ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Deadline: September 15, 2023

Link: https://t.uzh.ch/1tu

Database of Variables for Content Analysis (DOCA) invites submissions for variable entries.

www.hope.uzh.ch/doca

The open access database compiles, systematizes, and evaluates relevant content-analytical variables of communication and political science research areas and topics.

DOCA simplifies access to common variables and their categories for content analysis research. It provides entries for single variables (e.g. actors, issues,...) and more complex theoretical constructs (often measured by more than one variable e.g., americanization).

The database serves as a foundation for answering questions about research designs and operationalizations resorting to content analysis and helps standardize and compare studies. It also promotes equal opportunity among researchers by providing free access to important resources.

Procedure regarding the call: 

• Please send suggestions for variables to mfg@ikmz.uzh.ch by 15.09.2023. The entries for variables or constructs that are already in the database can be found under the following link www.hope.uzh.ch/doca
  
• You receive a response within two weeks regarding the inclusion of suggested constructs or variables, as well as instructions for preparing your entry.
  
• Please submit your entry (approx. two pages in length) by December 01, 2023. Every entry will be peer-reviewed by two reviewers.
  
• If accepted, we will take over the entry's typesetting, design, and publication. Each entry receives a DOI (Digital Object Identifier).
  
• No fee is charged from the authors during the submission, evaluation and publication process.
  

We are very much looking forward to your submissions.

Franziska Oehmer-Pedrazzi (principal editor), University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons FHGR; Sabrina H. Kessler, University of Zurich; Edda Humprecht, Norwegian University of Science and Technology & University of Zurich; Katharina Sommer, ZHAW; Laia Castro Herrero, Universitat de Barcelona

November 24-25, 2023

Venue: Vilnius University, Universiteto str. 3, Vilnius

Abstract/Panel submission deadline: May 31, 2023

Mode of participation: In person only 

Conference language: English 

Organizer:

• Centre for Journalism and Media Research, 
  
• Faculty of Communication, Vilnius University 
  

Partners: 

• Lithuanian National Radio and Television
  
• Journal of Studies in Eastern European Cinema (Taylor and Francis Group)
  
• Central European Journal of Communication (Polish Communication Association)

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

• Dr. Ewa Mazierska, Professor, School of Arts and Media, University of Central Lancashire, UK
  
• Dr. Susana Salgado, Professor and Principal Researcher, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal 
  
• Dr. Agnieszka Stępińska, Professor, Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland

Since Brexit in the United Kingdom, the election of Donald Trump in the United States, the anti-vaccine protests during the COVID-19 pandemic, re-election of Viktor Orban in Hungary and the rise of nationalist political parties across Europe, populism and populist communication continue to occupy a stable position in local and global media and political debates. Growing concerns in Europe and other continents about high inflation, rising cost of living, climate change, immigration, the course and consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine, to mention but a few, have been exploited by a range of actors (media professionals, politicians, influencers and celebrities) in their populist rhetoric and communication. A proliferation of social media and visual communication is providing new spaces, mechanisms and channels for the proliferation and amplification of populist communication – as this allows all these actors and non-human, device “actants” – to disseminate their messages and gain public attention. 

Populism polarises people and divides them into binary groups of the “them” and the “us”, which causes a growing sense of distance between political elites and citizens, and a lack of political agency and participation for the latter. More increasingly, however, populist discourse (generally perceived as the voice of the people and the advocacy for the people’s greater control over their own lives) is used in the communication of mainstream political parties, politicians across Europe (including high rank officials) in order to ensure electoral support. The “virus” of populism is also spreading throughout mainstream media organizations and creative content (films, TV series, games) producers – the sectors which face increasing competition on local and global markets. It also thrives in political communication on social media.

In the light of these problems, the need to discuss the multiplicity of populism in media and to set indicators in order to recognize the populism in various contents and platforms and to establish guidelines and set conditions to mitigate its negative effects, has never been more important than in current times. However, media and communication scholars predominantly focus on right-wing political populism and the communication of demagogic political leaders. 

The organisers of this conference therefore see this event as a platform for media scholars, students and media professionals to discuss the nexus between populism, politics, communication, media and society in challenging times for Europe and worldwide. 

