ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

October 28-31, 2024

Lusófona University, CICANT)

Deadline: September 13, 2024

The Media Literacy and Civic Cultures Lab – MeLCi Lab (Lusófona University, CICANT) is organising its IV Autumn School on 28-31 October 2024 in the form of a bootcamp to boost research hands-on skills. The school is designed to provide PhD students and postdocs with practical knowledge of classical and cutting-edge research methods. To this end, the school embraces an interdisciplinary approach by welcoming debate from different theories and methodological integration (qualitative and quantitative). The School will bring together a group of international scholars for workshops and keynotes. 

The upcoming MeLCi Lab Autumn School 2024 specifically aims to introduce PhD students and early research fellows in communication science, social science and related fields to the transformative influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on their field. The focus is on the intersection of AI, media literacy, and civic cultures. Notable scientists such as Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Web and a leading advocate for data rights, and Yoshua Bengio, a pioneer of Deep Learning, emphasise the criticality of understanding AI in our ever-more digital society.

For example, as social media platforms increasingly use AI and machine learning algorithms to curate content, it is fundamental to understand how these algorithms work and influence online interactions. Authors such as Safiya Noble (2018), author of "Algorithms of Oppression", and Eli Pariser (2011), who coined the term "filter bubble", have shed light on this issue. They highlight the importance of comprehending the biases and assumptions built into these algorithms and how they can inadvertently perpetuate harmful stereotypes or misinformation. Thus, Algorithmic literacy is crucial for future researchers in our field to understand how AI can empower and challenge democratic communication.

Understanding AI is no longer an option; it is necessary, particularly for communication science students. Inspired by works from scholars such as Nick Bostrom and Stuart Russell, this school will provide students with a non-technical understanding of AI, its implications, and its applications in communication science. We aim to demystify AI and illuminate its role in the future of communication.

The school will be held in English.

Call for proposals deadline

Deadline: 13 September 2024

See details about how to submit a proposal at the bottom of this page.

Format

Online

Themes

1.1. Introduction to AI: a non-technical overview

1.2. Role of AI in media: from media production to consumption

1.3. AI and information disorder: understanding AI's role in the spread and detection of the so-called “fake news”

1.4. Algorithms: understanding how to study the roles and effects of algorithmic literacy

1.5. AI in civic cultures: how AI is transforming civic participation

1.6. Ethical considerations: discussing the ethical implications of using AI in media and communication

Sub-themes

2.1. Innovative Methodologies

2.2. Linking big and small data methods

2.3. Qualitative and participatory research

2.4. Social Platforms for Research

2.5. Communication research: scientific writing and dissemination

2.6. Arts-based dissemination

Dates

28 to 31 October 2024 – IV MeLCi Lab Autumn School

Schedule

Check here for details.

How to apply

Interested graduate students and postdocs must send their application  (in English) by 13 September 2024, including,

1. Updated Curriculum Vitae (máx. 3 pages);

2. Candidate’s research statement that includes a description of their doctoral dissertation, research questions and methods (máx. 2 pages);

3. Motivation letter specifying what you bring and expect from the School (indicating explicitly what themes and sub-themes are of your particular interest) máx. 1-2 pages;

Send your application as a ZIP file to melci.lab@ulusofona.pt with the subject “Application for the IV MelCi Lab Autumn School”

Call for Proposals Deadline: 13 September 2024

Notification of Acceptance: 30 September 2024

Target-group

PhD Students

Early Career Researchers (with PhD obtained in the last three years)

Maximum number of participants

20 students

Fee *

• Lusófona University, CICANT PhD Students 70 euros
  
• PhD students from other Institutions 100 euros
  
• Other 150 euros

*The best participant will not pay the fee; one Equity Scholarship to support the fee will also be awarded.

Keynote Speakers

TBD

Organisers

• Ana F. Oliveira
  
• Carla Sousa
  
• Cátia Casimiro
  
• Célia Quico
  
• Lúcia Mesquita
  
• Manuel Marques-Pita
  
• Maria José Brites
  
• Mariana Müller
  
• Rita Grácio
  
• Teresa Sofia Castro
  

February 7-8, 2025

University of Minho (Braga, Portugal)

Deadline: September 30, 2024

The bYou project, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), would like to invite interested researchers to submit abstracts for presentation at the Congress to be held on 7 and 8 February 2025 at the University of Minho (Braga, Portugal). Submissions are accepted in Portuguese, English and Spanish, but please note that the working language of the Congress is Portuguese. The Call for Presentations is open until 30 September. Abstracts should not exceed 500 words and are submitted on the Congress website (in Portuguese):

https://www.byou.ics.uminho.pt/congresso-byou/

Pedro Jerónimo (Ed.)

