MedieKultur. Journal of media and communication research
Thematic focus: Media, Empowerment and Democracy in the Global South
Editors: Poul Erik Nielsen (guest editor, Aarhus University), Norbert =20=
Wildermuth (Roskilde University)
Submission deadline: SEPTEMBER 1, 2011
Publication date: Spring 2012
With the advent of web 2.0 and with the spread of mobile phones on a =20
global base, conditions for and processes of citizen participation, =20
public debate and social critique are changing. Information and =20
Communication Technologies=92 potential role in articulating citizen =20
actions has been discussed in reference to recent events, such as the =20=
oppositional demonstrations in Tibet, Burma and Iran. However, while =20
the use of social media and mobile phones in these events has received =20=
global attention, their de facto scope for democratic empowerment is =20
contested and in need of further exploration.
Other attempts to tap into the communicative potential of digital =20
network media for the purpose of civic engagement, political =20
deliberation and mobilisation for social change are furthered by web-=20
based applications, such as Ushahidi, which played a prominent role =20
during the 2008 post-election crisis in Kenya in crowdsourcing crisis =20=
information. Avaaz.org, a global campaign and petition network with =20
more than 6 million members from over one-hundred countries, is =20
another prominent example of the transformative power of e-=20
mobilisation, which exemplifies the global-local nexus at the heart of =20=
e-participation and -mobilisation strategies.
These =91new=92 developments, exciting as they are, run not only the =20
danger of being interpreted in overtly optimistic and techno-centric =20
terms, but also of diverting attention from the continued relevance of =20=
other mass, community and citizen media in contributing to =20
communicative efforts for democratisation, empowerment and social =20
change. The planned issue of MedieKultur therefore invites papers that =20=
discuss the present role of both Information and Communication =20
Technologies (ICTs) and other media in an admittedly altered media =20
environment. Communicative efforts to further democratic development =20
and the empowerment of disenfranchised and marginalised populations =20
demand scholarly attention to the lessons learned by =91conventional=92 =20=
media development and ICT-based initiatives.
We thus invite papers with a thematic and theoretical focus on civil =20
society based forms of communication for democratic deliberation and =20
empowerment, in the broadest sense. Case studies and attempts to =20
develop theoretical conceptualisations should explore relationships =20
between media and communication developments, civil society, citizens=92 =
=20
engagement and governance processes. Papers with a focus on such =20
issues in the context of the Global South are of specific interest.
www.mediekultur.dk=
