[ecrea] CfP "Lifeworld Communication and the “Global Wo/Man”: New Perspectives on the Globalization Debate"

Call for Papers
International Conference: "Lifeworld Communication and the “Global 
Wo/Man”: New Perspectives on the Globalization Debate"

Date & Venue: October 5th – 6th, 2017, Erfurt, Germany,
Annual Conference of the International and Intercultural Communication 
Section of the German Communication Association (DGPuK)
The Conference is hosted by the University of Erfurt
Deadline for Proposal: May 15, 2017

Email: (projekt.globcomlifeworld17 /at/ uni-erfurt.de)
https://www.uni-erfurt.de/kommunikationswissenschaft/forschung/workshopstagungen/lifeworldcommunicationandtheglobalwoman/

Conference Theme:
Globalization debate has entered a new phase which some already label as 
“third wave”. The debate faces manifold challenges since the last decade 
has demonstrated ambivalences and paradoxes of global developments. 
These include increasing as well as decreasing social inclusion, and 
globalizing as well as re-localizing processes on all social levels. 
Different understandings of globalization as either growing 
interdependence/interaction or universalization/interconnection still 
complicate coherent theory building. A timely, constructive, and 
integrating theoretical basis beyond the binary posi-tions of early 
“globalists” and “sceptics” is still pending. Revisionist voices, 
although not denying globalization at all, have already started to 
relativize the synchronicity and quality of global change in politics, 
economics, culture and communication on empirical grounds.

Globalization appears to be prevalent since possibilities of physical, 
digital, symbolic and material border-crossing have not declined. Yet, 
the extent and effect of global communication is hard to measure up 
until today. One of the reasons is that global media and communication 
studies have focused primarily on how media and communication systems 
are integrated or connected, for example in research about the global 
integration of media systems, the growth of transnational organizations, 
the flow of media and cultural products or the global public sphere. 
Besides systemic approaches, local adaptations of global cultural 
narratives have been investigated in the field of media cultural 
studies. Despite the importance to understand local adoption, it does 
not provide a profound explanation of the multilayered communicative 
interactions of individuals, groups or communities across borders 
either. We do not know very much about the implications and mechanisms 
of global communication in everyday social realities. Global 
communication studies tend to ignore global communication processes in 
the lifeworld of people. “Global understanding” as a social practice 
beyond systemic or structuralist approaches is a desideratum in theory 
building.

Especially in times of growing neo-nationalist, right-wing and 
post-truth politics, of returning rac-ism and discrimination in public 
space, of culturalism and xenophobia in national discourses, it is even 
more necessary to scientifically complement globalization processes in 
the very realm of the everyday. Recognition of and communicative 
interaction with the “global other” are the prerequisites for 
globalization that not only builds on co-orientation, but also on 
cross-border dialogues.

The international conference seeks to focus on the globalization 
processes of communication in eve-ryday lifeworlds: How does global 
dialogue look like beyond political and economic systems? Do 
individuals, groups and communities interact globally and how does that 
change their social and cultural life, their global knowledge and mutual 
understanding? How do people communicate across borders through both 
media and direct interpersonal communication in their everyday 
lifeworlds? In short: how global is the “global wo/man”?

Conference Organization:
The conference is based on two fundamental objectives: First, it aims at 
stimulating theoretical discussions about the communicative construction 
of lifeworlds beyond local realms. Second, it will collate various 
aspects of global communication in everyday social and cultural 
encounters. Through its different open panels, findings from applied 
research in the wide field of interpersonal, intergroup and 
inter/transcultural communication are welcome. Global communication can 
include all aspects of cross-border communication in non-organized 
social encounters, including both mediated as well as non-mediated 
interpersonal and intergroup phenomena. More concretely, the following 
panels are intended to structure and explore the theme of the conference:

Panel 1: Global communication in mediated encounters of everyday lifeworlds
This panel intends to discuss global interaction based on digital 
communication. Research on the development and social effect of virtual 
global/regional communities (diaspora, fan-cultures, reli-gious or 
interest groups), of interpersonal/-group contacts, or of global media 
usage and readings in everyday life are of interest. Analysis can range 
from global interdependence of virtual regular tables (facebook, 
twitter), global ethics of dialogue (“netiquette”), to the circulation 
of global knowledge and culture.

Panel 2: Global communication in non-mediated contexts of everyday 
lifeworlds
This panel will discuss non-mediated interpersonal/-group communication 
in global contexts. Discussions can focus on the construction and 
circulation of global knowledge in local lifeworlds (e.g. opinion 
leaders) as well as on various aspects of in/out-group dynamics and 
inter/transcultural contacts (tourism, migration, multicultural social 
settings). Aspects and functions of informal global communication in 
politics (diplomatic dialogues), science and education (academic 
exchange), business or arts (multicultural professional communities) 
offer further interesting topics.

Panel 3: Systems, media and lifeworlds in global communication
This panel is loosely based on Habermasʼ idea of the reciprocal 
influence of systems and lifeworlds. More concretely, the panel can 
include research on the relationships between politics, media and 
everyday discourses, global value orientation or stereotypes. Moreover, 
the impact of global communication in everyday life on politics (global 
civil society and global protest movements) as a reversed trend of the 
so-called colonization effect of systems on lifeworlds (Habermas) might 
be of interest.

Panel 4: Theory-building in global communication
This panel is dedicated to theoretical discussions, which aim at 
integrating and expanding theories of global communication with regard 
to cross-border interpersonal and intergroup communication and the 
communicative construction of everyday social and cultural realities. 
Aspects can range from the global actors in local lifeworlds to means 
and mechanisms of global communication in everyday life.

Submission and Selection of Papers:
Please send your proposal for a 20-minute presentation to the organizers 
no later than May 15, 2017, using a pdf file 
((projekt.globcomlifeworld17 /at/ uni-erfurt.de)). The abstract should not be 
longer than 8000 characters (including blank spaces) and should be 
clearly assigned to one of the panels. Sub-missions for the conference 
should be made in English. Please add a title page to the abstract 
containing the name(s) and address(es) of the presenter(s) and the title 
of the presentation. All submissions will be evaluated in an anonymous 
review process and submitters will be informed about the results of the 
selection process by June 30, 2017.

Further Information:
Click here for full Conference Information: 
https://www.uni-erfurt.de/kommunikationswissenschaft/forschung/workshopstagungen/lifeworldcommunicationandtheglobalwoman/
Email Contact: (projekt.globcomlifeworld17 /at/ uni-erfurt.de)
Organisation: Dr. Anne Grüne

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