ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania

The Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania invites applications for a “CARGC Postdoctoral Fellowship.” This is a one-year position renewable for a second year based on successful performance.

Overview

The Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication (CARGC) produces and promotes scholarly research on global communication and public life. Our work brings together “area studies” knowledge with theory and methodology in the humanities and social sciences to understand how local, lived experiences of people and communities are profoundly shaped by global media, cultural, and political-economic forces. This synthesis of deep regional expertise and interdisciplinary inquiry stimulates critical conversations about entrenched and emerging communicative structures, practices, flows, and struggles.

We explore new ways of understanding and explaining the world, including public scholarship, algorithmic culture, the arts, multi-modal scholarship, and digital archives. With a core commitment to the development of early career scholars worldwide, CARGC hosts postdoctoral, doctoral, undergraduate, and faculty fellows who collaborate in research groups, author CARGC Press publications, and organize talks, lectures, symposia, conferences, and summer institutes.

Ongoing research groups focus on media, migration, and diasporas; media environments and the climate crisis; media industries and cultural politics; and media history and theory. We recommend that applicants familiarize themselves with CARGC’s mission and research activities listed on our website: https://www.asc.upenn.edu/research/centers/center-for-advanced-research-in-global-communication/research. We are particularly interested in candidates whose work centers on the Global South.

Fellowship Details

CARGC postdoctoral fellows work on their own research while also participating in and leading ongoing research projects within CARGC. During the fellowship, they present their work as part of a postdoctoral colloquium and work closely with the Senior Research Manager on a plan for publishing their research. There are limited opportunities for teaching that are decided in consultation with Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies.

Fellows are provided a stipend of $60,000, a research fund of $3000, individual health insurance and dependent coverage, a workspace, and a computer in CARGC’s office, and library access. In addition, CARGC will cover $1000 in domestic relocation expenses and $2000 if moving internationally. Please note all postdoctoral fellows must submit documentation to demonstrate eligibility to work in the United States. Non-US citizens selected for this position will be required to apply for an appropriate US visa. CARGC will provide the necessary supporting documentation and cover the SEVIS fee.

This is a residential fellowship. CARGC strives to be an inclusive community of scholars driven by intellectual curiosity and exchange rooted in the life of the Annenberg School, the University of Pennsylvania, and the city of Philadelphia. To foster mentoring and collaboration at all levels, we expect fellows to be fully engaged in the life of the center. Postdocs are therefore expected to work at our beautiful sixth-floor premises on the Penn campus.

Eligibility

We welcome applications from early career scholars with Ph.D. awarded by an institution other than the University of Pennsylvania. The appointment typically starts on August 15.

Submitting Your Application

A complete application consists of:

Cover Letter – Please include a section explaining how your research aligns with CARGC’s mission, fits with one or more CARGC research themes (https://www.asc.upenn.edu/research/centers/center-for-advanced-research-in-global-communication/research), and contributes to the field of global media and communication studies.

Research Statement - In no more than three double-spaced pages, please explain your core research interests and how you plan to build on your dissertation research. Include research questions, topic significance, theoretical framework and methods, clear description of primary sources and necessary language skills, and a tentative publishing plan.

CV (not to exceed three pages) – Please list degrees, peer-reviewed publications, academic non-peer-reviewed publications, public scholarship, invited talks, conference papers, other relevant qualifications, and specific research and language skills.

References – Please provide names and contact information for three references (including that of your dissertation supervisor). If your application is shortlisted, we will get in touch with your referees in mid-February 2023. Please make sure your advisors/supervisors are aware of this timeline.

One peer-reviewed publication – Please include a published peer-reviewed journal article or a chapter published in an anthology/edited collection. An article/chapter accepted for publication and forthcoming is acceptable (but not work that is under review).

Timeline

All materials must be sent as a single PDF document to cargc@asc.upenn.edu by February 1, 2023. Because of the volume of applications, we are unable to read drafts of submissions. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. We expect to contact finalists for Zoom interviews by the end of February and make final decisions shortly thereafter.

Additional Information

If you have additional questions, please email us at cargc@asc.upenn.edu. Kindly do not contact CARGC staff or the CARGC director individually.

