ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Revista Comunicando

Deadline: November 30, 2024

This thematic section of Revista Comunicando aims to explore how AI is contributing to the redefinition of media and information literacy competencies and how citizens, educators and professionals can prepare for these changes. 

Full text submission period: 1st September to 30th November 2024

https://revistacomunicando.sopcom.pt/index.php/comunicando/announcement/view/16

Nordic Journal of Media Studies, Vol. 7 (2026) 

Deadline: February 1, 2025

Editors:  

• Kirsten Frandsen (Aarhus University): imvkf@cc.au.dk 
  
• Manuel Menke (University of Copenhagen): manuel.menke@hum.ku.dk 
  

Important dates: 

• Deadline for abstracts: 1 February 
  
• Deadline for full submissions: 15 August 
  

Nordic Journal of Media Studies invites contributions to the 2026 issue exploring the relationship between media, communication, and the past, focusing on international as well as Nordic perspectives. The issue aims to delve into the intersection of the uses of the past with media content, discourses, events, practices, and technologies, including but not limited to the mediated communication of the past and collective memory in areas such as politics, journalism, popular culture, film and television, and sports.  

The uses of the past in media play a crucial role in shaping perceptions, identities, and societal values, thereby contributing not only to an understanding of what is of collective importance today, but also what constitutes the foundation for (un)acceptable imaginaries of the future (e.g., Angell & Larsen, 2022; de Saint-Laurent, 2018). Moreover, generative AI produces new videos, texts, and images based on historical training data, giving us an automated reproduction of past media. In recent years, the nexus of media, communication, and the past has gained attention in both societal and academic discourses, most prominently in the wake of populism and its romanticisation of a supposedly pure and secure past (e.g., Menke & Hagedoorn, 2023; Merrill, 2020; Pettersson & Sakki, 2017; Sandford, 2019). Yet, evoking the past does not necessarily have to be a restorative project. Investigating the past and its uses in media might reveal what is considered worth preserving today, which past imaginaries of the future did (not) come to fruition, and how today’s engagement with the achievements and mistakes of the past are used to imagine and legitimise certain paths into the future.   

While the past seems to be omnipresent in politics these days, it is of no less importance in popular culture, fandom, sports, and many other areas in which media, such as films, television series, magazines, games, and so on contribute to people’s meaning-making and enrich the everyday life of individuals and communities coming together on- and offline (Armbruster, 2016; Garde-Hansen, 2009; Humphreys, 2020). Moreover, the past in media extends beyond mere representation. It is used to compose cultural narratives, it contributes to identity formation, and it influences social cohesion. Media serve as powerful mediators between the past, the present, and the future, thereby taking a significant position in whose pasts get (no) recognition at present and (no) consideration for the future (e.g., Gutman & Wüstenberg, 2022; Menke & Kalinina, 2019; Molden, 2016). Investigating these dynamics allows for a nuanced exploration of how media contribute to the construction of shared pasts and the negotiation of diverse cultural identities. The past is not only being renegotiated and contested in the Nordic context but also everywhere else, where progressive cultural and societal ambitions are intertwined with both rich historical traditions and conflicts rooted in colonial pasts (e.g., Angell & Larsen, 2022; Guttormsen & Swensen, 2016). Consequently, examining how media contribute to the construction, preservation, reinterpretation, or even revision of narratives about the past becomes imperative to understanding where regions, nations, and communities might be heading. 

• Possible topics include, but are not limited to: 
  
• uses of the past in political and activist communication 
  
• the past and collective identity in social movements 
  
• mediated memory work of marginalised communities 
  
• representations of the past in journalism, legacy media, and alternative media 
  
• citizen engagement in mediated memory discourses 
  
• playful media engagements with the past 
  
• cultural and national identities, heritage culture and sites, and the media 
  
• representations of the past in film and television series 
  
• legacy and heritage in sports communication and media events 
  
• digital memory work during crises 
  
• emotion, affect, and sentiments towards mediated pasts 
  
• visual constructions of the past 
  
• populism and nostalgia in social media communication 
  
• polarisation and the defence of past privileges 
  
• disinformation and the manipulation of memory and history 
  
• memory and the past in times of artificial intelligence 

References 

Angell, S. I., & Larsen, E. (2022). Introduction: Reimagining the Nordic pasts. Scandinavian Journal of History, 47(5), 589–599. https://doi.org/10.1080/03468755.2022.2051599 

