ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

If you are from the United States, South Korea, Japan, Italy, or Germany and interested in working on an exciting project for your PhD or postdoc studies (starting summer/fall 2019), this could be a terrific fit for you.

The project examines how values are constructed in digital spheres through a comparative analysis of user-generated content in five languages. The positions are fully funded: up to 5 years for PhD students and 2 years (with an extension option) for postdoctoral students. The team will be based at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Dept. of communication) with trips to the relevant countries for interview purposes. Candidates with qualitative and/or quantitative training in the social sciences, humanities and computer science are encouraged to apply.

For more information, see https://limorshifman.huji.ac.il.

To start the application process, please send your CV to the principal investigator, Limor Shifman, at: limor.shifman@mail.huji.ac.il

Conference in comparative political communication

July 1-2, 2019

Nice, France

Deadline: February 27, 2019

Elections to the European Parliament have long been considered "second class" elections (Reif & Schmitt, 1980). Two main factors have been put forward in order to justify this assessment: the persistent low level of participation in this election in most of the European Union countries and the weakness of the European Parliament in regard to the capabilities and powers of the different national parliaments. As a result, mainstream political parties - in office locally sooner or later - have somewhat neglected these elections, often perceived by the public at large as a "sideline" for politicians having lost momentum or at the end of their careers. However, marginal political parties, or those representing the extremes of the political spectrum, have benefited from the weak investment of mainstream parties, making their voices heard and advancing their ideas.

While the 2014 European elections did not directly change the situation, the influence of this vote is far from negligible. Indeed, the political communication of the marginal and extreme parties during this election has influenced the opinion of its tone even more demagogic and populist than before, with speeches attacking the European Union and its Brussels institutions, or those opposed to immigration or advocating a return to national borders, sometimes with some violence unheard since the first half of the 20th century. More than ever, mainstream parties have been blamed as "complicit" in this surrender of sovereignty.

With this frontal denunciation of mainstream parties, but also with the rebuttal of the ideas of political consensus inherent to the usual democratic debates, the political communication of the 2014 European elections has become the testing ground of several demagogic parties, frequently characterized as "populists". They took advantage of this platform to make their voices heard, and then grasped power in several countries of the European Union. One can also glimpse in this movement the birth of the idea of "clearing off" (politicians and parties), which made the later happiness of some newcomers on the political chess boards of several countries of the Union, with notably the 2017 "party-less" victory Emmanuel Macron in France in 2017.

Looking at the political communication flows of the 2014 European elections thus made it possible to show that their "second-order" status had become questionable: if their immediate result - the composition of the European Parliament - did not change very much, the influence of these elections on the internal votes that followed in the EU countries is far from negligible.

This conference proposes to its contributors to draw up an initial assessment of the political communication of the 2019 European elections by particularly exploring three points:

• a comparative analysis of the political communication strategies and tactics of the campaign in the European Union, through all the communication tools and methods, including possible subversive uses of social networks and the deliberate use of fake news;
• linking content and programs with the political evolution of many EU countries since the previous European elections, which will lead to consider the balance between national issues and European issues, some seemingly becoming crucial for politicians in office (starting with France);
• finally, the evaluation of the "disruptive" or, on the contrary, more classical feature of political communication at the European level; will we be witnessing a banal practice of political communication across the countries of the Union? Or will the diversity and fragmentation of political landscapes and the increased growth of social networks spark innovation and creativity?

These central questions will be the subject of the international conference on Comparative Political Communication to be held in Nice on July 1st and 2nd, 2019, in the framework of cooperation between the "Sic.Lab Méditerranée" laboratory of the Côte d'Azur University (www.siclab.fr) and the Center for Comparative Studies in Political and Public Communication (www.ceccopop.eu). This scientific event will bring together researchers and communication professionals on the Carlone Campus of the LASH Faculty of the Côte d'Azur University and at the Mediterranean University Center, located on the "Promenade des Anglais".