The University of Pennsylvania is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. For more information, go to http://www.upenn.edu/affirm-action/eoaa.html.

January 9-13, 2023

University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

Deadline: January 5, 2023

The seventh edition of the SMART Data Sprint will be slightly different in 2023. We are flying from Lisbon to Amsterdam in a joint venture with the Digital Methods Winter School.

The pocket version of #SMARTDataSprint will explore digital methodologies for understanding computer vision.

The data sprint occurs between 9 and 13 January at the Media Studies department (Turfdraagsterpad, 9), University of Amsterdam.

To apply please send a letter of motivation, your CV, a headshot photo, a 100-word bio, and a copy of your passport (details page only) to smart.inovamedialab [at] fcsh.unl.pt, with a copy to winterschool [at] digitalmethods.net. Payment information is sent along with the acceptance notification. Applications are open until 5 January. Tuition fee: EUR 347.

All information at

 https://metodosdigitais.fcsh.unl.pt/?page_id=3104

 http://www.digitalmethodologies.org 

Organisers:

Janna Joceli Omena, Jason Chao, Ana Marta Flores, Rita Sepúlveda & Elias Bitencourt

iNOVA Media Lab, ICNOVA & Digital Methodologies Hub

SMART Data Sprint 2023 |  Pocket edition at DMI Winter School

Theme: Cross vision-API studies - digital methodologies for understanding computer vision

Date: 9 -13 January 2023

Venue: Media Studies | University of Amsterdam

Turfdraagsterpad 9

1012 XT Amsterdam

Applications deadline: 5 January 2023

Fee: EUR 347

University of Bremen, Germany

At the University of Bremen, the ZeMKI Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research/ Faculty 9 - Cultural Studies - in the ZeMKI Lab "Datafication and Mediatization" of Prof. Dr. Andreas Hepp has a vacancy from 1.3.2023, subject to approval, for a

Research Associate (Doctoral Researcher) (f/m/d)

- pay group 13 TV-L - half-time - for a period of

for a period of 3 years.

The fixed-term contract is for scientific qualification according to § 2 para. 1 WissZeitVG (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz). Accordingly, only applicants who still have qualification periods to the corresponding extent according to § 2 para. 1 WissZeitVG can be considered.

We are looking for a person (f/m/d) with an interest in research on media use and digital media practices, who would like to work in a committed team dealing with recent media change (including automation and datafication of communication, pioneer journalism, pioneer/developer communities) and using an innovative combination of qualitative and digital methods.

Tasks:

-        Independent research in the form of a doctorate to the extent of one third of the working time. 

-        Scientific research activities to the extent of one third of the working time:

o   Support in ongoing research projects of the ZeMKI Lab "Datafication and Mediatization", especially in the area of current media change (including pioneer communities of technology development and pioneer journalism).

o   Support in the acquisition of a research project in the field of automation of communication and related publications

o   Preparation and implementation of scientific conferences

o   Support in academic self-administration

-       Scientific services in teaching to the extent of 2 SWS or one third of the working time:

o   Conducting tutorials or seminars according to own thematic priorities

o   Preparation of teaching materials

o   Pre-correction of examinations

o   Supervision of seminar papers, term papers, presentations and Bachelor's and Master's theses.

Requirements for employment:

-        Above-average academic university degree (Master's/Diplom) in communication and media studies or a related discipline

-        Sound methodological training (especially with regard to qualitative methods and digital methods)

-        Prior knowledge of or high interest in the above-mentioned research foci

-        Willingness to pursue further academic qualification (doctorate) in the above-mentioned field

-        Very good written and spoken German and/or English skills

-        High level of commitment and initiative, ability to work in a team, careful and reliable working methods

-        Willingness to participate in academic self-administration

-        Willingness to teach in accordance with the LVNV (Lehrverpflichtungs- und Lehrnachweisordnung).

The university is family-friendly, diverse and sees itself as an international university. We therefore welcome all applicants regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion/belief, disability, age, sexual orientation and identity.

As the University of Bremen intends to increase the proportion of female employees in science, women are particularly encouraged to apply. Disabled applicants will be given priority if their professional and personal qualifications are essentially the same.

