[ecrea] Call For Papers - ECREA 2016 Prague - deadline 29 February

*Reminder: Conference Call - ECREA’s 6th European Communication Conference*

*‘Mediated (Dis)Continuities: Contesting Pasts, Presents and Futures’*

**

*ECREA and Charles University in Prague welcome the submission of
abstracts for presentation at the 6th European Communication Conference
<http://www.ecrea2016prague.eu/>to be held in Prague, Czech Republic,
from 9 to 12 November 2016.*

**

The European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA),
in partnership with Charles University in Prague, will organise the 6th
European Communication Conference (ECC). The Conference, due to take
place in Prague from 9 to 12 November 2016, has chosen as its
overarching theme ‘Mediated (Dis)Continuities: Contesting Pasts,
Presents and Futures’.

The organisers call for proposals in all fields of communication and
media studies, but particularly invite conceptual, empirical, and
methodological proposals on mediated memory cultures and working through
discursive dislocations and cultural traumas intrinsic to (late)
modernity, that link the general conference theme to the fields
pertinent to each ECREA section.

*Conference theme: ‘**Mediated (Dis)Continuities: Contesting Pasts,
Presents and Futures’
*Discontinuity is the far side of change. Late modernity – as the
unstoppable flow of permanent changes – is haunted by the disparity of
its various histories, geographies, ontologies and technologies. How are
media and communication practices engaged in communicating across these
divides?

The theme heralding European Communication Conference 2016 derives from
the political history of the post-socialist region of which Prague as
the conference host is a symbolic memento. After the collapse of
communist totalitarianism, the countries in post-socialist Europe have
been undergoing a crisis of continuity in the realms of political
values, historical consciousness, moral sense of the self and the memory
of the past.

The conference theme, however, reaches far beyond the post-totalitarian
context and encourages its participants to reflect upon the question of
how media and communication practices are involved in communicating over
many other dislocations in political, cultural, temporal or spatial
realms in all European countries. Acceleration in all aspects of social
life generates pasts we cannot return to, territories we cannot access
and selves we do not recognize any more. Are media capable of navigating
through the related feelings of nostalgia, cultural trauma, guilt, shame
or (be)longing? Does communication help to make sense of them?

Can a sense of home be mediated for those who are expelled from their
countries or displaced by war, the paramount discontinuity?How is
communication entangled in commemoration and remembering? What are the
communicative means of identity building in the age of digitised
archives which are not static storehouses of memories? Should we
consider the media as an actor in economic discontinuities such as
crisis and recession?

We cordially invite media and communication scholars to submit papers
addressing these questions – together with other ramifications of the
conference theme – and to share their ideas with the wide community of
colleagues from Europe and beyond.

*Submission and deadline *
Proposals for individual papers, panels, and posters can be submitted to
one of the 21 ECREA sections through the ECC conference
website<http://www.ecrea2016prague.eu/>from 1 December 2015 to *29
February 2016*. For section overviews, please click here
<http://www.ecrea.eu/divisions/section>.

Abstracts should be written in English and contain a clear outline of
the argument, the theoretical framework, and, where applicable,
methodology and results. The maximum length of individual abstracts is
500 words. Panel proposals, which should consist of five individual
contributions, combine a panel rationale with five panel paper
abstracts, each of which shall be a maximum length of 500 words.

Participants may submit more than one proposal, but only one paper or
poster by the same presenting author will be accepted. Participants can
still present in one extra session as second (or third, etc.) author of
other papers or posters and can still act as chair or respondent of a
panel.. All proposals should be submitted through the conference website
from 1 December 2015 to 29 February 2016. Early submission is strongly
encouraged. Please note that this submission deadline will not be extended.

Abstracts will be published in a PDF Abstract Book. Full papers
(optional) will be published via the conference submission system and
available to the registered attendants after logging into the system..

*Timeline *
Submission of paper and panel abstracts and posters: 29 February 2016
Notification of Acceptance: 30 April 2016
End of Early Bird Registration Fee: 31 August 2016
Presenters’ registration deadline: 1 October 2016

Deadline for submission of the full papers (optional): 15 October 2016//

*Visit the 6th European Communication Conference website*
<http://www.ecrea2016prague.eu/>**

*Section descriptions and calls*

*Audience and reception studies*

The Audience and Reception Studies section invites contributions that
focus on how people use and make sense of old and new media and with
what consequences for individuals, groups, communities and societies.
The section welcomes various approaches (theoretical/critical works,
empirical studies, methodological discussions) and methods (quantitative
or qualitative research, or both), and encourages submissions that cross
disciplines (e.g. social sciences, political sciences, education
sciences, humanities and arts, psychology) and traditional boundaries
(e.g. between old and new media, between mass and group communication,
between content/production and audience/ reception/effects).

