[Commlist] CFP Special Issue: Media Literacy: Strategies to Intensify Citizenship and Democracy (ComunicaçãoPública)

Special Issue

Media Literacy: Strategies to Intensify Citizenship and Democracy

Call for papers for Comunicação Pública no. 33 (December 2022)

Special Issue: Media Literacy: Strategies to Intensify Citizenship and 
Democracy

Editors: Ricardo Morais (IADE - Faculdade de Design, Tecnologia e 
Comunicação, Universidade Europeia, Universidade da Beira 
Interior/LabCom) and Patrícia Silveira (IADE - Faculdade de Design, 
Tecnologia e Comunicação, Universidade Europeia, CECS – Universidade do 
Minho)

Languages: Portuguese; English; Spanish

Deadline for Submission: 7 July 2022

Abstract
In recent years, we have seen a violent attack on the values of 
democracy. The growth of populism and authoritarian governments has 
contributed to a democratic backlash. In this context of threat to 
liberal democracy, citizenship and civic participation are also at risk. 
It is therefore urgent to reflect upon the growth of these trends, but 
above all it is necessary to understand that in a scenario dominated by 
media and digital communication, as well as by disinformation, it is 
essential to develop literacy for citizenship, participation and democracy.

***

Description and Framework
In recent years there have been several phenomena put democratic values 
to the test, to the point that we now can speak of a regression of 
liberal democracies around the world (V-Dem 2020; Democracy Index, 
2019). The political transformations that have taken place in countries 
such as Hungary, Turkey or Brazil, with the election of populist leaders 
and the constitution of anti- democratic governments, are just some of 
the visible faces of a larger problem, which reaches its maximum 
expression with the increase in the number of autocracies, which is now 
higher than that of democracies, something that has not occurred since 
2001 (V-Dem, 2020, p. 6).

Researchers have explained most of these transformations based on the 
idea that citizens no longer trust “the political system and democratic 
institutions” (Belchior, 2015). This mistrust would be at the origin of 
citizens' discontent and at the base of their adherence to populist 
politicians, who defend nationalist or protectionist measures, as well 
as restrictions to individual freedoms and rights.

The media have been used, in this process, as the main channel to 
transmit populist ideas. When the media are not available, digital 
platforms are the privileged vehicles to attack traditional media, 
convey disinformation and encourage the polarization of discourses. In 
this context, the question that arises is whether citizens are prepared 
to understand and critically assess the diversity of messages to which 
they are exposed in contemporary society.

The fast pace at which information circulates, especially in the digital 
world, combined with the transformations that have taken place in the 
production of content (Bruns, 2007; Anderson, Bell & Shirky, 2014), have 
reinforced the importance of promoting media and digital literacy as a 
democratic development strategy. Critical understanding and active 
participation are thus the basis of all democracies, as the absence of 
these competences prevents certain sectors of society from making 
informed choices, exposing them to false content and affecting the 
nature and quality of public debate.

In this context we understand that it is necessary to consolidate 
scientific knowledge and the perception that citizens have about the 
democratic process, civic participation and citizenship. It is not 
simply a matter of analyzing what the public knows about politicians or 
political institutions. Thinking about literacy for citizenship and 
democracy is to enter the broader field of identifying a set of 
competencies without which citizens would not be able to act critically, 
in a democratic context. In this sense, this call for papers aims to 
collect theoretical and empirical contributions that can help to reflect 
on the importance of this kind of literacy for citizenship and 
democracy, and more specifically what skills should be developed and 
what tools can be used to help combat democratic backlash. Among others, 
it seeks to obtain answers to the following questions: How to prepare 
citizens to participate critically in the democratic process? What kind 
of knowledge, attitudes and skills are essential for the exercise of 
citizenship in the digital age? To whom should media literacy actions be 
addressed? What strategies can help foster young people's interest in 
democracy?

Objectives and approaches

Considering that literacy for citizenship and democracy is the central 
axis of this call for papers, we seek contributions that take into 
account the following topics, (although not limited to them):

• Media literacy, citizenship and democracy
• Misinformation and information literacy
• Populisms, polarization and digital literacy
• Digital divide, teaching and media literacy
• Political literacy and civic participation
• Public policies and media literacy
• Technology, literacy and digital citizenship

Key Dates

1st Call for Papers: 1 March 2022
Deadline for Submissions: 7 July 2022
Deadline for Notification of Acceptance: 15 October 2022
Deadline for submitting the final version of accepted paper: 1 November 
2022 Publication date: 15 December 2022

*Contact*
All questions about the call for papers should be e-mailed to:
(ricardo.morais /at/ labcom.ubi.pt) <mailto:(ricardo.morais /at/ labcom.ubi.pt)>

*Information*
No payment from the authors wiil be required.

Submission guidelines:
Articles must be submitted online via 
https://journals.ipl.pt/cpublica/index 
<https://journals.ipl.pt/cpublica/index>. Authors are required to 
register in the system before submitting an article; if you have already 
registered, simply log into the system and start the 5-step submission 
process. Articles must be submitted using the pre- formatted template of 
Comunicação Pública. For more information on submission, please read 
Information for Authors 
<https://journals.ipl.pt/cpublica/information/authors> and Guidelines 
for Authors <https://journals.ipl.pt/cpublica/about/submissions>.


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