ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

November 21, 2024

Sam Hind (University of Manchester) will be in conversation with Alex Gekker (University of Amsterdam) on Thursday 21st November, 4-5.30pm to launch his new book, 'Driving Decisions: How Autonomous Vehicles Make Sense of the World' (Palgrave).

The event is supported by the Centre for Digital Humanities, Cultures and Media.

To sign up for the (online) event, follow the link: https://www.qualtrics.manchester.ac.uk/jfe/form/SV_eDqtLrOJ5Cl7nNA 

About the book

Driving Decisions: How Autonomous Vehicles Make Sense of the World examines the phenomenon of autonomous driving, and the ongoing, complex, costly, and contentious quest to automate driving. Principally organized around the concept of algorithmic decision-making, the book considers how different mapping, sensing, and machine learning (ML)-dependent capabilities are gifted to autonomous vehicles through different kinds of technical work: from computer science students annotating visual data in industry-funded research centres to software engineers designing ‘end-to-end’ ML models at autonomous vehicle start-ups.

The book intends to complicate, and question, typical understandings of autonomous driving by going ‘under the hood’, challenging the technological determinism or ‘decisionism’ that advocates offer of an inevitable, fully automated, future. Drawing on seven years of research in a range of empirical contexts, the book will appeal to scholars and students in the fields of science and technology studies, media studies, digital sociology, human geography, and mobilities and transport studies.

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-97-1749-1

January 15, 2025

Södertörn University, Stockholm

Deadline: November 20, 2024

The Centre for Baltic and East European Studies is pleased to announce call for contributions to a workshop that delves into the role of state propaganda in crafting pro-war consensus in Russia. The workshop will take place on January 15th at Södertörn University, Stockholm.

The goal of the workshop is twofold. Firstly, it aims to analyze various forms of propaganda to reconstruct the ideological environment that impacts individuals daily. Secondly, it strives to define recurring narrative structures in different forms of propaganda.

A number of travel grants are available to cover transport and accommodation costs.

More information about the workshop as well as the registration link can be found here.

Important dates:

• Deadline for applications: 20 November 2024
  
• Notification of acceptance: 2 December 2024
  
• Registration deadline for non-presenting participants in the workshop : 17 December 2024
  
• The event takes place on 15 January 2025
  

Form of event: onsite with mandatory registration

For more details, please contact: spr2024@sh.se.

University of Vienna

We are looking for a postdoc in Computational Social Science who would like to co-lead the development and application of new quantitative text models to understand how politicians engage in representing citizens in legislative speech and social media posts. The position is part of the MULTIREP project ("Multidimensional Representation: Enabling An Alternative Research Agenda on the Citizen-Politician Relationship") funded by the European Research Council and conducted at the University of Vienna.

The contract will expire end of August 2028. We offer a salary of ca. 66,500-75,000 € p.a., depending on prior experience.

Applications submitted by 25 November 2024 will receive full consideration.

Detailed information is provided here.

I would be grateful if you could circulate this information to suitable candidates.

Malmö University

Dear colleagues,

At the newly established Digital Work Futures Research Lab at Malmö University, funded by the Swedish Research Council, we offer two fully funded doctoral positions: one in Media and Communication Studies and another in Interaction Design. Our interdisciplinary research lab explores how digital transformations influence the future of work in the digital and creative industries. Please read more about the positions by following the links below. 

Doctoral student in Media and Communication Studies: The future of work with AI-infused platforms in digital and creative industries

https://web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/1015/job?site=7&lang=UK&validator=e5819a4704cd849685049472c0c17895&job_id=3684

Doctoral student in Interaction Design: Production in digital and creative industries

https://web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/1015/job?site=7&lang=UK&validator=e5819a4704cd849685049472c0c17895&job_id=3687

The deadline for applications is January 9, 2025. 

You are most welcome to follow the Digital Work Futures Research Lab on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digitalworkfutures/

Journalism (Special Issue)

Deadline: December 20, 2024

Guest Editors 

• Maha Bashri, United Arab Emirates University (UAE) 
  
• Lada Price, University of Sheffield (UK) 
  
• Ola Ogunyemi, University of Lincoln (UK) 
  
• Desiree Hill, University of Oklahoma (USA)  

Conflict reporters face unique psychological challenges due to repeated exposure to traumatic events. Traditionally, conflict journalism has focused on reporting from war zones and areas of armed conflict. However, this special issue adopts a broader definition, recognizing that conflict extends beyond armed warfare to include political and societal challenges. We consider conflict journalism to encompass reporting on organized crime, contentious elections, school shootings, and other situations of heightened tension or violence. This expanded view allows us to explore the complex interplay between trauma, resilience, and post-traumatic growth across a wider spectrum of high-stress reporting contexts. We aim to examine the personal, professional, and organizational factors that enable journalists to withstand and recover from traumatic experiences, contributing to the development of effective support strategies for journalists’ mental health and well-being in high-stress environments. Drawing on the concept of “collective resilience” (Dunkel Schetter & Dolbier, 2011) and recent research on resilience in high-stress professions (Fletcher & Sarkar, 2013; Šimunjak, 2023), we seek to understand how resilience can be fostered within conflict journalism. This issue will pay particular attention to the diverse experiences of journalists from different backgrounds, especially those from the Global South and female reporters in conflict zones.  