*Communication and democracy*

The Communication and Democracy section invites you to send in abstracts
for papers and panel proposals focusing on the relationship between
media, communication and democracy. Democracy is defined here in a broad
sense. It is therefore not merely limited to institutional politics and
practices, and papers and panels on non-institutional democratic
practices (including social movements and NGOs) are also encouraged.
Equally, democracy does not only refer to (Western) models of liberal
democracy, and ‘media and communications’ relates to both more
traditional (mass) media as well as to the internet and newer (digital)
platforms, such as social media. The theme for the 2016 conference in
Prague is "Mediating (Dis)Continuities: Contesting Pasts, Presents and
Futures", but the section also invites papers outside of this general
theme. Abstracts and panel proposals should ideally address one of these
sub-themes: Social movement/radical/alternative media, Activism and
media, Media participation, Civic resilience in times of crisis,
Everyday life and civic culture, Media and struggles over independence
and recognition, Organising (for) political Agency, The political
economy of participatory media, Social movements and political
subjectivities, Political agency and civic cultures. The Section
encourages a non-media centric approach and welcomes contributions from
young scholars.

*Communication history*

The Communication History section provides a forum for scholars who
approach communication with a historical perspective. The section
invites contributions dealing with

a) the history of socially relevant and mass communication (e.g., the
history of media production and institutions, history of journalism,
public relations and advertising, new media histories, historical
audiences); as well as the history of communication in general (e.g.,
history of interpersonal or group communication);

b) memory studies (e.g., mass media and social memory);

c) the history of ideas related to the field of communication (this
includes not only the history of theories concerning public or mediated
communication and the history of communication as a scientific field,
but also the methodology and theory of communication history).

*Communication law and policy*

The Communication Law and Policy section provides a forum for the debate
and analysis of past and current national and EU legal, regulatory and
policy directions in the field of European media and communication. The
field is interpreted broadly to include political, social, cultural,
anthropological and economic questions. The section invites
contributions (proposals for papers, posters or panels) in any area of
(broadly understood) European media and communication law, regulation
and policy, including historical, comparative and philosophical
approaches to this domain. We welcome critical methodologies and
analyses, as well as discussions on new ways of thinking about policy
and law in the media, communication and cultural industries. We also
welcome empirical studies of policy or the policy making process as well
as evidence aimed at contributing to debates on current policy issues,
especially those that use interdisciplinary approaches and push the
boundaries of established work.

*Crisis communication*

The Crisis Communication Section invites contributions that focus on
communication in the context of crises including precrisis, crisis, and
postcrisis stages. This also includes abstracts and panel proposals on
risk communication as well as a broad range of crisis types such as
organizational crisis, natural disasters, terrorism attacks, war, public
health crisis, political crisis, etc. The section invites contributions
that analyse and discuss the theoretical, methodological, and practical
implications of crises in domestic as well as international contexts. We
explicitly invite scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds
exploring risk and crisis communication in different fields such as
politics, business, media, and civil society from different disciplinary
angles (e.g., journalism, public relations, organizational
communication, audience research, media psychology, political
communication, management, health communication, and
international/intercultural communication). All theoretical lenses and
methodological approaches are welcome.

*Diaspora, migration and the media*

Transnational and diasporic communications have for decades posed a
number of theoretical and methodological challenges for European
communication research, and the integration of digital media to these
mediascapes has added further complexity to the field. The section
invites and encourages theoretical and empirical explorations of
European communications and diversity from across Europe and beyond. We
welcome interdisciplinary approaches and innovative studies in all areas
of media and communication research, and focusing on transnational media
formations and practices, migration and the media worlds of people who
migrate, race, racism and antiracism in media practice, the politics of
difference and identity in an era of media participation, media in urban
spaces and convivial cultures.

*Digital culture and communication*

The Digital Culture and Communication section aims at sharing and
developing research connected with the European context in the emergent
field of digital media, culture transformations, social change and
innovation. We welcome work that crosses disciplines and that operates
at the boundaries of what might generally be allowed to constitute
media/communication systems. The section actively seeks both empirically
grounded and theoretical critical work. It therefore welcomes debates,
approaches and frameworks that question the general specificity of 'the
digital' and/or uses 'the digital' to rethink existing media and
communication theories as well as advances in digital research methods.