Questions should be addressed to Prof. Dr. Andreas Hepp (andreas.hepp@uni-bremen.de).

The deadline for applications is January 15, 2023, quoting the reference number A345/22. 

Applications have to be sent to

University of Bremen

Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI)

z. Attention: Ms. Heide Pawlik

PO Box 33 04 40

28334 Bremen

or by e-mail as PDF to: Heide Pawlik hpawlik@uni-bremen.de

In addition to a covering letter outlining the motivation, the application should be accompanied by a curriculum vitae, final certificates and the final thesis or other publications, if applicable.

Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico (special issue)

Deadline: April 14, 2023

The percentage of citizens who avoid consuming news has sharply increased over the last year according to the 2022 Digital News Report. The high levels of confusion and distrust brought about by the infodemic that accompanied the global pandemic have given rise to social apathy and a search for mechanisms of disconnection and self-protection.  Social media have distorted notions of authority, as the most complex media system in history took shape, generating an emotional and existential impact on journalism. In this context, disinformation has become a cause of concern in newsrooms and a priority line of research at the global level. Most studies have focused on the messages, conspiracy theories, interest groups and superspreaders of such content, and their impact on citizens. It is therefore pertinent and necessary to consider the perspective of professional journalists, reflecting their expertise when it comes to information, with quantitative, qualitative and theoretical approaches that help to advance knowledge.

In this special issue, we aim to examine the behaviour of journalists towards disinformation, how they react in the face of information disorder, integrating formulas into their routines to handle such content, and how they draw attention to the problem on media agendas and restrict its spread guided by their social responsibility. Proposals that focus on the specialised skills and training that are needed as well as the rise of new professional roles will also be welcome.

This call for articles is also open to recent events, such as the implementation of the 2022 Strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation in Europe. How journalists perceive the changes introduced on Twitter, the migration to platforms with a greater commitment to content moderation, and the challenges that might arise in the metaverse are examples of relevant reflections that will be addressed in this monograph.

We seek constructive articles that also reflect on innovative solutions, such as collaboration between media, institutions and fact-checkers, or those proceeding from participation in hackathons to build prototypes that make it possible to swiftly detect false content and prevent its spread, using artificial intelligence.

The following are some of the potential themes:

• Journalistic coverage and treatment of disinformation.
  
• New professional roles and routines related to disinformation.
  
• Fact-checkers as a journalistic source.
  
• The relation of journalists with propagators of disinformation.
  
• Quality and usability of content generated by fact-checkers.
  
• Narrative innovation to combat disinformation in vulnerable audiences.
  
• Active audience collaboration in fact-checking tasks supported by mass media.
  
• The ethical dimension and guides to good practice within the journalistic profession to avoid the production and diffusion of false content.
  
• Professional deontology in disinformation contexts.
  
• Journalists’ participation in media education to prevent disinformation.
  
• Data journalism, visualisation and disinformation.
  
• Usability of bots in journalistic contexts to stop false content.
  
• Metaverse, journalistic practices and disinformation.
  
• Initiatives based on artificial intelligence to restrict disinformation.
  
• Perception of experts in artificial intelligence on the future of the diffusion of false content.
  

Submissions must conform to the indications of the journal https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/ESMP/about/submissions  and must be sent via OJS platform: https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/ESMP/about/submissions

By indicating in the section "comments for the editor", or in the header of the article, the title of the monograph: “Impact of disinformation”

Deadline for submission is April 14, 2023.

Invited editors:

Bella Palomo - Bella Palomo is a Full Professor in the Journalism Department at the University of Malaga (Spain). Palomo has focused her line of research on digital journalism, professional routines, social media and active audiences during the last two decades. She has been a visiting scholar at the Universities of Washington, Rutgers, Miami (US), and Federal de Bahia (Brazil). She is also a member of the editorial board of several journals (Digital Journalism, Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico, Dígitos, Hipertext), and is responsible for DisinformationResearch.com. The aim of this website is to increase the visibility of specialized research on information disorder. She is the principal researcher of the MEDIO (Media & Data Innovation Observatory) research group and the national project ‘The Impact of Disinformation in Journalism: Contents, Professional Routines and Audiences.’ She coordinated the book Politics of Disinformation (Wiley, 2021). She is a member of national and international evaluation committees. 

