ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

July 7-10, 2025

ULB (Université Libre de Bruxelles), Brussels

Deadline: February 28, 2025

Click here to download the English version of the DNC6 call for papers. 

Website: www.discourseanalysis.net/DNC6 

Contact: contactdnc6@gmail.com 

Important dates:

• Deadline paper proposals: February 28th 2025
  
• Letter of acceptance or refusal: March 7th, 2025
  
• Deadline registration: April 31st 2025 (authors of papers need to be paying DN members)

Language policy:

DiscourseNet is a multilingual association. At DNC6 we welcome contributions in the following languages: French, English, Spanish, and Portuguese. We highly recommend providing a visual aid in English if you decide to present in Spanish or Portuguese. This is likely to facilitate interaction in multilingual panels. 

Topic: Discourse and the imaginaries of past, present and future societies: media and representations of (inter)national (dis)orders)

The 6th DiscourseNet Congress (DNC6) focuses on the discursive construction of social and political imaginaries. It offers a forum to discuss how social actors imagine and articulate past, present and future societies in a world marked by multiple and overlapping crises.

DNC6 welcomes contributions of authors who explore ontological, theoretical, and methodological aspects of imaginaries that may (re)shape our societies. We also welcome analyses and case studies of specific imaginaries circulating in our mediatized societies. These may focus on linguistic, textual, narrative, visual, multimodal, and/or ideological articulations of social and political imaginaries.

This conference is open to discourse scholars from all disciplines, as well as to other scholars in the humanities and social sciences working on (aspects of) the imaginaries that allow us to make sense of and shape our realities. DNC6 offers an interdisciplinary forum for discussing imaginaries and the discursive construction of old and new (inter)national (dis)orders.

A non-exhaustive list of questions that may be addressed at this event is provided below:

• How are past, present, and future societies imagined in debates over culture, education, migration, economy, climate change, AI and/or robotics?
  
• What are the building blocks of populist, neoliberal, environmentalist, radically democratic, reactionary and/or post-humanist imaginaries? How do these evolve?
  
• What role do media play in the production, distribution, and consumption of imaginaries? How do media impact on the articulation of imaginaries?
  
• How do media figure with(in) discursive imaginaries of past, present and future societies? What socio-technical imaginaries inform existing and future mediascapes?
  
• How can one operationalize discourse analytical approaches, concepts, and methods to investigate cultural, social, political and/or environmental imaginaries.
  
• How are imaginaries of past, present and future expressed in different media types and genres?
  
• How can we identify imaginaries in works of fiction, non-fiction, and science fiction? What are their characteristics and how do they evolve over time?
  
• How do discursively constructed imaginaries inform social identities and subjectivities? How do they impact on past, present, and future notions of citizenship?
  

DNC6 invites scholars to submit papers that may enrich our understanding of social and political imaginaries, through explicit theoretical discussions and/or through relevant case studies and discourse studies.

Concepts of the ‘imaginary’ have so far occupied a relatively marginal position in the field of discourse studies. While the notion is not absent in (critical) discourse studies, other meta-concepts such as narrative, ideology, hegemony tend to be used more frequently.

The concept of the imaginary currently figures more prominently in sociology, political philosophy, psychoanalysis, and media studies. In these disciplines we find competing and overlapping notions of the imaginary that merit discourse theoretical and analytical attention.

What place can we give to the concept of the imaginary in the field of discourse studies? What concepts and methods can discourse scholars offer to investigate social and political imaginaries? DNC6 invites discourse scholars to present relevant research and/or explicit reflections on such matters.

The imaginary has been conceptualized in a variety of ways. Imaginaries have been thought of as background horizons providing tacit and pre-reflective social meanings that prefigure the way subjects relate to themselves and to the world. They have been treated as images of self and society that infuse reality with imaginary significations. Authors have also drawn attention to the interpretive functions of imaginaries. 

Imaginaries play a key role in fictional and non-fictional types of discourse. They also play a role in the construction of social identities and ideologies. Psychoanalysis has stressed the importance of the imaginary in constituting subjects and subjectivity. The imaginary has been theorized in relation to ideology, as well as in relation to specific ideologies such as nationalism.

Concepts of the imaginary may help us to understand how social actors construct discourses of social (dis)order. Empirical studies have focused on topics as varied as the way scientists imagine the future of climate change, the construction of plans for the future of urban environments, migration, cyber- and energy security, university education, and so on.

We only started to scratch the surface of the literature on social and political imaginaries here. DNC6 invites scholars from all subfields of the transdisciplinary field of (critical) discourse studies to submit papers and to explore what lies under the tip of the iceberg. We also explicitly welcome scholars from other disciplines and perspectives in the humanities and social sciences:

• Media studies
  
• Communication sciences
  
• Political sciences
  
• International relations
  
• History
  
• Ideology studies
  
• Semiotics
  
• Linguistics
  
• Post-foundational social research
  
• Critical fantasy studies
  
• Sociology of knowledge
  
• Cultural studies
  
• Audience and reception studies
  
• Governmentality studies
  
• Strategic narrative studies
  
• Journalism studies
  
• Populism studies
  
• (Social) media studies
  
• Visual culture
  
• Future studies
  
• Gender studies
  
• Development studies
  
• Post- and De     colonial studies
  
• Environmental studies
  
• …

November 8, 2024

The Urbanism/Geography/Architecture Scholarly Interest Group at the Society of Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) invites you to the second of our 2024-2024 online book talks, Join us for a conversation with Professor Pamela Robertson Wojcik on Unhomed: Cycles of Mobility and Placelessness in American Cinema (University of California Press, 2024).

​Professor Wojcik will introduce the book and a Q&A will follow.

November 8, 12pm CST / 1 PM EST /6 PM GMT/UK TIME

Event is free and open to all but please register here: https://lu.ma/cjptbklw

We kindly invite you to participate in the 7th edition of the Young Media and Communication Scholars Mentoring Program of the Polish Communication Association. The Mentoring Program is addressed to Ph.D. and MA students who want to develop their research competencies under the guidance of renowned Polish researchers. Participation in the program is free of charge.

Applications (in Polish or English) will be accepted until December 1, 2024. Application form and detailed information about mentors are available here: https://www.ptks.pl/en/programs/pca-mentoring-program 

We encourage you to submit your application!

If you have any additional questions, do not hesitate to contact us via: mentoring.fmmik@gmail.com

June 18-20, 2025

Bahçeşehir University, Istanbul, Turkey 

Deadline: December 2, 2024

The 9th International Visual Methods Conference, hosted by Bahçeşehir University Istanbul, aims to bring together academics, researchers, professionals, activists and artists. The theme "Visual Bridges: Connecting Perspectives" emphasizes that visual methodologies  are interdisciplinary, encouraging collaboration and aiming to explore ways to facilitate innovative research. The conference stimulates critical dialogue, exchange knowledge and encourages active participation to  inspire new understandings in the theory, practice, and application of visual research.

Conference Website:

https://www.visualmethods.info/

Important Dates:

• Abstract Submission Deadline: December 2, 2024
  
• Notification of Acceptance: February 2, 2025
  
• Conference Dates: June 18-20, 2025     
  

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