ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Linköping University

We have currently an opening for a fully funded, 4-year PhD position in Technology and Social Change related to my ProFutura Scientia project "When Communication Networks Come to Die - Socio-Cultural Perspectives on Infrastructural Dismantling". The project explores the politics and experiences that arise when communication networks (such as internet infrastructure, platforms, software, data or other kinds of media infrastructure) age, get dismantled or abandoned, and the cultural, political, historical and societal implications of these processes for different actors.

The position is located in Linköping, Sweden at a vibrant, international and interdisciplinary department.

Relevant backgrounds for this position include an MA in anthropology, media- and communication studies, STS or related fields.

Deadline 2nd of May. Please share!  

https://liu.se/en/work-at-liu/vacancies/21686

Science Communication and Science Journalism at CMC (Austrian Academy of Sciences and University of Klagenfurt)

Science Communication and Science Journalism are becoming an increasingly important field of public communication. CMC is therefore excited to share this call for a new position in this field.

We are looking for a highly qualified and internationally recognized scientist who is capable of representing the subject of comparative media and communication studies in teaching and research, with high engagement in developing and sustaining an ambitious and innovative research program. Candidates are expected to conduct cutting-edge research that should also be reflected in peer-reviewed third-party funding. They should have made seminal contributions to the fields of science communication and/or science journalism.

The Vienna-based Institute for Comparative Media and Communication Studies (CMC) was established in 2013, succeeding an OeAW Commission of the same name established in 1994. The experience and competence acquired over 30 years have made CMC a highly recognized institute in the area of research in politically relevant communication, and a sought-after partner in international projects. The partnership of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the University of Klagenfurt in operating CMC is an excellent opportunity to focus on long-term basic research and follow Humboldtian ideals, bringing research findings directly into education as well as into public and political discourse, and giving support to a younger generation of researchers.

Find further information at https://www.oeaw.ac.at/cmc/detail/news/job-alert-group-leader-university-professor.

Please apply until May 31, 2023.

11-13 December 2023,

Helsinki, Finland

Deadline: May 2, 2023

In the recent years, HEPPsters have been engaging in themes of populist mobilisation in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly the relationship between time and space, and how this relationship informs the construction of ‘Us’. In the previous edition, HEPP3 paid special attention to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, this theme is expanded to reflect on the rise of ethno-nationalism. We are here also drawing on our Horizon2020 project on Deradicalisation in Europe and beyond, where the key thematic is social exclusion as the driver for violent radicalisation, emergence of grievance, alienation, and polarisation. We also want to investigate the emergence of religious populism, the formation of epistemic communities, and logics of datafied forms of communication that also deal with polarisation. We hope to incite theoretical and empirical discussions of these themes and more. 

The Conference strives to assemble a wide range of international researchers at all career stages, with the aim of examining populism, particularly from a discursive and cultural approach. We welcome contributions from a wide range of fields. All submitted papers will be considered for our Working Papers series.

The Conference encourages papers that approach the following and related themes: 

• Political (Mis)use of Time and Space 
  
• (De)radicalisation, Radicalism and Violent Extremism
  
• (Ethnic) Nationalism and Populism
  
• Misogyny, Xenophobia and Racism
  
• Euroscepticism, Europhilia, and Eurocentrism
  
• (Post-)Pandemic Populisms
  
• Epistemic Populisms and Academic Knowledge
  
• Populist logics of Datafication and Populism
  
• Religion and Populism
  
• Populist Dynamics and the Global South 
  
• North-South Relations and (Post)Colonialism
  
• Imperialism and Emotions
  
• Affects and Emotions in Politics and Policy
  
• Agonism, Antagonism, and the “Us”
  
• Gender in Populism and Polarisation 
  
• Cultural Populism and Populist Challenges on Culture
  
• Political humour and populist rhetoric
  
• Political Communication and Media in Times of War and Crisis
  
• Populist Dynamics and the Logic of Populism
  

Please send in your paper submissions through this form by 2nd May 2023. The submission must include your name and institution, a title, a 100-150 word abstract, and five keywords. Please send your panel proposals through this form by 2nd May 2023. We encourage paying attention to diversity in the proposals. The Conference will be held primarily on site, with the possibility of presenting online. 

