[Commlist] Applications invited: 2 Fellowships on WhatsApp/encrypted messaging research, LMU Munich

Please find below the call for applications for 2 fellowships in a new 
research group at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich.



Call for Applications

Fellowships in the CAS Research Group

“Messaging Apps, Encryption and the Enticement of Extreme Speech”


Center for Advanced Studies, LMU Munich



The Center of Advanced Studies (CAS) at LMU Munich, Germany, is 
advertising two fellowships for Internet media researchers (for a stay 
up to 3 months) to join the CAS Research Group "Below the Radar? 
Messaging Apps, Encryption and the Enticement of Extreme Speech".


The Center for Advanced Studies https://www.cas.lmu.de/en/index.htm is a 
forum for intensive international academic exchange. Its purpose is to 
promote cooperation with national and international Visiting Fellows who 
work closely on collaborative projects with LMU professors. In order to 
intensify cooperation between researchers at LMU Munich and leading 
experts from other universities, the Center has set up a major program, 
the CAS Research Groups.

The CAS Research Group “Messaging Apps, Encryption and the Enticement of 
Extreme Speech” is initiated by Professor Dr. Sahana Udupa (Media 
Anthropology, LMU) and will commence its work in October 2024: 
https://www.cas.lmu.de/en/programs/cas-research-groups/below-the-radar-messaging-apps-encryption-and-the-enticement-of-extreme-speech.html


The focus of the CAS Research Group is to develop global critical 
inquiry into entanglements between encrypted messaging apps and forms of 
extreme speech such as hateful language and disinformation. The group 
will approach the problem with an empirical focus on WhatsApp – an 
end-to-end encrypted, cross- platform messaging service owned by Meta, 
which has emerged as a central communication tool for a vast number of 
people, with more than 2 billion users and 100 billion daily messages 
around the world. The group will also extend its focus to Telegram, 
Signal and similar encrypted messaging services. Based on insights from 
different regions and diverse contexts of use, the research group will 
analyze the role of encrypted messaging services in extreme speech 
cultures globally, and highlight the regulatory and methodological 
challenges they have raised for academic research and policymaking.


The CAS Research Group will bring together internationally renowned 
researchers and policy experts who are invited to LMU Munich to 
contribute to the Group’s research.

Applications are invited from candidates with
a PhD in a relevant field such as anthropology or communication studies 
OR Internet policy expertise
ongoing policy-focused or field-based empirical research on encrypted 
messaging apps and extreme speech in Africa or South Asia publications 
relevant to the topic

The successful candidates will team up with the group for a co-authored 
policy and public-focused report on methodological, policy and practical 
issues in addressing extreme speech on instant messaging apps such as 
WhatsApp. This report is jointly commissioned by United Nations 
Peacekeeping.


The Center for Advanced Studies will provide financial and 
organizational support for visits from a stay of up to three months in 
early 2025, coinciding with the first workshop planned in January 2025. 
The costs for travel and accommodation as well as an expense allowance 
will be covered. The successful candidates will receive a workspace in 
an open and stimulating research environment in an interdisciplinary 
setting at the Center, and a team of academic researchers, policy 
experts and factcheckers.

Applications should consist of a brief outline (1-2 pages) of the 
expertise and intended contribution to the CAS Research Group. 
Applications should also contain a résumé including a list of the most 
recent publications as well as the names of two referees. In order to 
strengthen the role of women in research, female scholars are strongly 
encouraged to apply.


Please submit all the application documents electronically (in one PDF 
file) by


29 February 2024 to


Email: (researchgroups /at/ cas.lmu.de)

Center for Advanced Studies

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1

80539 München


For any questions on the CAS Research Groups please contact Dr. Lena 
Bouman at CAS:


Email: (Lena.Bouman /at/ cas.lmu.de)


---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ commlist.org)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------