We welcome both paper and panel proposal submissions from political communication, film and media studies, journalism, cultural studies, and other related fields. New methodological and critical approaches for studying populism in the media are particularly welcome.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Populist political communication in times of local and global crises  
  
• Anti-populist discourse and critique of populism in multiple media 
  
• Effects of populist communication and populist media
  
• Populist discourse in film, video games and other visual media
  
• Populism and radical media 
  
• Populist actors (human and non-human) and populist communication in social media 
  
• Ant-science discourse in populist communication 
  
• Right-wing populist communication on environmental issues, health and migration 
  
• Opportunistic strategies in populist communication 
  
• Cultural and social populism in multiple media 
  
• Populist gender discourse in multiple media 
  
• Comparative perspectives on populist discourses communication in Europe and worldwide
  
• New methodological and theoretical approaches to populist communication and populist media research

The conference organizers and partners – scientific journals – Studies in Eastern European Cinema and Central European Journal of Communication made arrangements to publish selected presentations in issues of their own journals related the theme of the conference. A call for submissions will be published shortly after the conference. Participants are invited to submit articles based on their presentations.

Submission Guidelines

Paper proposals in English (incl. a title, and a 300-word description) and a short biography (max. 100 words) are expected to be submitted by May 31, by filling in the form at: http://www.populism.kf.vu.lt/registration/

Proposals for pre-constituted panels (consisting of 3 or 4 papers) are also welcome! 

Panel proposals (incl. a title, and a 350-word description) and a short biography (max. 100 words for each participant (chair and presenters)) are expected to be submitted by May 31, by filling in the form at: http://www.populism.kf.vu.lt/registration/ 

Proposals will be peer-reviewed. Applicants will be notified about the status of acceptance by July 15, 2023. 

There are no conference fees

ORGANIZERS

Conference scientific committee: 

Renata Šukaitytė (Chair, Vilnius University); Gintaras Aleknonis (University of Applied Science, Kiel); Konstantinos Dallas (University of Toronto / Vilnius University); Lenuta Giukin (State University of New York at Oswego); Deimantas Jastramskis (Vilnius University); Lars Kristensen (University of Skövde); Rimvydas Laužikas (Vilnius University); Mantas Martišius (Vilnius University); Renata Matkevičienė (Vilnius University); Eva Naripea (Estonian Film Archives); Peter Neijens (University of Amsterdam); Dagmara Rode (University of Lodz); Anda Rožukalne (Rīga Stradiņš University); Lorant Stohr (University of Theatre and Film Arts Budapest); Renata Stonytė (Vilnius University); Andrius Vaišnys (Vilnius University). 

Conference local organizing team: 

Renata Šukaitytė (Chair), Arūnas Gudinavičius, Kristina Gedvilaitė, Skirmantė Granickienė, Margarita Kunkytė, Raminta Labanauskienė, Renata Stonytė, Milda Vibrantytė, Agnė Zumbrickaitė.

Contacts: renata.sukaityte@kf.vu.lt, populism@kf.vu.lt

More information at: http://www.populism.kf.vu.lt

Media & Jornalismo

Media & Jornalismo, an internationally recognized and Portuguese pioneer journal in the field of Media and Journalism Studies (indexed in Scopus and ERIH Plus), invites the international scientific community to submit articles that fall within the thematic scope of the journal and to submit proposals for the organization of special issues. 

This call for papers and proposals for thematic issues is related to the editorial changes that Media & Journalism is implementing and that will come into full force in 2024: 

1) From the second semester of 2023 onwards, the submission of articles will happen in continuous flow, all year round. This measure aims to privilege the heterogeneity of themes, responding to a need to cover the most salient academic and scientific issues at a given moment, in the disciplinary field of communication sciences. 

2) From 2024, the continuous flow modality is now accompanied by the online first publishing policy, thus reducing the waiting times for publication of the different articles that overcome the double-blind peer review and ensuring the timely dissemination of the critical findings generated that are so important for the systematic accumulation of knowledge in the discipline of communication sciences. Articles published in the online first publishing modality will continue to integrate the Scopus database (in which the journal is indexed) under the denomination "Article in Press".  All the articles published in this double format, continuous flow and online first publishing, will integrate, in due time, and in definitive publication, numbers of the journal, which will maintain its biannual periodicity. 

3) Also from 2024, all articles accepted for publication will be published in a bilingual version (Portuguese and English or Spanish and English), the English version being compulsory. The journal seeks, with this measure, to internationalize itself and to achieve a different dissemination. The costs resulting from the necessary translations (Portuguese into English; Spanish into English; English into Portuguese), will be borne by the authors of the articles, in a practice followed by other important national journals. 

4) The free-to-publish policy of submission and the policy of consultation at no cost for the reader (free-to-read) will be maintained. 

5) The continuous flow of submissions and the online first publishing policy do not preclude the organization and publication of special issues, whether a) they are proposed to the journal by guest editors with recognized research merit, b) they seek to cover a topic that is salient in the academic community at the time the proposal is made, and c) the proposal is in line with Media & Journalism's editorial strategy and main thematic lines. In the case of special issues, the articles included and organized by the guest editors are published together and immediately after the formatting of the various articles that integrate the different special issues.

