ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Loughborough University

Deadline: April 3, 2019

Job reference REQ190207

Location: Loughborough

Package: Specialist and Supporting Academic

Grade 6, £30,395 to £36,261 per annum, at a starting salary to be confirmed on offer of appointment. Subject to annual pay award.

Job description

School of Social Sciences, Loughborough University

Full-time fixed-term position for 24 months

The Department of Social Sciences is seeking to appoint a Research Associate to work with Dr Vaclav Stetka (PI) and Professor Sabina Mihelj (Co-I) on a new ESRC-funded research project "The Illiberal Turn? News Consumption, Political Polarization, and Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe". Combining survey data, digital tracking of media consumption, as well as media diaries and qualitative interviews, the project will carry out a systematic study of news consumption and political polarization in Poland, Czechia, Hungary and Serbia, at a key point in time when the region is witnessing the rise of populist leaders, resurgence of illiberal nationalism, and a shift towards authoritarian forms of government.

The primary responsibilities of the Research Associate involve quantitative data collection, analysis and management. The researcher will participate in designing of a representative population survey and carry out analyses of the data, including the use of advanced statistical methods. The successful candidate will also assist in gathering of secondary data relevant for the understanding of political and media systems of the countries studied by the project, co-author some of the publications, contribute to impact activities, and lead on website and social media development. Proficiency in one of the local languages (Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Serbian) is an advantage.

The successful applicant for the this post will be an experienced researcher with postgraduate training in sociology, media/communication studies, political science or another related discipline (PhD, or very close to completion), and with an experience in quantitative social science methodologies, particularly surveys, as well as in quantitative data analysis, including advanced statistical techniques.

Informal enquiries should be made by email to Dr Vaclav Stetka, V.Stetka@lboro.ac.uk

Closing date: 3 April 2019

Interviews (including presentation) will be held on: 16 April 2019

Please follow this link for further details.

Ekhprasis (Vol. 22, Issue 2/2019)

Deadline (extended): March 25, 2019

Issue editors: Fátima Chinita and Liviu Lutas

From times immemorial people have been telling stories to one another; humanity at large as well as entire civilizations have been built open this storytelling impetus. First orally, later through other media and art forms, stories have spread among cultures, eras, and generations engaging an ever-growing dissemination. Technical and technological developments have helped in this enterprise, across a vast array of long-lasting and canonical art forms as well as more popular and recent ones.

Film is precisely at that intersection, which makes it a privileged form for media confluences at the service of narrative spreading.

But how does this dialogue between film and other media and/or art forms operate? How are stories conveyed form the former to the latter(s), and vice versa? To what purpose and through what means?

What, if anything, changes in that transposition, and what remains the same? How does creativity work at this border-crossing and exactly what does it entail? How can film and other media be contained in or influence one another, not just in fictional-oriented works, but also, in keeping up with the times, in more factual and self-representative artistic outputs?

Volume 22, issue 2/2019 of Ekphrasis looks for novel and creative approaches on film and mediality at large, be it dual-, multi-, -inter or transmediality. We aim to contribute to the reflection on media collaboration from the perspective of the content, i.e. the subject of the films and other art works, i.e., its narrative aspects, whether fictional or not. This, of course, is highly influenced by the nature of the media/arts involved.

Therefore, we will prioritize submissions that are solidly grounded on theoretical work already published on this field and that combine the argument on content with the requirements made by the different media/arts involved.

Suggested Topics: (not limited to this sample)

• Intertextuality, intermediality, intramediality.
• Mediation, remediation, transmediation.
• Art forms as qualified media.
• Phenomena of hybridization.
• Transfer among media.
• Narrative adaptation, appropriation.
• Cinematic ekphrasis.
• Allusion, quotation, pastiche, parody, motifs.
• Remakes, sequels, prequels, spin-offs, reboots.
• Transmedia storytelling projects.
• Cinematic worlds and other media.
• Impossible worlds, characters, and narrative structures across media.
• Medium specificity and collaboration among media/arts.
• Palimpsest, embedding, layering.
• Narrative genres in-between or across media.
• Alternate realities, reworking facts and fiction.
• Myths, legends, fairytales and post-celluloid adaptation.