https://labcomca.ubi.pt/local-journalism-global-challenges-news-deserts-infodemic-and-the-vastness-in-between/

While there was a time when visibility was generated only by the media and the work of journalists, today citizens are increasingly equipped with technological devices that allow them to quickly share what they witness, think, or produce. However, this type of content is not subject to prior scrutiny before it becomes visible and sometimes even viral, especially on social media. This question brings us to the problem of disinformation, on the one hand, and on the other to the tremendous challenge faced by newsrooms all over the world, which must gain and retain the trust of the public through quality journalism. This challenge is immensely greater in the case of local media, which are typically less prepared. Especially financially and technologically.

And when we add the problem of “news deserts” to this “equation,” the scenario may appear grey. Something that has been studied in the USA, Brazil and, more recently, in Europe, with Portugal at the forefront of this research. If the media are disappearing, if there are no journalists to ensure regular news coverage about and for a given city or community, what visibility can be guaranteed for that territory and people? Can information generated by citizens alone be sufficient, without any type of mediation, scrutiny or obligation to align with any ethical and deontological principles (an alignment which is expected from journalists)? And to respond to this, are resources needed in all territories? Assuming that that in some cases the answer might be that, due to the size of the population and economic dynamics, it is not possible to guarantee the sustainability of one or more media outlets, what can be done? To what extent can technology (for example Artificial Intelligence) support media outlets that are neighbouring “news deserts” in providing the desired regular news coverage of these invisible territories, communities or subjects?

November 18-19, 2024

Covilhã (Portugal)

Deadline: September 15, 2024

“Platformization”, audiences, disinformation and media literacy in local communities are some of the issues to be discussed at MediaTrust.Lab International Conference.

READ MORE: https://mediatrust.ubi.pt/events/conf2024/

7-10 January 2025

Lisbon (Portugal)

Deadline: September 15, 2024

The 5th Lisbon Winter School for the Study of Communication takes a comparative and global approach to the study of media and fear. Jointly organized by the Faculty of Human Sciences (Universidade Católica Portuguesa) and the Center for Media@Risk (Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania), the Lisbon Winter School offers an opportunity for doctoral students and early career post-doctoral researchers to strategize around the study of media and fear together with senior scholars in the field. It is held in coordination with the Annenberg Schools of the University of Southern California & University of Pennsylvania, the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Journalism and Communication, the University of Helsinki’s Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities, and The Europaeum.

Call for Applications

Fear is a powerful emotion that is thought to obscure, undermine or derationalize decision-making. It can either trigger or paralyze action, inducing irrational behavior, generating moral panics or fostering responses to keep people safe. It abounds in the media coverage of wars, terror, social protests, natural disasters, technological accidents and the radical events associated with climate crisis, migration, poverty, racialized violence, misogyny, settler colonialism and other global inequities. Fear gives high visibility to inflammatory discourses that furnish a central stage across the information environment, creating a loss of control and predictability alongside an intensification of uncertainty, threat, risk and insecurity across different publics. While reports on fear-inducing conditions and events have the potential to induce action and create solidarity for those being effected, the media also instigate hate against marginalized social groups who have become the target of what Ruth Wodak (2015) has called “the normalization of shameless politics.” Today a central ingredient of many videos and posts that go viral on social media, fear can be promoted by a wide range of actors, including those who instigate action against the rule of law. 

The Lisbon Winter School aims to cut across the many discourses driven by fear, considering its weaponization by political, religious and social actors who aim to increase their own power, including leaders of democratic and authoritarian regimes, drug cartels, religious institutions, terrorist groups and protest groups. Topics include power grounded on fear, threat, and compliance; fear as a rhetorical tool to spread hate against the ‘other’; fear as a propaganda technique used throughout history; fear as a feature of contemporary polarized societies that present particular groups as sources of threat. Fear also has positive effects. It can be channeled toward helping people keep safe or avoid danger. Wearing a mask to prevent a viral infection, abandoning a village or a city before it is hit by a typhoon, or seeking refuge during air strikes are examples. 