Tuesday, 30 May | 9:00 - 17:00

OFF-SITE: Charbonnel Lounge, St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto (81 St. Mary Street, Toronto)

ICA Post-conference

Register here: https://www.icahdq.org/mpage/ICA23-Postconf-EpistemicInjustice 

Transportation: Participants will be responsible for their own transport

Organizers: Contact, Claudia Paganini (Munich U of Philosophy, Germany) ■ Lars Rademacher (Darmstadt U of Applied Sciences, Germany) ■ Paolo Granata (U of Toronto, Canada)

Description: The question of role knowledge and science play with regard to a more socially just and sustainable society is highly topical both in media ethics and in neighboring disciplines. Presently there are discussions on why the current structures of knowledge generation and communication are violent in themselves and how transformation processes can be successful. While both practical and intercultural philosophy offer approaches to questioning and deconstructing universalisms, media ethics provides an understanding of how master narratives shape societal perceptions of knowledge and science. How do even these approaches exert epistemic violence and thereby obstruct the vision of greater participation and socio-ecological justice? How does an inclusive understanding of knowledge relate to the value of authenticity? Can the ethics of authenticity help to overcome epistemic injustice?

click to read program

Registration Fee: Free but registration is required

6-7 September 2023

Dublin City University, Ireland

Abstract submission deadline: 2 June 2023 (midnight anywhere in world)

Conference website: https://syntheticcity2023.wordpress.com/ 

syn·​thet·​ic, adjective - devised, arranged, or fabricated for special situations to imitate or replace usual realities

syn·​the·​sis, noun - the composition or combination of parts or elements so as to form a whole

In less than a year, the release of tools such as the large language model-based chatbot ChatGPT and image generation platforms like DALL-E or Midjourney has given rise to lively discussion and urgent questions around the potential of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) based systems. Debates around AI are a sharp reminder of the deepening interconnections of digital technologies and human life, which are particularly pervasive and tangible – if not always immediately visible – in urban spaces. Already captured through terms such as ‘algorithmic cities’, ‘data-driven urbanism’, ‘code/spaces’ and ‘sentient cities’, urban environments have for some time been understood as emergent venues for various kinds of computational agency, ranging from surveillance systems, delivery apps and neighbourhood social media to automated infrastructures, outdoor advertising and digital art. 

This conference puts forward the notion of ‘the synthetic city’ as a provocation for thinking through the potentials, politics, and everyday implications of these long-term and more recent developments in digitalising urban life. As the above definitions imply, we intend ‘the synthetic city’ to relate to both synthetic and synthesis: the former captures how AI and related digital technologies might imitate or replace human agency (e.g. with ‘synthetic’ data being used to generate various urban simulations, whether for critical infrastructure, leisure or gaming environments); whereas the latter captures how these same technologies always-already involve combinations of computational and human agency (e.g. unfolding alongside the dynamics of everyday routines, political interests, institutions, and so on).

We therefore welcome a range of contributions, exploring both the technologies as such, as well as the broader social, cultural and political contexts of the synthetic city. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• How AI-based applications potentially reshape or restructure urban material spaces and their inhabitation
  
• Artworks or models (e.g. performances, illustrations, mock-ups, simulations) that speculate or envision the near (and far) future of urban living
  
• Virtual and augmented reality in urban design and art
  
• The impacts of machine learning and predictive modelling on urban planning and design
  
• Smart cities, the Internet of Things and platform urbanism
  
• The changing relationships between automation processes (including robotics) with urban services and labour
  
• The ethics and governance of synthetic urbanism
  
• Counterculture and protest movements questioning and contesting the digitalisation of cities
  
• Algorithmic mediations of public participation and collaboration in urban/neighbourhood life
  
• How automated content production tools reshape how fields such as journalism, graphic design, filmmaking, music (and more) might relate to and tell stories about cities
  
• How digital platforms help to transform how urban environments and daily life is navigated and mapped
  
• The political potential of reappropriating and repurposing digital media and automated systems 
  
• Withdrawal and disconnection from the synthetic city
  

We welcome work-in-progress contributions as well as finished works, encompassing research into both current and future developments, with empirical, theoretical, or methodological focus, and from a broad spectrum of disciplines (e.g. communication and media studies, sociology, human geography, urban studies, or science and technology studies). Participants can submit one of three types of submissions:

Individual papers: Please submit an abstract (250-300 words), biographical statement (50-75 words) and contact information for all authors. 