Deadline for abstracts of between 700 and 1000 words: MARCH 25, 2019.

Acceptance notice: April 15th 2019.

Final submission is due AUGUST 30th 2019.

Date of publication: DECEMBER 30th 2019.

Both proposals and final texts should be in English and should follow the style sheet available on our website.

The final submission should include: a 5,000-8,000-word article, including a 150-word abstract, 5-7 keywords, a list of references (only the cited works) and a 150-word author's bio. Proposals and final submissions should be formatted as

Word documents and sent to: chinita.estc@gmail.com and liviu.lutas@lnu.se

The articles should be original material not published in any other media before.

More here

The Nineteenth IALIC Conference: Translating Cultures. The Culture of Translating

November 21-23, 2019

University Of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

Deadline (extended): March 24, 2019

The 2019 Conference of the International Association for Languages and Intercultural Communication (IALIC) will be held at the Universitat de València (Spain), 20-22 November, 2019, with the aim of providing a forum for research in the field. The conference theme, Translating Cultures, Cultures in Translation, emerges principally from the idea that it is people who co-construct their culture(s) through intercultural communication and everyday encounters. Cultures are therefore not static, but are always on the move; nor are cultures homogenous, rather they are diverse and multifaceted. In other words, cultures are always ‘in translation’ or moving from one location to another; similarly, cultural frameworks are always permeable and subject to change under the mutual contact that takes place between individuals.

This conference will therefore explore the relationship between cultures and translation understood not only as encounter, co-construction, negotiation change and movement, but also as a means of explicating and interpreting the world. Intercultural interactions take place both in ordinary circumstances such as school, the workplace or everyday life, and also in exceptional situations such as those brought about by forced or voluntary displacements. In these circumstances, cultural difference can be signified by the language used in relation to gender, sexuality, age, food, dress, social mores or other characteristics which become salient in these interactions. In this, structural agents of power and change, such as educational institutions, governmental and other administrative agencies, as well as political regimes and agendas – forces which can be both productive of and resistant to diversity, difference and individual agency ­– will also be subject to scrutiny. In these circumstances, the conflicting demands of intercultural exchange and intercultural difference can lead not only to the flaring up of clashes and misunderstandings, but also to the silencing of individuals’ voices and the denial of their identities. Thus intercultural communication, dialogue, negotiation and mediation are all necessary in order to overcome and resolve confrontational situations that might give rise to intolerance and injustice of all persuasions.

The conference will also engage with the diversity of cultural narratives and texts – fictional and non-fictional, poetic and prosaic, imaginary and autobiographical, visual and performative – through which (inter)cultural encounters can be critically engaged with, reflected upon and interpreted. In so doing, we will explore the different formats and platforms which can be used for communication, including images, performance, media, film, performing arts and music. As people shape and reshape their own culture(s), novel theoretical, methodological and pedagogical approaches to intercultural communication arise. This forum therefore seeks to embrace not only the reassuringly conventional, but also new forms of intercultural expression that are emerging.

Topics

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Cultural interactions worldwide relating (inter alia) to education, workplace, leisure and the arts.
  
• Hegemonic relations in cultures and languages.
  
• Cultural and linguistic impact of migration movements on both migrants and the host societies.
  
• Forced and voluntary displacements: multicultural and multilingual situations.
  
• Negotiating difference: tolerance and intolerance.
  
• Facing and overcoming cultural and linguistic clashes.
  
• Teaching to cope with cultural and linguistic differences.
  
• Culture and language in diasporic situations.
  
• Generation gap: changes in linguistic and social interactions.
  
• Cultural narratives: fictional and non-fictional, imaginary and autobiographical.
  
• Cultural representations: moods, modes and media.
  

Plenary Speakers

John Corbett – University of Sao Paulo (Brazil).

Sandra López Rocha – University of Waterloo (Canada).

Isabel Moreno López – Goucher College (USA).

Roberto Valdeón – Universidad de Oviedo (Spain).