Armbruster, S. (2016). Watching nostalgia: An analysis of nostalgic television fiction and its reception (Vol. 48). transcript. 

de Saint-Laurent, C. (2018). Thinking through time: From collective memories to collective futures. In C. De Saint-Laurent, S. Obradović, & K. R. Carriere (Eds.), Imagining collective futures (pp. 59–81). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76051-3_4 

Garde-Hansen, J. (2009). MyMemories? Personal digital archive fever and Facebook. In J. Garde-Hansen, A. Hoskins, & A. Reading (Eds.), Save as... Digital memories (pp. 135–150). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230239418_8 

Gutman, Y., & Wüstenberg, J. (2022). Challenging the meaning of the past from below: A typology for comparative research on memory activists. Memory Studies, 15(5), 1070–1086. https://doi.org/10.1177/17506980211044696 

Guttormsen, T. S., & Swensen, G. (2016). Heritage, democracy and the public: Nordic approaches. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315586670 

Humphreys, L. (2020). Birthdays, anniversaries, and temporalities: Or how the past is represented as relevant through on-this-date media. New Media & Society, 22(9), 1663–1679. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820914874 

Menke, M., & Hagedoorn, B. (Eds.). (2023). Digital memory and populism [Special section]. International Journal of Communication, 17. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/issue/view/19#more4 

Menke, M., & Kalinina, E. (2019). Reclaiming identity: GDR lifeworld memories in digital public spheres. In N. Maurantonio, & D. W. Park (Eds.), Communicating memory & history (pp. 243–261). Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b14522 

Merrill, S. (2020). Sweden then vs. Sweden now: The memetic normalisation of far-right nostalgia. First Monday, 25(6). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v25i6.10552 

Molden, B. (2016). Resistant pasts versus mnemonic hegemony: On the power relations of collective memory. Memory Studies, 9(2), 125–142. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750698015596014 

Pettersson, K., & Sakki, I. (2017). Pray for the fatherland! Discursive and digital strategies at play in nationalist political blogging. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 14(3), 315–349. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2017.1290177  

Sandford, R. (2019). Thinking with heritage: Past and present in lived futures. Futures, 111, 71–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2019.06.004 

Procedure  

Those with an interest in contributing should write an abstract (max. 750 words) where the main theme (or argument) of the intended article is described. The abstract should contain the preliminary title and five keywords. How the article fits with the overall description of the issue should be mentioned.   

Send your abstract to both editors by 1 February at the latest 

Scholars invited to submit a full manuscript (6,000–8,000 words) will be notified by e-mail after the abstracts have been assessed by the editors. All submissions should be original works and must not be under consideration by other publishers. All submissions are submitted to Similarity Check – a Crossref service utilising iThenticate text comparison software to detect text-recycling or self-plagiarism. 

Visit Crossref to learn more about Similarity Check: https://www.crossref.org/services/similarity-check/ 

After the initial submission and review process, manuscripts that are accepted for publication must adhere to our guidelines upon final manuscript delivery. You may choose to use our templates to assist you in correctly formatting your manuscript. 

Read the instructions for authors and download a manuscript template here: https://www.nordicom.gu.se/en/publications/publish-with-nordicom/instructions-authors

About Nordic Journal of Media Studies 

Nordic Journal of Media Studies is a peer-reviewed international publication dedicated to media research. The journal is a meeting place for Nordic, European, and global perspectives on media studies. It is a thematic digital-only journal published once a year. The editors stress the importance of innovative and interdisciplinary research, and welcome contributions on both contemporary developments and historical topics.  

Read the aims & scope of NJMS: https://www.nordicom.gu.se/en/publications/nordic-journal-media-studies  

About the publisher 

Nordicom is a centre for Nordic media research at the University of Gothenburg, supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers. Nordicom publishes all works under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence, which allows for non-commercial, non-derivative types of reuse and sharing with proper attribution. All works are published Open Access and are available to read free of charge and without requirement for registration. There are no article processing charges for authors, and authors retain copyright.  

Read Nordicom's editorial policies: https://www.nordicom.gu.se/en/publications/publish-with-nordicom/editorial-policies

Visit Creative Commons to learn more about the CC licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode

Zurich University

The PhD student will work in a large-scale, mixed-methods research project on “Science Communication in the Age of AI: Assessing the Swiss Landscape”. The project is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

About the position

• 4-year doctoral position (80%, paid according to SNSF salary scheme)

• Workplace is Zurich

What would be your main tasks?