Practice-based interventions (e.g. screenings, illustrations, performances, installations) exploring the conference themes more experimentally. Please submit an abstract (250-300 words) and a biographical statement (50-75 words) alongside contact information for all authors. The abstract should describe the scope of the project as well as equipment, space and time needed (as relevant). 

Paper of panel session: Please submit an abstract (250-300 words) describing the overall theme of the session. In the case of a paper session, this will be followed by  an abstract (250-300 words), biographical statement (50-75 words) and contact information for the author(s) of each paper. In the case of a panel discussion, please provide biographical statements (50-75 words) and contact information for all panellists. 

Abstracts must be submitted by 2 June 2023 (by midnight anywhere in world) to mediacity.twg@gmail.com. Notification of acceptance will be sent by 23 June 2023.

May 25-26, 2023

Online conference (Zoom)

Dear Colleagues!

We are glad to invite you to take part in the Third International Conference on Information Technologies in Education and Science

Venue and time of the event: Bogdan Khmelnitsky Melitopol state pedagogical university, May 25-26, 2023, ZOOM.

Publication and distribution of the dated June 10, 2023 conference proceedings:

1. Value dimensions of modern education.

2. Digital transformation of society.

3. Formation of digital competence of the person.

4. Digital technologies in education.

5. State-of-the-art issues of the IT industry.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

1. Form of participation: online.

2. Papers presented at the conference can be published at the choice of the author in:

 electronic conference proceedings;

 electronic scientific journal Ukrainian Journal of Educational Studies and Information Technology (https://uesit.org.ua/index.php/itse).

3. Official languages: Ukrainian, English, languages of the European Union.

4. Participation is free of charge.

5. To participate in the conference, you should:

 fill the application form at https://forms.gle/m1UWRv6hw3ngwWap8 (each co-author fills the form separately)

 send a file with abstracts to conferinf@gmail.com

CONFERENCE TRACKS

ABSTRACTS ARE ACCEPTED UNTIL MAY 23, 2023.

EACH PARTICIPANT WILL RECEIVE A PROGRAM, AN ELECTRONIC CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS AND A CERTIFICATE.

The authors of the best reports will be invited to publish free of charge in the electronic scientific journal Ukrainian Journal of Educational Studies and Information Technology (https://uesit.org.ua/index.php/itse).

For more information, please send an email to the organizing committee at conferinf@gmail.com.

Coordinator of the conference: Yurii Sitsylitsyn, mob.+380679720438.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

1. Submitted papers have not been previously published.

2. The texts are published in the author's edition.

3. All submitted papers are checked for plagiarism using the Unicheck system.

4. Formatting of articles submitted to the Ukrainian Journal of Educational Studies and

Information Technology: the requirements can be found at

https://uesit.org.ua/index.php/itse/about/submissions.

5. Preparation of abstracts:

 Paper size:from 2 full pages of text.

 A4 sheet format, no page numbering, Times New Roman font, 14pt, line spacing -1.5, paragraph indentation - 1 cm, width alignment. Page borders: left, right, top, bottom –2 cm.

Sequence of materials placement:

1) title of the paper (centered, all caps, bold);

2) last name, first name and patronymic of the author(s) (to the right edge, italics);

3) academic degree, academic title, position;

4) the name of the organization, the city in which it is located;

5) abstract in Ukrainian;

6) abstract in English;

7) main text;

8) list of references (optional) prepared in accordance with DSTU 8302:2015.

In the text of the article, references to sources are indicated in square brackets with the source's number in the list and the page number separated by a comma, ex.: [5, р. 115].

Figures: Fig. 1. The name – to the center, the font is normal.

Tables: Table 1 – to the right edge; font - normal; Table title – to the center, font – normal. No other way of formatting literature, figures and tables is allowed.

Abstract in Ukrainian. Title. Abstract.

Main text.

SAMPLE OF THESIS FORMATTING

TITLE

List of references

1. The list of references is drawn up in accordance with the requirements of the National Standard of Ukraine DSTU 8302:2015 "Information and Documentation. Bibliographic references. General provisions and rules of compilation".

November 20-21, 2023

ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Avenida das Forças Armadas, 1649-026 Lisbon, Portugal

Deadline: June 9, 2023

There is a hopeful narrative running through the scholarship around media and communication studies, arguing that the internet and social media are means of enhancing political and civic participation. While to a certain extent this is the case, at least in the earlier internet days, the rise of gigantic, privately owned, digital platforms as major sites for regulating and disciplining contemporary production, consumption, work and play further gestures towards a global entertainification of online cultures. Looking, for instance, at the most popular influencers in Italian media platforms (Miconi, 2023), we can observe a contrast with recent trends in Internet studies arguing that social media play a key role in mobilizing people in civic and wider political terms (e.g., Vaccari & Valeriani 2021). Coaching advice, parodies, food, fashion and sports seem to be overwhelmingly capturing both the imaginary and the production and consumption cultures of the main media platforms at the expense for example, of news and political debate. As data infrastructures that capitalize on the user’s time, labour and attention (Poell, Nieborg, Duffy, 2022), platforms only care about keeping the user in their space; in this regard, the circulation of online entertainment is more appealing than civic debates.

