Call for Proposals
The deadline for submission of proposals to ECREA's 2nd
European Communication Conference is Friday 15th February 2008.
The conference theme
The broad theme of this major international congress, Communication policies
and culture in Europe, refers to the confluence that can be established
between the media and the different interpretations of culture in Europe
nowadays. This confluence refers to the globalisation effects on a diversity
of spaces (multinational, national, local) with all its political
implications. It moreover refers to the different mediations and interactions
that configure the current European society with respect to migrations, new
forms of political participation, the dialectics of identity and diversity,
new cultural consumptions, etc. The broad title aims to emphasize the
importance of politics and culture, but also refers to new ways of regulation
and de-regulation, the technology and the management of convergence within
the cultural industries the new public service remit, and the variety of
communication policies that aim to guarantee cultural diversity and
development in Europe.
This invitation for proposals is both for individual papers and posters
and for pre-organised panels, from established academics, young scholars,
practitioners and postgraduate research students. Apart from the programme of
panels, papers and posters established on the basis of the conference call,
the conference will also include a series of plenary panels and semi-plenary
sessions on topics addressing the main conference theme, such as local
communication, the cooperation between Europe and Latin America, etc.
Submitting a proposal
Individual paper proposals, individual poster proposals and panel proposals
can be submitted through these links:
PAPER
PROPOSALS
POSTER PROPOSALS
PANEL PROPOSALS
All proposals will have to be submitted to one of ECREA's 15 thematic
sections, and will be reviewed by one of the 15 section selection committees
(the section focus can be found below – see here for more information on
the sections). Notifications of acceptance will be sent out on 15th April
2008.
Paper-presenters and panellists will be asked to confirm their intention
to attend by registering before 24th October 2008, in order to be able to
finalise the conference programme.
Paper proposals
Candidates are asked to include an abstract of minimum 400 and maximum 500
words, which should contain a clear outline of his/her arguments, theoretical
framework, methodology and results.
Candidates can submit their abstract in English, in Spanish AND English, or
in Catalan AND English. Only one proposal as first author will be accepted,
although more proposals can be submitted as co-author (second, ), as chair,
or as respondent of a panel - but a participant will be allowed only one
paper presentation. For this reason, paper proposals should be submitted by
the person who is planning to present the paper at the conference. Co-authors
will be mentioned in the conference programme.
Poster proposals
Candidates are asked to include an abstract of minimum 400 and maximum 500
words, which should contain a clear outline of his/her arguments, theoretical
framework, methodology and results. Candidates can submit their abstract in
English, in Spanish AND English, or in Catalan AND English. Only one proposal
as first author is allowed, although others could be submitted as co-author.
Panel proposals
We expect panel proposals to comprise six participants: either six presenters
or five presenters and a respondent/discussant for a 105-minutes session. In
addition, one Chair can be nominated. This Chair should not be presenting one
of the papers, although s/he may be a co-author. Panels proposals should
include:
- A panel abstract of minimum 400 and maximum 500 words
- Abstracts (400-500 words) and personal information of each of the
presenters
- The proposal can be submitted in English, in Spanish AND English, or in
Catalan AND English
Timeline
The key dates for the conference are as follows:
1st December 2007: Open call for paper, poster and panel proposals
15th February 2008: Deadline for the on-line submission of paper,
poster and panel proposals
15th April: Notification of acceptance
24th October 2008: Deadline for the submission of full papers
24th October 2008: Deadline for registration of presenters
25-28 November 2008: The ECC08 conference
ECREA's thematic sections
Audience and Reception Studies
The Audience and Reception Studies section is about how people interpret and
use media, and with what consequences on the micro - and macro-level. The
section welcomes various approaches (theoretical/critical works, empirical
studies, methodological discussions) and methods (quantitative or qualitative
research, or both) and encourages works that cross disciplines (social
sciences, humanities and arts, life sciences) and traditional boundaries
(between "old media" and "new media"; between mass
communication and group communication; between content/production and
audience/reception/effects).
Communication and Democracy
The ECREA Communication and Democracy section invites you to send in
abstracts for papers as well as panel proposals focussing on the relationship
between media, communication and democracy. Democracy is being defined here
in a broad sense and is not merely limited to the procedural elements in
political systems. Likewise, media and communication relates to both more
traditional media as well as the internet and newer media opportunities. The
section-theme for 2008 Barcelona conference is "Media and Communication
for a Democratic and Culturally Diverse Europe". Abstracts and panel
proposals should ideally address one of these rather general sub-themes:
challenges to public sphere theory; social mobilizations, activism and
protest cultures; the future of community media (in a digital age); citizen
and public journalism in defence of democracy; EU media & communication
policy: does public participation matter?; the political significance of
media literacies; and web 2.0: changing politics through digital networks?
Communication Law and Policy
The recently launched 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
European media and communication law, regulation and policy.