Conference Presentation Types

Paper presentations (20 minutes + 10 minutes for discussion).

Roundtable sessions (90 minutes).

PhD candidates’ presentations (15 minutes + 15 minutes for discussion).

Presentation of Abstracts

We invite submission of proposals by 28 February, 2019.

For paper presentations: Abstract (300 words + five key references).

For roundtable sessions: We welcome proposals for roundtables of three / four Panellists will give a short introductory statement of 10-15 minutes and the rest of the session will consist of discussion and debate. To submit a proposal for a roundtable, please send a 100 word abstract summarising the topic and its importance, together with a 100 word abstracts of each speaker (including their names and affiliations), plus details of the roundtable organiser, chair (if different from the organiser), and participants.

For PhD candidates’ presentations: Abstract (300 words + five key references); special sessions will be allocated for these presentations in which there will be two respondents assigned by the scientific committee.

In all cases, please include names and institutional affiliations as you would like them to appear on the name badges and on the conference programme.

The official language of the conference is English.

Abstracts should be submitted by email as an attached word document (a template can be found on our webpage) to maria.j.coperias@uv.es and juan.j.martinez@uv.es.

Abstracts will be reviewed by the conference scientific committee.

Scholarships

Three scholarships will be offered to ‘early career’ researchers or doctoral students, particularly those coming from the Global South, consisting of the conference fees and accommodation for maximum 4 days in budget hotel or university halls of residence. Please see relevant documents on the conference website.

Important Dates

• Presentation of abstracts: deadline: March 24, 2019.
• Notification of acceptance: 31st March.
  
• Registration: Early registration finishes 15th October; registrations will be accepted up to 12th November.

Steering Committee

María José Coperías-Aguilar (Universitat de València – IALIC).

Juan José Martínez-Sierra (Universitat de València – CiTrans).

Website: http://ialic2019.uv.es/

May 31-June 2, 2019

University of Bucharest

Deadline: March 15, 2019

Open to senior and junior scholars of political research from social sciences and humanities, as well as to scholars from trans- and interdisciplinary areas relevant for political research.

The official languages of the event are English and French. The primary working language is English and we expect most abstracts, papers, presentations and discussions to be in this language. Pre-organized panels or round tables in French may be also accepted.

A red trail of public actions fuelled by self-aggrandizing visions, often in the detriment of evidence-based arguments, seems to haunt the current political climate, especially in regions where democratic values were long-established or where during the last decades they appeared to have a chance to flourish. From emotionally-burdened and highly costly political gambles such as the Brexit, the Catalan independence or the recent referendums on the definition of family in national constitutions in Central and Eastern Europe to the seemingly never-ending Donald Trump disruptive outbursts and the barely disguised disregards of international norms by populist leaders or authoritarian governments of countries as diverse as Russia, Italy, Syria, the Philippines and Brazil, or to the open political attacks on academic freedom in Turkey and Hungary targeting particularly social sciences, value-driven narratives both echo and amplify the apparent deterioration of the quality of public discourse and of the liberal democracy institutions worldwide.

At discipline level, perhaps still limited by the sometimes insufficiently understood complexity of the concept of value-free science, we seem to have not tackled comprehensively the nexus values-politics for a long time. Not that we have neglected research on values in political research. Political theory, for instance, has a long and robust tradition of investigating the normative dimensions of political phenomena. Global, regional, national and local surveys on values, beliefs and attitudes are the bread and butter of many political researchers and provide data that, over the last decades, has generated vivid debates and a significant part of publications in comparative politics and political methodology. Research on corruption, integrity and public accountability is also present often beyond the borders of scholarly outlets. At the same time, with rapid technological advancements such as social media, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and gene editing, ethics has become an increasingly visible aspect in the study of international affairs, conflicts, international political economy and public policies. However, across the entire spectrum of political science as both discipline and profession, the dialogue on the multifaceted presence of values in politics and contemporary political research is still limited to marginal or formal issues.