Edson C. Tandoc Jr. – is Associate Professor and the Associate Chair for Research at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, where he is the Director of the Centre for Information Integrity and the Internet (IN-cube). He is also an Associate Editor of two journals: Digital Journalism and Human Communication Research and the Vice Chair of the Journalism Studies Division of the International Communication Association. He is the author of Analyzing Analytics: Disrupting Journalism One Click at a Time (Routledge, 2019) and co-editor of Critical Incidents in Journalism: Pivotal Moments Reshaping Journalism around the World (Routledge, 2020). His studies have focused on the impact of journalistic roles, new technologies, and audience feedback on the news gatekeeping process. He has also looked at how readers make sense of critical incidents in journalism and take part in reconsidering journalistic norms; and how changing news consumption patterns facilitate the spread of fake news.

Rodrigo Cunha - Professor at the Department of Communication at the Federal University of Pernambuco (Brazil). PhD in Contemporary Communication and Culture at the Federal University of Bahia (Brazil). He is the leader of the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Journalistic Information Design (GRID), with researchers from Journalism, Design, Information Sciences and Computer Sciences. He is the author of the books Design da Informação e Inovação em Produtos Jornalísticos para Tablets (LabCom-IFP, 2017) and co-editor of Interfaces Contemporâneas no Ecossistema Midiático (RIA Editorial, 2020). He worked on the design, visualization and artificial intelligence team on the Convergent Journalism Laboratory project (CNPq/CAPES/FAPESB, 2011-2016); and collaborated with the Spanish project “El Impacto de la Disinformación en el Periodismo: Contenidos, Rutinas Profesionales y Audiencias” (Ref. PID2019-108956RB-I00). During the 2022-2023 course, he is a visiting researcher at the Universidad de Málaga with the DATOUCH project for the development of an accessibility protocol that allows visually impaired people to view data journalism. He has written numerous articles on data journalism, information design, data visualization and accessibility.

Aarhus University, Denmark

Do you want to help tackling societal challenges in an individual fellowship, but from an interdisciplinary perspective, in a collaborative group of researchers? 

'SHAPE - Research Center for Shaping Digital Citizenship' at Aarhus University, Denmark, and the Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS) are pleased to announce five theme-based fellowships within the thematic scope of SHAPE. The theme of the call is 'Democracy and Digital Citizenship.' A theme-based fellowship is individual, but fellows are expected to work as part of an interdisciplinary group of researchers. The five fellows will work together to address and explore the theme from an interdisciplinary and collaborative perspective. Fellows will have their daily office at AIAS and will become part of the international and interdisciplinary research environments of both SHAPE and AIAS. 

FIVE FELLOWSHIPS

Five fellowships including salary according to academic level are available for talented researchers from all nationalities, research fields and academic seniority. All applicants must hold a PhD. The five theme-based fellows will commence at the same time on 1 September 2023, and fellowships have a duration of 10 months, until 30 June 2024.

HOW TO APPLY?

Know more about each of the 10-month fellowships, the mission and the thematic scope of SHAPE, and the guidelines for application by visiting the webpage below:

AIAS-SHAPE Fellowships - 5 fellowships within 'Democracy and Digital Citizenship': https://aias.au.dk/opportunities-at-aias/aias-shape-fellowships

Application deadline: 1 February 2023.

We are looking forward to hearing from you, and for any questions please feel free to contact helle@aias.au.dk

May 9-10, 2023

University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Deadline: January 9, 2023

The Communication & Democracy Section has extended the call for abstracts for next year’s section conference titled Technology in Movement, Movement in Technology to be held at the University of Copenhagen from May 08-10, 2023. The organizers are happy to receive abstracts of 300-500 words, including submissions to the PhD course by January 9, 2023.

