[ecrea] International Workshop and Founding Conference of the ECREA Section Communication History - User Generated Content. Historical perspectives on the participation of audiences in social communication

Arbeitskreis für historische Kommunikationsforschung (AHK)
International Workshop and Founding Conference of 
the ECREA Section Communication History

User Generated Content
Historical perspectives on the participation of 
audiences in social communication

3-5 June, 2010 in Potsdam/Berlin

ECREA Section Communication History
(European Communication Research and Education Association)
Center for Research on Contemporary History (ZZF), Potsdam/Germany
Historical Section of the German Communication Association (DGPuK)
Working Committee for Historical Communication Research (AHK), Austria


Call for Papers

Submission deadline: January 17, 2010

Within the last years "User Generated Content" 
has become the dominating keyword to describe the 
change of social communication in the World Wide 
Web. Web 2.0 seems to facilitate the formation of 
social networks and to enhance political and 
cultural participation. From a historical 
perspective the question can be raised whether 
this change of social communication is rather 
unique or whether phenomena like "User Generated 
Content" are a continuity in public 
communication. Letters to the editor, the 
publications of social movements and Samizdat 
literature are only a few and very different 
examples how the audience tried to participate 
into public discussions - also in former times.

Especially in times of media change, when new 
media is integrated into everyday life, the 
question can be discussed to what extent new 
media and new opportunities of participation lead 
to social integration of the audience - or, on 
the contrary, whether the creation of multiple 
platforms of articulation primarily leads to a 
fragmentation of public discourse.

Nowadays accessibility to media - at least to the 
WWW - is given, but the impact of user generated 
content on public discourse can be regarded as 
limited: The public sphere seems to be highly 
fragmented and usually rather personally than 
socially relevant content is produced by the 
users. When mass media like the popular press or 
TV developed, accessibility was extremely 
limited. However, TV provides relevant social 
content for large parts of society and therefore 
facilitates processes of social integration.

Summing up, the implementation of new media can 
have manifold impact on society. It can include 
or exclude audiences and it can strengthen and weaken public discourse.

The conference aims to analyze and discuss the 
forms and the relevance of the audience's 
integration in different times, cultures and 
political systems.  Taking this perspective 
different types of media can be analyzed 
referring their potential to enhance traditional 
forms of participation and to create a platform 
for new audiences and forms of participation. How 
did new media affect the formation of new publics 
and affect traditional publics? Moreover, in a 
comparative perspective it is intended to take a 
look not only at long-term developments but also 
at differences and similarities between cultures, 
countries and regions: What kind of public 
discourse was enhanced by the Enlightenment? How 
did users articulate their interests and connect 
with each other within social movements like for 
example the worker's, the women's and the peace 
movement? What role played "User Generated 
Content" in different political systems? How is 
it used to support or to oppose democratic but 
also totalitarian systems? And finally it can be 
discussed how "the public" and "the private" was 
conceptualized or has to be rearranged with 
regard to the historical development of content produced by audiences?

Please send extended abstracts (500 words) for 
15-minute presentations via email to the 
organizers ((Klaus.Arnold /at/ ku-eichstaett.de)). 
Abstracts should be submitted electronically via 
email in Microsoft Word or PDF attachments and 
should include a cover sheet containing 
corresponding author's name, paper title, 
affiliation, mailing address, phone, fax number and email address etc.
All abstracts are subjected to peer-review.
Deadline for submissions is January 17, 2010.

Authors whose proposals are accepted will be 
informed by February 22, 2010. If a grant for the 
conference will be available, possibly travel and 
accommodation expenses of presenters can be partly refunded.

Organizers:
PD Dr. Klaus Arnold, Chair of the ECREA Section Communication History
Catholic University Eichstaett-Ingolstadt, School of Journalism
(klaus.arnold /at/ ku-eichstaett.de)

Dr. Christoph Classen
Center for Research on Contemporary History (ZZF), Potsdam
(classen /at/ zzf-pdm.de)

Prof. Paschal Preston, Vice-Chair of the ECREA Section Communication History
Head, School of Communication, Dublin City University
(Paschal.Preston /at/ dcu.ie)

Prof. Dr. Susanne Kinnebrock, Vice-Chair of the 
ECREA Section Communication History
RWTH Aachen University, Institute for Language and Communication Studies
University of Vienna, Department of Communication
(s.kinnebrock /at/ isk.rwth-aachen.de)
(susanne.kinnebrock /at/ univie.ac.at)

Contact address:
PD Dr. Klaus Arnold, Chair of the ECREA Section Communication History
Catholic University Eichstaett-Ingolstadt, School of Journalism
Ostenstrasse 25
85072 Eichstaett
Fon ++49-8421-931556
Fax ++49-8421-931786



-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nico Carpentier (Phd)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Free University of Brussels
Centre for Studies on Media and Culture (CeMeSO)
Pleinlaan 2 - B-1050 Brussels - Belgium
T: ++ 32 (0)2-629.18.56
F: ++ 32 (0)2-629.36.84
Office: 5B.401a
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
European Communication Research and Education Association
Web: http://www.ecrea.eu
----------------------------
E-mail: (Nico.Carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
Web: http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~ncarpent/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------
ECREA-Mailing list
----------------
This mailing list is a free service from ECREA.
---
To unsubscribe, please visit http://www.ecrea.eu/mailinglist
---
ECREA - European Communication Research and Education Association
Postal address:
ECREA
Université Libre de Bruxelles
c/o Dept. of Information and Communication Sciences
CP123, avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, b-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
Email: (info /at/ ecrea.eu)
URL: http://www.ecrea.eu
----------------