ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

MDPI (special issue)

Deadline: November 30, 2024

Dear colleagues,

The MDPI journal Information is inviting submissions for a Special Issue on “Beyond detection: disinformation and the amplification of toxic content in the age of social media”.

The increasing rise of disinformation and the amplification of toxic content (hate speech, polarization, harassment…) on social media initially created a momentum for fighting such information disorders, with fact-checkers and debunkers in the frontline. Increasingly a shift is occurring, intent on re-inventing digital spaces immune to toxic content, with developers of alternative tools and structures (using blockchain, OSINT, etc.). The role of social media has also undergone a lot of scrutiny, renewing the interest in social media analysis beyond Social Network Analysis (SNA), to include innovative methodologies to trace and monitor amplification phenomena, including via alternative social media. Such methods and tools point to solutions aimed at fostering sound digital spaces, safe from information disorders and opinion manipulation, intent on avoiding the amplification of toxic contents.

This Special Issue aims to provide presentations of the latest advances concerning social media analysis in the context of disinformation detection, platform design and mitigation of toxic content amplification. Articles using theoretical perspectives on the properties required for a digital environment to maintain sound information spaces are welcome, as are innovative perspectives suggesting means to dis-amplify toxic content. A special attention will be paid to critical analyses that consider the dysfunctional organisations of early social media platforms and open vistas on the design and implementation of information-sound spaces, their structures and the actors that promote them.

Topics of interest may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Social media and opinion mining
  
• Opinion dynamics
  
• Fake news amplification, detection and fact-checking solutions
  
• Innovative tools and techniques for detecting online disinformation
  
• Design of sound information systems and how they are proffered to users
  
• Embedded algorithmic bias and toxic content
  
• Shaping/reshaping sound information spaces
  
• Impacts of recommender systems (including AI systems) on digital spaces and social groups
  
• alternative social media infrastructure design
  

Divina Frau-Meigs and David Chavalarias. Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click to go to the submission form https://www.mdpi.com/journal/information/special_issues/OB69Y2A7X1

Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Information encourages authors to submit comprehensive “Articles” and “Reviews”. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Information is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI’s English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

• social media analysis
  
• disinformation
  
• fake news
  
• amplification
  
• fact-checking 
• toxic content
• dis-amplification
  
• detection tools and strategies
  

Television & New Media (special issue)

Deadline: June 28, 2024

Dear colleagues, 

We would like to draw your attention to a special issue of Television & New Media on streaming production cultures.

Over the past two decades, major tech companies like Netflix and Amazon have become central players in the screen industries. The special issue explores the practices and beliefs of above- and below-the-line workers who create audiovisual content for streamers and/or online platforms. 

Crucially, the special issue aims to broaden a conversation which has primarily been dominated by US-based services (Netflix in particular) and English-language markets. This special issue encourages proposals that also consider other major streaming services, online video platforms, and local/regional streamers. By focusing on a range of geographic contexts, this special issue aims to shed much needed light on the broad spectrum of production experiences in the online screen industries. 

We invite production studies that offer both empirical and methodological findings. Our goal is to provide a kaleidoscope of research on different production cultures in order to significantly advance this critical field of research. No payment from the authors will be required.

Deadline for abstracts: 28 June 2024

Deadline for full papers: 9 December 2024

Expected date of publication: December 2025

Link to submission form and additional details here: https://forms.gle/wawgdqAz3ZhRiZUK6 

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with the guest editors of this special issue:

Daphne Rena Idiz, University of Amsterdam (d.r.idiz@uva.nl) and Nina Vindum Rasmussen, London School of Economics and Political Science (n.v.rasmussen1@lse.ac.uk)

September 23, 2024

Two Method Workshops are part of the series of pre-conferences organised within 10th European Communication Conference (ECC) in Ljubljana. The aim of these full-day meetings of ECREA members is to discuss various ways how to do research. The workshops consist of three sessions, each is dedicated to one particular method and run by a different speaker. However, we kindly ask you to participate in all three parts.

These workshops are intended for ECREA members. Please register as soon as possible, the number of places is limited. 