All details can be found on the conference website:

https://comm.ku.dk/research/information-technology-and-connections/to-use-or-not-to-use/tim-talks/international-conference-phd-course/

Edited by Chloë Arkenbout and Laurence Scherz

Happy to share the recent publication by the Institute of Network Cultures in Amsterdam (INC). The INC Reader series is derived from the Institute’s conference contributions and ties together many academic and non-academic thinkers dealing with the (political) power of memes beyond virtual images. This collection emphasizes the ability of memes to serve as tactical “weapons” in times of conflict. The multimodal novelty of memes has proven its efficiency in mobilizing people in the Capitol riots, sparking memetic violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and playing a substantial information role in the Ukrainian war. It seems that in times of conflict, memetic warfare becomes more immediate and accessible than real-life demonstrations, and the distinction between the virtual and ‘real life’ no longer applies, or perhaps was never there? 

This collection deals with many of the current instances that were led by memetic responses moving through digital infrastructures, policies, regulations, and bodies. Furthermore, this collection envisions memetic tacticality as a generator of cultural revolution while asking what kind of labor that would require? What kind of tools and principles would we need? And what if the memetic logic of spreading information were applied to spread progressive ideas for a possible future?

Get the full book here (PDF)

BOOK CONTENTS

Preface

Geert Lovink 

Introduction 

Chloë Arkenbout and Laurence Scherz

MEMETIC AMMUNITION

Political Meme Toolkit: Leftist Dutch Meme Makers Share Their Trade Secrets

Chloë Arkenbout

Benevolent Edgelords: Specters of Benjamin and Memetic Ambiguity

Pierre d’Alancaisez 

Semiotics of Care and Violence: Memetization and Necropolitics During the Brazilian 2018 Presidential Elections in the Action #MarielleMultiplica

Isabel Lögfren

SUBVERSIVE MEMES TO THE RESCUE

‘Let’s Go Baby Forklift’: Fandom Governance in China within the Covid-19 76 Crisis

Jamie Wong

Playful Publics on TikTok: The Memetic Israeli-Palestinian War of #Challenge

Tom Divon 

Memes as Schemes: Dissecting the Role of Memes in Mobilizing Mobs 106 and Political Violence

Bhumika Bhattacharyya

Like a Virus

Daniel de Zeeuw, Tommaso Campagna, Eleni Maragkou, Jesper Lust and Carlo De Gaetano

CRITICAL MEME READER II MEMES AND (MENTAL) LABOR

I’m Not Lonely, I Have Memes: The Cognitive (Disembodied) Experience of 140 Depression Memes

Laurence Scherz

EVERY MEME MAKER WE KNOW IS EXHAUSTED

Anahita Neghabat and Caren Miesenberger

Not Like Other #Girlbosses: Gender, Work & the #Gatekeeping of Meme Capital

Christine H. Tran

A WORLD CRITICIZED THROUGH MEMES

Memes in the Gallery: A Party Inside an Image Ecology

Marijn Bril Get in Loser 

We’re Criticizing the Art World: Memes as the New Institutional

Critique Manique Hendricks

The Rise and Fall of Web4U (2033-2063)

Jasmine Erkan and Emma Damiani

Oprah Memes, or Dis-articulations of Affect

Katrin Köppert

Speculate — or Else! Blockchain Memes on Survival in Radical Uncertainty

Inte Gloerich

AT THE END OF THE ROAD, THERE’S MEMES

Memeing Reading // Reading Memeing

Jordi Viader Guerrero

You’ll Never Feel Alone — Thoughts on Relatability

Florian Schlittgen

The Promise of Memes: The Case of Fotonski Torpedo

Mariana Manousopoulou

‘Then We Could Explore Space, Together, Forever’: On Hope and Memes

Savriël Dillingh

Dear all, 

On 21 November, the Digital Futures Commission held a virtual launch of its new essay collection, Education Data Futures. This open access collection offers critical, practical and creative reflections identifying exciting possibilities for the beneficial uses of children’s data as well as tackling the exploitative uses (or misuse) of such data.

Authors from a wide range of disciplines, from academia to regulators, industry to the third sector have contributed to the collection. Some of the topics covered include:

The financial power brokers behind EdTech

Exploring parental trust in relation to data about their family

How children’s data can be shared safely using existing data protection laws

What EdTech can learn from FinTech

Understanding how disabled children can benefit from education data

What data stewardship could offer education

Here are links for:

The full collection of essays

Author biographies

The recording of the launch event

The Digital Futures blog, with reflections upon the event.

