[Commlist] CfP Communication Studies In Between Time and Space: Disruptions, Passages and Transitions

Call for Papers for a Special Issue of International Communication Gazette

Communication Studies In Between Time and Space: Disruptions, Passages 
and Transitions

https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/CEYEHKUW9SG7N5DYUSBA/full

Abstract submission deadline: 30 June 2026

Inspired by self-reflexive debates on the status quo and transnational 
trajectory of communication studies (Simonson & Park, 2016; Badr & 
Wilkins, 2025; Richter et al., 2025), this special issue aims to shed 
light on the multifaceted global history of communication studies in 
stages of ‘in betweenness’. Such transition periods are marked by 
political system changes in which rules have become unclear and fluid, 
old authorities lost legitimacy and new rules are not yet established. 
How have such times influenced ideas, academic communities and 
institutions of communication and media studies? How have scholarly 
communities navigated turbulent times such as the so-called Arab Spring, 
the end of the socialist Era in Eastern Europe or the long transition 
from colonialism to independence and republic for instance in Brazil in 
19th century? How did agency and structures interact to push or silence 
certain discourses in such periods, propel certain intellectual 
paradigms and schools of thought or strengthen certain actors over 
others? Which conclusions can be drawn from these times for today – , 
from the interconnectedness of (higher education) political structures 
and ideas, institutions and biographies (Löblich & Scheu, 2011)?

The proposed issue is intended to study a comparatively young and, over 
a long time, preparadigmatic field which, in its histories, has been 
strongly shaped by political orders and hegemonies (Fuentes-Navarro, 
2016; Löblich, Venema & Pollack, 2022). Assuming that such changes may 
create situations of ‘in between’ for science and for academic 
disciplines, contributions, avoiding deterministic assumptions, are to 
study to what extent political influences have been translated into the 
academic realm or kept a certain autonomy (Bourdieu, 1984). The special 
issue aims to connect to recent attempts of critical writings of the 
global histories of communication studies (Pooley & Park, 2008; Simonson 
& Park, 2016; Averbeck-Lietz, 2017; History of Media Studies, 2021ff.; 
Badr & Wilkins, 2025). It focuses on communication studies in times of 
political transitions of ambivalent and unclear shape. In face of 
current discourses about ‘turn(s) of an era’ on the political side, our 
undertaking particularly aims at providing historical background 
knowledge to communication and media studies. This field, fast-growing 
in the last decades, today seems to be again in the middle of 
transitions and passages, not only due to digitalisation and artificial 
intelligence, but due to global geopolitical changes, war or alleged 
failure of established political orders. This issue contributes to the 
self-reflection within a multifaceted scholarly field.

This special issue intends to address, but is not limited to, the 
following questions:

•           How can we understand times of “in between” in terms of 
political and societal upheavals across time and space?

•           How have politically shaped times of disruption, passage or 
transition affected the production and distribution of knowledge in the 
field and what were phenomena of resilience?

•           What consequences did periods of disruption, passage or 
transition have for intellectual discourses in communication and media 
studies, for paradigms, scholarly careers and institutional efforts?

•           How have times of ‘in between’ been remembered or forgotten 
within scholarly communities of the field?

The proposed special issue invites scholars to reflect historically on 
communication studies as a disrupted and resilient discipline by 
choosing four different possibilities, by which time and space contexts 
have been challenged:

1. the practices of control and consensus regarding ideas, theories, 
methods or overall paradigms,

2. the practices of inclusion and exclusion of scholars, groups and the 
formation of academic networks,

3. the institutionalization and de-institutionalization of communication 
studies, and overall,

4. communication studies potential to address the problems of their time.

The call for papers for this special issue invites authors from all over 
the world exploring global histories of communication studies in times 
of ‘in betweenness’. These histories may cover the older and the more 
contemporary times. The special issue aims to gauge the breadth and 
depth of the field’s development.

Submission

The guest-editors welcome abstracts of 500–800 words (not including 
references) describing the primary contribution or argument of the 
intended article, and how it fits with the overall description of the 
special issue. The abstract should contain the preliminary title. Please 
also add a title page that includes contact information of all authors.

Please send your abstracts by 30 June 2026 to 
(maria.loeblich /at/ fu-berlin.de) and (hanan.badr /at/ plus.ac.at). After a review of 
abstracts selected authors will be invited to submit full manuscripts 
(7000-8000 words) by 15 January 2027. These will undergo peer-review.

All submissions should be original works and must not be under 
consideration by any other publications. No payment from the authors 
will be required.

Important dates

•           Deadline for abstracts: 30 June 2026

•           Deadline for full submissions: 15 January 2027

Submisson to the Guest-Editors

Maria Löblich (FU Berlin, Germany): (maria.loeblich /at/ fu-berlin.de)

Hanan Badr (Universität Salzburg/Austria): (hanan.badr /at/ plus.ac.at)

References

Averbeck-Lietz, S. (2017) (Ed.). Kommunikationswissenschaft im 
internationalen Vergleich. Springer.

Badr, H., & K. G. Wilkins (2025) (eds.), Critical Communication Research 
with Global Inclusivity. Routledge.

Bourdieu, P. (1984). Homo academicus. Ed. de Minuit.

Fuentes-Navarro, R. (2016). Institutionalization and 
internationalization of the field of communication studies in Mexico and 
Latin America. In P. Simonson & D. W. Park (eds), The international 
history of communication study (pp. 325-345). Routledge.

HMS (2021ff.). History of Media Studies. Media Studies Press. 
https://hms.mediastudies.press/

Löblich, M., & Scheu, A. (2011). Writing the History of Communication 
Studies: A Sociology of Science Approach. Communication Theory, 21, 1-22.

Löblich, M., Venema, N. & E. Pollack (2022). West Berlin’s Critical 
Communication Studies and the Cold War: A Study on Symbolic Power from 
1948 to 1989. In: History of Media Studies 2 (May). 
https://doi.org/10.32376/d895a0ea.d0db9590

Pooley, J., & Park, D. W. (2008). Introduction. In J. Pooley & D. W. 
Park (eds.), The history of media and communication research. Contested 
memories (pp. 1–15). Lang.

Richter, C., Radue, M., Horz-Ishak, C., Litvinenko, A., Badr, H., & 
Fiedler, A. (2025) (eds.). Cosmopolitan communication studies. Transcript.

Simonson, P., & Park, D. W. (Eds.). (2016). The international history of 
communication study. Routledge


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