REGISTER HERE: https://form.jotform.com/241572783119057

Fee: 25 EUR - covering 2 coffee breaks and a lunch (sandwiches)

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS:

1) Research methods workshop: Methods for studying society-technology relations

• Using vignettes and scenarios in user-centric algorithm studies - Prof. Ranjana Das (University of Surrey)
  
• "When I tried to use ChatGPT in my work": deconstructing affective entanglements in society-technology relations with mind scripting – Dr. Doris Allhutter (Austrian Academy of Sciences)
  
• Making monsters as methods for studying data work – Prof. Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt  (Malmö University)

https://ecrea.eu/event-5736311

2) Methods for studying platforms, apps and online content

• Appscapes method – Dr. Signe Sophus Lai and Dr. Sofie Flensburg (University of Copenhagen)
  
• The walkthrough method for visual platforms – Dr. Daniela Jaramillo Dent  (University of Zurich)
  
• Developing quanti-quali approaches to study social media visual content – Dr. Stefania Vicari  (University of Sheffield)
  

https://ecrea.eu/event-5736309

Edited by: Dominic Wring, Nathan Ritchie

Europe Votes is a timely new book free to download via https://www.europevotesbook.com.

Edited by Dominic Wring and Nathan Ritchie of the from Loughborough University Centre for Communication and Culture, the book has been published in collaboration with the European Election Monitoring Center. Europe Votes offers a comprehensive look back at how political campaigning has evolved in the second largest democracy (after India) of 400 million citizens – and does so as member states go to polls next month for the tenth European elections. Europe Votes features twenty experts analysing developments in their own countries from the inaugural elections of 1979 to the most recent ones in 2019. Every chapter features content from the European Elections Monitoring Center archive which is now available to consult online and holds more than 15000 campaign items. More details about the book are available here.

October 28-31, 2024

Lusófona University, CICANT)

Deadline: September 13, 2024

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

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

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

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

The school will be held in English.

Call for proposals deadline

Deadline: 13 September 2024

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

Format

Online

Themes

1.1. Introduction to AI: a non-technical overview

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

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

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

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

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

Sub-themes

2.1. Innovative Methodologies

2.2. Linking big and small data methods

2.3. Qualitative and participatory research

2.4. Social Platforms for Research

2.5. Communication research: scientific writing and dissemination

2.6. Arts-based dissemination

Dates

28 to 31 October 2024 – IV MeLCi Lab Autumn School

Schedule

Check here for details.

How to apply

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

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

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

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

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

Call for Proposals Deadline: 13 September 2024

Notification of Acceptance: 30 September 2024

Target-group

PhD Students

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

Maximum number of participants

20 students

Fee *

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

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

Keynote Speakers

TBD

Organisers

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

Arab Media & Society

Deadline: July 1, 2024

The advent of artificial intelligence has ushered in a new era that promises significant changes in the field of communication and media. As nation-states and organizations invest substantial resources in advancing artificial intelligence, it becomes essential to explore the potential outcomes of this revolutionary digital mechanism. While artificial intelligence is often presented within a utopian framework, there are also cautious voices raising concerns. This call for papers aims to critically analyze the impact of artificial intelligence on media and communication, particularly in the Arab world and its diaspora.

Specifically, we seek to examine how artificial intelligence will contribute to and shape the production of media and communication. Additionally, we aim to investigate the downstream effects of artificial intelligence on media audiences and consumers, as well as the potential alterations in communication dynamics between individuals and entities. This call encourages deep reflection on the opportunities, risks, ethical and moral implications, potentialities, and transformations that may arise in the imminent age of artificial intelligence.

In light of the pressing need to address the complexities presented by artificial intelligence, Arab Media & Society dedicates its upcoming publication, issue 37, to this theme. We welcome diverse submissions on various subtopics related to media and artificial intelligence. Some suggested subtopics include, but are not limited to:

• The role of artificial intelligence in media production and content creation
  
• AI-driven algorithms and their impact on media consumption patterns
  
• Ethical considerations and challenges in introducing artificial intelligence in media and communication
  
• The future of media and its content: journalism, advertising, public relations, strategic communication, broadcast, etc., in an era of artificial intelligence
  
• Journalism and Communication programs in Higher Education in the era of Artificial Intelligence
  
• Digital Divide / (In)equitable access to technologies
  
• Social Media Algorithms and User Behavior
  
• AI and Media Consumption Patterns
  
• AI, Propaganda, and Information Warfare
  
• AI in Entertainment and Creative Industries
  
• Economic Impact of AI on Media Industries
  
• Regulatory and Policy Perspectives on AI in Media
  

Authors interested in submitting their work for peer-review consideration should send their manuscripts by June 15, 2024. Other submissions, including book and conference reviews, shorter research papers, and columns, should be received by July 1, 2024.