The Digital Futures Commission is an exciting research collaboration of unique organisations that works with innovators, policy makers, regulators, academics and civil society to unlock digital innovation in the interests of children and young people.

We focus on three areas: play in a digital world, beneficial uses of education data, and guidance for innovators. Each work stream is informed by the voices of children and underpinned by a research programme and outputs geared toward real world change for children. 

Read more about the Digital Futures Commission’s work in our blog, and sign up to our mailing list to receive updates from us. You can find us on Twitter, or LinkedIn: look for our hashtag, #DigitalFutures. 

For further information, or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

June 29-30, 2023

Brno, Czech Republic

Deadline: January 15, 2023

14th Central and Eastern European Communication and Media Conference

The Department of Media Studies and Journalism at the Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic, in cooperation with the ECREA Central and East European Network organizes the 14th Central and Eastern European Communication and Media Conference CEECOM 2023 from 29th – 30th June 2023 in Brno, Czech Republic.

Conference theme

The theme of the 14th Central and Eastern European Com- munication and Media Conference is Threats, Challenges and Opportunities in Changing Central and Eastern European Media Environments.

In recent years the countries in Central and Eastern Euro- pean region, similarly to countries worldwide, face various challenges regarding their media systems. Digitalization has provided the public with diverse choices and more media products than ever before, and media routines and the repertoires of audiences have been changing contin- uously. New information environments in many countries are more fragmented and polarized, followed by growth of divergent alternatives. Legacy media and journalists in many countries in CEE region struggle with declining trust, increasing politization and growing pressure and political interference in the autonomy of the journalists. The rise of illiberal tendencies, populist and radical political actors and populists and radical communication is associated with increased political hostility towards knowledge-pro- ducing elite institutions. In populist discourses, estab- lished professional media are typically labeled as ‘fake news’ or ‘a part of liberal propaganda’, and professional journalists as enemies of people.

Moreover, during last two years the countries in region were hugely affected by two crises – COVID-19 and the Russo-Ukrainian War taking place in the region itself. Therefore, the aim of the 14th Central and Eastern Europe- an Communication and Media Conference CEECOM 2023 is to address the current issues in the region, threats and challenges the countries face and possibly future develop- ment and opportunities. To do so, the specific contexts of individual countries should be addressed with an empha- sis on the comparability to access not only the specifics of the CEE region compared to countries worldwide, but also to access the intra-regional diversity.

The organizers welcome proposals for papers in (but not strictly limited to) the following areas of interest:

• The role of media in contemporary socio-political environment
  
• Media and their role during crisis
  
• Working conditions and safety of journalists
  
• Trust in media and journalists
  
• Political polarization and the role of the media
  
• The role of recipients (in media content creation)
  
• Powerfulness vs. powerlessness of media recipients
  
• Political activism as/and a fan activism
  
• Protest media and mobilization
  
• Populist and radical political communication
• Conspiracies, disinformation and propaganda in CEE region
• Regional and local media in CEE
• The role and recent situation of public service media Media fragmentation and changing patterns of media consumption and usage
• Risks and opportunities of new media usage
• Media representation, inequalities and minorities
• Alternative media and their use
• Contemporary media industries and media market in CEE

Submission and deadline

Proposals for individual papers can be submitted by email to CEECOM2023@fss.muni.cz until 15th December 2022. Paper proposals addressing one of the proposed topics (other topics on CEE issues are also welcomed) should be specified in an abstract no longer than 150 words. Submitted abstracts will be evaluated by the members of the Scientific Committee.

Journal of Digital Social Research, special issue

Deadline (extended): December 23, 2023

War streaming on Instagram, propaganda in press photography, refugee activism on TikTok - recent European crises have shown images and videos as essential tools of communication in politics and protest, a trend mirrored in the increasing use of visual data in research methodologies. Visual data may capture practices of visual, performative, or non-verbal communication, text-image relationships, the development of visual formats, notions of aesthetics, as well as underlying meanings of symbols and codes. Extant research has since captured different elements of visual politics and protest, including social history (e.g. protest photography), political commentary or affiliation (e.g. through memes or profile picture overlays), social cues in political communication (e.g. in the form of GIFs, filters, or emoji), visual activism practices (e.g. culture-jamming, sousveillance video coverage, graphic flesh-witnessing, or video activism), and visual forms of information documentation and distribution (e.g. infographics).

