In its 50th year, Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research invites to reconsider what European communication research is – and what it can be. From its start in 1975, the journal’s mission has been to serve as a forum for scholarship and academic debate in the field of communication science and research from a European perspective. But what is in fact a European perspective?
Information
The jubilee conference invites us to rethink what constitutes European communication research. This opens up a range of questions like: What are particular European preoccupations and key contributions to the wider debates? On which theoretical and methodological fundaments does European communication research rest that set it apart from other inquiries? Is there a unique European contribution to global communication theories? How do assumedly European values of diversity, solidarity, or democracy shape communication research? How can European communication research explore the concept of a ‘digital Europe’? Where does European communication research lead us, and what can or shall we expect from it that is different from work drawn out in other parts of the globe? How do we deal with linguistic barriers and the diversity of research traditions? And can we think of a European communication research beyond exceptionalism and essentialism?
These and similar questions had been around since the journal was launched, and they are still relevant today. They become virulent again in a context where Eurocentrism in research has been widely and rightly criticized while Europe’s identity, its boundaries, its legacies, and values face increasing contestation. This ties questions of media and communication to Europe’s political, legal, social, and economic formation that is in no way isolated, uniform, or static. Indeed, the attribute ‘European’ carries geopolitical as much as intellectual connotations with far-reaching consequences for the journal’s scope, composition, and purpose.
The conference offers a moment to rethink what a European perspective could mean for scholarship and what kind of Europe is in fact evoked here. These reflections urge us to rethink the journal’s role in fostering scholarship that is both inclusive and critically engaged with Europe’s complexities. What kinds of questions can usefully be asked? What forms of critique are pertinent? What sorts of research should be drawn out? Which pathways should Communications follow to reaffirm its relevance and leadership in fostering impactful scholarship? Possible answers can come from a variety of areas given that the journal seeks to encompass the entire field of communication science as its domain of interest and the contributions published cover a wide range of subfields in communications.
The conference is open to theoretical and empirical approaches. It invites emerging and junior scholars as well as senior faculty to contemplate the peculiar character of European communication research.
Contributions can address, but are not limited to, the following aspects:
- Diversity and commonalties of European research traditions
- Legacies and foundations of European communication research
- Agendas and approaches in comparative research within Europe and beyond
- Regional and transborder communication
- Global dimensions, connections, and reverberations of European communication research
- Gaps and deficits of European communication research
- Pathways and pitfalls for European communication research
- Values and norms for European communication research
Programme
WELCOME
1:00 - 1:30 pm
Leen d‘Haenens, KU Leuven, Belgium
Stefanie Averbeck-Lietz, University of Greifswald, Germany
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Keynote 1
1:30 - 2:00 pm
Title tba
Keith Roe, KU Leuven, Belgium
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Keynote 2
2:00 - 3:00 pm
Title tba
Maria Kyriakidou, Cardiff University, GB
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TEA & COFFEE BREAK
3:00 pm
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PANEL 1: RETHINKING EUROPEAN COMMUNICATION LANDSCAPE
3:30 - 16:45 pm
Diversity and Commonalities of European Research Traditions: Critical Legacies and Digital Futures
Hatice Çağlar, Çukurova University, Turkey
What's Happening on the Eastern Side of European Communication? Rethinking the European Journal of Communication Research from non-Western Perspectives
Ilgar Seyidov, Atilim University, Turkey
Counter-publics in China's authoritarian media system as a theoretical challenge for European media and communication studies
Cornelia Bogen, Ludwigsburg University of Education, Germany
Promoting European Cultural Identity: The Case of the Republic of Moldova
Ludmila Lazarev, University of Music, Theater and Fine Arts, Republic of Moldova
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PANEL 2: STRATEGIC NARRATIVES ON CONFLICT AND CRISIS
5:00 - 6:15 pm
Medias Construction of Political Leadership in Transboundary Crisis: A comparative analysis of the mediated European responsibility discourse during the migration crisis and the coronavirus pandemic
Elisabeth Wagner-Olfermann, Ilmenau University for Technology, Germany
Strategic Narratives on Social Media: The Role of Media Systems, Political Actors, and Platforms in Framing the Russian-Ukrainian War in Seven EU Countries
Kostiantyn Yanchenko, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany
Edda Humprecht, University of Jena, Germany
Blindspots, and Perspectives of the European Migrations Media Research
Serhiy Blavatksyy, University Lumière Lyon-2, France
Reporting the 2024 European Elections: Influence of Institutional Communication on Media Coverage in Spain, Belgium and the UK
Raquel Ruiz Incertis, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain
Rubén Rivas de Roca, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Jorge Tuñón Navarro, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain
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Dinner (self-pay)
7:00 pm
Venue: Auerbachs Keller (Grimmaische Str. 2-4, 04109 Leipzig)
KEYNOTES
9:00 - 10:30 am
Title tba
Göran Bolin, Södertörn University, Sweden
Title tba
Bernie Hogan, University of Oxford, GB
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Tea & Coffe Break
10:30 -11:00 am
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Panel 3 Digital transformation, AI, Creativity
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
New Perspectives for Franco-German Scientific Collaborations: Articulating Industrial R&D Collaborations from Geopolitical Tensions to Emerging Opportunities
Niklas Henke, Université Grenoble Alpes, France
Digital Europe: the contribution of Communication Research for European Digital Transformation
Maria Teresa Cruz, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal
Generative AI and Ethnographic Communication Research: Gaps and Opportunities
Saskia Witteborn, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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Lunch
12:00 - 12:30 pm
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Panel 4: Digital transformation, AI, Creativity (Part II)
12:30 - 1:30 pm
Empowering Individuals through Generative Learning of Self Concept to Build Self-Confidence and Embrace European Identity
Mariana Zubenschi, Ion Creangă Pedagogical State University, Republic of Moldova
The evolution of creative and innovative communication research in Europe: a critical perspective
Nayra Vacaflor, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, France
Imagining Digital Europe on TikTok: From Institutional Narratives to Meme Culture
Pilar Lacasa, University of Alcalá, Spain
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Krotz Reflections
1:30 - 2:00 pm
Friedrich Krotz, ZeMKI, University of Bremen, Germany
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Farewell
2:00 pm