 Submission Guidelines 

Abstract submission deadline (500 words max and brief author bio -max 100 words)  should be sent no later than December 20, 2024 to traumajournalism@gmail.com  

If an abstract is selected, authors will be invited to submit a full manuscript. 

Full papers  manuscript submission deadline: September 12, 2025

More details on this call are available here.

January 19-24, 2025

Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Deadline: November 15, 2024

Greetings colleagues,

I'm organising a summer school in South Africa this January 2025. The school will focus on the significance that rhetoric and discourse has on material environmental change, and thus might might be of interest to many of you and/or your students. The school is a collaboration between the University of Groningen and Stellenbosch University.

During this summer school, participants will study the relationship between discourse, worldview, ontology and ethics, particularly in regard to questions of just sustainability transitions (in particular just water / food / energy nexus transitions). How are arguments for more sustainable ways to live on this planet being mediated to audiences? Who is doing the mediating, and how does the message change, depending on the speaker and audience?

The goal of the week is to learn the impact that discourse has on material culture and then put this into practice by working with societal stakeholders to develop powerful communicative platforms using rhetoric that is both effective and aligns with their underlying values. 

For example, how can an organic farmer, committed to decolonial ecological values, win agricultural grants from the government without resorting to capitalistic rhetoric?

You can learn more and register here: https://www.rug.nl/education/summer-winter-schools/winter_schools/winter-schools-2023-2024/discourses-of-sustainability-transitions/

Feel free to also direct questions to me at r.l.van.der.merwe@rug.nl.

University of Copenhagen

The Department of Communication, Faculty of Humanities at the University of Copenhagen is inviting applications for a tenure track assistant professorship in film studies starting on June 1, 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

We are looking for a new colleague within film studies who can complement the research environment in film studies at the department. The candidate is expected to have demonstrated a keen interest in film studies as a distinct field of research; bring a solid research profile in film studies; have teaching experience within film studies; and have a good sense of how to contribute to a sound, vibrant, and healthy teaching and research environment.

The Department of Communication is home to approx. 80 faculty members, 35 PhD students, 20 postdocs, 30 part-time lecturers, 20 administrative staff, and 2000 students.  The department annually generates approx. 30 million DKK in external research funding, and it produces research and scholarship that is world leading, and which sets the agenda for many national initiatives and conversations. The department offers seven degree programs: Philosophy, Rhetoric, Education, Film and Media Studies, Communication and IT, Information Studies, and Cognition & Communication educating successful candidates to many sectors and parts of the Danish society and beyond.

The successful applicant to the position will join the Section for Film Studies and Creative Media Industries and is expected to teach within the BA and MA degree program in Film and Media Studies.

Read more about the Department of Communication: Department of Communication – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

Read more about the Section for Film Studies and Creative Media Industries: Film studies and creative media industries – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

Copenhagen is a highly diverse and international Scandinavian capital with a green profile. Education is free and child-care is subsidized. Public transport is well-developed, and many Copenhageners take their bikes to work. There are lots of green areas in and around Copenhagen, the water in the harbor is clean enough for swimming, and the city has multiple museums and other cultural venues. The University of Copenhagen was founded in 1479 and is the largest in Denmark.

Qualification requirements 

A tenure track assistant professorship has a duration of six years. The main responsibilities consist of research, teaching, societal impact activities, departmental operations and administration. The ideal candidate must complete the university’s Teaching and Learning in Higher Education programme. The Department will appoint a mentor for the assistant professor.

At the end of the sixth year of employment, the Dean will set up an assessment committee for the purpose of evaluating the basis for a promotion to associate professor. For more information about tenure track assistant professorships at the University of Copenhagen: Tenure track at the University of Copenhagen – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

Appointment as a tenure track assistant professor assumes research qualifications at least at Ph.D. level. Candidates must be able to document competences in research as well as teaching. Candidates are expected to document scholarly research production at international level and must demonstrate the potential to make a significant impact in their field at both local and international levels.

Assessment criteria

Candidates deemed within the scope of the position will then have their academic qualifications assessed by an Assessment Committee and is required to describe how their competences match the following criteria: 

• Research qualifications, including the degree of originality and scope of peer-reviewed scientific production; the applicant’s research plan; participation in research environments; and scientific breadth and depth in relation to the position’s academic profile.
  
• Teaching qualifications, including research-based teaching experience and interest in developing their own pedagogic competencies (e.g. documented didactic training).
  
• Experience and competencies in the dissemination of research, external partnerships and other forms of societal impact in the form of media contributions, advice and knowledge-sharing in the public sphere.
  
