[Commlist] CFP Media Secrets International Symposium

*Call for papers: Media Secrets International Symposium, hosted by 
Jönköping University, Sweden*
*Organisers: Annette Hill (MKV, Jönköping University) and Hario 
Priambodho (MKV, Lund University)*
*Dates: 4-5 May 2027*
Secrets and lies. The meanings of secrets in media, culture and society 
are multifold. There are mysteries, the things we keep hidden from 
knowledge or view, such as crime podcasts or the classic whodunnit genre 
of television and film. It’s an age of conspiratorial thinking and 
opaque and clandestine activities in media and democracy are of 
undeniable concern, especially in light of the pressure points on media 
and democracy. Trade secrets protect media and communication companies, 
from the blackboxing of algorithmic machinery, to the strict prohibition 
of disclosure about labour conditions. Stealthy media can include 
spycraft, top secret documents and technologies, or covert practices for 
business, political and elite actors and organisations.
Secrets also offer spaces for manoeuvre. The move to protect anonymity 
of journalistic sources is crucial in fights for freedom of expression. 
In the opposite direction, to uncover secrets and promulgate a right to 
know is a critical move in strengthening media transparency and trust. 
Freedom of information requests are an essential means for the public to 
hold power to account. And yet, demands for transparency can themselves 
be political, selective and productive of new forms of power or opacity.
Secrets are linked with obtaining knowledge, such as discernment of 
machine generated content, developing tactics against media secrecy and 
adapting practices in the face of oppression. There are secret rituals 
and community routines and practices that are part of fan cultures, 
subcultures, or esoteric societies. And secrets are a part of everyday 
life, linked with performance of identities and intrigue within social 
relations.
This international symposium unlocks the meanings of media secrets and 
asks what’s mysterious, covert or hidden in media? The combination of 
panels, keynotes, and roundtable discussions will address critical 
perspectives, theoretical development, and methodological reflections on 
how we can better understand what are often taken for granted both with 
the media and through the media. Key questions include: What is the role 
of media and culture in keeping and revealing secrets in society? How 
may we deepen understanding of social phenomenon by digging beneath the 
surface of media and culture?
We invite researchers to explore and uncover media secrets through the 
following possible pathways:

  * Genre, representations, or hidden meanings in pop culture, film, and
    television
  * Media gatekeeping practices that sequester the availability of
    information or content
  * Secret acts of resistance or activism in or through the media
  * Keeping certain representations hidden or hiding the will of the people
  * The obfuscation of scientific facts and truths
  * Secret engagements and experiences of media and cultural events
  * Defining and problematizing privacy and what should be kept secret
  * Blackboxed algorithmic systems and platform infrastructures
  * Media practices, representations, or societal significance of secret
    societies, organizations, or groups
  * Selective narratives in journalistic practices
  * Discreet business or organizational media and communication practices

International invited speakers include Julia Brockley (Intellect Press), 
Göran Bolin (Södertörn University, Sweden), Simon Dawes (Université de 
Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France), Natalie Foster 
(Routledge), Christine Geraghty (Glasgow University), Joke Hermes 
(InHolland University, the Netherlands), Annette Hill (Jönköping 
University, Sweden), Dylan Mulvin (LSE, UK), Hario Priambodho (Lund 
University, Sweden), and Robert Willim (Lund University, Sweden).
Please submit an abstract of 300 words in English by December 7th 2026 
to Hario Priambodho ((_hario.priambodho /at/ iko.lu).se_ 
<mailto:(hario.priambodho /at/ iko.lu.se)>). For further information please 
consult our website _https://ju.se/mediasecretsinternationalsymposium_ 
<https://ju.se/mediasecretsinternationalsymposium>
There is a registration fee of 2950 SEK. The fee covers conference 
catering and an evening meal on day one of the event.


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