• Conduct high-quality research on science communication and AI

• Attend conferences and publish in leading communication journals

• Pursue your PhD in the context of the project

• Some organizational or administrative tasks

What should you bring to the team?

• Master’s degree in communication science or a related subject

• Interest in research on science communication and AI

• Experience with various methods of social/communication science

• Proficiency in German or French; and also proficiency in English

• Ability to work in a team, but also to work independently

What can we offer you?

• Dynamic and research-oriented team

• Collegial and inspiring team atmosphere

• Very good track record of successful PhD supervision

• Excellent resources and inspiring intellectual atmosphere at IKMZ

How to apply

Please send the following documents as a single PDF file to personal@ikmz.uzh.ch:

• Letter of motivation

• Your CV

• Copies of degrees and relevant transcripts of study records

• Your master thesis (or extended abstract if not completed)

• List of scientific publications (if applicable)

Deadline for applications is 20 November 2024 Interviews will likely take place on 16-18 December 2024 Starting date of this position is March to May 2025

For questions regarding the position, please contact Dr. Daniela Mahl (d.mahl@ikmz.uzh.ch) or Dr. Sophia C. Volk (s.volk@ikmz.uzh.ch).

IKMZ – Department of Communication and Media Research

Prof. Dr. Mike S. Schäfer

Professor of Science Communication & Head of Department

The University of Zurich is the largest research university in Switzerland. IKMZ is one of the leading communication departments in Europe. The University of Zurich is interested in the equality of men and women in scientific positions and encourages applications from women.

March 6-7, 2025

Online Conference

Deadline: December 20, 2024

NEWPATH: New Paradigms in Communication Technologies and Humanity 

We invite submissions for the 2025 online conference on "Artificial Intelligence: Technological, Social, and Cultural Ties," which will be held in joint organization between the University of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD-Portugal) and the Üsküdar University (Türkiye). In an era of unprecedented digital transformation, this multidisciplinary event will explore the entangled relationships between artificial intelligence, technology, society, and culture. 

We invite scholars from diverse fields, including media studies, communication, sociology, cultural studies, computer science, and other relevant fields, to submit abstracts that address these questions, discuss the current and future ramifications of AI, and promote critical awareness. Topics include, but are not limited to:

• AI's cultural impact on communication; 
  
• The ethical challenges of AI in a multicultural world; 
  
• AI and the transformation of social structures and relationships;
  
• The role of big data in shaping cultural narratives;
  
• AI, identity politics, and digital inequalities.
  

Participation is free for UTAD and Üsküdar University employees.  

Important Dates:

• Abstract submission – December 20th, 2024
  
• Notification acceptance—January 15th, 2025
  
• Early bird registration—February 15th, 2025
  
• Final Programme published—February 22nd, 2025
  
• Conference—March 6th and 7th, 2025
  

For more information and to submit an abstract, please visit: https://newpath.uskudar.edu.tr/

Aske Kammer, Thomas Spejlborg Sejersen

Referring back to the early 2000s, this book traces the development of podcasting from a “do-it-yourself” medium by amateurs into its current environment, where a wide variety of individuals, organizations, and platforms operate in an increasingly crowded and competitive market.

Through original case studies of shows and platforms including "The Daily" and Spotify, the authors explore the processes and effects of commercialization, platformization, and datafication in the industry. Drawing on institutional theory and the growing body of scholarly literature about podcasting, they examine the shifts and reorientations in institutional logics that characterize podcasting and present the different types of actors that operate in the commercial and noncommercial podcast markets.

The Institutional Development of Podcasting will be of interest to advanced students and researchers of audio media, journalism, and media industries.

https://www.routledge.com/The-Institutional-Development-of-Podcasting-From-Participatory-Projects-to-Platform-Content/Kammer-SpejlborgSejersen/p/book/9781032318417

For the rest of the year, there is a 20 % discount with code AFLY04 (only applies to purchases through the Routledge website).

22-23 May 2025

Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands

Deadline for abstracts: January 15, 2025

ECREA Communication & Democracy Section Off-Year Conference

https://automatingdemocracy.wordpress.com/ 

We invite submissions for the ECREA Communication & Democracy Section's off-year conference, Automating Democracy: AI Use Between Social Justice and Social Control, hosted by the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication in Rotterdam on May 22-23, 2025. 