• Experience of contributing to organisational work, collaborating with others, and generating a vibrant, inclusive, and healthy work environment.
  
• Experience of with applications for external research funding, and plans to apply for external funding.
  

For more information about the University of Copenhagen’s general criteria for the employment of assistant professors, please visit: Criteria for recognising merit – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

For more information about the qualification requirements for assistant professorships, as stipulated in the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (2019) see:

Ministerial_Order_no._1443_of_11_December_2019_on_Job_Structure_for_Academic_Staff_at_Universities.pdf (ku.dk)

Further information about the position is available from the head of department Jens-Erik Mai, e-mail: il-komm@hum.ku.dk

All applications must be submitted online, in PDF format, via the link “Apply for the position” at the bottom of the page.

Application 

Applications must be written in English and must include the following attachments:  

1. Application letter (max. one page)

2. CV (max. three pages)

3. Documentation of qualifications (exam certificates, PhD diploma, etc.)

4. Publications: Applicants must submit a maximum of five publications for assessment, of which a minimum of two must have been published within the last five years prior to the deadline for applications. The selected publications must be uploaded as attachments and numbered 1–5. If any of the publications have one or more co-authors, applicants must clearly identify the part(s) for which they are responsible. The university may request statements from co-authors on the scope and nature of their contribution to the work.

5. Complete publication list (attached publications must be marked with an asterisk). The list must be structured systematically and divided into the following categories:

6. A research plan that includes a brief description of previous research, current research projects and upcoming research. Applicants are also asked to account for experience with organising research events (workshop, conferences, etc.) and with research collaborations, and participation in research environments both at the local and international levels (max. five pages

7. Teaching portfolio (max. five pages, documentation appendix max. 10 pages), consisting of a factual overview of teaching experience and areas of responsibility, a paper reflecting on own teaching competencies and a documentation appendix.

All applications must be submitted online, in PDF format, via the link “Apply for the position” at the bottom of the page.

Only material in Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and English will be evaluated.

The recruitment process

Once the deadline has expired, the head of department will set an appointment committee consisting of faculty members and a student representative from the department to give advice on the appointment.  The applicants will be selected based on an overall assessment of their match with the department’s recruitment needs and the qualification requirements outlined above. This will be compared with the applicant’s research and teaching profile, as specified in their CV, list of publications, teaching portfolio, and research plan. All applicants will be notified as soon as possible whether they have been shortlisted for evaluation by the Assessment Committee. The selected applicants will be informed about the members of the Assessment Committee and they will be invited to comment on the committee’s assessment of their application before the appointment is announced.

For more information see: Recruitment process – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

Further information about the recruitment procedure is available from HR, e-mail: hrsc@hrsc.dk. Please state case number 211-0226/24-2N #1

Remuneration and terms of employment 

The appointment will be made in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC).

It will be possible to negotiate supplements on the basis of qualifications. For further information about the Faculty of Humanities’ starter pack for tenure track assistant professors, see: Tenure-track employment – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

It is expected that non-Danish speakers, within 3-6 years, will acquire the necessary language skills to teach in Danish-speaking classrooms and meetings. The department will support and help faculty members to acquire knowledge and skills in the Danish language. 

University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their personal backgrounds. For more information on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, see  HR Excellence in Research – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

The University of Copenhagen offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark here: For international researchers at the University of Copenhagen – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

​​​​​​​A special tax scheme is offered to researchers recruited abroad. Please see:  For international researchers at the University of Copenhagen – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

The deadline for applications is 23:59 [CET] on December 8, 2024.

Any applications or additional material submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

APPLY NOW

Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.

Info

Application deadline: 08-12-2024

Employment start: 01-06-2025

Department/Location: Institut for Kommunikation

Eva Novrup Redvall

• First comprehensive study of film and TV screenwriting and production for children and young audiences
  
• Includes both a historical account from a small nation context and an in-depth discussion of challenges in the 2020s
  
• Offers general accounts as well as case studies of new strategies for working with audience research and co-creation
  

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the writing and production strategies used in live-action fiction film and television produced for children and young audiences, in a period marked by remarkable change in screen consumption. Building on ideas and research from the fields of screenwriting, production, and media industry studies, the book uses case studies of Danish film and television productions targeting children – from toddlers to teenagers – to explore general challenges for reaching young audiences in the multiplatform mediascape, as well as to identify specific screenwriting practices and production frameworks. The study investigates industry notions of children and adolescents as a particular audience, exploring  new methods of grounding productions for them through more inquiry-driven and co-creative writing and production practices, combined with new forms of knowledge-sharing and talent-training initiatives. 

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-67073-2?sap-outbound-id=36F59086A45F9544590878244E0D8D759210F2B6

July 7-10, 2025

ULB (Université Libre de Bruxelles), Brussels

Deadline: February 28, 2025

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

Website: www.discourseanalysis.net/DNC6 

Contact: contactdnc6@gmail.com 

Important dates:

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

Language policy:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November 8, 2024

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

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

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

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