Regardless of how positively or negatively scholars feel about the invocation of fear in mediated communication, its presence is a clear component of media environments everywhere. But what kind of presence does it have? How is it part of wider strategies designed to discriminate against specific groups of people? How is it used by democratic or authoritarian regimes, terrorist or criminal groups to create compliance and counter resistance? How is fear central to nationalistic discourses in different nations? What parallels can be established between contemporary media environments and earlier regimes in which fear occupied a central stage? And how can people resist feeling threated by messages that attempt to stir it up? These are just some of the questions the Lisbon Winter School aims to discuss. We welcome proposals by doctoral students and early career post-doctoral researchers from all over the world to discuss the intertwined relation between media and fear in different geographies and temporalities. The list below illustrates some topics for possible consideration. Other topics dealing with media and fear are also welcomed: 

·       Media and the dissemination of fear

·       Fear, populism and the media

·       Terrorism and the media

·       Moral panics

·       Reporting war and tragedy

·       Fear and the democratic process

·       Communication techniques to create fear

·       Fear and identity formation

·       Algorithms, AI and the promotion of fear

·       Promoting fear against gender, racial and religious minorities

·       Fear as tool of compliance 

·       Fake news and disinformation

·       Fear, anxiety and irrationality

·       Fear and (self-)censorship

·       Fear in the public arena in specific national or regional contexts

·       Climate anxiety

·       Visual media and fear

·       …

PAPER PROPOSALS

Proposals should be sent to lisbonwinterschool@gmail.com no later than 15 September 2024 and include a paper title, extended abstract in English (700 words), name, e-mail address, institutional affiliation and a brief bio (max. 100 words) mentioning ongoing research. Applicants will be informed of the result of their submissions by early-October.

FULL PAPER SUBMISSION 

Presenters will be required to send in full papers (max. 20 pages, 1.5 spacing) by 15 December 2024. 

CONFIRMED KEYNOTES: 

David Altheide, Arizona State University

Carlo Bordoni, University Mercatorum

Isabel Capeloa Gil, Catholic University of Portugal

Frank Furedi, University of Kent

Nelson Ribeiro, Catholic University of Portugal

Johanna Sumiala, University of Helsinki

Barbie Zelizer, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania

More to be Announced

For more information visit lisbonwinterschool.com 

ORGANIZERS

Nelson Ribeiro

Barbie Zelizer

CONVENORS

Sarah Banet-Weiser 

Risto Kunelius

Francis Lee

September 26, 2024

Ljubljana (Slovenia)

Workshop @ECREA ECC 2024

The workshop is organized by the Data Donation Lab (University of Zurich) and is free of charge. The workshop takes place on Thursday 26 September 2024, 16:30 – 18:00 in the room FDV-14 at the ECC 2024 conference site in Ljubljana. More information and registration are available via this link: https://datadonation.uzh.ch/en/ecc-workshop2024/

Locations: Leuven, Aarhus, Padua

The DEMINE (DEaling with conflicts related to MIgration: NEgotiating social cohesion through communication) European Joint Doctorate (DN-JD) network addresses the challenge of radicalisation and extremism that threatens social cohesion in Europe. By integrating inter-sectoral mobility and a balanced mix of research and transferable skills, DEMINE aims to develop a framework for understanding the role of interpersonal and mediated communication in intergroup relations and migration-related conflicts.

This innovative programme explores the impact of traditional media, social media, and interpersonal interactions on attitudes toward migration and social cohesion. It focuses on the dynamics of political and societal polarisation and radicalisation, providing insights into how these processes affect society.

The DEMINE consortium will train nine doctoral candidates across various disciplines, including political science, communication, journalism studies, linguistics, psychology, social data analytics, sociology, anthropology, and education science/media literacy. The training will address socially unacceptable extreme discourse that leads to populist attitudes and societal polarisation. Additionally, it will measure the impact of mediated and interpersonal communication expressions that aim to create societal divisions and ostracise specific communities.

We are currently hiring nine doctoral candidates (DCs) to start between January 1 st, 2025 and April 1 st, 2025.

A detailed description of the positions can be found here: https://demine.eu/open-positions/

What We Offer:

The EU Researcher Allowances will be used to cover both the employee’s and the employer’s mandatory charges. The gross amount of the doctoral scholarship (tax-free) will be approximately €3,000 per month for single individuals with no dependents. This amount will increase if you have a registered partner without income and/or dependent children, and decrease if you have a registered partner with income.

How to apply:

Please submit your application, including a CV and a 2-5 page project description with a literature list, detailing your ideas on how to contribute to the specified work package, to info@demine.eu. Be sure to clearly indicate the position you are applying for in your submission.