Furthermore, with distrust in politicians continuing to remain pervasively high across the world and since political science still faces significant challenges in communicating its social and scientific worth to the larger public, questions on the relevance of studying political phenomena and even whether politics itself got any value are increasingly present in the public space. Under these circumstances, the topic of values in politics forces us to rethink the merits of our own work in a larger context, which addresses both the long-run survival of our discipline and the moral obligations of scholars as citizens, as well as the limits of acting as engaged spectators.

Aiming to explore such scholarly and policy puzzles from various conceptual, empirical and methodological perspectives, while addressing timely case-studies, we invite scholars across different disciplines to submit papers, panels or round table proposals, especially (but not exclusively) around the following core topics:

• Ethics and political theory;
• Ethics and international affairs;
• Ethics and public policy;
• Ethics and human rights;
• Values, beliefs and attitudes in contemporary societies;
• Populism, social movements and electoral behaviour in the age of social media;
• Democracy and its critics;
• Contemporary political ideologies;
• Identity politics;
• The politics of entitlement;
• Transitional justice;
• Comparative perspectives on civic education and global solidarity;
• Methodological opportunities and challenges in approaching the study of values in political research;
• Ethics of contemporary political research.

The best papers may be considered for publication within special journal issues or collective volumes with partner publishers.

More here

July 15-19, 2019

University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany

Deadline: March 31, 2019

In ancient Greece, a central part of social life took place at the agora. At this physical venue, citizens did not only trade all kinds of commodities, but also deliberated about important societal issues and politics. Therefore, the agora can be considered as the birthplace of democracy. Today, social media seem to bring this ancient Greek idea into a digital world: Services such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram enable citizens not only to publish political thoughts or initiatives in the form of videos, pictures, or status entries but also to have civically relevant interactions with other citizens at large scale. While this might be seen as a potentially enriching tool for democratic societies, nowadays, it also has to be discussed in the light of less desirable observations such as uncivilized exchanges (“hate speech”), the spread of misinformation (“fake news”), the presence of manipulative entities (“social bots”), or communication in ideologically homogeneous spheres (“filter bubbles” or “echo chambers”).

Empirical evidence in the field of computer-mediated political communication has grown in the last decades. Still, it remains a pressing need for researchers to systematically identify the circumstances under which politically relevant communication over network technologies can become beneficial versus detrimental for individuals and societies. What are the boundary conditions under which social media serve as marketplaces wherein citizens can contribute to deliberation and rational exchanges of arguments? Which factors influence whether this can lead to better informed (political) decisions? Which kind of citizens benefit most or least when using social media in political contexts? What are long-term consequences of political discourses via social networking platforms? How can computational methods be used to understand the mechanisms within these platforms better and to improve the conditions for the user? What are ethical implications of political deliberation online and how can we come to a well-grounded normative stance? Answering these questions clearly demands a multi-disciplinary approach combining communication studies, psychology, computer science, social media analytics, ethics, and political science. This Summer School, hosted by the Forschungsverbund “Digitale Gesellschaft NRW” and organized by the University of Duisburg-Essen and University of Bonn, intends to bring these disciplines together and to offer a fruitful setting for senior and junior scholars to jointly work on current questions of political communication in computer-mediated contexts.

The Summer School is open for a total of 40 PhD candidates with different disciplinary backgrounds who study civically relevant communication through contemporary technologies. PhD participants are offered (a) extensive training in discussing current research problems following keynote presentations and in small-group workshops, (b) the opportunity to network with other PhD students and leading scholars, and (c) an environment to present their current work in the form of a poster exposition.

Application

To apply, PhD students are asked to submit an abstract of 600 words of their own research. Accepted abstracts will be presented in a high-density session including a short presentation and a poster. Please submit your application online here.

Call for Participation here

More information here

September 26-29, 2019

Hamburg

Deadline: April 8, 2019

The Global Investigative Journalism Conference, scheduled for this September 26-29 in Hamburg, Germany, will again feature an academic research track. Journalism professors and researchers worldwide are invited to submit research paper abstracts highlighting trends, challenges, teaching methodologies, new developments and best practices in investigative and data journalism.

The conference will be co-hosted by the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN), Netzwerk Recherche (NR) and the Interlink Academy for International Dialog and Journalism.