This conference looks at the gendered dimensions of platform economies focusing specifically on how entertainment interweaves with expertise in the construction of contemporary femininities and masculinities. Platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook enable a seemingly democratization of expertise, as anyone could become an expert in any matter possible among niche communities, ranging from wine tasters, perfume specialists, life coaches, fitness trainers, dieticians and health consultants to sex therapists, pick up artists, mindfulness gurus, city guides and gastronomic bloggers. In this context, popular feminism intertwines with popular misogyny as online media give visibility to emancipatory discourses while simultaneously limit the effectiveness of collective action (Banet-Weiser, 2018).

The entertainification of expert knowledge in the 2000s begins with the proliferation of television talent shows, including song, fashion and cooking contests, that brought to the public realm the creative celebrity-expert as an arbiter of good taste. The occupation of cooking, to take one example, from being a behind the scenes, domestic, unpaid, free and feminine labour became, in the form of the celebrity chef, a creative, if not artistic, genius-male endeavor that can potentially lead to stardom. These chefs are presented as having their own unique artistic vision, cosmopolitan identities and cool instagrammable personas. To the abundance of visible professional experts, we can add the widespread micro-expertise of amateurs found online and offline on trivial or nontrivial matters, from how to raise a child to how to grow cactuses.

Aspirational labour and aspirational consumption in media platforms has a strong gendered dimension. Erin Duffy (2017) argues that the aspirational (unpaid) labour of creative entrepreneurs in media platforms is primarily performed by women while aspirational (curated) consumption creates particular fantasies of femininity, masculinity, queerness and other gender identities. At the same time, while platforms can offer visibility to progressive gender causes in public debate, they can instigate a relation of ‘cruel optimism’ vis-a-vis ideal gender constructions, to use Laurent Berlant’s term, as the latter becomes a desirable object which at the same time creates anxieties and frustration by being unrealizable (2012). The exposure of gendered and classed selves to expert entertainment content, from eating food of celebrity chefs to training with fitness gurus, perpetuates a feeling of self-inferiority against gender and class success.

This conference explores gender in the context of expert entertainment cultures in platform economics. We look for 250-word abstracts in the following themes:

• Optimizing gender and sexuality

• Optimizing womanhood and motherhood

• Life coaches, self-help gurus and self-curating

• Manosphere, pick up artists and new masculinities

• Prank videos and sexism

• Queer identities between entrepreneurialism and empowerment

• ‘How-to-Succeed’ guides and cultures

• Growing plants and pets

• The performance of gender in animal videos (cuteness/ strength)

• Confidence culture and the psy-industries

• Feel-good economy, therapeutic cultures and neo-spiritualism

• The gendered self as a project and work of art

• Fitness, beauty and the body

• Discipline and self-restraint

• Amateur and professional labour

• Individualized gendered practices Vs. collective mobilisation

The Advisory Committee is composed by:

• T onny Krijnen (Erasmus University)

• Joke Hermes (Inholland University)

• Sander De Ridder (Ghent University)

• Sofia Caldeira (Lusófona University)

• Cila Willem (Universitat Rovira i Virgil)

• Maria Helena Santos (CIS, ISCTE-Lisbon University Institute)

• Carla Cerqueira (Lusófona University)

The Organising Committee is composed by:

• Panos Kompatsiaris (IULM)

• Claudia Alvares (CIES, ISCTE-Lisbon University Institute)

• Andrea Miconi (IULM)

• Sofie Van Bauwel (Ghent University)

TIMELINE

9 June 2023 - Abstract submission deadline 

14 July 2023 -  Acceptance/Rejection notification 

8 September 2023 -  Registration to the conference 

20-21 November 2023 - Conference in Lisbon

To submit your abstract, please send an email to: conference@eumeplat.eu

Further details and updated information are available here.

About the project

EUMEPLAT – European Media Platforms: assessing positive and negative externalities for European culture is a Research and Innovation project funded under the Horizon 2020 Programme, aiming at investigating the role of media platforms in fostering or dismantling European identity.

Drawing on the assumption that European dimension has rarely been dominant in media history and focusing on the “platformization” process and its positive and negative externalities, the main research question is whether or not the new platforms are making European culture more European.