Even so, new creative practices have at times challenged research practices, for example with regards to image authenticity and appropriation in mis- and disinformation campaigns (e.g. deepfakes), the role of platform affordances in new visual formats and spaces (e.g. short videos on TikTok), (mis)interpretation and differing levels of visual literacy in communications, trust in image data as factual evidence, and opaqueness in the production of visual materials. These critical debates have been particularly contentious in the arena of politics and protest, where visuals have been seen to shape political opinion and discourse, electoral campaigns, war coverage, and Covid-19 data visualisations.

In response to these trends, we are looking for methodologically oriented papers on visual politics and/or protest. This may include methodological discussions, new methods or approaches, worked examples or case studies, research on emerging visual digital phenomena, or submissions linking theory to methodology surrounding digital culture, data, or methods. Foci may be based around methods of data collection, analysis, visualisation, theorisation, or other methodological areas.

On a broad level this may include (but is not limited to):

➢ New methodological approaches in visual or multimodal data collection or analysis

➢ Platform- or format-specific mitigations in conducting visual research on politics and

protest

➢ New methodological approaches (including software tools if applicable) for capturing visuality or visual cultures in politics and protest

➢ Discussions of the relevance of technological formats, tools, and infrastructures in visual research

➢ Innovations in embedding visuals or visuality with textual, audio, or sensory materials

➢ Advancements in analysing specific political visual digital practices and/or phenomena

➢ Methodological strategies for interpreting and/or quantifying visual data

➢ Emerging approaches to visualising image or video data

➢ Suggestions or developments in the ethical treatment of visuality in politics, protest, or activism

➢ Epistemological discussions of the role of the visual in politics, protest, or social movements

➢ Advances in collecting, interpreting, and conceptualising social media data

➢ Linking theory to methodology in visual research

We are open to different article structures. However, articles should have clear contributions in the arena of methodological research by outlining or describing new methodological approaches, innovations, strategies, or frameworks. As such, they should draw on methodological scholarship in the wider field.

Submission & key dates

Extended abstracts of 400-500 words excluding reference list (references are optional) are due 15th December 2022 and should be directly to the special issue editors - see email info below. Final articles should be submitted directly via the journal website of the Journal of Digital Social Research (https://www.jdsr.io/) and have a word count of up to 8500 words inclusive of everything (abstracts, reference list, notes).

• 23rd December 2022 (extended): special issue abstract submissions
  
• 15th February 2023: End of abstract selection & communication of results
  
• 15th April 2023: Full papers due
  
• 15th July 2023: End of first review round
  
• 15th October 2023: End of second review round
  
• December 2023: Publication of special issue
  

Further details

This follows on from the ECREA online pre-conference on , which took place on 6th and 7th October 2022 with a keynote by Dr. Jing Zeng (University of Zurich), a series of lightning talks, and a panel discussion with speakers Dr. Stefania Vicari, Dr. Shana MacDonald, & Dr. Jing Zeng. This special issue call follows on from the pre-conference workshop “Visual Politics & Protest - Methodological Challenges” organised by the ECREA Visual Cultures section (see https://visualculturesecrea.wordpress.com/). Submissions to the special issue call are open to everyone. For added context, the programme can still be viewed on the pre-conference website: https://cutt.ly/visual-politics-ecrea, along with a list of references discussed during the conference.

In the case of both questions or submissions, please email us directly on the below indicated email addresses.

Special issue team

Suay Melisa Özkula, University of Trento suaymelisa.ozkula@unitn.it

Hadas Schlussel, Hebrew University of Jerusalem hadas.schlussel@mail.huji.ac.il

Danka Ninković Slavnić, University of Belgrade dninkovic@yahoo.com

Doron Altaratz, The Hadassah Academic College doronal@edu.hac.ac.il

Tom Divon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem zem1987@gmail.com