The Conference fee is 200 euros, with a discounted fee of 100 euros for doctoral researchers, non-employed researchers, and colleagues from the Global South and Central and Eastern Europe. Beyond this, fee exemptions will be available in certain cases. If you feel that you require a fee exemption, please email hepp@helsinki.fi.

Organizer

The conference is organised by the HEPPsinki research group. The Organising Committee of HEPP4: Feeza Vasudeva (chair), Alexander Alekseev (co-chair), Dayei Oh, Emilia Palonen, Emilia Lounela, Gwenaëlle Bauvoi, Laura Horsmanheimo, Ionut Chiruta, Katinka Linnamäki, Kleber Carrilho, Rūta Kazlauskaitė, Virpi Salojärvi. 

The HEPP4 organising is supported by the following projects:

- D.Rad: Deradicalisation in Europe and Beyond: Detect, Resolve, Reintegrate (EC: Horizon 2020)

- Now-Time, Us-Space: Hegemonic Mobilisations in Central and Eastern Europe (Kone Foundation)

- Datafication of Society at the Helsinki Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities (PROFI)

- ENDURE: Inequalities, Community Resilience and New Governance Modalities in a Post-Pandemic World (Trans-Atlantic Partnerships Academy of Finland)

Click the link below for further information:

https://www.helsinki.fi/en/conferences/emotions-populism-and-polarised-politics-media-and-culture/call-for-papers-hepp4

April 25, 2023

Online conference

Deadline: April 20, 2023

International interdisciplinary online conference 

Dear colleagues! 

We are pleased to invite you to participate in our conference.

Ukraine is in an active war conflict due to the invasion of the Russian Federation, and this conflict has made almost the whole world concerned. The parties are in a confrontation and this imposes restrictions on movement and economic activity. It exposes the high uncertainty of the entire world and exposes the high price humanity is paying for confrontation in the face of the need for cooperation to solve global problems.

We believe that this is the best opportunity for scholars of various fields to reflect on personal and social experience within the inaugural online conference: "CONSTRUCTIVE REFLECTION OF CONFRONTATION AND COOPERATION: PSYCHOLOGICAL RISKS AND RESOURCES OF WAR" (April 25, 2023).

The conference will be organized by the Kyiv Maritime Institute after Hetman Petro Konashevich-Sahaydachniy of the State University of Infrastructure and Technologies, Institute of Reflective Investigation and Specialization (IRIS), Institute of Social and Political Psychology of the National Academy of Education Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine), Institute of Psychology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Warsaw, Poland), Southern Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynskyi (Odesa, Ukraine).

We invite scientists from various disciplines to reflect and discuss the resources and risks of the current situation for building the future.

Participation is possible both by submitting materials (abstracts and/or video presentation) and exclusively in online discussions.

The conference is free.

Abstract submission deadline (extended): April 20, 2023 

Date of the conference: April 25, 2023.

Detailed information: iris-psy.org.ua/en/conf-cr23/14-main-en

Registration https://forms.gle/4yuLQTPz1eYJszRVA 

Sincerely,

Lyubov Naydonova, 

Institute for social and political psychology of NAESU 

Deadline: April 30, 2023

The term ‘Artificial intelligence’ (AI) was coined by John McCarthy in the year 1956 at Dartmouth College at the first-ever AI conference. Later that year, JC Shaw, Herbert Simon, and Allen Newell created the first AI software program named ‘Logic Theorist.’ Since then, AI is changing the way we communicate in the media world as is the intelligence demonstrated by machines, as opposed to the intelligence of humans and other animals, it is the backbone of innovation in modern computing, unlocking value for individuals and businesses. Its applications include advanced web search engines, recommendation systems, understanding human speech with voice-enabled devices, such as Siri and Alexa, that have evolved the way people talk to their devices, self-driving cars, generative and creative tools, automated decision-making, and competing at the highest level in strategic game systems, from interacted TV to TV shows where the spectator can choose the next steps of the show,  Chatbots, omnichannel communications, and targeted marketing campaigns, conversational agents, optical character recognition (OCR), social robots, 3D printing, the fifth generation of mobile services (5G), and automated-writing software the artificial intelligence is having a big impact on communication.