This conference will explore the transformative effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on democratic processes, focusing on two inter-related themes:   

• AI & governance

• AI & citizen participation

We welcome a broad range of submissions engaging with both practical applications of AI and the technological hype through which AI is represented and talked about in political life. We are interested in questions such as: How is the technological hype around AI impacting contemporary democratic imaginaries? What would civic-oriented AI solutions entail? How are public discussions about automated decision-making informing the public sector’s propensity towards implementing such solutions in governance?  How can citizens call for the development of ethical and transparent AI-use in governance? What are citizens and public authorities doing with AI? To what extent can AI facilitate citizen mobilization and political participation? 

The conference will bring together faculty, PhD students and research MA students conducting critical research to examine AI’s potential in advancing social justice and inclusion, as well as its capacity for social control and marginalization. We are particularly interested in theoretical and empirical contributions that explore the role of AI in (re)shaping public policy, governance practices and democratic oversight; and, the role of AI in empowering or suppressing political participation, citizen activism and social movements. 

The two-day event will include two keynote lectures, panel discussions, and a practitioner-scholar roundtable. This roundtable will provide a platform for dialogue between civil society representatives and participants on current practices and challenges of AI-use for progressive social change. 

Conference submission and fees 

Please submit a 250-words abstract indicating the intended theme by January 15, 2025, via email at automatingdemocracy2025@gmail.com 

Notifications of acceptance will be sent by February 15, 2025.

Registration fees: 150 euro for PhD and (research) MA students; 200 euro for faculty members. PhD and (research) MA students should indicate their status in the abstract. The fee covers coffee-breaks and lunch during the conference. 

The organizers intend to bring together the conference contributions into an edited collection. 

For more information, visit the conference website at  https://automatingdemocracy.wordpress.com/

Conference organizing committee

Dr. Delia Dumitrica, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Dr. Ofra Klein, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Victoria Balan, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Dr. Giuliana Sorce, Tubingen University

Dr. Jun Liu, University of Copenhagen

Dr. Arianna Bussoletti, Sapienza Universita di Roma

Dear colleagues 

We are pleased to announce the publication of a free downloadable report on young audiences (16-34) in Italy (2024) and their engagement with British screen entertainment. This adds to previous AHRC-funded reports on Germany and Denmark. Please share with colleagues, students and whoever else might be interested.  

Italy: Esser, A., Hilborn, M., Steemers, J., & D'Arma, A. (October 2024). Screen Encounters with Britain - Interim Report Italy: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture? King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-195

Link here: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/300203943/FINAL_Italy_Interim_Report_Sept._26_2024.pdf

Earlier reports are available on:

Netherlands:  Esser, A., Hilborn, M., & Steemers, J. (May 2024). Screen Encounters with Britain - Interim Report Netherlands: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture? . King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-177 

Germany: Esser, A., Hilborn, M., & Steemers, J. (September 2023). Screen Encounters with Britain - Interim Report Germany: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture?. King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-139

Denmark: Esser, A., Hilborn, M., & Steemers, J. (September 2023). Screen Encounters with Britain - Interim Report Denmark: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture?. King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-118

Kind Regards

Jeanette Steemers

King’s College London

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/screen-encounters-with-britain 

Editors: Sameera Ahmed, Maha Bashri, Ahmed El Gody

Deadline: December 2, 2024

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan 

Overview 

We invite chapter proposals for an edited volume titled “Contesting Colonial Legacies: Processes of Decolonization in Media Spaces”. This book aims to critically examine the enduring influence of colonialism on contemporary societal frameworks, ideologies, and structures, with a particular focus on the media’s role as a key discursive arena where colonial legacies are both upheld and challenged.  

The book will explore how media and communication can either perpetuate or transform colonial legacies in the contemporary era. Unraveling and confronting these legacies is essential for fostering societies that are just, inclusive, and equitable, and that celebrate diversity in voices, cultures, and knowledge. To consolidate the literature emerging from the Global South that addresses these issues, chapters will reference, amongst others, diaspora studies, subaltern and postcolonial studies, and identity and conquest/anti-conquest discourses. 

By bringing together these critical issues and perspectives in one volume, we aim to provide an extensive and interconnected framework for understanding experiences of neocolonialism in the 21st century. This book will create a valuable resource for scholars, researchers, activists, and the public to examine conditions that impact several aspects of our contemporary lives which are rooted in colonial histories.  

