ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

University of Tübingen

Deadline: March 7, 2019

The Faculty of Humanities at the University of Tübingen invites applications for a position at the Institute of Media Studies as a Full Professor (W3) of Media Studies with Specialization in Digitalization, Society and Responsibility to commence on 1 April 2020.

Candidates should demonstrate broad expertise in media and communication studies with an explicit research focus on digitalization, society and responsibility. Candidates are expected to engage a sociocultural perspective in both their theoretical and methodological access, ideally paired with a background in social science research. Ideal candidates bring a research focus in at least two of the following areas: public sphere theorizing and research; responsibility of media, organizations, and corporations; media regulation in global media societies; diversity; participation and democracy in digital media cultures; rights and ethics in digitalization processes; datafication and society.

Moreover, candidates are expected to engage in interdisciplinary research cooperations across the University. With the development of our new Master’s program “Publics and Responsibility” in mind, ideal candidates should demonstrate the integration of research and practical approaches in the desired area.

Required qualifications include a PhD or equivalent international degree and postdoctoral qualifications equivalent to the requirements for tenure. This includes evidence of teaching effectiveness. Teaching experience in relevant programs is desired.

This professorship is advertised as part of the German government’s Professorinnenprogramm III, aimed at promoting women academics and scientists. An appointment to the professorship is subject to the availability of funding under the Professorinnenprogramm III.

The University of Tübingen is particularly interested in increasing the share of women in research and teaching and therefore strongly encourages women candidates to apply.

In line with its internationalization agenda, the university welcomes applications from researchers outside Germany. Applications from equally qualified candidates with disabilities will be given preference.

Applications (including a curriculum vitae, copies of degree certificates, list of publications, list of classes taught) along with a selection of personally authored works (all monographs and up to 5 published papers) are to be sent by March 7, 2019, if possible in electronic form, to the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Keplerstr. 2, 72074 Tübingen, Germany (bewerbungen@philosophie.uni-tuebingen.de)

Enquiries may also be directed to the Dean.

Deadline: February 24, 2019

Auckland University of Technology (AUT) is a young and dynamic university that offers a stimulating teaching and research environment with strong connections to business and industry. AUT has over 29,000 students and 2,500 staff across our three teaching campuses and is located in New Zealand's largest city, Auckland.

AUT's Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies Faculty (DCT) creates jobs for the future. It is a transdisciplinary Faculty including disciplines in communication studies, computer science, design, engineering, mathematics, and an interdisciplinary area blending these fields with technology. DCT is an innovative, outward looking and inspiring hub of significant size and scale and is the largest Faculty within the University. Refreshed, growing and open to new challenges, DCT has 450 FTE staff and serves as the locus of activity for the schools of Communication Studies, Art & Design, Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences and Colab.

The Role

Ranked within the world's Top 200 for Communication & Media Studies (QS World University Subject Rankings 2018), DCT's School of Communication Studies is seeking to appoint a new Head of School to support our ambitious Dean and new Deputy Dean in producing great graduates. The successful candidate will secure a substantive 3 year secondment to the role of Head of School (with an option for a further 3 year extension as agreed by mutual consent) and a permanent senior academic appointment (rank commensurate with the skills and experience of the successful applicant).

This is a great time to be joining the Faculty. As a key member of DCT's Faculty executive, you'll work in close collaboration with the Dean and his team on Faculty strategic development and key decision making. It's all about 'One Faculty' - not just a grouping of schools - and you'll be a genuine advocate and voice for faculty decisions to ensure their successful implementation. You'll also lead the School of Communication Studies and its 80 FTE staff through a period of regeneration - this is a true people management role and there are a number of areas around teaching, research and service to be mapped out and implemented within DCT's roadmap and associated projects. The faculty is also recruiting for a Head of School in Art & Design during this exciting period of transition.

To make this happen we need a leader with vision, exceptional communication skills and an ability to balance strategic thinking with operational management! You will be hands-on as you navigate this exciting opportunity leading a complex, sizeable School and driving cultural change. You will be a highly visible face of the school both with industry and internally, bringing people together during this time of reinvigoration. You'll foster plans whilst driving key initiatives, such as: curricula reform, streamlining research strategies & themes, introducing new methods of teaching, developing your own leadership teams and importantly simplifying and empowering the school. With the variety of research and the practice-based learning approach the complexity of the school can make it seem like a faculty itself, only on a smaller scale! The position is supported by a Deputy Head of School and also offers the potential for future career development in university management roles.

PLEASE NOTE: A full candidate information pack is available here

Applications and Key Selection Criteria

We welcome applications from senior academics in relevant fields of our School of Communication Studies, who have significant academic staff leadership and management experience.

We request applicants send their CV, publication record and a statement addressing the following key selection criteria:

• Sustained outstanding competence in academic leadership and service. This must include management experience of academic teams of 30 or more staff, discussed from both a strategic and operational perspective.
  
• Extensive subject matter experience in one (or more) of the disciplines related to the School
  
• PhD in a relevant field of the school and experience of practice-based learning
  
• Extensive experience of cultural and environmental change management
  
• Proven experience building collaboration in a diverse faculty
  
• Proven sustained outstanding competence and leadership in research, teaching and service (required to be appointed to the professoriate)
  
• Experience in establishing effective and enduring relationships with business, government, professional groups and the wider community
  
• Applicants are also welcome to add further comments of their own, which they feel of relevance to the role and its requirements.
  

