[Commlist] Call for Abstracts: International ZeMKI conference "20 Years into the Future: What is our vision of media, data, and society?"

Call for Abstracts:
20 Years into the Future: What is our vision of media, data, and society?

// 20th Anniversary International ZeMKI Conference, University of Bremen //

Date:  October 23-24, 2025 Location: House of Science Bremen, Sandstraße 
4/5, Bremen, Germany
Website: https://zemki.uni-bremen.de/futures Participation is free of 
charge.

Media and communication research has traditionally focused on the 
present, often asking: What are the consequences of each “new” medium? 
How do digital media and their infrastructures impact contemporary 
cultures and societies? With this conference, however, we aim to shift 
the perspective—from analyzing present-day impacts to envisioning future 
possibilities. What can we learn from the current mediatization and 
datafication of society to imagine possible futures? What roles might 
media discourses, technologies, and practices play in ongoing and future 
societal transformations?
 
In raising these foundational questions, the conference is broadly 
situated within the fields of media, communication and information 
research. Topics may include: - the role of media discourses, 
technologies, and practices in narrating and shaping the future; - the 
importance of media policy and governance in building better futures; - 
recent technological developments such as communicative AI and their 
potential role for future media environments; - ways in which our 
narratives of the past, media history, and archeology shape our 
imaginaries of the future; - digital gaming and emerging forms of 
entertainment; - future media-related challenges for future 
sustainability and quality of life; - and methodologies in media and 
communication research that address emerging media-related developments 
from a forward-looking perspective.

With discussion topics like these, the ZeMKI’s 20th anniversary 
conference is not about speculative forecasting but is grounded in media 
and communication research. We aim to explore long-term trends emerging 
from today’s media-related transformations and reflect on our visions of 
the future.

We invite those who have previously engaged with us—our cooperation 
partners, ZeMKI fellows, guests, and friends—and those interested in 
starting new conversations. Presentations may cover any area of media 
and communication research, provided they also address the question of 
where a mediatized and datafied society might be heading.

Abstracts of up to 500 words can be submitted by March 15th, 2025 via 
this online submission form: 
https://nc.uni-bremen.de/index.php/apps/forms/s/EP6cLH2Y3eLxbaaC6cLMCNsA

Find more information on the conference website: 
http://zemki.uni-bremen.de/futures
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