We particularly encourage contributions from the Global South/Global Majority that: 

• Critique prevailing ideologies in media’s discursive spaces 
  
• Study the media as a site for resisting and contesting colonial legacies 
  
• Develop a thorough understanding of how media relates to the continuation of colonial ideologies 
  
• Suggest practical strategies and share real-life stories that challenge narratives rooted in colonialism 
  

Themes 

We welcome submissions addressing one or more of the following themes: 

1. Knowledge and Education: Examining media education’s role in propagating or challenging colonial ideologies. 

2. Culture and Identity: Analyzing how media either reinforces or undermines dominant cultural norms and identity constructs rooted in colonialism. 

3. Sustainability Concepts and Practices: Exploring how media narratives influence perceptions of sustainability, environmental justice, and resource management, and examining alternative, decolonization-based approaches. 

4. Resistance Systems and Voices: Showcasing various forms of resistance, including grassroots movements, activists, alternative media, and indigenous knowledge, that confront colonial legacies.  

Submission Guidelines 

Chapters should blend theoretical insights with practical interventions, drawing on real experiences from individuals, communities, and organizations. 

Potential research methods include literature reviews, case studies, comparative analyses, and discourse analyses. 

Chapters should be between 6000-7000 words. 

Important Dates 

Abstract Submission Deadline: Monday, December 2, 2024 

Notification of Acceptance: Monday, December 30, 2024 

Full Chapter Submission: Monday, March 31, 2025 

Anticipated Publication: September 2025 

Submission Process 

Please submit a 300-500 word abstract and a 100-word author bio by December 2, 2024, to ccldecol@gmail.com. Abstracts should clearly state the research question, theoretical framework, methodology, and expected findings. Please also indicate which theme(s) your chapter will address. For any queries, please contact ccldecol@gmail.com. We look forward to your contributions for this important volume on decolonization in media spaces.

June 11, 2025

University of Colorado Boulder, USA

Deadline: January 30, 2025

This one-day preconference, co-organized by the Center for Media, Religion and Culture (CMRC) at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South at Northwestern University in Qatar (#IAS_NUQ), seeks to explore intellectual and epistemic overlaps in African and Arab scholarship on media and culture. Our focus is on disrupting traditional area studies frameworks and drawing connections between long-standing theories, methods, and literatures from these regions.

It takes seriously ICA 2025's focus on"Disrupting and Consolidating Communication Research" and invitation to foreground scholarship from across the Global South to disrupt dominant theories and expand our understanding of communication, media, and culture. More than an invitation to talk back to the West, our endeavor is first and foremost driven by a desire to forge new directions for media and communication research by building on long-standing – yet often repressed – theories, methods, and literatures within Africa and the Arab world.

We are inviting contributions from scholars from around the globe who can draw on grounded, evidence-driven scholarship to speak imaginatively and creatively to one or more of the three following keywords, which serve as orienting standpoints for the discussions at the preconference:

• Exchange: Investigating epistemic common grounds, cross-fertilization, and dissonances in African and Arab media and cultural thought.
  
• Experiment: Exploring new theoretical trajectories, unconventional objects of study, and innovative scholarship.
  
• Excess: Theorizing beyond established categories and disciplines, inspired by African and Arab cosmologies. 
  

Submission Guidelines

Submit an extended abstract of 400-500 words (excluding references) by January 30, 2025, to ias@qatar.northwestern.edu. In a single PDF, include your name, institutional affiliation, email, title of your proposed presentation, and abstract. 

A limited number of travel stipends will be available for scholars from the Global South. If you would like to be considered, please indicate this in your submission.

Key Dates

• Deadline for abstract submission: January 30, 2025
  
• Acceptance notifications: February 15, 2025
  
• Deadline for participant registration: March 15, 2025
  
• Preconference: June 11, 2025
  

Organizers:

• Clovis Bergère (Northwestern University in Qatar)
  
• Nabil Echchaibi (University of Colorado Boulder)
  
• Marwan M. Kraidy (Northwestern University in Qatar)
  

For more information, contact: ias@qatar.northwestern.edu

ICA Division Affiliation:

Philosophy, Theory, and Critique

May 23, 2025

Örebro University, Sweden

Deadline: December 1, 2024

On 23rd of May, 2025, Örebro University will arrange a symposium to explore what we know about SVOD audiences (focusing on audiovisual fiction) and democracy in the European context.