Through a multidisciplinary approach and the analysis of relevant indicators related to the production and consumption of media contents and to the representation of sensitive issues – namely gender and migration – the research team looks for similarities and specificities on a national, regional and European level. The data and results collected are also investigated to come out with recommendations addressed to the policy-makers on the evolution of the European media landscapes.

The project runs from 1st March 2021 to 29th February 2024 and is carried out by 12 partners from 10 countries: Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione (Italy) // coordinator; Leibniz- Institut für Medienforschung | Hans-Bredow Institut (Germany); New Bulgarian University (Bulgaria); UNIMED – Unione delle Università del Mediterraneo (Italy); Fundacio per a la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain); Universiteit Gent (Belgium); Bilkent Universitesi Vakif (Turkey); National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece); Iscte – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Portugal); Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia (Italy); Foreningen IKED (Sweden); Univerzita Karlova (Czech Republic).

For more information, please visit the project website and social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube). The main publications produced in the framework of the project are available in the EUMEPLAT Community on Zenodo.

August 7-11, 2023

Locarno, Switzerland

Deadline: June 16, 2023

Do you have a strong interest in documentary filmmaking and searching for an exceptional learning opportunity? If so, the Documentary Summer School (DSS) is the perfect fit for you! 

Currently in its 24th year, DSS is hosted by the Institute of Media and Journalism (IMeG)<http://www.imeg.com.usi.ch/en> at the University of Lugano (Università della Svizzera Italiana<https://www.usi.ch/en>), along with the Locarno Film Festival<https://www.locarnofestival.ch/en/LFF/home> and the Semaine de la Critique<https://www.locarnofestival.ch/LFF/locarno75/film-sections/semaine-de-la-critique.html>. As always, DSS will bring together experts from academia and the film industry to collaborate, exchange valuable insights, explore fresh concepts, and collectively contemplate the future of documentary filmmaking. 

Registration for the Documentary Summer School 2023 is now open, and we encourage you to submit your application by June 16, 2023. 

With 30 available spots, we recommend that you carefully review all the necessary information provided on this page before completing and submitting your application to dss@usi.ch<mailto:dss@usi.ch>. This will help streamline the process and ensure that you don't miss any important details. 

What is the Documentary Summer School? 

* Established 24 years ago, the DSS offers an exceptional opportunity to meet and learn from globally renowned scholars and filmmakers while soaking up the atmosphere of one of the world's most prestigious film festivals. 

* The DSS program offers a one-of-a-kind experience that includes five half days of engaging lectures and carefully selected films from the prestigious Semaine de la Critique and the Festival's International Competition. By participating in this program, you will have the opportunity to engage in a stimulating exchange between the academic and film communities, immersing yourself in a dynamic dialogue that spans a wide range of topics - from theoretical reflection to creative practice. 

* At DSS, we are dedicated to showcasing the immense potential that hybrid projects - which bring together academia and film practices - can offer to both communities. Our program achieves this by drawing on the insights of renowned film scholars and filmmakers, whose contributions help to bridge the gap between these two domains and generate meaningful benefits for all involved. 

* The DSS strives to emphasize the advantages of hybrid projects that benefit both communities by tapping into the knowledge of world-renowned film scholars and filmmakers. 

* Over the years, we have been honored to host a diverse array of distinguished speakers, including Andrea Segre (an award-winning director who has directed more than 20 films in the documentary and fiction genre), Nevina Satta (managing director of the Sardegna Film Commission and secretary general of the European Film Commission), Till Brockmann (head of the Semaine de la Critique, the independent section of the Locarno Film Festival, organized by the Swiss Association of Film Journalists), Rula Jebreal (journalist, novelist and award-winning screenwriter), Alessandro Comodin (director, screenwriter, and editor of the documentary "Gigi the Law"), Arthur Jafa (American cinematographer), Brian Winston (Emmy winner for the documentary screenplay) and many others! 

Do I fit the bill for the Documentary Summer School? 

If the following criteria resonate with you, then the DSS would be an excellent opportunity for you to explore: 

* I am a university or film school student. 

* I am an emerging filmmaker. 

* I possess a proficient command of the English language, which is vital for interacting with fellow project participants and the various guests at DSS. 

* I have a profound interest in documentary filmmaking. 

* I am eager to engage proactively with experts and colleagues from around the world. 

Which documents are required in the application process? 

To apply for the DSS, we require the following documents: 

* Your resume in English 

* A brief motivational letter (max 600 words) outlining your enthusiasm for documentary filmmaking and the reasons behind your decision to apply to DSS. It is critical for us to understand your interest in this opportunity. 

* A passport-sized digital photograph of yourself, which is necessary for your festival accreditation in the event of selection. 

