Communication Policy and Technology Section

The Communication Policy and Technology (CP&T) Section of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites submissions for the IAMCR 2017 conference to be held July 16-20, 2017 in Cartagena, Colombia. The deadline for submissions of abstracts for papers and panel proposals is midnight GMT on 9 February 2017.

General Theme

The 2017 conference theme is “Transforming Culture, Politics & Communication: New media, new territories, new discourses”

Communication and media are being transformed by complex and often unpredictable dynamics. Established social and political actors are being challenged and new movements are emerging, who are more likely to see politics as spaces of multiple modes of participation rather than as spaces where they are represented. Contemporary politics (especially political parties) are also being transformed and new social movements are emerging and growing, taking various forms, sizes, and shapes.

The conference will explore and discuss the link between, on the one hand, broad social, political and cultural changes and dynamics, and on the other, changes in communication, media, and their processes. Is it time to rethink communication and relocate it, with all of its nuances, within a new understanding of politics and culture that speaks to the times we now live in, and rethink geopolitical ideas such as north/south, east/west world that dominated thinking in the 20th century? Today souths and norths (in the conventional sense), mingle and interact with centers and peripheries, and easts and wests, throughout the world

CP&T Call

The Communication Policy and Technology section focuses on the role and meaning of media and communication technologies, both analogue and digital, in past, current and future societies, as well as their policy implications. For the IAMCR conference in Cartagena we invite papers that analyse and discuss current social, political and cultural dynamics and their implications for media and communication policy, as well as the shifting borders between culture, politics and communication.

We are interested in policies related to media, communication technologies and online platforms, ranging from print-cultures to sharing economy applications in different domains of society. Over the last decade, the relations between (state) institutions, citizens, and corporations has been fundamentally reconfigured. On the one hand, this development is accelerated and complicated by the rapid rise of digital media platforms and their role for public discourses. On the other hand, we witness the emergence of new social (and populist) movements, often related to new modes of governance and participation. As a consequence, the borders between culture, communication and politics are being reconfigured and policy often fails to keep up with the dynamic changes in all societal spheres. We need to critically assess from interdisciplinary perspectives what these developments mean for the (dis)empowerment of users/citizens/consumers and the role of media, communication and technology in contemporary societies.

• The CP&T section therefore invites submissions that critically engage with these issues. In addition, we welcome papers and panel proposals addressing the following themes that fit in the general call for papers and are relevant to the section.
• Policy implications of the societal, political and cultural reconfigurations, the rise of populist movements and the re-conceptualisation of geopolitical categories, such as south/north or east/west.
• Digital sovereignty and the challenges for global internet governance in times of nationalisation and securitisation
  Social media governance of online harassment, hate speech and cyberbullying particularly as it relates to gender, race, class etc.
• The challenges created for politics, policies and citizens of misinformation, automated content generation and personalisation
• Emerging social, cultural and citizenship implications of ubiquitous and embedded computing and networking, especially in relation to smart cities, the internet of things, big data etc.
• Policies and research into the internet of citizens, the digital divide, digital literacy, user self-determination etc.
• Multiple forms of media and communication governance and their implications for participation, pluralism and diversity.
• Policies and debates around public service broadcasting and public service obligations in telecommunications services

In addition, we warmly invite submissions for a joint session with the Emerging Scholars Network section. Emerging and ‘young-at-heart’ scholars tackling issues within the scope of the CP&T section are welcome to submit their research to our section or to ESN indicating they wish to be considered for this joint session.

The CP&T section also plans to co-sponsor a session with the Law section. Submissions taking a critical approach to law and internet governance; broadcast and telecommunication policy; communication technologies’ relationships with citizens’ rights, privacy and justice; and related topics may be considered for this session.

The CP&T Section will also look for additional opportunities for hosting joint sessions with other IAMCR Sections and Working groups.

Accepted CPT submissions will take place in two types of sessions: individual paper sessions (i.e. 4-5 presenters with 12-15 minutes each followed by a discussant and requiring full paper submitted before the conference) and panel sessions (4-5 papers on a single theme).

Languages

This Section accepts abstract submission and presentations in English and Spanish.

See CfP in Spanish.

Submission information

The CP&T section welcomes abstract proposals of between 250 and 500 words for papers in line with the conference and CP&T themes. Abstracts should contain a title, main question or research problem, theoretical framework, method(s) used, and empirical and/or policy outcomes.

Submitted abstracts will be evaluated by a double blind review on the basis of: (1) theoretical contribution, (2) methods, (3) quality of writing, (4) literature review, (5) relevance of the submission to the work of the CP&T section, and (6) originality and/or significance of the work.

The CP&T section also welcomes abstract proposals for panels of 90 minutes and including 4-5 papers. A complete CP&T panel submission must include:

1. The panel proposal: including, the panel title, a framing text, the names of the panelists and the titles of their papers. The framing text should contain the overall idea and goal of the panel, and how it responds to the CP&T section call. A panel chair and a discussant should also be proposed.
2. 4-5 paper abstracts, including title and author(s), name of panel it is part of, main question or research problem/argument, theoretical framework, and – if applicable –method(s) used, empirical and/or policy outcomes.

The panel description text and the individual abstracts must each be submitted individually. Thus a panel with 5 papers involves making 6 separate submissions via the Open Conference System (OCS).

Abstracts can be submitted directly by the panel authors or the panel coordinator can submit them on the authors’ behalf. All abstract submissions in a panel must indicate “PANEL:” as the first word of their title and the complete title of the panel must appear in the first line of each abstract. The panel proposal and the individual papers will all be peer reviewed.

Submission of abstracts, panel proposals and (if accepted) full papers must be submitted through the online Open Conference System (OCS) at http://iamcr-ocs.org from 1 December 2016 until 9 February 2017. Early submission is strongly encouraged. Abstracts cannot be sent to the Section chairs.

It is expected that for the most part, only one (1) abstract will be submitted per person for consideration by the conference. However, under no circumstances should there be more than two (2) abstracts bearing the name of the same applicant either individually or as part of any group of authors.

Please note also that the same abstract or another version with minor variations in title or content must not be submitted to other Sections or Working Groups of the Association for consideration, after an initial submission. Such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be automatically rejected by the Open Conference System, by the relevant Chair or by the Conference Programme Reviewer. Such applicants risk being removed entirely from the conference programme.

Upon submission of an abstract, you will be asked to confirm that your submission is original and that it has not been previously published in the form presented. You will also be given an opportunity to declare if your submission is currently before another conference for consideration.

If Accepted

If a proposal is accepted, the presenter must also register for the conference. Only registered participants will be included in the final conference programme.

Prior to the conference, and at least by the 26th of June, a completed paper should be submitted to Session Chairs, discussants, and uploaded.

A CP&T best paper award prize may be awarded to one of the paper presenters, based on the full papers submitted by the 26th of June.

For information on the CP&T sessions (submission, themes, panels) at IAMCR 2017, and for general information on the CP&T section (http://www.iamcr.org/cpt), you can contact the section officers (see below).

General IAMCR Conference Call >>>

Key dates >>>

Communication Policy and Technology Section

Chair:

Aphra Kerr
aphra.kerr [AT] nuim.ie
Maynooth University, IE.

Vice-Chairs:

Francesca Musiani
francesca.musiani [AT] cnrs.fr
CNRS, FR.

Julia Pohle
julia.pohle [AT] wzb.eu
WZB, DE.