All submissions must be in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx), adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style, and have a maximum length of 10,000 words (including footnotes and citations). Please include the author's name (as it will be published), affiliation, and a brief abstract of no more than 150 words.

Please direct your articles and ideas to editor@arabmediasociety.com.

For further information regarding our publishing policies, kindly visit www.arabmediasociety.com/publishing-policies/.

International Journal of Games and Social Impact (IJGSI), special issue

Deadline (EXTENDED): June 10, 2024

Games often offer their players strong emotional experiences. Love is a profound human experience that affects all aspects of our lives. Indeed, many games include love as part of their narrative and/or gameplay. Nevertheless, is this truly love? Unlike other media, in which the audience reads about or watches a love story unfold, in games players take on an active role in the execution of the love story.

This raises concerns as to the ability of games to simulate love. Can a player love a (virtual) character? If not, what does this mean for the capacity of games to afford love? If yes, how does this change our understanding of love? Game Studies have approached the concept of love from multiple perspectives: philosophical inquiries (Leino 2015, Dicken 2018), game design challenges (Grace 2020), feminist and queer analyses (Salter 2020, Youngblood 2015), and sociological studies (Burgess and Jones 2020, Bopp et al. 2019, Karhulahti and Välisalo 2021). Yet, despite the multitude and resonance of the existing scholarship, love in games remains an underexplored and fascinating topic that interests both game players and creators alike.

For this issue of the International Journal of Games and Social Impact (IJGSI), we are accepting full papers that are related, not exclusively, to one or more of the following aspects:

• Meaning of love in games
  
• Love relationships between human players and NPCs
  
• Representation and poetics of love in games
  
• Queer and feminist approaches to game love
  
• Close reading of games featuring love
  
• Love as a mechanics and design challenge
  
• History of love in games
  
• Games as spaces for humans to fall in love
  
• Roleplaying and love in games
  

We welcome submissions relating to any type of game: digital, online, VR, tabletop, board games, LARP, etc.

Full papers must be submitted electronically after registering on the platform, respecting the guidelines established in the Submissions section.

Publication timeline

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All manuscripts are referred through a double-blind peer-review process. Dates are indicative – to be confirmed.

• Submission deadline for full-papers: extended until 10-06-2024
  
• Notifications of reviews sent to authors: 30-06-2024
  
• Submission deadline for final full-papers:  15-07-2024
  
• Publication of full-papers in special issue: 01-10-2024
  

Special issue Editor

Renata Ntelia (School of Computer Science, University of Lincoln)

To potential Authors

Please submit your proposals via the IJGSI website, according to the format standards for publication: https://revistas.ulusofona.pt/index.php/ijgsi/about/submissions

About the International Journal of Games and Social Impact

The International Journal of Games and Social Impact (IJGSI) is a semiannual open-access publication for games research and critique on social change, inclusion, education and Human Rights. IJGSI was established in Lusófona University, by the Games and Social Impact Media Research Lab (GLOW) to research, discover, and foster links between games studies in academia and civil society through educational and knowledge exchanges.

This Journal is supported through Hei-Lab (https://hei-lab.ulusofona.pt/; https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/05380/2020) and CICANT (https://cicant.ulusofona.pt/; https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/05260/2020) research units as a strategy to foster multidisciplinary, fundamental, and applied research approaching the intersections between games and human activities. IJGSI is also supported by the FILMEU (https://www.filmeu.eu/) alliance.