The conference is organized by Philippe J. Maarek, Professor specialized in Political Communication at the Paris Est Créteil University (UPEC), former president of the Political Communication Research Sections of IPSA and IAMCR, associate member of the Sic.Lab and head of CECCOPOP. He ensures its scientific coordination with Nicolas Pelissier, Professor of Information Sciences and Communication at the University of Côte d'Azur and Head of Sic.Lab Méditerranée (EA 3280).

The event will be bilingual, French-English. Colleagues wishing to present a paper are invited to send a request to participate before February 27, 2019, to the following email address: ceccopop@gmail.com. Proposals must include an abstract of 250 to 500 words (one or two sheets) and a one-page Vitae. They will be subject to a double-blind evaluation by the Scientific Board. Proposals must include an abstract of 250 to 500 words (one or two sheets) and a one-page Vitae. They will be subject to a double-blind evaluation by the Scientific Board.

Applications are open for a unique two year programme which enables students to study for one year at LSE in London, the UK’s media capital, and one year at the University of Cape Town (UCT) – the top-ranked university on the African continent with close links to Cape Town’s media and film industry and NGO sector.

The MSc/MA Double Degree in Global Media and Communications (LSE and the University of Cape Town) aims to provide:

• critical exploration of mediation in the global context, examining processes of globalisation in relation to organisation, production, consumption and representation in media and communications;
• the opportunity to study a range of courses, flexibly tailoring the programme to develop specialist interests, culminating in an independent research project on a topic in global media and communications at LSE and a further dissertation or creative media production at UCT;
• preparation for high-level employment in media and communications related professions anywhere in the world;
• the opportunity to carry out an internship in Cape Town.

Students on this degree will be trained to examine the intersection of media and globalisation from an African vantage point. They will gain an understanding of global media and communications in an African context and African media and communications in a global context.

General information about the programme:

http://www.lse.ac.uk/media-and-communications/study

http://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/Graduate/Degree-programmes-2018/MSc-Global-Media-and-Communications-LSE-and-UCT

Watch video about the programme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5etxv19nZE&t=17s

Detailed course information about Year Two at UCT:

http://www.cfms.uct.ac.za/msc-global-media-courses

How to apply:

http://www.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/study/mscProgrammes/globalMedia/HowToApply.aspx

http://www.lse.ac.uk/study/graduate/enquirer/howToApply/HowToApplyForGraduateStudyVideo.aspx

Request for administrative fee waiver:

https://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/Graduate/Applicants/How-do-I/Secure/Administrative-fee-waiver

Entry requirements:

http://www.lse.ac.uk/study/graduate/enquirer/entryRequirements/home.aspx

Financial support for all students:

http://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/Graduate/fees-and-funding

Other LSE financial support for African students:

http://www.lse.ac.uk/africa/study/scholarships/scholarshipsHome.aspx

For general enquiries about the admissions process, please email: Media.Communications.Msc@lse.ac.uk

For further details about LSE programme content, please contact Prof Robin Mansell, (r.e.mansell@lse.ac.uk)

For further details about UCT programme content, please contact Dr Wallace Chuma (wallace.chuma@uct.ac.za)

University of Zurich

Immediately or as agreed upon, the Media & Internet Governance Division (Prof. Dr. Natascha Just) of the Department of Communication and Media Research (IKMZ) is offering two positions of Research and Teaching Associate (60% each).

Aim of the Division

The new Media & Internet Governance Division at the IKMZ analyses questions of media policy and regulation in the convergent communications sector. Alongside research on traditional mass media, the division focuses on Internet Governance, Platform Studies and New Media.

Key Activities

• Collaboration in research projects and research project applications
• Further academic qualification (doctoral dissertation) along the lines of the Division’s research and teaching areas
• Conference presentations and publications
• Involvement in teaching
• Student supervision and administrative work

Requirements

• University degree in communication science, an adjacent social science discipline or in law (Master)
• Knowledge of or high interest in media policy, Internet governance, interest in media economics and law of advantage
• Interest in further academic qualification (dissertation)
• Knowledge of qualitative and/or quantitative research methods and their application; experience with statistical and other analysis software
• Strong team orientation
• Accurate and reliable working attitude

Entry date

At the earliest possible / as agreed upon

Inquiries

Dr. des Corinne Schweizer, c.schweizer@ikmz.uzh.ch, Senior Research and Teaching Associate in the “Media & Internet Governance” Division

Applications

Your application should contain a motivation letter, CV, proof of achievement / transcripts, and a scientific contribution (for example excerpt from the Master's thesis). Please send these documents as one PDF file via email to: Corinne Schweizer, c.schweizer@ikmz.uzh.ch

Further information

The University of Zurich is interested in the equality of men and women in academic positions and therefore particularly invites applications of qualified female researchers.