*Digital games research*

The Digital Games Research section invites contributions dealing with
digital games as cultural objects and digital gaming as a social
practice and related topics. Particular interest goes to understanding
the cultural, psychological and sociological implications of digital
gaming as a pastime and of digital games as cultural objects and
mass-market products. Thereby we employ an inclusive definition of
digital games as any game played on any digital device and explicitly do
not limit the scope for submissions in view of the relative youth of the
domain within the field of communication studies and the dynamic nature
of the field. Moreover, we welcome contributions dealing with topics
traditionally associated with specific subfields such as communication,
but also humanities, media psychology, education science, economics and
others. Finally, we deliberately aim for both qualitative and
quantitative work in the belief that both deserve equal attention and
are able to reinforce one another.

*Film studies*

Ranging from early cinema experiences in European metropolises to
contemporary blockbusters and multiplexes, film has always been at the
forefront of European popular culture and also a field of vital artistic
creation. The Film Studies section invites contributions that deal with
film from a broad variety of perspectives: film as cultural artefact and
commercial product, as embodied and social experience, as symbolic field
of cultural production, and as a mediating technology. We strive towards
methodological and theoretical engagement in studies of both historical
and contemporary cinema. Thus, cultural studies perspectives, historical
and theoretical approaches, textual as well as institutional analysis,
and audience research all find their place within the Film Studies section.

*Gender and communication*

The Gender and Communication section invites empirical and/or
theoretical contributions to the field of communication with a specific
interest in gender and its intersections. Gender is conceptualised in a
broad sense, aiming for inclusivity and multivocality within the field.
Contributions can therefore address gender or the intersecting of
gender-related issues with concepts such as ethnicity, identity
politics, age, or queer studies. As with gender, the concept of media is
equally open. Contributions might therefore adopt an interdisciplinary
approach, for example using insights from feminist media studies and
popular culture studies -- or posing philosophical questions. Aiming to
bridge the gap between communication and gender studies, this section
welcomes approaches that combine a focus on gender with media research,
namely media production, media analysis (diverse approaches) and media
uses and/or reception studies.

*International and intercultural communication*

The International and Intercultural Communication section welcomes
contributions that explore different forms of cross-border dialogue,
exchange and flows between and/or within nations, regions, cultures,
communities and individuals. We explicitly define our section's field of
interest very broadly by referring to all types of cross-border,
transnational or global communication as we focus on mediated and
(inter)personal forms of communication and do so from the perspective of
production, distribution, content and reception. The section also
invites papers on the social, economic, political and cultural
characteristics and consequences of globalization, power imbalances and
international and intercultural communication processes.

*Interpersonal communication and social interaction*

The Interpersonal Communication and Social Interaction section welcomes
contributions that focus on the study of human interaction and human
communicative behaviour. The core is constituted of contacts and bonds
between people, whether in private or public contexts, whether
face-to-face or through various communication technologies. The research
fields and theory development areas of interpersonal communication and
social interaction are wide-ranging. They include interpersonal
relationships, relationship formation, development and termination,
group and team communication, conversational organisation, verbal and
nonverbal communication, public speaking, radio and television
performance, rhetoric, argumentation, persuasion and mutual influence,
communicative competence and interpersonal skills, ethnography of
speaking, and other related approaches to human social interaction. All
kinds of contexts are welcome (e.g., family, work, instructional,
political, health), as are all methodologies (qualitative, quantitative,
mixed).

*Journalism studies*

The Journalism Studies section is concerned with cultural, political,
economic, social and professional aspects of journalism and news work.
The section accordingly invites for consideration papers of high quality
across the range of journalism studies, focussing on occupational,
participatory, regulatory, ethical, social, technological, political,
commercial, cultural, educational, historical and other dimensions, with
particular reference to the European and/or global context.

*Media industries and cultural production*

Media industries and cultural production Section welcomes panels and
papers on all aspects of research on media and cultural production from
anyone with an interest in these areas, regardless of rank or
experience. The definition of cultural production we adopt includes
‘industrial’ forms, but also amateur and informal ones too.  Panels and
papers can be contemporary and/or historical, theoretical and/or
empirical. We welcome contributions dealing with any medium or set of
media, including web design, social media, and internet content
production; entertainment fields such as film, music and various popular
broadcasting genres, and ‘informational’ areas such as journalism,
documentary and current affairs. We also welcome submissions about
‘non-media’ forms of cultural production such as theatre, dance, music,
fine art. Media and cultural labour are key topics within the domain of
the section, as are studies of how industries and producers seek to
‘know’ their audiences. Papers and panels that address notions of change
and continuity, in line with the overall conference theme, are of course
welcome – but other submissions are very welcome too.