Designed by journalists for journalists, GIJC19 will focus, as always, on practical skills, technology and training.

CALL FOR RESEARCH PAPERS/ABSTRACTS

This is a call for submission of abstracts by April 8, 2019, of no more than 300 words for a short paper and panel presentation at the 11th Global Investigative Journalism Conference. Abstracts and papers should be sent to research.papers@gijn.org.

Selected research papers will be presented at the 2019 Global Investigative Journalism Conference at the Spiegel Publishing House and HafenCity University Hamburg, Germany.

Decisions will be made by May 15, 2019.

Final papers will be due August 15, 2019.

The papers will be compiled in a digital publication for the conference and accepted proposals and presenters will receive invitations to attend the conference.

Topics considered although not limited to:

• Trends in investigative reporting
• Trends in computer-assisted reporting and data journalism
• Challenges in doing investigative reporting depending on country or culture
• Successful methods of teaching investigative, computer-assisted and data journalism
• Adapting investigative journalism to new technologies

Submission Requirements:

Proposals should present original research into any aspect of the aforementioned topics in an abstract of maximum 300 words. Papers must follow APA style. If the abstract is accepted, paper length is no more than 15 pages (excluding references, tables and appendices).

Papers should not have been published or presented at a prior conference.

Instructions:

• Paper must be written in English.
• Paper must be in the format of Microsoft Word (.doc or docx). No other formats will be accepted.
• If abstract is accepted, paper must be formatted to APA style and no longer than 15 pages (excluding references, tables, appendices)
• Papers should be sent with the title, but without the author’s identifying information. Please send a separate title page with the authors’ contact information. This will ensure a fair and unbiased selection process.

Funding:

The conference fee of 300€ will be waived for all selected presenters but unfortunately we are not able to cover accommodation, visa and travel costs. Presenters should reach out to their own institution of employment for such funding.

If you experience any problems in submitting your paper or have any questions, please contact Brant Houston at brant.houston@gmail.com or Jelter Meers at jelter.meers@ijec.org.

Abstracts and papers should be sent to research.papers@gijn.org.

University of Fribourg (Switzerland)

Deadline: April 1, 2019

The Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) invites applications for the position of Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) in Communication Studies. The position is with the Department of Communication and Media Research DCM. The appointment begins in early 2020 and is limited to five years. In case of a positive tenure evaluation, the assistant professor will be promoted to a permanent full professorship.

Candidates may either focus on societal (macro-level) or on individual (micro-level) issues of communication and media research from a social scientific perspective. The former includes but is not limited to research fields like journalism research, democracy, political communication and the public sphere; cultural and media industries and economics; media systems; and/or media policy and regulation. The latter includes but is not limited to research fields like media reception, use, and effects; audience research; and/or media content and performance. Regardless of a candidate’s field of specialization, they should show an interest in the implications of the digital transformation of communication and media.

Candidates must have completed a Ph.D. in communication studies or a related discipline. In order to promote up-and-coming researchers, the university especially invites scholars younger than 35-40 to apply. Candidates should have demonstrated research ability, a publication record appropriate for early career scholars as well as the potential for publishing in quality journals and for attracting externally funded research. Moreover, they should be committed to teaching excellence, have some professional international experience, and have sound skills in (quantitative and/or qualitative) social scientific research methods.

The teaching load is 4 to 6 hours per week and includes courses in the French-language Bachelor program “Sciences de la communication et des medias” as well as in the bilingual French/English Master program “Business Communication”.

Candidates should have high command of both French and English. Administrative languages at the University of Fribourg are German and French. Thus, a passive knowledge of German is expected in the medium term. The salary is competitive. The University of Fribourg provides equal opportunities for women and men and aims at achieving gender balance.

Candidates should send their complete application in a single PDF file that includes

• a cover letter describing their motivation and qualification for the position;
• a CV including lists of publications, presentations, teaching experience, research grants, and academic service;
• teaching evaluations (if available);
• a one-page statement of research interests and a one-page statement of teaching philosophy;
• the names of three professional references

to the dean’s office (decanat-ses@unifr.ch) and to Mrs. Anne-Marie Carrel, administration secretary at the DCM (anne-marie.carrel@unifr.ch), until April 1, 2019.