This is a temporary position of Research and Teaching Associate (1 year) with a possibility of renewal for up to 5 more years and a possible increase of employment percentage by way of third party funds.

Application deadline

The recruitment of candidates is on a rolling basis. The job offer remains open until a qualified candidate is found.

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ECREA Philosophy of Communication Section Workshop

September 18-20, 2019

Tel Aviv 

Deadline: March 17, 2019

What is communication? There is no single answer to this fundamental question. According to the (still prevailing) transmission view, communication consists in the transfer of messages from sender to receiver. According to the constructionist perspective, on the other hand, in the processes of communication meanings are constituted, not merely transferred. This perspective has many variants (the ritual / constitutive model, use-oriented philosophical outlooks on linguistic meaning, social construction of communication approach, or systems theory – to name only a few), and is pursued (either explicitly or implicitly) by a variety of communication scholars, as well as thinkers in related fields. At the same time, communication constructionism still has its staunch opponents.

The objective of this workshop is to bring together scholars of communication studies, philosophy and neighboring fields to explore the current faces of constructionism in communication research.

Thus we invite papers concerned with the following questions and topics, among others:

• Theoretical developments of the constructionist position.
• Formal models of constructionism.
• Critical analyses of constructionism (or its specific variants).
• Discussions of philosophical/theoretical perspectives on communication that embody the constructionist outlook.
• Applications of the constructionist view in particular case-studies.

Please send extended abstracts (up to 400 words) to Eli Dresner, Tel Aviv University, dresner@post.tau.ac.il, by March 17, 2019. Notification of acceptance by April 15, 2019.

May 17-18, 2019

Universität Salzburg, Austria

Deadline for submissions (EXTENDED): March 3, 2019

In Salzburg, at the fifth annual conference of the ECREA Journalism & Communication Education TWG, we want to take a closer look at the multi-faceted relationships between education for all types of media professionals and the respective industries. We invite abstracts of academic research and project-based experiences and various approaches (theoretical, methodological or empirical, in nature) that can touch upon, but are by no means restricted to, the following four thematic areas:

Practices of Education, Training, and the Industry: Here, we want to examine innovations and trends between the classroom and the industry, e.g. innovative media products, new training profiles in media professions, best practice examples of project-based collaboration, offering co-working spaces, working on assignment, entrepreneurial training and the potential of start-ups, etc.

Challenges and Chances of Collaboration: Here, we want to evaluate the respective roles of industry and education, e.g. methods of keeping up with innovations, the industry’s expectations with regard to media graduates, questions of ethics and professional identity, directions and types of influence etc.

The Impact of Societal and Professional Changes on the Classroom: here we want to discuss how education programs are responding or contributing to fundamental changes in society, technology and/or economy; e. the role of journalism in society and how education can contribute in strengthening its position, new didactics to prepare for future needs in society and industry etc.

Lessons for educational programs from industrial developments: We also explicitly invite presentations from various fields of media communication research which examine current developments (blurred professional boundaries, public-centeredness, fake news, crossmedia, hybrid newsrooms, datafication and automation, artificial intelligence, news games, content marketing, chatbot marketing, social commerce, native advertising, the internet of things…) and draw conclusions for present and future education for media professions.

Please note that we invite contributions in various formats, e.g. workshops, panels and individual presentations.

Workshops sessions are practice-oriented. Proposals should include a workshop description (max. 500 words) with a clearly defined workshop topic and goal, and a number of questions or assignments for discussion as well as an indication of the length of the session.

