1st Vienna Forum of Social Sciences
Austrian
Day of Communication Science 2011
Vienna,
1-2 December 2011
Identity – Diversity – Integration
Forum for Methods
at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Vienna
Austrian Academy of Sciences –
Commission for Comparative Media and Communication Studies
Austrian Association for Communication Science (ÖGK)
Call for Papers
As a result of globalization,
migration, changing values, demographic upheavals and social movements
of emancipation, current debates on social policy now fall into three
principal categories: „identity“, „diversity“ and „integration“, in
which socio-cultural diversity and societal integration are seen as
existing in a relationship of greater or lesser tension, depending on
the degree of reflexivity and flexibility of collective identities.
Among the wealth of possibilities for creating identity, there exist,
on the level of the (historically predominant) nation state alone,
different varieties of nationalism, patriotism and cosmopolitanism,
representing key mediating variables for the integration of highly
diverse societies. In particular, national identities are often seen as
conflicting with the development of other, supranational, identities
and as an obstacle to integration processes. But the political force
of the concept of national identity, which remains undiminished to this
day, presents social science research with the challenge of closely
examining, with appropriate methodological instruments, collective
identity structures (and their constructors) and clarifying the
conditions under which, in a pluralist, democratic society, certain
forms of identity either exercise an integrating effect, or have
dysfunctional consequences. This is the starting point for the
conference, which aims to achieve an interdisciplinary dialogue.
The wide range of topics touched on here, which figure prominently in
the media on an almost daily basis, embrace policy toward
asylum-seekers and the recruitment of highly qualified „migrant
labour“, the conflict between self-determination and a collective
fundamental consensus in a pluralist society, as well as the
consequences of economic and political globalization. These
consequences pose a threat to collective self-understanding, whether
through the outsourcing of many branches of production to low-wage
countries, which, as we are now seeing in the USA, are even causing the
fundamental societal consensus be called in question, or through the
formation of supranational entities, which, as the example of the
European Union shows, are themselves not yet firmly established and
tend to react defensively to the possible admission of new members.
These examples all demonstrate beyond doubt that relationships between
persons or groups cannot be reduced to rational actions within material
or institutional limits but must be understood as patterns of action
that are formed through social identities and can themselves be
identity-forming. In this process the construction of one’s own
identity (or of a number of individual, situationally determined
identities) invariably goes along with the construction of ideas about
the other, whereby either positive differentiation of the „ingroup“ or
denigration of the „outgroup“ („othering“) can have a primary
identity-forming effect. Ultimately, the resulting (reciprocal)
expectations regarding the behaviour of the respective other exercise a
powerful influence on the interpretation of the actions of that other.
Although identities naturally tend toward stability, nevertheless they
are not static. Their transformational character is grounded in the
fact that „identity“ is not a finished product, to be called upon when
required, but needs to be continually tested, adjusted and constituted.
Under democratic circumstances these processes of reflection upon and
construction of social identities are subject to public negotiation,
that is to say, to the interplay between a „socioculture“, with its
crystallized mentalities, usually unreflected upon, and a „culture of
interpretation“, in which the elements of socioculture are, in a
certain way, actualized, clarified, placed in a meaningful context and,
not least, modified. This actualization of latent cultural patterns,
this communication of offers of interpretation and meaning for the
interpretation-hungry present, is performed by a series of intermediary
societal authorities (such as political parties, churches and NGOs,
among others); in the modern information society, however, it is
primarily performed by the mass media as well as by social media. In a
society based on the division of labour such as our own, the media
represent one of the key constructors, if not the key
constructor, of collective identities.
In essence, the construction of collective identities always amounts to
establishing who „we“ are and who „they“ are (something that becomes
particularly clear in the case of national identities). However, the
media, on account of their particular logic of action, bring matters
„to a head“ more strongly than other socialization authorities; i.e,
in the interests of better communication, they reduce complexity in a
particularly radical manner. Thus they not only act in a field
of tension between traditional forms of identity formation and
„postmodern“ multiple identities – they redefine it themselves
every day. Their definitions characterize both the understanding and
the realization of diversity and integration along the fine line
between lived pluralism and the rise of „parallel societies“.
It is thus one of the most urgent tasks of social science research to
investigate the collective identity structures observed within a
society and the role played by socialization authorities, above all the
media, in processes of integration. The object of the proposed
conference is to discover what approaches are offered by the social
sciences’ repertoire of theory and method, what empirical research
results are already available, what research work is currently in
progress. Special emphasis should be given on the methodological
challenges that confront such work.
Theoretical, methodological and empirical contributions are invited
from all social science disciplines. Interdisciplinary approaches are
particularly welcome. Extended abstracts of no longer than 1,000 words
(including references and footnotes) must be submitted online not later
than September 30, 2011 (http://www.univie.ac.at/methodenforum/SozialwissForum.php
<http://www.univie.ac.at/methodenforum/SozialwissForum.php>
). Selected papers presented during the conference will be included in
the conference proceedings.
Keynote-Speakers:
Prof. Dr. Heinz Fassmann, Department of Geography and Spatial Research
at the University of Vienna, and Head of the Commission of Migration
and Integration Research at the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Prof. Dr. Leonie Huddy, Department of Political Science, Stony Brook
University, New York, and Director of the Center for Survey Research
Preconference (in cooperation with the Department of Communication
Science at the University of Salzburg): „What Do We Really Know About
Herta Herzog? Symposium for a Pioneer of Empirical Communication
Research“
Prekonference:
„What do we really know about Herta
Herzog?“
Symposium for a pioneer of empirical communication research
The symposium will honour the life and work
of Herta Herzog (August 14th, 1910 – February 25th, 2010). For the
first the amazing scope of Herzog’s work as one of the founders of
empirical communication research and of market and motive research will
be addressed by a scientific conference. Herzog’s significance for the
development of the social sciences in the USA as well as for the
German-speaking countries will be discussed. The symposium will bring
together experts from Austria, Germany, the USA and Israel.
Date: December 1st,
2011, 10 am – 5 pm
Location: Vienna, Austrian
Academy of Sciences
Organized by: Univ. Prof.
Dr. Elisabeth Klaus, Department of Communication, Paris Lodron
University Salzburg
Dr. Josef
Seethaler, Austrian Academy of Sciences
Office: Frau Mag. Ingrid Serini, (ingrid.serini /at/ oeaw.ac.at);
+43-(0)1-51581-3110
Supported by: Austrian Association
for Communication Science
Forum for
Methods at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Vienna
Ass.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Steinmaurer
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Fachbereich Kommunikationswissenschaft
Abteilung Kommunikationstheorien und
Mediensysteme
Vorsitzender der Österreichischen Gesellschaft
für Kommunikationswissenschaft (ÖGK)
Universität Salzburg
Fachbereich Kommunikationswissenschaft
Rudolfskai 42
5020 Salzburg
Tel +43 662 8044 4164
Fax +43 662 6389 4164
www.uni-salzburg.ac.at
www.ogk.at
