[Commlist] CfP: Communication, Capitalism and Critique, ESA RN18 Conference 2020

Communication, Capitalism and Critique: Critical Media Sociology in the 
21st Century
ESA RN18 Mid-Term Conference 2020
Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy
10-12 September 2020
Conference website: https://rn18esa.wordpress.com

European Sociological Association (ESA) ‐ Research Network 18: Sociology 
of Communications and Media Research in cooperation with the:

Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning 
(DIST) of the Polytechnic University of Turin and the University of Turin
Italian National Sociological Association (AIS) – Section: Cultural 
Processes and Institutions
Italian Scientific Society of Sociology, Culture, Communication (SISCC)
Antonio Gramsci Piedmont Institute Foundation

Invites applications for the:

COMMUNICATION, CAPITALISM AND CRITIQUE: CRITICAL MEDIA SOCIOLOGY IN THE 
21ST CENTURY

ESA RN18 Mid-Term Conference 2020

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Tiziana Terranova (University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’, Italy): 
Hypersocial Networks: for a critical genealogy of the social network topos

Peter Thomas (Brunel University London, UK)

Donatella Della Ratta (John Cabot University, Rome, Italy): 
Twenty-Twenty Critical Theory Toolkit: Take the Red Pill and live 
happily in the age of algorithmic (in)humanity

CALL FOR PAPERS

We live in times of deepening economic, political, social, ideological 
and ecological crises that are expressed in widespread precarious 
labour, the commodification of (almost) everything, the rise of new 
nationalism, populism and authoritarian forms of capitalism, and 
ecological destruction. The display of power and counter-power, 
domination and spaces of power struggles, and the commons and the 
commodification of the commons characterise modern society. 
Contradictions and antagonisms between the haves and the have-nots shape 
contemporary Europe and beyond. Media and communication are fields of 
conflict in this power struggle: they are power structures and sites of 
power struggles, able to support both the expansion and the 
commodification of the commons.

On reflection of the conference place, Turin was the city where Gramsci 
lived, was politically active and where he set up the weekly newspaper 
‘L’Ordine Nuovo’ and acted as editor of the newspaper ‘Il Grido del 
Popolo’. Gramsci exerted influence on the study of culture and 
communication in society. ESA RN18’s mid-term conference in Turin is an 
occasion for media/communication/cultural sociologists to ask: What is 
the relevance of Gramsci and other approaches and thinkers inspired by 
Marx for the study of communication and society today?

ESA RN18 calls for contributions that shed new light on theoretical and 
analytical insights that help to shape critical media sociology in the 
21st century, in particular, but not exclusively, addressed to any of 
the following:

1.	Critical Media Sociology and Capitalism
2.	Critical Media Sociology and Critical Theory
3.	Critical Media Sociology and Critical Political Economy of Media, 
Information and Communication
4.	Critical Media Sociology, Gramsci and Hegemony
5.	Critical Media Sociology and Ideology Critique
6.	Critical Media Sociology and Cultural and Communication Labour
7.	Critical Media Sociology and Digital Labour
8.	Critical Media Sociology, New Nationalism and Authoritarianism
9.	Critical Media Sociology, Consumption and Production in Urban Processes
10.	Critical Media Sociology, Patriarchy and Gender
11.	Critical Media Sociology, Social Inequality, Identity and Subjectivities
12.	Critical Media Sociology, Ecology and Climate
13.	Critical Media Sociology, Democracy and the Public Sphere
14.	Critical Media Sociology and the Left
15.	Critical Media Sociology, the Commons and Alternatives

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

Abstract submission deadline: 1 April 2020
Notification of selected abstracts: 15 May 2020
Conference dates: 10-12 September 2020

Abstracts should be sent to:

Conference Organising Committee, (rn18esasubmission /at/ gmail.com)

Abstracts should be sent as an e-mail attachment (400-600 words 
including title, author name(s), email address(es), and institutional 
affiliation(s)). Please insert the words “ESA RN18 Submission” in the 
subject. Although we do not provide a template for the abstract 
submission, we expect abstracts that include a rationale, research 
question(s), theoretical and/or empirical methods applied, and potential 
results and implications. Each abstract will be independently reviewed 
by two members of the ESA RN18 Board based on the call for papers.

CONFERENCE FEES

90 Euro for ESA RN18 members / 110 Euro for non ESA RN18 members 
(conference dinner included)

60 Euro for ESA RN18 members / 80 Euro for non ESA RN18 members (without 
conference dinner)

25 Euro for students (Bachelor and Master) (without conference dinner) / 
55 Euro (conference dinner included)

The registration details, including the registration form, will be 
available on the conference website in spring 2020: 
https://rn18esa.wordpress.com

You can become a member of ESA RN18 by joining the ESA and subscribing 
to the network. The network needs material support, so we encourage you 
to join or renew your membership. The network subscription fee is only 
10 Euro: https://www.europeansociology.org/membership/become-a-member

Participation support for 4 PhD students and/or independent researchers 
will be available. This will not cover all costs, but part of them 
(accommodation and full conference fee). Preference will be given to 
presentations that suit the overall conference topic.
If you want to apply for participation support, please send an extended 
abstract (600 - 800 words), biographical information (up to 250 words) 
and indicate this in your abstract submission by adding the sentence ‘I 
want to apply for participation support for PhD students / independent 
researchers’. The notifications about participation support will be sent 
out together with the notifications of acceptance or rejection of 
presentations. Additional information to prove your position as a PhD 
student or independent researcher will be requested.

CONFERENCE VENUE

The conference will be hosted by the Interuniversity Department of 
Regional and Urban Studies and Planning. The Department is located at 
the Castello del Valentino, Viale Mattioli 39, 10125 Turin, Italy (see: 
http://www.dist.polito.it/en).

The ESA RN18 organising committee is led by:

Dr Marisol Sandoval, Coordinator of ESA RN18, City University London, UK
Dr Thomas Allmer, Coordinator of ESA RN18, University of Innsbruck, Austria
Dr Paško Bilić, Vice-Coordinator of ESA RN18, Institute for Development 
and International Relations, Croatia

The local organising committee is led by:

Dr Tatiana Mazali, Chair of the local organising committee, 
Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning, 
Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy

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