Individual presentations involve research results and/or theoretical work and/or project-based experiences relevant to the conference theme. Please submit an abstract (max. 500 words, not including references), outlining the state of the study or project, as well as the research question(s) or hypotheses, findings and conclusion(s). We also encourage submitting work in progress, e.g. new theoretical, methodological or didactic ideas. Presentations can be either short pitch/poster sessions or traditional presentations (feel free to be creative).

Panels consist of various presentations addressing a common topic from different perspectives. Panels are scheduled for one hour, including discussions. Panel proposals should include a description of the topic and an overall panel goal, addressing the relevance of the topic to the conference theme (400 words). The proposal should also suggest a chair to serve as a moderator and should include a short abstract of each of the presentations (max. 200 words each).

For the call for abstracts and further information please visit official website: http://trialanderror2019.uni-salzburg.at

The conference is organized by the local organizing committee at the Department of Communication Science/University of Salzburg and the ECREA Journalism & Communication Education TWG management team:

Dr. Susanne Kirchhoff (Head of committee) / University of Salzburg, Austria / (susanne.kirchhoff@sbg.ac.at)

Dr. Michael Harnischmacher (Chair) / University of Passau / Passau, Germany / (michael.harnischmacher@uni-passau.de)

Dr. Harmen Groenhart (Vice chair) / Fontys University of Applied Sciences / Tilburg, The Netherlands (h.groenhart@fontys.nl)

Dr. Pilar Sánchez-García (Vice chair) / University of Valladolid / Valladolid, Spain (pilar.sanchez@hmca.uva.es)

University of Zurich

Immediately or as agreed upon, the Media & Internet Governance Division (Prof. Dr. Natascha Just) of the Department of Communication and Media Research (IKMZ) is offering two positions of Research and Teaching Associate (60% each).

Aim of the Division

The new Media & Internet Governance Division at the IKMZ analyses questions of media policy and regulation in the convergent communications sector. Alongside research on traditional mass media, the division focuses on Internet Governance, Platform Studies and New Media.

Key Activities

• Collaboration in research projects and research project applications
• Further academic qualification (doctoral dissertation) along the lines of the Division’s research and teaching areas
• Conference presentations and publications
• Involvement in teaching
• Student supervision and administrative work

Requirements

• University degree in communication science, an adjacent social science discipline or in law (Master)
• Knowledge of or high interest in media policy, Internet governance, interest in media economics and law of advantage
• Interest in further academic qualification (dissertation)
• Knowledge of qualitative and/or quantitative research methods and their application; experience with statistical and other analysis software
• Strong team orientation
• Accurate and reliable working attitude

Entry date

At the earliest possible / as agreed upon

Inquiries

Dr. des Corinne Schweizer, c.schweizer@ikmz.uzh.ch, Senior Research and Teaching Associate in the “Media & Internet Governance” Division

Applications

Your application should contain a motivation letter, CV, proof of achievement / transcripts, and a scientific contribution (for example excerpt from the Master's thesis). Please send these documents as one PDF file via email to: Corinne Schweizer, c.schweizer@ikmz.uzh.ch

Further information

The University of Zurich is interested in the equality of men and women in academic positions and therefore particularly invites applications of qualified female researchers.

This is a temporary position of Research and Teaching Associate (1 year) with a possibility of renewal for up to 5 more years and a possible increase of employment percentage by way of third party funds.

Application deadline

The recruitment of candidates is on a rolling basis. The job offer remains open until a qualified candidate is found.

http://www.jobs.uzh.ch/jobDetail.php?jobID=8868 

University of Gothenburg

Deadline: February 19, 2019

Diary id: PAR 2019/175

Employment level: Time limited employment (temporary)

Location: Applied Information Technology

The department of Applied Information Technology offers education and carries out research within the areas informatics, learning, communication and cognitive science in close collaboration with the industry and public sector. Development of the individual’s knowledge and ability to analyze, understand and handle the digitalization of society, different aspects of IT, interaction between people and interaction between people and technology are at focus.

The department is located at Campus Lindholmen and is a part of The IT faculty at The University of Gothenburg.

The Division of Cognition and Communication is an active environment for research and education in Communication and Cognitive Science. The Division offers an International Master’s program in Communication, a bachelor degree program in Cognitive Science and PhD programs in Communication and Cognitive Science.