The study of mechanical or "formal" reasoning began with philosophers and mathematicians in antiquity. The study of mathematical logic led directly to Alan Turing's theory of computation, which suggested that a machine, by shuffling symbols as simple as "0" and "1", could simulate any conceivable act of mathematical deduction. This insight that digital computers can simulate any process of formal reasoning is known as the Church–Turing thesis (Berlinski,2001).

The importance of the proposed research is to analyze how those “0” and “1” have affected and impacted communication, how AI will evolve and how this evolution will affect communication, what will be implications of the 4 main types of artificial intelligence affecting the perception and reception of the recipient, What is AI and why it matters, How AI is shaping the future of communication and media, What AI Means for the Freedom of speech, what it takes to make AI safe and effective, in the  Adaptive artificial intelligence, unlike traditional AI systems, can revise its own code to adjust for real-world changes that were not known or foreseen when the code was first written, is the AI controlling and determining the access to the mass media for the users, etc.…

This open call seeks submissions that contribute to our understanding of the application of AI in media production and consumption, considering the wide range of communication processes and theories from the perspective of communication studies. Multidisciplinary submissions are welcome. We encourage a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to this subject, particularly those relating to global and international contexts for the subject.

Send your 500 words abstracts with your chapter proposal and 5 key words by April 30, 2023, to raquelbenitezrojas@gmail.com

References

Berlinski, David, (2001) The advent of the algorithm: The 300-year journey from an idea to the computer. Harcourt Books. San Diego, USA

King’s College London, Bush House, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG

June 19-21, 2023

An International Interdisciplinary Conference 

REGISTRATION OPEN

‘Locating Media Industries: Cities, Spaces, Places’ brings together an international programme of over 160 speakers addressing relationships between media industries and locality. Over the three days, papers, panels, and roundtables offer diverse perspectives on the locational dynamics of media industries.

Keynote speakers

• Tejaswini Ganti (New York University)
  
• Vicki Mayer (Tulane University)
  
• Anne-Marit Waade (Aarhus Universitet)
  

The conference website goes live next month but this message gives advance notice that registration is now open to non-speaking delegates. 

To register, visit:

tinyurl.com/4hk6fsh2

Delegate rates are graduated according to the UN’s classification of economies by per capita gross national income (GNI) (for reference, see table available through the link). As a delegate, please pay the rate according to the country in which you reside and not the country from which you originate. 

Accommodation is not provided by the conference. Hotels and apartments close to King’s can be expensive and during June demand may be high. As prices regularly change, for the best deals, we recommend booking well in advance using the standard search sites, e.g. AirBnB, Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Kayak, Trivago, etc.

Conference Directors: 

• Professor Paul McDonald, Kings College London
  
• Professor Andrew Spicer, University of the West of England Bristol
  

November 2-3, 2023

University of Salzburg, Austria

Deadline: June 9, 2023

2023 Joint Workshop of the ECREA “Communication Law and Policy Section and Jean Monnet Network EuromediApp

The “Communication Law and Policy” Section of the European Communications Research and Education Association (ECREA) and the Jean Monnet Network “European Media and Platform Policy” (EuromediApp) invite abstracts for theoretical and empirical papers on the topic Digital Platform Policy Spring? Promises and Trajectories for Digital Platform Regulation. This workshop will be a unique opportunity to bring together those investigating the processes of regulating media and digital intermediaries in Europe and beyond. The workshop will take place in Salzburg, Austria, on 2-3 November 2023. It is hosted by the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Salzburg.

Digital platforms and intermediaries are increasingly disseminating news and structuring news consumption across the globe. They have become crucial spaces of civic discourse and cultural expression. Unique levels of ownership concentration in the hands of few extremely large industrial conglomerates dominate digital media landscapes. Checks and balances from media and telecommunication policy do not apply to these new players, enabling digital platforms and intermediaries to exercise unprecedented power in various ways. 