Specifically for the candidates applying for the positions at Aarhus University: All applicants must demonstrate excellent English communication skills, as proficiency in academic English is essential for success in this position. You should be able to read, write, and speak English fluently at an academic level. The required English language proficiency is equivalent to a minimum TOEFL score of 83 or an IELTS score of 6.5.

For further details, please visit:  http://phd.arts.au.dk/applicants/english-test/

Applications to up to two openings are welcome. However, only applications in line with the MSCA mobility rules are eligible, meaning that researchers cannot have resided in the country of the host institution for more than 12 months in the three years prior to the date of recruitment.

Deadline for submission of your application is October 15, 2024. Late applications will not be considered. Job interviews with shortlisted candidates will be organised in November-December.

Where to apply? Please send an email to: info@demine.eu

Ready to explore Ljubljana? We’re offering exclusive tours showcasing the city’s vibrant social scene!

Spaces are limited, so don’t wait—register now to secure your spot!

For tour details and registration, check out the conference webpage.

Plus, all delegates will receive a FREE public transport ticket! Just show your conference badge for complimentary rides around Ljubljana.

We can’t wait to meet you in Ljubljana!

(Mis)Translating Deceit

Full-time and fixed-term for 12 months, starting 1st February 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the (Mis)Translating Deceit project, a major interdisciplinary research endeavour aimed at developing a new, holistic approach to disinformation, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK). Events such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the threat disinformation poses to democracy, yet effective responses to this global challenge have been hampered by the persistence of simplistic approaches that pit democratic ‘truth-telling’ against totalitarian ‘deceit’ and overlook the impact of home-grown disinformation. The (Mis)Translating Deceit project interrogates common misconceptions about disinformation, treating it as a transnational, translingual and historically mutating phenomenon. It employs a multi-stage methodological toolset designed to examine how selected cases of historical and contemporary disinformation are produced and disseminated, how they acquire the status of disinformation, and how their reception shifts as they travel across cultural, linguistic and socio-political boundaries.

The post holder will work under the supervision of Professor Sabina Mihelj at Loughborough University and focus on the audience research strand of the project. They will conduct audience research in either Poland, Serbia, or among Arabic-speaking communities in the UK and lead on the comparative analysis of audience data collected in all three locations. They will also contribute to other joint project activities, in collaboration with other team members based at the University of Manchester, the University of Leeds, and Chatham House. As this is a multi-institutional project, team members from all institutions may be involved in all stages of selection.

The post will be based in the Communication and Media Department, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, and affiliated with the Centre for Research in Communication and Culture. The successful candidate will be based in the UK for the duration of the appointment, with short periods of fieldwork and travel abroad.

If you are an organised, motivated, and proactive individual, with relevant skills and qualifications, this is a great opportunity to join the project and contribute to its success.

The post will be based in the Communication and Media Division, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, and affiliated with the Centre for Research in Communication and Culture.

https://www.lboro.ac.uk/subjects/communication-media/

https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/crcc/

For more information refer to the Job Description and Person Specification.

Informal enquiries should be made by email to Professor Sabina Mihelj (s.mihelj@lboro.ac.uk)

Please follow the link for further details.

• Closing date for receipt of applications is 6th October 2024.
  
• Interviews will be held on either 30 or 31 October 2024.
  

Northwestern University

The Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South at Northwestern University in Qatar (#IAS_NUQ) is seeking outstanding candidates for one postdoctoral fellowship focused on the histories, cultures, societies, and media of the Global South. 

Deadline: November 1, 2024.

We are currently accepting applications related to any of our current research themes:

1) Genealogies and Epistemologies of the Global South

2) Arab Media, Culture, and Politics

3) Southern Digitalities

4) Critical Security Studies

We are particularly interested in scholars:

1) Conducting comparative or transnational research on media, culture, and/or politics in or between the Arab world and Latin America

2) Working on "theory from the South," particularly by African or Arab authors

3) Focused on environmental communication in the Global South

We recommend that applicants familiarize themselves with our mission and research themes. Knowledge of language(s) relevant to research context is required. 

This fellowship offers a competitive stipend, housing, health insurance, and access to state-of-the-art facilities. 

We welcome applications from scholars who would have completed their PhD between January 1, 2023 and June 1, 2025

If you have additional questions, please email us at ias@qatar.northwestern.edu. Kindly do not contact #IAS_NUQ staff individually.

Apply today!