We are currently strengthening our capacity in the field of Communication thus announcing a fixed-term employment as a lecturer in that subject. Interviews may be held continuously.

Subject area

Communication

Job assignments

We are looking for a teacher who can assist the supervisors and examinators of degree projects in their work, primarily in the program Master in Communication, but possibly also in other education programs at the department. Prioritized areas of competence within the field of communication are internal and external organizational communication, strategic communication, social media and digital communication. The range of tasks of this position also includes assisting in teaching in various courses in the program Master in Communication, assisting in the development of the Master’s program as well as single courses of the Master’s program.

Eligibility

Qualifying to be employed as a lecturer is the one who has demonstrated pedagogical skills and has undergone university education at advanced level or has equivalent skills or other skills relevant to the content and the tasks of the employment.

Assessment

The person should have completed a university education at an advanced level (Master, Magister, Diplom) in the field of communication, and have a background within social science. Experience in tutoring and teaching in - for the position - relevant areas regarding communication, is meritorious.

Also Higher Teacher training or equivalent is deemed a merit. Furthermore, expertise in the following areas are beneficial: teaching academic writing skills, intercultural communication and interpersonal communication.

Weight will also be attached to documented ability and skill to collaborate with others. Applicants must be able to supervise and teach in English. The ability to perform administrative and educational tasks that require understanding and use of the Swedish language is seen as a beneficial.

The university will through this recruitment make a holistic assessment of aptitude and skills and select the applicant who is deemed to have the best pre-requisites for fulfilling the duties involved in the position, for collaborating with other staff and for contributing to a positive development of the division.

Employment

The position is a fixed-term employment at the scope of 100 % during the period 1st of March 2019 – 31st of January 2020. Possible lower scope and earlier start date can be discussed during the interview.

Appointment procedure

The selection, interview and assessment will be undertaken by a local recruiting group.

Interviews may be held continuously.

For further information:

For further information regarding the position, please contact the Head of Division, Alexander Almér: +46 (0)31 786 27 77

Questions about the recruitment procedure can be directed to Human Resources Officer Emil Fägerwall Ödman: 031-786 2904

Unions

Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg: http://www.gu.se/english/about_the_university/job-opportunities/union-representatives

How to apply

In order to apply for a position at the University of Gothenburg, you have to register an account in our online recruitment system. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the job advertisement, and that it is submitted before the deadline. The selection of candidates is made on the basis of the qualifications registered in the application.

The application is to be written in English.

Closing date: 19 February 2019

The University of Gothenburg promotes equal opportunities, equality and diversity.

Salary is determined on an individual basis.

Applications will be destroyed or returned (upon request) two years after the decision of employment has become final. Applications from the employed and from those who appeal the decision will not be returned.

Ekphrasis: Images, Cinema, Theory, Media (Volume 21, issue 1/2019)

Deadline: February 28, 2019

Is melancholia sweet? Is it an affect that lives especially in the openings enacted by cinema?

There is such a large archive to explore. In a way, cinema has always had its melancholic sweet tooth. Burials, flowers, planets (Saturn, of course, but not only), candles, dolls, empty churches, but also fireworks and bears and red pigs and quotations from poetry. The world has ended in films several times (and more), but no feeling of the end has acted as closure. There is always a question of the sublime and of the strange incident of melancholic persons behaving as rationally as possible in the midst of catastrophes. Melancholia has also often acted as a way of creating the identity of the solitary person: inside the story, but also in relation to an aesthetic object, as the spectator is in the cinema hall.

What are the visual forms of melancholia? We are interested not only in melancholia as a theme in cinema and visual arts but also - and perhaps mostly - in the creative ways in which melancholia is produced through images, montage and the plural strategies of art.