Diaspora, Migration and the Media
Transnational and diasporic communications have brought a number of
theoretical and methodological challenges for European communication
research, such as those relating to the significance of the national public
spheres, national broadcasting, multicultural media and the cultural and
communication practices of people living in culturally diverse societies. 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 (media production; media texts; consumption
of media and communications technologies; national and transnational policy;
media ethics and the representation of difference)
Digital Culture and Communication
The digital culture and communication section aims at exchanging and
developing research at the European level in the developing field of digital
media and informational culture as this is broadly defined. 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 empirical and theoretical/critical work. It therefore
welcomes work that questions the general specificity of 'the digital' and/or
uses 'the digital' to rethink existing media and communication theories and
approaches (as well as research methods).
Film Studies
Ranging from early cinema experiences in European metropolis, to the
contemporary blockbuster multiplexes, film has always been at the forefront
of European popular culture. The film studies section invites for
contributions that deal with film in a broad variety of aspects: film as
content, as cultural artefact, as commercial product, as lived experience, as
cultural and economic institution, as symbolic field of cultural production,
as media technology, etc. We strive towards methodological openness and
multilevel approaches on the study of historical and contemporary cinema:
film text, context, production, representation and reception. Cultural
studies perspectives, historical approaches, political economy, textual
analysis, audience research all find its place within the section
Gender and communication
The Section Gender and Communication invites contributions, which stress
issues within the field of communication with a specific interest in gender,
conceptualised in a broad sense. The section specifically seeks inclusivity
in relation to gender studies issues on the part of media research. Amongst
gender-related issues are ethnicity, identity politics, queer studies, media
industries, feminist media studies, popular culture studies, post-structural
theory, as well as a host of philosophical questions. Aiming to bridge the
gap between communication and gender studies, this section welcomes
interdisciplinary approaches that combine a focus on gender with media
research, namely media production, content analysis of media texts and media
use and/or reception.
International and Intercultural Communication
The field of International and Intercultural Communication has changed
considerably over the last years. Globalisation and its consequences have
forced the field to broaden its scope considerably. Furthermore the field is
challenged from the outside by other disciplines engaging in the debate on
the role of communication in globalisation processes. In this section we
welcome contributions that take a broad view on cross-border communication in
all its forms. We define cross-border communication in terms of communication
crossing national or/and cultural borders. We will both focus on mediated and
personal forms of communication
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 ECREA 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
Organisational and Strategic Communication
The ECREA section for Organizational and Strategic Communication promotes an
active and critical dialogue among scholars in view of consolidating an
interdisciplinary field of debate, applications and complex projects. Its aim
is to approach and to debate on the fundamentals of corporate communication
and to encourage the development of research topics and input concepts by
different scholars in various European countries or elsewhere. The overall
objective of the Section is therefore to enhance the European research within
the field of organizational and strategic communications as well as to refine
the conceptual and methodological background of the correlated practice. The
participation rules of the Section allow contributions from researchers,
professors, master and doctoral students, as well from corporate
representatives whose aim is to develop the internal research portfolios of
their own organizations. The Section also allows contributions of independent
specialists and consultants in marketing, public communication or related
fields, as the very field of organizational communication is difficult to
observe unless part of the organizational systems.
Philosophy of Communication
The Philosophy of Communication Section in particular sets out to consolidate
a European forum for the philosophy of communication. Guided by the ideal of
a free, rational, diverse, engaged and socially just Europe, the Section is
explicitly oriented to reflect the cultural variety and the variety of
traditions in the history of thought, scholarship and science. The philosophy
of communication encompasses a variety of concerns including reflective,
theoretical, analytical, normative and historical questions relating to
communication as a phenomenon, a dialectical process, a social reality, a
form of expression, a theoretical construct or last but not at least a
paradox. What distinguishes Philosophy of Communication from other approaches
is the foundational dimension embodied by the Section. The Philosophy of
Communication section welcomes contributions that deal with questions
regarding theory formation and methodology in communication scholarship, and
with fundamental questions regarding the place of communication in human
existence.
Political Communication
The Political Communication Section of ECREA invites contributions dealing
with: critical approaches on press and media coverage of public affairs in a
democratically adequate way both empirically and / or theoretically grounded;
new media emerging as political communication vectors, i.e. community and
citizens media or as challenging forces of the political status quo; issues
on political communication as a contestable social capital and as symbolic
means in the service of diverse community and social forces; agenda-settting
issues between the political and the media system, but also, inter- and
intra-media agenda-setting and control practices; and analyses on specific
topical aspects of the 'European Political Communication Deficit' or,
conversely, on best practices of coverage of Europolitics across the Union,
either as case or as comparative studies.
Radio Research
The Radio Studies Section invites abstracts to be presented from across as
wide a range of interests as possible. We do not wish to limit the focus and
scope of members' research in the medium and the panels will be organized
thematically once the abstracts have been received. However, based on the
discussion at the recent meeting of the section in Lincoln in July 2007,
panels in at least the following areas are anticipated: Audience studies;
community radio; content (programming and genre); digitisation; new or
revised research methodologies.
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 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;
communication, democracy and scientific governance; public engagement with
science and the environment; the dialogic, interactive communication of
research-based knowledge.
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