[Commlist] CFP: Reimagining the field of Media, War and Conflict in the age of information disorder

Reimagining the field of Media, War and Conflict in the age of 
information disorder



Call For Papers: Pre-conference at the International Communication 
Association conference, 25 May 2023, Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel.



The deadline is 31 January, 2023. Accepted participants will be notified 
by 28 February 2023.



As editors of the journal Media, War and Conflict we propose that this 
is the ideal time to assess how new actors, technologies, and global 
power struggles have challenged the relationship between media and 
conflict in the 15 years since our first issue was published in April 
2008. Disinformation and propaganda studies have moved into the sphere 
of mainstream media and politics, where extant research in the field of 
war and media has not always been acknowledged. Journalistic 
institutions face continued pressures on their authority as the leading 
interpreters of unfolding events, while reporters on-the-ground are 
threatened, jailed or murdered with apparent impunity. The images and 
videos captured on ever-present smart devices not only serve as 
‘weapons’ in the legitimation of military and political actions, they 
also transform the aesthetic and moral understandings of war for 
observing citizens. Notions of ‘participative war’ (Merrin 2018) and 
‘radical war’ (Ford and Hoskins 2022) proffer new characterizations of 
the current era, understanding digital connectivity as intertwined with 
the conduct of war and the precarity of security (human, food, climate, 
national, transnational).



It is important to remember the human lives at the center of these 
broader technological and conceptual shifts, raising questions regarding 
how (dis)information mobilizes and impacts the communities involved. 
Human rights organizations and open source investigation teams employ 
forensic techniques with a diverse range of imaging and computational 
technologies to expose war crimes and advocate for those seeking justice 
(Ristovska 2021; Smith and Watson 2022). Documentaries and creative 
research methods can bring activists, filmmakers and scholars together 
to raise awareness and generate solidarity for those facing insecurity 
and violence. But whose voices are being mobilized in processes such as 
these, why and how? Ordinary people are also using new technologies in 
unprecedented ways, bringing to question the relationship between agency 
and power, and yet inequalities persist. We encourage critical questions 
about the inequalities of war including the gendered nature of war, 
intersections of body and space, and the limitations and discriminations 
for expressions of voice and visibility enabled by supposedly 
democratizing communication technologies. Does accessibility to diverse 
‘voices’ and counter-narratives actually have any discernable impact on 
decision-making and accountability in war planning and conduct?



This pre-conference intentionally does not refer to specific wars or 
locations, and encourages research from regions that traditionally 
receive less scholarly and media attention.



The Media, War and Conflict journal has a thriving community of 
contributors, many of whom participated in a 5th anniversary conference 
in London, a 10th anniversary conference in Florence, and we would use 
this 15th anniversary conference in Toronto to expand this community by 
bringing in new and early career scholars. ICA 2023 will be a milestone 
in this continuing journey.



Potential subjects for papers could include:

-The visual economy of war, photojournalism, and emergent digital visual 
cultures

-Mediated forensics (Smith and Watson 2022), open-source intelligence 
(OSINT), surveillant technologies, and crowdsourcing in the 
visualization of war

-Grassroots and alternative media challenges to official narratives of 
war and peace

-The gendered and/or ethnocentric nature of war reporting

-Frameworks for understanding the new ecologies of war: ‘everywhere war’ 
(Gregory 2011), ‘participative war’ (Merrin 2018), ‘radical war’ (Ford 
and Hoskins 2022)

-Disinformation, ‘fake news’ or falsified imagery in war and conflict 
situations

-How the climate crisis is associated with conflicts around the world in 
media discourse

-How media platforms (TikTok, Telegram) are reimagining the way citizens 
encounter war experiences

-Creative, narrative and visual methods in war and peace research

-Artistic, film, performance and practice projects

-Decolonizing the field of war and media

-Witnessing, ethics and spectatorship

-Memory, commemoration and archives

-Strategic narratives and legitimation of war/peace

-Media coverage of political violence, uprisings, riots and terrorism

-Reporting of military scandals, abuse, and war crimes



We intend this pre-conference to be a welcoming space to forge new 
interdisciplinary collaborations across visual communication, journalism 
studies, digital culture, international studies, and beyond. We are keen 
to hear about artistic, film, performance and practice projects in 
addition to news and social media studies, and encourage research on 
conflicts and political violence from regions that traditionally receive 
less scholarly and media attention.



Two types of in-person participation are invited:

10 minute paper or practice presentation: We are interested in scholarly 
and practice contributions that speak to the above themes. Prospective 
presenters should submit an abstract of up to 300 words. Submissions 
will be selected by the conference committee on the basis of originality 
and relevance to the conference theme, and to ensure a diversity of 
viewpoints and geographic origins. Presentation submissions are open to 
people at any stage of career. Due to time constraints, practice-based 
submissions should primarily be spoken presentations about the practice 
(with possible clips or images). We hope to further promote practice 
work through our associated preconference website.



Poster presentation: PhD researchers and early career scholars are also 
invited to submit an abstract of up to 300 words for a poster 
presentation addressing the preconference themes. This can be ‘work in 
progress’. The poster session will allow for feedback from an assigned 
mentor and other pre-conference participants and organisers.



We will be prioritizing in-person participation but can look into remote 
options if needed. The AV equipment provided at the hotel does not cover 
hybrid participation.



Abstracts, indicating which type of participation is requested (paper or 
poster), should be emailed to the organisers at: (k.j.parry /at/ leeds.ac.uk) . 
The deadline for receipt of abstracts is 31 January, 2023. Accepted 
participants will be notified by 28 February 2023.



Five travel bursaries of up to $120 will be available to qualifying 
participants. Bursaries will be available for participants from Tier B 
and C countries and ECRs to encourage a diversity of experience and 
expertise. Priority will be given to those from Tier B and C countries, 
before ECRs from Tier A. The Media, War and Conflict Journal, and the 
ICA Visual Communication Studies Division sponsor these bursaries. 
Details of how to apply for a travel bursary will be provided to 
accepted poster or paper presenters upon notification of acceptance. 
Bursary recipients will have to pay for registration, and the bursary 
will act as a waiver retrospectively. If this causes any problems, we 
can discuss with recipients.



Provisionally, all presentations will be considered for inclusion in a 
special anniversary issue of Media, War & Conflict.

Registration will be via the ICA website and will open in March 2023. 
Non-participating delegates will be accepted within the capacity 
limitations of the venue. Registration fee will be $120 to cover the two 
refreshment breaks and lunch provided by the on-site conference hotel.

Note: you do not have to be an ICA member to attend a pre-conference, 
nor do you need to register for the main conference. Attendees will need 
to create an ICA profile to register.



Organisers:

Katy Parry, University of Leeds (lead contact: (k.j.parry /at/ leeds.ac.uk))

Piotr Cieplak, University of Sussex

Sarah Maltby, University of Sussex

Dina Matar, SOAS, London

Tanner Mirrlees, Ontario Tech University

Ben O’Loughlin, Royal Holloway, London

Holly Steel, University of Leeds



Sponsors: This pre-conference is sponsored by the Media, War & Conflict 
Journal (SAGE) and the ICA Visual Communication Studies Division. It is 
also affiliated with the ICA Journalism Studies division.


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