While implicitly accepting or even fostering media ownership concentration, European institutions have lately recognized the various challenges for media freedom, freedom of expression and the quality of news created by digital platforms and intermediaries. Digital Markets Act (DMA), Digital Services Act (DSA) and European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) address such challenges. These European initiatives also have a geopolitical dimension, shaping and being shaped by developments in other rich countries and in the Global South. This workshop is dedicated to discussing the nature of such challenges and the appropriateness of policy solutions offered by the European Commission, national governments from around the globe or national and international regulatory bodies.

Thus, the workshop invites interdisciplinary contributions interested in digital platform policy, regulation and policy implementation. We welcome submissions from political economy, policy and governance studies, media and communication law, and other approaches and fields. We welcome theoretical, methodological and empirical submissions, case studies and comparative work. Innovative use of methods is encouraged. The organizers are especially interested in the following areas, in particular in the intersection between European and non-European problems and solutions:

• Digital intermediaries and media ownership concentration: What are the implications of ownership concentration on freedoms, news organizations, content, dissemination of news, and the public discourse at large? How do current policy developments such as the Anti-Money Laundering Directive affect platform and media ownership transparency?Editorial independence in the digital platform environment: How far, and how, do digital platforms affect editorial independence of incumbent newsroom structures?
  
• Quality of content and combat of misinformation: What is the economics of high-quality content in the digital environment? How are policy interventions seeking to fund quality content, and with what implications?
  
• Public interest content in digital intermediaries: How are platforms dealing with prominence and discoverability of content? Which legal measures can be put in place to ensure that public service media and further public-oriented content remain visible in digital intermediaries, including devices such as smart TVs?
  
• Inequalities and disparities: How do digital platforms and intermediaries contribute to increase or diminish inequalities and disparities in the field of communication? How effective are policy measures to combat such inequalities and disparities?
  
• Inclusion: How can digital platforms engage marginalized and diasporic communities towards more inclusion? What are the links between technological infrastructure, innovative business models and inclusive media practices aimed at fostering justice and participation?
  

Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be submitted for blind peer review in DOCX or ODT directly to the organizers of the conference by Friday, June 9, 2023

contact@euromediapp.org

Each abstract should address one of the above topics in a sound theoretical and methodological manner, and include a title as well as the name(s), institutional affiliation(s) and e-mail address(es) of the author(s). The colleagues will be notified of acceptance by July 15, 2023, and registration is required by September 30, 2023.

Full papers might be invited after the workshop for publication. Participation fee will be minimal and a reduced fee for ECREA-recognized “soft-currency” countries and non-waged participants is possible for accepted submitters. More information will be available in due time on the ECREA CLP and EuromediApp websites.

https://euromediapp.org/call-for-papers/2023-ecrea-communication-law-and-policy-workshop/

October 26-27, 2023

Video conference

Deadline: June 30, 2023

The faculty of journalism and mass communication at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”  organizes a 4th International Scientific Conference “Media and Communication: Transformations and Development in the Digital Age”. The conference will be held on the 26th and 27th of October 2023 within the framework of the St. Kliment Ohridski Days on the video conference platform Teams. The event is a part of the celebrations of the 135th anniversary of the foundation of Sofia University.

We most politely invite the specialists in media and communications, as well as those who are involved with the problems of the media and communication environment and culture in their various dimensions and manifestations. We welcome the interdisciplinary approach to the contemporary challenges in the education and practice of journalism and to the communication activities as a whole.

More information on: https://commed21.com/

Universidad Alberto Hurtado (Chile)

Universidad Alberto Hurtado (Chile) is looking to fill the position of full-time Regular Academic for the Department of Journalism, Faculty of Social Sciences. The position aims to carry out teaching and research in relevant areas of digital journalism and/or digital communication.

Main duties:

• Conduct research and teaching in relevant areas of digital journalism and/or digital communication (which includes in a non-exclusive manner topics such as multiplatform journalism, new media, uses of social networks, disinformation, artificial intelligence, multimedia narratives, digital democracy, etc).