Please ensure that you submit all required documents, as incomplete applications will not be considered during the selection process for DSS participants. 

Which dates should I remember? 

Here are the key dates to keep in mind: 

* The deadline to submit your application is June 16, 2023. 

* By June 25, 2023, you will receive a response regarding your application to the program. This response will inform you of whether you have been accepted into the program, placed on a waiting list, or unfortunately not selected for participation. 

* The Documentary Summer School will take place from August 7-11, 2023, during which you will participate in various events and activities. 

What does the Documentary Summer School in Locarno offer if I get selected? 

Participating in the DSS in Locarno will be a unique and rewarding experience. 

The participation fee of CHF 600 includes: 

* Overnight accommodation, including breakfast, at the Locarno Youth Hostel<https://www.youthhostel.ch/en/hostels/locarno/> from August 6-12, in a shared room with another participant (shared unisex bathroom). 

* An accreditation that grants access to all Locarno Film Festival screenings. 

* Five days of lectures with a diverse international faculty of film scholars and professionals. * 

* Exclusive Q&A sessions with filmmakers from the festival as well as those selected for the Semaine de la Critique. 

* Networking events and opportunities to connect with individuals from around the world. 

* A certificate of participation. 

* Undergraduate students can earn 3 ECTS credits through their participation in the program. 

The only additional expenses are travel to and from Locarno and meals (apart from breakfast, which is included in the participation fee). 

If this meets your requirements, please send your application to dss@usi.ch<mailto:dss@usi.ch>. 

Organizing Committee 

Dr. Eleonora Benecchi is a lecturer and researcher at the Institute of Media and Journalism at the University of Lugano, Switzerland. She specializes in Audiovisual Theory and Production, Digital Cultures, and Social Media Management. Her research and publications focus on fandom and audiovisual culture. 

Dr. Stefano Guerini Rocco is a research fellow at the University of Bologna and also lectures at the Catholic University of Milan and the SAE Institute of Milan. He has been selected as a curator for the ORLANDO festival programming, and his work as an author of documentary projects has been recognized through selection for the Biennale College in 2018 and the IDS Academy Series in 2021. 

2nd June 2023

Niš, Republic of Serbia

Deadline: May 20, 2023

The third international scientific conference

The Communication and Journalism Department invites you to the international scientific conference “Media and the Challenges of Modern Society in 2023”, which will take place this year on June 2 in a hybrid format (online and live). We are honored to have an opening Keynote Speaker at our conference, Max Ryynänen, Principal University Lecturer, Theory of Visual Culture, University of Aalto, Finland. The title of his virtual presentation is "Seeing With The Body, Hearing With The Body: Notes on the Somaesthetics of Media". 

We are observing the rapid advancement of synthetic media and artificial intelligence, as well as their misuse, such as the addition of desired audio and video to celebrities, the possibility of posthumous voting, the use of artificial intelligence for profit, the escalation of fake news, the influence on voters in elections, etc. All of this raises concerns about privacy and respect. In the domain of media, including media creation, ownership, licensing, and verification, significant change is anticipated. Recently, a petition asking for a six-month pause in artificial intelligence development was signed by 100 international scholars. “Major risks for humanity” are mentioned in that appeal. A more potent technology than ChatGPT-4, which was introduced in mid-March, is mentioned in the plea, and the worry that emerges is the proliferation of fake news, the automation of jobs, and the evolution of intelligence superior to that of humans.

 The organizers of this conference hope to bring together experts in the fields of communication, culture, and related fields to share their expertise and experience. The conference's main themes this year are the difficulties that society and the media face in the age of digital technologies, and they are as follows:

• Artificial intelligence and media
  
• Synthetic media and their misuse
  
• Use of artificial intelligence in propaganda
  
• Traditional media in the age of digital technologies
  
• Digital and media literacy
  
• Media and privacy
  
• Public service media
  
• Legal regulation of the media
  
• Media ethics in the digital environment
  
• Philosophy and media
  
• Popular culture and aesthetics
  
• Social media, digital platforms and media
  

The working languages at the conference are Serbian and English.

Application

Application that should contain the following information:

• Name(s) and surname(s) of author(s)
  
• Affiliation
  
• The first author’s email address
  
• title of the paper
  
• abstract (250 words maximum)
  
• key words (5 maximum)
  

send to the email address: misd@filfak.ni.ac.rs

The application can be submitted by 20th May /2023. On May 25, 2023, submissions that have arrived by the specified deadline will all receive feedback regarding their participation.

