[Commlist] Call for papers: 2nd Mediology Research Network Conference – The Spectacle of the End. The End of Spectacle

*2nd Mediology Research Network Conference
The Spectacle of the End. The End of Spectacle*

*14-15 December 2026*
Online conference

Submission deadline: *15 October 2026*

The Mediology Research Network invites proposals for its second 
international conference, The Spectacle of the End. The End of Spectacle.

The conference aims to examine contemporary transformations of 
spectacle, media and forms of representation in light of the cultural, 
technological, political and environmental crises of the present.

It proposes a twofold perspective. On the one hand, it invites 
reflection on the spectacle of the end: the forms through which crisis, 
war, violence, environmental catastrophe, social precarity and 
imaginaries of collapse and apocalypse are represented, mediated, 
narrativised and consumed. On the other hand, it addresses the possible 
end or transformation of spectacle as a central twentieth-century 
category associated with mass communication, mainstream culture, the 
culture industry and public visibility.

The conference is interdisciplinary, and scholars working in 
Communication and Media Studies are explicitly and especially welcome.

THEMATIC SESSIONS

 1.

    Imaginaries of the end: crises, catastrophes, apocalypses

This session welcomes contributions on the medial, narrative, aesthetic 
and symbolic forms through which the end is represented and narrated. 
Topics may include representations of catastrophe and collapse; 
apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic narratives; climate crisis and 
environmental imaginaries; aesthetics of ruin, survival and destruction; 
vulnerability, precarity and emergency; and imaginaries of the end in 
popular cultures, digital media, literature, cinema, video games, 
seriality and the arts.

 2.

    War, violence and fear as media experiences

This session focuses on the ways in which war, violence, death, fear and 
destruction are made visible, shared and consumed within contemporary 
media environments. Topics may include the spectacularisation of war and 
violence; images of suffering, death and destruction; the digitalisation 
of conflicts; information, propaganda and disinformation; aesthetics of 
fear, trauma and emergency; visibility and testimony; and media 
representations of humanitarian and geopolitical crises.

 3.

    The end of the mainstream: publics, platforms, fragmentation

This session addresses the crisis or transformation of spectacle as a 
category historically associated with twentieth-century mass 
communication, generalist media, the culture industry and the 
mainstream. Topics may include the fragmentation of publics; 
transformations of television, cinema, radio and generalist media; 
digital platformisation; participatory, dispersed or algorithmically 
constructed publics; post-mainstream cultures; celebrities, influencers 
and creators; and transformations of the media event and shared temporality.

 4.

    After spectacle: technologies, algorithms and new forms of
    representation

This session examines the redefinition of spectacle within digital, 
algorithmic and post-medial environments. Topics may include generative 
artificial intelligence and cultural production; algorithms, 
personalisation and behavioural prediction; platforms and regimes of 
visibility; automation of communication and creativity; datafication, 
surveillance and algorithmic governance; digital aesthetics; immersive 
media and extended realities; new temporalities of spectacle; and hybrid 
forms between art, communication and technology.

PARTICIPATION FORMAT

The conference will take place online on 14 and 15 December 2026, in a 
format organised over two half-days.

Presentations should be no longer than 10 minutes. Each contribution 
should focus on a clearly defined object, research question, case study 
or theoretical issue, allowing time for discussion.

Selected abstracts may subsequently be developed into written 
contributions for the conference proceedings, with possible publication 
as Special Issues in scientific journals connected to the Mediology 
Research Network.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

Abstracts must include:

  * title of the contribution;
  * name, surname, affiliation and contact details of the author(s);
  * thematic session of reference;
  * abstract (maximum 4,000 characters, including spaces);
  * short biographical note including role, research interests and any
    recent publications (maximum 500 characters, including spaces).

Abstracts may be submitted in Italian, English, French or Spanish.

Deadline for submission: 15 October 2026.

Acceptance will be communicated by 30 October 2026.

Proposals should be sent to:
(mediologynetwork /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(mediologynetwork /at/ gmail.com)>

Participation in the conference is free of charge, and no payment from 
authors is required.

Full Call for Papers:
https://www.mediologynetwork.org/index.php/2026/07/15/2nd-mediology-research-network-conference-call-for-paper/ 
<https://www.mediologynetwork.org/index.php/2026/07/15/2nd-mediology-research-network-conference-call-for-paper/>

Contact:
(mediologynetwork /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(mediologynetwork /at/ gmail.com)>

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