The School of Media, Communication, and Sociology at the University of Leicester

University welcomes applications to its interdisciplinary Master’s programme in Media, Gender, and Social Justice. The first of its kind in the UK, this one-year programme offers students the opportunity to critically examine and practically apply theories, concepts, and approaches related to the use of media and communication for addressing inequalities and engaging in social justice work.

This MA is offered by one of the UK’s leading centres for research and teaching in media, communication, and sociology. In addition to offering the expertise of over 50 members of staff in areas related to media, inclusion, politics, and development, we collaborate with colleagues in Criminology, Business, History, Politics, and International Relations to offer students a wide range of courses related to social justice and possibilities for supervision in these complementary subject areas.

The University of Leicester is ideally located in the East Midlands, a well-networked and exciting hub of social, artistic, and political activism. Leicester is widely-known as a welcoming, diverse city, and the University is a socially inclusive institution that celebrates research-led teaching.

Entry Requirements

Students must have a 2:1 degree or equivalent professional qualification. We may consider relevant voluntary/work experience in grassroots, public, private or NGO sectors related to social justice internationally.

Additional information about the programme and application procedures can be found here: https://le.ac.uk/courses/media-gender-and-social-justice-ma

Ramon Lobato

How streaming services and internet distribution have transformed global television culture.

Television, once a broadcast medium, now also travels through our telephone lines, fiber optic cables, and wireless networks. It is delivered to viewers via apps, screens large and small, and media players of all kinds. In this unfamiliar environment, new global giants of television distribution are emerging—including Netflix, the world’s largest subscription video-on-demand service.

Combining media industry analysis with cultural theory, Ramon Lobato explores the political and policy tensions at the heart of the digital distribution revolution, tracing their longer history through our evolving understanding of media globalization. Netflix Nations considers the ways that subscription video-on-demand services, but most of all Netflix, have irrevocably changed the circulation of media content. It tells the story of how a global video portal interacts with national audiences, markets, and institutions, and what this means for how we understand global media in the internet age.

Netflix Nations addresses a fundamental tension in the digital media landscape – the clash between the internet’s capacity for global distribution and the territorial nature of media trade, taste, and regulation. The book also explores the failures and frictions of video-on-demand as experienced by audiences. The actual experience of using video platforms is full of subtle reminders of market boundaries and exclusions: platforms are geo-blocked for out-of-region users (“this video is not available in your region”); catalogs shrink and expand from country to country; prices appear in different currencies; and subtitles and captions are not available in local languages. These conditions offer rich insight for understanding the actual geographies of digital media distribution.

Contrary to popular belief, the story of Netflix is not just an American one. From Argentina to Australia, Netflix’s ascension from a Silicon Valley start-up to an international television service has transformed media consumption on a global scale. Netflix Nations will help readers make sense of a complex, ever-shifting streaming media environment.

April 10-12, 2019

University of Seville

IV International Congress of Communication and Reflection: The Emergent Communication

Deadline: March 11, 2019

This panel at the IV International Congress of Communication and Reflection conference seeks to reflect about the power of the audience as a producer and diffuser of content in media. We invite you to contribute with reflections about experiences with audiences related with the transformation of the cultural industry, the future of television and the risks and opportunities in the relationships with the spectators. As a matter of fact, the suggested discussion topics of this panel are:

• New ways of consuming media
• New television formats adapted into a visual environment
• Transmedia audiences
• Strategies of the television format with interactive users
• Impact factors of social audience in the audiovisual industry
• The role of the new interactive user and its enrollment in the process of production, distribution and consumption
• The impact in social media of traditional audiences.The measurement of the social audience
• Risks and opportunities of the new content consumption
• Active audiences in radio
• Active audiences in press

To participate as a speaker you must sign up in this adress.

Besides, we remind the assistants that the paper proposals might be included as book chapter. Participants will be able to defend their presentation through video conference or Skype. English papers and presentations are also accepted.