*Mediatization*

Mediatization may be understood both as a new agenda within media and
communication studies and as a broad theoretical framework to understand
the role of the media in culture and society. As an agenda it is
concerned with the empirical study of the long-term processes where
media change have consequences for social and cultural change and how
these changes may provide new conditions for communication and social
interaction in contemporary culture and society. As a theoretical
framework it tries to develop concepts, models and methods to understand
these interrelationships based on a constructive dialogue with existing
theories of media and communication. We invite paper, panel and poster
proposals on both theoretical and empirical questions.  Proposals may
for instance address: historical as well as contemporary aspects of
mediatization, critical perspectives on interrelationships between
communicative, social and cultural change, and the interplay between
mediatization and other general processes such as globalization and
personalization.

*Organisational and strategic communication*

The section for Organizational and Strategic Communication promotes an
active and critical dialogue among scholars with the aim of
consolidating an interdisciplinary field which includes public
relations, corporate communication, advertising, marketing, political
communication, organizational communication and other specialized
communication areas. The overall objective of the section is to enhance
European research within the field of organizational and strategic
communication by mapping out and theorising the conceptual and
methodological background of contemporary practice. Therefore, the
participation rules of the section allow contributions from researchers,
professors, masters and doctoral students, as well as from practitioners
in relevant fields.

*Philosophy of communication*

The Philosophy of Communication section invites papers and panel
proposals that deal with fundamental philosophical and theoretical
issues in communication inquiry and practice, including questions of
theory formation and methodology, old and new paradigms of communication
research, key concepts in media and communication studies, new
approaches to media philosophy, the contribution of specific
philosophers to the field, epistemological and ethical problems of
communication and media, and the role of the media in human existence.
The section welcomes contributions from philosophers and communication
scholars representing all philosophical and communication-theoretical
perspectives and schools.

*Political communication*

The Political Communication section invites empirical and/or theoretical
contributions on the changing nature of the relationship between
citizens, political actors and the media, old and new. We welcome papers
that address issues such as: the implications of mediated and mediatized
politics on the quality of modern democracy; the European political
communication deficit; the link between political communication and
media policy, new journalistic practices, but also rising antagonistic
civic communicative inputs, practices and processes of the mediation and
mediatization of politics. Similarly, we invite papers on communication
strategies and news management of political elites; campaign
communication; citizenship and public sphere; media effects on political
orientations and participation; as well as interpersonal and online
political communication. Papers that take a comparative view on
political communication in Europe are very welcome. The section aims to
bring together, and encourage critical and interdisciplinary approaches
while creating dialogue between a broad diversity of methodological and
theoretical approaches.

*Radio****research*

Modern (dis)continuities have been mediated mainly by image-based
productions. Sound risks therefore to be discontinued itself as a
relevant and meaningful language to contest pasts, presents and futures.
Aware of the necessity to recentre some attention on the acoustic
experience, Radio Research Section welcomes proposals focused not only
on radio productions but more widely on sound-based media content. In
tune with the conference theme, the section invites researchers to
submit proposals discussing how sound may shape the interpretation of
social and cultural life. Thus, papers could be situated in the
following fields as they relate to radio and audio media: audience
studies; community radio; audio content (programming and genre); audio
narratives and acoustic language; radio identities; web and mobile
platform content; digitisation; research methodologies; social
networking and user-generated radio; innovation; sound art. Whole panel
proposals are also welcome, although there will inevitably be pressure
on the available timeslots in the programme.

*Science and environment communication*

The 21st century faces unprecedented challenges in the environment and
science fields. The Science and Environment Communication section seeks
to foster a strong, reflexive and dynamic research network and welcomes
work that crosses a range of disciplinary and methodological boundaries.
Examples of topic areas include - but are far from restricted to: media
representations of science and the environment; political and commercial
discourse on the environment; dialogic, participatory approaches to the
communication of research-based knowledge; communication, democracy and
research governance; public engagement with science and the environment.

*Television studies*

The Television Studies section aims to facilitate strong cooperation for
European research and education in the field of television studies. In
the face of technological and cultural changes to television 'as we know
it', the section provides a network for TV researchers from a wide range
of disciplines focussing on all aspects of television, both addressing
the 'post-broadcast era' and television's history and multiple futures.
The phenomenon of television in its broadest sense is the topic of the
section: TV as programme, TV as aesthetic form, TV as lived experience,
TV as cultural and economic institution, TV as part of legal and
political actions, TV as symbolic field of cultural production, TV as
popular entertainment, TV as media technology, TV as commodity, TV as
part of convergence culture, etc. The section welcomes various
approaches (theoretical, analytical, historical, empirical, critical,
methodological) and encourages inter- and transdisciplinary work on
television. For this conference, we would particularly but not only like
to hear from researchers working on television as a medium of
transition,  on continuities and disruptions in television history, on
changes in audience behaviour and the social relevance of television.
All contributions should look at television in the broadest sense like
mentioned above.


http://www.ecrea2016prague.eu/


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