The European audiovisual landscape is complex, with a huge variety of content providers and a traditionally strong public service. While only about 10% of all European providers feature public ownership, these play a key role as facilitators of original European productions across the continent (Fontaine, 2024:7; Antoniazzi et al., 2022). However, the US has a substantial and increasing influence on the European audiovisual sector (Schneeberger, 2024:7). The SVOD segment, as the most concentrated market segment in Europe, has the highest share of US (84%) and private (99%) interests (Ene Iancu, 2024:10). In terms of SVOD consumption, a lion part of what is watched originates from the US (Grece & Tran, 2023; Iordache et al., 2023), and earlier concerns on US cultural imperialism have been revived (Davis, 2023; Lotz, 2021).

Recently, the public service media across Europe has experienced dire economic conditions. For example, in Sweden, budget cuts have been announced for public service in the spring of 2024 with the argument of unfair competition while diversity and democratic arguments are downplayed (SOU 2024:34). This evolution is in line with the European Commission’s focus on competition and on creating a single market. Ultimately, this bypasses opportunities for cultural objectives such as media pluralism, cultural protection or social regulations (Humphreys, 2008:154). Although the European Audiovisual Media Services Directive (2018) has sought to level the market between domestic and transnational platform suppliers and protect the production of film and television in Europe (Kostovska et al. 2020), the political space to discuss streamed content as culture seems to have shrunk. This has far-reaching consequences for European content and democratic values such as equality and diversity (Jansson et al., 2024). In this symposium, we aim to investigate what these evolutions mean for audiences, as fiction consumers, but also – and especially – in their role as citizens.

On a theoretical level, there are a range of conceptualizations of how fiction (and culture) shapes citizens, including the “political self” (Van Zoonen, 2007), the cultural public sphere (McGuigan, 2005), and civic cultures (Dahlgren, 2009). Askanius (2019:273) focuses on explicit articulations of community in relation to fiction, while Nærland (2019:652) uses the concept of “public connection” to denote a more complex orientation of the audience toward the public and the political. Bengesser (2023) argues public service in particular, including drama productions, is of importance in civic engagement and in building “lifeworlds” (Bengesser, 2023:63).

On an empirical level, the link between fiction and democracy is often presupposed in research relating to democratic values or “the political” (Van Belle, Aitaki and Jansson, forthcoming). Audiovisual fiction has been argued to directly correlate with political engagement (e.g. Fielding, 2014; Cardo, 2011) and opinion-formation or political attitudes (e.g. Hermann et al., 2023; Swigger, 2017; Adkins et al., 2014; Butler et al., 1995). Indirectly, identities and bodies are assumed to be the glue between connecting audiences and democracy through the viewing of fiction (e.g. Smith, 2020; Yea, 2014). On a more structural level, fiction is seen as contributing to imagined worlds (Randall, 2011) or discourses (Kato, 2015). Regardless of theoretical belonging, most studies have a rather crude understanding of the audience and its agency (see e.g. La Pastina, 2004). This actualizes questions about how democratic values and political topics are negotiated in relation to the fictional content audiences watch. Further, it includes exploring audiences’ understandings of fiction in relation to their roles as citizens in a democratic European context.

This symposium is interested in contributions that could, but are not limited to, illuminate some of the following topics:

- The relation between sVODs and citizenship or democracy

- Public service audiences and society

- Fiction and political activism

- The negotiation of identities via fiction, in relation to democracy and politics

- The negotiation of political and democratic values in relation to fiction, such as equality, solidarity, community, or freedom

- Fiction/audiences and political trust

- Missing audiences/citizens

- Media pluralism, cultural protection, social regulations, or diversity from an audience perspective 

The symposium will take place 23 May 2025, and will be held at Örebro University, with the option of participating online. Depending on funding, travel costs may be reimbursed. Limited number of spots for participants.

In conjunction with the symposium, a follow-up volume in a leading academic publishing house is planned.

Please submit full contact information, a short biography that explains your background and field (of no more than 300 words) and an abstract (of no more than 500 words) on the topic you would like to present on to jono.van-belle@oru.se 

The call for papers will close on 1 December 2024. The authors of selected contributions will be notified by 1 January 2025.

We are looking forward to your proposal!

Jono Van Belle & Maria Jansson (Örebro University, Sweden)