• Coordinate the research area of the Department, with the ability to integrate disciplinary and applied research.

• Collaborate in the development of graduate and continuing education programs.

• To carry out extension and outreach activities.

• Participate in management and training tasks that arise from the development objectives of the Department of Journalism.

Contact Pablo Aynol at paynol@uahurtado.cl

Interested parties complete this form (in Spanish only): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSewR1tQeTBxrj8d9It0nhr-eFH4adjm-GtEYfOkza8USyVKbg/viewform 

September 6-8, 2023

University of Florence, Italy

Deadline: May 1, 2023

European economies in transition: On the way to pro-environmental and prosocial economies

Societal, environmental, political and economic crises are expanding and demand that we rethink and reorganize our way of living. Rapid, global changes in the economy are part of this process. In the past decades, changes in the economy, such as the internationalization of financial and goods flows, market deregulation, crises and the process of digitalization have been strong drivers of change. We now observe new and rising socio-structural challenges such as climate change, large-scale migration, pandemics, natural catastrophes and the reemergence of nationalism and war.

Challenges like climate change demand that we rethink the classic models of production and consumption, which are based on market competition and the use of fossil fuels. They force us to elaborate and study the foundations and functioning of alternative models and thereby critique the dominant perspectives of markets. Nature can no longer be seen as a passive resource pool to be exploited for economic purposes. Instead, these challenges demand that we, as social scientists, reconnect societal, economic, environmental and political aspects in order to analyze the current situation and explore adequate solutions.

Sociologists, as well as other social scientists, often focus on a prosperous, and stable socio-economic order. However, in light of the ongoing challenges we need to start thinking about the foundations, elements and mechanisms of more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive economic and societal models. In this sense, we need to figure out the trajectories of transformation processes and different imaginaries and models of socio-economic transitions. Sociology can use its tool to decipher central actors, networks and institutions in the process of transformation. In this dramatic historical moment, new social movements asking for urgent socio-economic changes and ongoing experiments of new forms of economic coordination become most interesting topics to economic sociologists and beyond.

The conference will discuss different socio-economic changes and how societies and economies in Europe are trying to cope with them. The focus is on transition models, new experiments and alternative, hybrid forms of organizing the economy. Thus, papers dealing with the overall conference theme and considering specific features of the ongoing socio- economic transitions are welcome. Nevertheless, we also appreciate presentations and sessions related to economic sociology in general. Thus, we invite proposals on

• current developments and transformations focusing on Europe

• studies on and experiments with sustainable economies

• challenges in the market economy such as digitalization and globalization

• studies on market dynamics and democratic institutions in times of crises

• new theoretical and empirical developments in economic sociology

Proposals could either be for individual presenters or sessions including up to 4 contributors. Inter- and multi-disciplinary contributions as well as contributions from other social sciences disciplines and early career scholars are highly welcome. Please send your proposal (about 150 words giving 3-5 keywords, your name, institution and title) to esa2023firenze@gmail.com latest by May 1, 2023.

We will offer opportunities to establish thematic working groups among participants during the conference in order to develop joint research projects and publications. Participants will be asked if and in which thematic working group(s) they would like to participate during the registration process. Keynote speakers will contribute to the conference and will be announced soon. The conference language is English.

The ESA Research Network Economic Sociology Mid-Term Conference is going to be held in Firenze, one of the oldest cities in Europe.

Timeframe:

February 27, 2023 - Call for papers begins

May 1, 2023 - Deadline for submissions

May 8, 2023 - Information about accepted submissions

June 8, 2023 - Deadline for registration

June 30, 2023 - Preliminary program published 

Sept 6-7-8, 2023 - Mid-term conference in Firenze

Venue:

University of Florence, Department of Political and Social Sciences, via Pandette 32, 50127 Firenze (Italy)

Organizers:

European Sociological Association, RN 09 Economic Sociology (coordinators: Andrea Maurer, Alberto Veira-Ramos, Sebastian Nessel)

University of Florence, Department of Political and Social Sciences

Local Host:

Giacomo Bazzani (giacomo.bazzani@unifi.it)