were used to isolate certain positions and how the boundaries of public debate have shifted over time.

- Media governance and democracy. How were media considered responsible for the preservation and defense of democracy in different historical periods and geographies? How did governance institutions and regulatory bodies address issues of media freedom, and how did authorities act against radical agitation or mute legitimate public critic?

- Theoretical reflections on how current theoretical and methodological approaches be transferred to past scenarios. Is the research into populism antagonizing legitimate political voices and critique and contributing to political hegemony by how research approaches subversive forces? How do and did media and communication scholars normalize some communication practices and pathologize others? Which myths and narratives are cultivated by media research, and how do prevalent concepts, eligible methods and accessible sources shape and foster certain understandings of problematic populism or romanticized counter-publics and civic engagement?

Abstracts of 500 words proposing empirical case studies as well as theoretical or methodological contributions should be submitted no later than 30 April 2019. Proposals for full panels (comprising 4 or 5 papers) are also welcome: these should include a 250-word abstract for each individual presentation, and a 300-word rationale for the panel.

Send abstracts to: cohecrea2019@yahoo.com. Authors will be informed regarding acceptance/rejection for the conference no later than 15 June 2019. Early career scholars and graduate students are highly encouraged to submit their work. Please indicate if the research submitted is part of your thesis or dissertation project. The organizers will aim to arrange for discussants to provide an intensive response for graduate students projects.

The conference registration fee will be 150 euros (110 euros Ph.D. and M.A. students) and participants will be asked to cover their own travel expenses. This fee includes two lunches and one conference dinner.

For more information on the workshop please visit: https://www.oeaw.ac.at/cmc/detail/event/ecrea-communication-history-section-workshop-2019/

Local organizer:

Josef Seethaler, josef.seethaler@oeaw.ac.at

Institute for Comparative Media and Communication Studies (CMC)

Austrian Academy of Sciences

For the section management team:

Gabriele Balbi, gabriele.balbi@usi.ch

Institute of Media and Journalism

USI Università della Svizzera italiana (Switzerland)

Deadline: June 30, 2019

We are offering 2 PhD scholarships (1 based in Sydney and 1 in Perth) as part of the Australian Research Council (ARC) funded project: "The African Diaspora and Pentecostalism in Australia: New Perspectives on Materiality, Media and Religion"

This project investigates the new African Diaspora in Australia and its embrace of Pentecostalism, particularly after arrival. The African community in Australia has often been associated with poor settlement outcomes, and has also been on the receiving end of a racialised moral panic. The project aims: to understand the range of challenges African-Australian communities faces; to determine why so many of their members join Pentecostal churches; to investigate how Pentecostal churches support these communities' translocal and transnational mobility and sense of belonging, and; to contribute to policy efforts to improve outcomes for African new arrivals in Australia.

Within this larger project, the PhD candidates will conduct ethnographic research with Pentecostal churches and African Diasporas in Australia. Both projects will investigate questions such as: how do Pentecostal churches support/hinder processes of settlement and ‘integration’? How do some Pentecostal megachurches generate transnational religious fields – ones which may harness resources from branches elsewhere in the world? And what impact does all of this have on Australian cities’ post-secular social landscapes?

We welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds: anthropology, sociology, religious studies, cultural studies, African studies, Migration studies or a related field. In particular, the project is suitable for candidates with strong interests in the intersections of migration and religion. Applications from students of African heritage are especially welcomed.

Deadline: June 30, 2019

For more details, see:

• Religion and Society Research Cluster, School of Social Sciences and

Psychology, Western Sydney University, Sydney:

https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/graduate_research_school/grs/scholarships/current_scholarships/current_scholarships/ssap_the_african_diaspora_and_pentecostalism_in_australia

• School of Social Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth:

http://www.scholarships.uwa.edu.au/search?sc_view=1&id=8941

Deadline: May 31, 2019

http://www.bdcmuseum.org.uk/

The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum at the University Exeter, UK, is both a public museum and a rich research resource for scholars of moving image history. The museum is named after the renowned filmmaker Bill Douglas and was founded on the extraordinary collection of material he put together with his friend Peter Jewell. In the twenty years since its opening, the museum has received donations from many sources and now has over 80,000 artefacts on the long history of the moving image from the seventeenth century to the present day.

Thanks to the support of the Bill Douglas and Peter Jewell Fund we are delighted to again be able to offer a small number of stipends for 2019-2020 to enable research using the collections at The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum. We are inviting applications for two categories of award:

UK stipends - available to academics, postgraduate students and other researchers based in the UK, and are worth up to £500 each.

International Stipends – available to scholars and other researchers from outside the UK and are worth up to £1500 each.

The monies are to be used for travel and accommodation costs incurred while visiting the Museum to undertake significant research that will be enhanced by access to its collections. Proposed research should contribute to publication or other demonstrable outcomes, such as films or artworks. Successful applicants will be required to write a blog post for the museum’s website about their research following their visit. You will find details of previous years’ stipends and the blogs that stipend holders contributed at http://www.bdcmuseum.org.uk/research/research-at-the-bill-douglas-cinema-museum/stipends-at-the-bill-douglas-cinema-museum/ The monies must be spent by April 30th 2020.

The museum’s collections are very diverse, and have the potential to enrich research in histories of film, media and visual culture, cultural and social history, audience and fan studies, media production history, and technological and labour histories of cinema. The collections have particular strengths in ‘Pre-cinema’ optical media, cinema ephemera and material culture and we also hold some production papers relating to key British independent filmmakers: Bill Douglas, Don Boyd, James Mackay and Gavrik Losey. Recent acquisitions include The Pamela Davies Collection of photographs related to the career of one of the British film industry’s leading continuity supervisors and The Townly Cooke Collection of silent film stills and ephemera. We are particularly keen to receive applications for the study of areas of distinctive strength in the collections, such as the following:

• Optical Toys
• Magic lanterns
• Panoramas and Dioramas, including the research papers of Ralph Hyde
• Early Cinema 1895-1914
• Charlie Chaplin
• Silent Cinema, especially in the UK
• Sheet Music
• Star ephemera
• Cinemagoing
• Film and material culture
• Fiction about film
• Film Press-books and campaign material
• The films of Bill Douglas
• Independent cinema in Britain since the 1970s.

To apply:

Please email bdc@exeter.ac.uk with a one page CV covering key academic achievements or publications or previous research and a proposal of up to 1,000 words outlining:

1) Your planned use of the museum’s collections

2) The expected outcomes from the research and its contribution to the field of study, including publication plans.

3) An outline of the expected costings of your visit.

The deadline for applications is 31 May 2019. Applicants will be informed of the decision of the assessment panel within one month and will be expected to undertake their research before the end of April 2020.