Paper publishing

Papers with positive evaluations will be included in a 2023 edition of the journal “Media Studies and Applied Ethics”, issued by the Faculty of Philosophy Niš. The journal is on the list of categorized journals of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, and is indexed in ERIH PLUS. English-language papers must be submitted by August 15th 2023.

Instructions for writing these papers are available at the following link: https://izdanja.filfak.ni.ac.rs/casopisi/2021/media-studies-and-applied-ethics-vol-ii-no-1-2021

Registration fee

For participation in the conference, there is a registration fee of 6000 RSD/50 EUR. Registration fees in dinars should be transferred to the giro account of the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš 840-1818666-89, call number 74212142. Instructions for payments in euros are attached. A dinner will be organized as part of the conference. It is optional and the price for the dinner is 3000 RSD/25 EUR.

When registering, please make sure to let us know whether you are interested in the dinner as well. 

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need additional details: 

Department of Communication and Journalism        

Faculty of Philosophy in Niš                                                    

Ćirila i Metodija 2, 18000 Niš, Republic of Serbia        

misd@filfak.ni.ac.rs 

Comunicação Pública

Deadline: June 15, 2023

Comunicação Pública, an online academic journal of the School of Communication and Media Studies, hereby invites members of the academic community and researchers to submit proposals for thematic dossiers for publication in the forthcoming numbers of the Journal (2024-2025).

1. Submission of proposals

Dossier proposals should contain the following items:

1.1. name, title, and institutional affiliation of the organizer(s);

1.2. curricular data of the proponents (maximum 100 words);

1.3. abstract in English and Portuguese (maximum of 600 characters);

1.4. description of the proposal (up to 3500 characters), including the following elements: - title (in Portuguese and English);

- intended focus and objectives;

- justification of relevance;

- list of relevant bibliographic references about the theme (no more than 10);

- a list of relevant subthemes.

Proposals should be submitted in .doc or .docx format for cpublica@escs.ipl.pt (Subject: Dossier proposal - 2024-2025 selection) until 23:59 on June 15, 2023

2. Assessment criteria

2.1. The dossier organizers must have a PhD and recognized leadership in their area. 2.2. The proposals received will be analysed by the Editorial Committee of Comunicação

Pública according to the criteria of this notice.

2.3. The following will be considered as assessment criteria:

- originality, especially in relation to dossiers already published in other volumes of the journal;

- relevance of the proposal to academic discussions;

- clarity and coherence;

- the scope of the proposed theme, in order to foster the national and international diversity of the articles;

- relevance to the editorial policy of the Journal (https://journals.ipl.pt/cpublica/Projedit).

2.4. Proposals which do not comply with the criteria of the submission guidelines will be excluded (https://journals.ipl.pt/cpublica/about/submissions).

2.5. The Editorial Board will be responsible for the evaluation of dossiers and disclosure of results until September 15, 2023.

3. Evaluation process of dossier proposals and related articles

3.1. Once the dossiers have been approved, Comunicação Pública will make a public call for articles on the themes of the approved dossiers.

3.2. The first stage of the evaluation, the selection of articles pertaining to each dossier, will be under the responsibility of the organizer with the supervision of the Editorial Board.

3.3. The second stage of evaluation, concerning the merit of the articles, will follow the same dynamic of individual articles published by Comunicação Pública (double blind refereeing).

3.4. The third stage, under the responsibility of the organizer, with the supervision of the Editorial Board, is the assembly of the dossier and the respective presentation (introduction);

3.5. Once approved, all dossiers and articles will go into production regardless of the publication order established by the Editorial Board. This standard aims to protect the journal from delays and cancellations.

4. Attributes of the organizers of dossiers approved for publication

It is the responsibility of the organizer (s) of the dossier to:

4.1. publicize the dossier and encourage contributions;

4.2. participate, together with the Editorial Board, in the selection of articles to submit to double blind refereeing;

4.3. prepare a presentation text that problematizes, from the academic point of view, the chosen theme, and frame the selected articles;

4.4. organize the final version of the dossier, with the supervision of the Editorial Board; 4.5. inform the editors about any unforeseen events related to publication.

5. Editorial policy related to the dossiers

5.1. Dossier articles will be submitted to peer review, obeying the same rules of individual articles in accordance with publication submission guidelines (https://journals.ipl.pt/cpublica/about/submissions).

5.2. The Editorial Board is responsible for choosing the publication dates for the dossiers within the given time frame.

5.4. The dossier to be published should obtain at least three articles with favourable peer reviews;

5.5. In case the publication of any of the approved dossiers is not possible, the next one will be invited, and so on if necessary;

5.6. The approved articles of the cancelled dossiers may be published as individual articles to mitigate the problems arising from the cancellation.

5.7. Omissive cases will be analysed by the Editorial Board.