Source: https://revistas.ulusofona.pt/index.php/ijgsi/about

January 7-10, 2025

Lisbon (Portugal)

Deadline: September 15, 2024

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

Call for Applications

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

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

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

• Media and the dissemination of fear
  
• Fear, populism and the media
  
• Terrorism and the media
  
• Moral panics
  
• Reporting war and tragedy
  
• Fear and the democratic process
  
• Communication techniques to create fear
  
• Fear and identity formation
  
• Algorithms, AI and the promotion of fear
  
• Promoting fear against gender, racial and religious minorities
  
• Fear as tool of compliance 
  
• Fake news and disinformation
  
• Fear, anxiety and irrationality
  
• Fear and (self-)censorship
  
• Fear in the public arena in specific national or regional contexts
  
• Climate anxiety
  
• Visual media and fear
  
•  …
  

PAPER PROPOSALS

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

FULL PAPER SUBMISSION 

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

For more information visit lisbonwinterschool.com

ORGANIZERS

Nelson Ribeiro

Barbie Zelizer

CONVENORS

Sarah Banet-Weiser 

Risto Kunelius

Francis Lee

Deadline: June 14, 2024

About the Book: Sustainability represents a great challenge for companies today. Understanding sustainability management in the luxury industry is necessary to know its implementation considering the stakeholder expectations, and the benefit of society and the environment. Different theories and methodologies to measure their impacts show the contribution of luxury companies to sustainable development through innovative solutions that apply to their value chain. The communication strategy is crucial to increase transparency.

The book aims to provide a theoretical and practical reflection on the various implications of sustainable management in the luxury sector. The guiding thread of this proposal is intended to be the journey from detecting the need to implement a sustainable management strategy in their companies in the luxury sector, to the challenge of measuring all sustainability issues, or how the future of data management is and its usefulness for making better decisions. In this way, the reader is shown the different stages in which a luxury company can find itself in the management of its sustainability, so that it becomes a theoretical-practical manual for those responsible for this discipline.

Aims and Scope: The scope of this book covers an advanced level of theories and development of materials in the field of sustainable luxury management, the strategies, measurements and value of Sustainability to understand the main challenges of sustainability in the luxury industry. The book depends on the following themes (but not limited to):

• Luxury and sustainable management.
  
• Sustainability goals and opportunities for luxury companies.
  
• Implementing goals and opportunities for luxury companies.
  
• Implementing sustainability in luxury business
  
• Impact of regulation on sustainability for luxury companies.
  
• Consumer behavior and Sustainable luxury
  
• Strategies for sustainable supply chain management in luxury.
  
• Collaborating with stakeholders in luxury companies.
  
• Marketing strategies for sustainability in luxury
  
• Strategic communication management to enhance the sustainability of luxury brands.
  
• Differences in sustainable luxury management between conglomerates and small players.
  
• Particularities of the measurement of sustainable luxury management according to the sector, products and services.
  
• Commonly accepted single metrics to measure sustainability issues: global reporting initiative, etc.  Creating value for stakeholders and shareholders of luxury companies.
  
• Measuring sustainable management among the value chain of luxury companies.
  
• Measuring ESG criteria in the luxury industry.
  
• The challenges of measuring sustainability: variables, methodologies and interpretations.
  

Book Editors:

Dr. Celia Rangel-Pérez. Complutense University of Madrid, Avda.Complutense, s/n. 28040, Madrid-Spain. 0034 91 394 2220. cerangel@ucm.es  

Dr. Belén López Vázquez. ESIC University, Avda. Valdenigriales, s/n 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón Madrid, Spain. 0034 91 4524100. belen.lopez@esic.university 

Manuel Fernández Menéndez. Valdenigriales, s/n 2822 ESIC University, Avda. 3 Pozuelo de Alarcón Madrid Spain. 0034 91 4524100. manuel.fernandezmenendez@esic.university

Important Dates:

• Abstract submission: 14th June 2024
  
• Notification of abstract acceptance: 30th June 2024
  
• Full chapter submission: 15th October 2024
  

Notification the first chapter review: 30th November 2024 Revised chapter submission: 15 January 2025 Notification of second chapter review: 1st March 2025 Final submission of full chapter: 1st April 2025 Submission to publisher: 20th June 2025

How to Submit Abstract/Book Chapter and Queries:

Ensure the complete information of authors and co- authors and send an abstract by the scheduled deadline (14th June 2024) following this link: https://forms.office.com/e/ELs74JnRyV?origin=lprLink

For any query, please, send an email to the editors via these email addresses:

• cerangel@ucm.es
  
• belen.lopez@esic.university
  
• manuel.fernandezmenendez@esic.university
  

February 5-7, 2025

CERN, Switzerland

Deadline: July 31, 2024

The 2025 ECREA Communication History Workshop will be hosted by CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire / European Council for Nuclear Research), where the World Wide Web took its first steps between the end of the 1980s and the early 1990s. 

