See Call as PDF:
<http://yecrea.eu/files/CfP%20Writing%20the%20past%20beyond%20boundaries.pdf>http://yecrea.eu/files/CfP%20Writing%20the%20past%20beyond%20boundaries.pdf
Call for Participation: Writing the Past beyond
Boundaries? Transnational versus Comparative
Approaches in Communication History
Young Scholars Workshop
3 June 2010, Potsdam/Berlin (Germany)
Young Scholars Communication History Network of
the German Communication Association (DGPuK)
YECREA ? ECREA Young Scholars Network
in cooperation with the Center for Research on
Contemporary History (ZZF), Potsdam
Public and private communication transcending
national and cultural borders is not a new
phenomenon since the last decades of
digitalization and globalization. Since their
emergence mass media expanded beyond national
borders, and technologies like letterpress and
telegraph connected the world and forwarded
international communication flows. Merely
because transnational connectivity and
interrelationships become increasingly apparent
given the conditions of digital and online
communication does not imply that they could not
also be witnessed in the past either, nor does
it imply that current phenomena could be
adequately understood without their historical
dimension. Communicative spaces may have always
overlapped with nationally defined territories
but not necessarily. There might (have always
been?) be more commonalities between members of
respective social or cultural groups in
different nations than between distinct groups
within a state. Hence the concept of nation
states as social entities? containers needs to
be supplemented by approaches that are sensitive
to the actual transboundary character of media
content, media audiences, media production and
ownership as well as to the subnational cultural
cleavages now and in earlier times.
Communication history could combine such
sensitivity with an interest for the
constitution of communication spaces, for change
and persistence of communication processes.
Transnational and comparative approaches in
Communication history could help to raise new
questions and to find new or complementary
answers to existing research issues. How can
communication and media history be understood
beyond the context of nation and culture? Which
analytical potential do transnational and
comparative approaches have for the research
into communication history? Where are their
limits and to what extent can they be combined?
Young Scholars Communication History Network of
the German Communication Association (DGPuK),
YECREA and ZZF would like to invite young
scholars to participate in a workshop focused on
these issues. The workshop is dedicated to the
reflection upon theory, the state of research as
well as to methodical aspects of transnational
and comparative perspectives in communication
history. Its aim is to identify research
potentials within international communication
history research. Thus, it aims to create a
discussion forum for European perspectives on
transnational and comparative communication
history from different disciplines such as
communication studies and history. The workshop
is targeted at PhD candidates concerned with communication and media history.
Dealing with comparative and transnational
perspectives in a historical dimension is
promising not only because there have been
demands to integrate theory into this research
fields for a long time but also because a
comparative, cross-cultural or transnational
historical perspective allows for analyzing
differences and commonalities of media systems
and of communication cultures as well as the
interconnections between them. A rewriting of
media history from a transnational perspective
also helps to transcend national borders and to
focus on structures beyond them. Such an
understanding of European or world communication
histories has to be regarded as a vital part of
European and global historiography.
The idea behind the workshop is to discuss
concrete theoretical and methodological issues
of doing communication history transnationally
or comparatively within working groups and in a
plenary session. The aim of this working method
is to optimize exchange and networking between
PhD students and experts in the respective
fields of research. At the beginning of the
workshop there will be keynotes presented by
these experts in transnational and comparative
research from all over Europe. Prof. Dr. Marcel
Broersma (Groningen), Prof. Dr. Andreas Fickers
(Maastricht), Prof. Dr. Andreas Hepp (Bremen),
Prof. Dr. Sonja de Leeuw (Utrecht) and Dr. Josef
Seethaler (Vienna) are requested.
The workshop is open to all PhD students
concerned with communication history though
interest in theoretical and methodological
aspects of transnational and comparative research is expected.
Applications should include a short CV and a
statement of not more than 500 words outlining
the dissertation project and its reference to
(or their interest in) transnational or
comparative communication and media history as
well as the stage of development of the project.
Additionally a set of questions or problems
(concerning doing the PhD in general or thematic
specifics) that the applicant would like to be
discussed during the workshop is to be included.
This information will be used to identify common
problems and issues to be tackled in the workshop.
For further information please email to:
<mailto:(loeblich /at/ ifkw.lmu.de)>(loeblich /at/ ifkw.lmu.de)
Please send your application via email to:
<mailto:(loeblich /at/ ifkw.lmu.de)>(loeblich /at/ ifkw.lmu.de)
Deadline: 15 February 2010
Notification of acceptance: 1 March 2010
Conference venue: Center for Research on
Contemporary History, Potsdam (Germany)
Organization
Dr. Maria Löblich ? Chair of Young Scholars
Communication History Network of the German Communication Association (DGPuK)
University of Munich, Institute for Communication and Media Studies
Susann Trabert, M.A. ? Young Scholars
Communication History Network of the German Communication Association (DGPuK)
University of Giessen
Christian Schwarzenegger, M.A. ? YECREA ? ECREA
Young Scholars Network (see yecrea.eu)
University of Vienna, Department of
Communication / RWTH Aachen University,
Institute for Language and Communication Studies
Thomas Grossmann, M.A.
Center for Research on Contemporary History (ZZF), Potsdam
Please note that the workshop will take place
the day before the inaugural conference of the
ECREA Communication History Section. Workshop
applicants are highly encouraged to participate
in the conference and are welcome to submit
papers to the conference call
(<http://www.ecrea.eu/events/seminars>http://www.ecrea.eu/events/seminars).
The farewell drinks of the young scholars
workshop will be combined with the get- together of the conference