Papers will thus refer to, but will not be limited to, the following areas of research:

• Melancholia as a gift that comes with depression. As depression is caused by an identifiable particular event, melancholia has no strict origin. It can as such emerge as a supplement of depression
• The nihilism of melancholia: it desires the destruction of all that exists. This temptation to destroy everything could be investigated as well as one of the key features of melancholia: its desire for shipwreck
• Melancholia felt through the body: how does a melancholic body function. An entire phenomenology of melancholic perception can be opened for analysis;
• The sweet part of melancholia, the sweetness of suffering. The catharsis of self-destruction;
•  The rationality of melancholia: during a catastrophe, the most rational behavior will often be that of the melancholic ones. For them, catastrophe never arrives as a surprise, but as a confirmation;
• Melancholia and total loss/ absence. The search for / faith into and absolute that cannot be represented: behind the objects, beyon them, traversing them, often as a spark. The taste for the aesthetic feeling comes from this: melancholia becomes a form of aesthetic perception: its truth belongs to aesthetics;
• Melancholia as a knowledge. Its cutting lucidity: there is no meaning or truth. Any form of self-knowledge can only be attained through melancholy;
• Melancholia and the question of time. Something always arrives too late. The melancholic person is never contemporary with her world;
• Melancholia and desire. A desire caught between the aesthetic cult for appearance and the search for an ungraspable authenticity;
• Melancholia as an old and continuous companion. Melancholy of the commons, the search for a solidarity that the world always rejects.

Please submit an original proposal of up to 300 words that focus on the ways in which melancholia is created, communicated and produced through aesthetic means, with a special attention to cinematic strategies and the techniques of visual arts.

Deadline for abstracts (150-300 words, 5-7 keywords), and a 150-word bio: 28 February 2019

Acceptance notice: 15 March 2019

Deadline for accepted full papers (5,000-8,000 words for articles, 2,000-3,000 words for book reviews): 15 April 2019

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

The final submission should include: a 5,000-7,000-word article, including a 150-word abstract, 5-7 keywords, a list of references (only the cited works), a 150-word author’s bio and the author’s photo-portrait (jpg, separate file). Proposals and final submissions should be formatted as Word documents and sent to hflpoe@gmail.com.

Vista - visual culture journal

Deadline: March 15, 2019

Social context determined by the culture of media convergence, together with the proliferation of digital devices connected to the Internet and their penetration among citizens, has given relevance, more than ever, to the media and visual culture. Digital media and images have conducted visual field towards the study of consumer´s practices and producer´s image, in accordance with the social aspects and the cultural contexts that characterize them.

To the multidisciplinary approach of media and digital literacy, intergenerational issue is added as the starting point of this issue, which seeks to delve into the fact that the media experience occurs in differentiated conditions, characterized by different cultural (media and digital) competences between generations: analogical and digital citizens, emigrants and digital natives. From the family portraits to the selfies of our smartphones, from soap opera and TV series to social networks. Images produced and consumed get increased from a diversity of experiences and memories, from a multiplicity of lifestyles and media uses, which is worth to be rethought from the idea of "generations".

Which are the visual environments of socialization for the different generations? What influences do they exercise in their daily lives, in their experience, and in their memory? What is the role of visual and media literacy in the process of understanding the relationship between different generations and the different media? How visual culture contributes to the pedagogical processes? Does the generational perspective contribute for the understanding of the image transformation and impact in contemporaneity? Is the visual culture an approaching element among generations? Which are the more suited proposals and theoretical reflections in the current context? Is the visual culture an inspiring element to favor participative methodologies in this field? Can digital age and its visual culture favor generational barriers? Does the digital visual culture assume an intergenerational perspective?

Vista - visual culture journal is a peer-reviewed journal and operates under a double-blind review process. Each submitted work will be sent to two reviewers previously invited to evaluate it, in accordance with the academic quality, originality and relevance for the objectives and scope of the issue of this edition of the journal. Articles can be submitted in English, Portuguese, Spanish and French to the e-mails of the invited editors: apepanda@gmail.com; britesmariajose@gmail.com;inesamaral@gmail.com. Guidelines for authors can be found here.

Invited editors: Ana Pérez-Escoda (UNIR/Universidad Nebrija), Maria José Brites (Lusófona University of Porto/CICANT) and Inês Amaral (University of Coimbra)

Deadlines

• Submission: 15 March 2019
• Notification: 29 April 2019
• Date of publication: 31 July 2019