This special location inspired us to choose the theme of communication networks from long-term and historical perspectives as the key topic of the workshop. “Network” is one of digital literacy’s most symbolic and obsessively repeated keywords and metaphors. However, communication networks are not exclusively digital. From telegraphy to telephony and wireless communication in the 19th century, from radio and TV networks in the 20th, the concept of network has been used even before the Internet and, specifically, the Web. Communication networks seem to transform the sense of speed, space, and place, creating new connections and erasing others. Networks enable the exchange of communication or limit it; new networks are launched, and old ones are abandoned or have to be maintained.

Interrogating communication and networks from a diachronic perspective can be approached from numerous angles: networked communication and its infrastructures, communication through networks, and within networks, networks of communication, and communication on networks, to name but a few. This inquiry should encompass discourses, imaginaries, modalities, infrastructures, governance, and many other dimensions. Three main historical perspectives on communication networks are suggested:

1. Communication and networks before the digital age:

    Potential topics for exploration include, but are not limited to letters, press, telegraph and telephone networks, radio, and TV networks, but also other forms of communication networks, through for example learned societies or rumor. The legacy of these models, their physical or symbolic persistence, their stakeholders, and their structure are topics of interest as well as issues of regulation and governance.

2. Imaginaries, representations, and narratives related to networks:

    This may include cultural imaginaries and narratives surrounding networks in a long-term perspective, their representations in media, the controversies that may have arisen through time, utopia, and mythologies related to networks and networked societies. A reflection on the word per se, its emergence and eventual disappearance, and its metaphorical history is also welcomed.

3. Digital communication networks: from socio-technical origins to platformization:

    Genesis and evolution of digital networks, communication dynamics and changes through digital networks, online communities and their modalities of communication, and past discourses and approaches surrounding the development of networked communication are only a few topics that may be diachronically addressed. The history of social network sites, even the disappeared ones or the failed European attempt to create alternatives to US platforms, can be considered. The digital dimension of networks should always be considered from a historical perspective, in line with the focus of the section. 

Other transversal topics such as the role of networks in shaping communication and community, their impact on societies, or network analysis for studying the history of communication may be proposed. The study of networks in communication and media studies is also welcome: media studies, for example, have often advanced theories about small or large networks, their social role, the power of media in creating or breaking social networks, the strong or weak ties created by networks, etc.

We invite scholars from various disciplines to freely submit abstracts for papers addressing these themes. Submissions should be in English and have a clear historical approach. Abstracts of 300 words should be submitted no later than 31 July 2024. Proposals for full panels (comprising 3 or 4 papers) are also welcome: these should include a 300-word abstract for each individual presentation and a 150-word rationale for the panel. Send abstracts to: comnet@usi.ch. Authors will be informed regarding acceptance/rejection for the conference no later than 13 September 2024. Early career scholars and graduate students are highly encouraged to submit their work (please indicate if the research submitted is part of your thesis or dissertation project).

Fees and accommodation: The conference registration fee is 150 Swiss francs/about 150 euros (100 Swiss francs/about 100 euros for Ph.D. and M.A. students), and participants are asked to cover their travel expenses. This fee includes apero at the get-together, coffee breaks, and two lunches. A special rate has been arranged for lodging near CERN: a single room with a private bathroom for 58.00 Swiss francs. Further information will be sent to all the accepted presenters.

Local organizers: James Gillies and Jens Vigen (CERN, Geneva), Deborah Barcella, Martin Fomasi, and Gabriele Balbi (USI Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano).

For the section management team: Christian Schwarzenegger (University of Bremen), Valérie Schafer (C2DH, University of Luxembourg), Marie Cronqvist (Linköping University).