If you understand the importance of institutional context and want to make a genuine contribution to a high performing school and faculty, then this is the opportunity you have been looking for.

For a confidential discussion contact Alycia Hurley, Senior Recruitment Consultant (alycia.hurley@aut.ac.nz or +64 9 921 9207) or Mike Wood, Executive Recruitment Partner (mike.wood@aut.ac.nz or +64 9 921 9185).

Closing date: Sunday, 24 February 2019 at 23:55pm (NZST)

Interviews will take place in April/May 2019. We anticipate the successful candidate starting early 2020.

* QS World University Subject Rankings 2018

Auckland University of Technology is an EEO employer, we are committed to the Treaty of Waitangi and to equity. AUT aspires to be the University of choice for Maori and Pacific communities.

Please note that all applications must be submitted through the online application process. For further information, please send us an enquiry here or call 921 9499. Please note we are happy to answer your questions but we do not accept applications by email. You will need to apply through the standard registration process.

University College London - Department of Culture, Communication and Media

Closing date: March 2, 2019

Full Time/Permanent

Salary: £56,266 to £61,181 per annum (inclusive of London allowance)

The Department of Culture, Communication and Media (CCM) at UCL is seeking to appoint an Associate Professor in Digital Media Production.

The key duties of the post holder will be to play a leading role in the design and development of the curriculum of our established MA Digital Media programme with particular reference to a new route and named award in Digital Production (in games and animation). The post holder will also play a leading role in the development of a new BA Media programme for UCL, an integral part of plans for the new UCL campus on the Olympic Park.

Applicants should have a doctorate in digital media production or similar fields, or equivalent industry experience; expertise in production work in either digital games or 3D animation; experience of teaching, course design and leadership at both BA and MA levels in these areas; and an excellent track record of funded research and international publication.

A detailed job description and person specification can be accessed at: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BPX177/associate-professor-in-digital-media-production

May 9-11, 2019

Kadir Has University, Faculty of Communication, Istanbul (Turkey)

Deadline: February 10, 2019

Migration is one of the most controversial and pressing issues of our times. Due to economic deprivation, violence, human rights violations, political uncertainty and environmental problems, being on the road to somewhere has become the new norm. Yet in most cases, it is a departure without a certain arrival. According to the figures of UNHCR, 68.5 million people across the world are forcibly displaced and Turkey ranks first among top refugee-hosting countries. Between 2011-2016, the number of migrants in Turkey has reached 3.5 million. In this landscape, the significant questions of integration and harmonization arise, as discussed in M. Murat Erdoğan’s (2015) work on Syrians in Turkey.

Research on migration in Film Studies has had an interdisciplinary outlook, using mainly the perspectives of sociology, psychology, cultural geography and anthropology, gender, media, migration and diaspora studies and law studies, whereas Turkish Film Studies has started to discuss migration through Hamid Naficy’s theories on “transnational cinemas”. Referring to Homi K. Bhabha’s theories, Deniz Göktürk’s article “Turkish Delight-German Fright: Unsettling Oppositions in Transnational Cinema” (2003) focused on a new way of communication: “speaking from the margins to the center”. Ella Shohat and Robert Stam (1994) contributed to the study of immigrant filmmakers in national cinemas. More recently, in the context of Turkish-German and European cinemas, Nilgün Bayraktar’s (2015) work discusses representations of migration and mobility in Europe since 1990s, along with Isolina Ballesteros’s Immigration Cinema in the New Europe (2015), Daniela Berghahn and Claudia Sternberg’s European Cinema in Motion (2010), and Sabine Hake and Barbara Mennel’s Turkish German Cinema in the New Millennium (2012).

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, this year’s New Directions in Turkish Film Studies Conference scrutinizes the socio-cultural, political and economic aspects of migration and its influence on contemporary film and TV production in Turkey and abroad. Focusing on migrant narratives across audiovisual media, we aim to explore broader topics such as social media, mobility, citizenship, identity, integration and harmonization, refugee crisis, irregular migration/trafficking, insecurity, multiculturalism, cosmopolitanism and migrant rights.

Within this perspective, the conference aims to bring together film scholars to discuss issues related to “cinema and migration”. Potential topics for presentations include but are not limited to:

• Transnational and diasporic cinemas
• Images of migration
• Histories of migration
• Language and communication in migrant cinema
• Production modes of migrant filmmakers
• Aesthetics, genres and styles in migrant film experience
• Globalization, national cinemas and migration
• Experimental film and video works on migration
• Spaces, times and landscapes of migration
• Migrant identities
• Gender, mobility and migration

Confirmed Keynote Speakers include Dudley Andrew (Yale University), John Hill (Royal Holloway, University of London), Deniz Göktürk (University of California, Berkeley), Robert Burgoyne (University of St Andrews), Nevena Dakovic (The University of Arts in Belgrade), and Nilgün Bayraktar (California College of the Arts).

The conference will be held in English. Individual proposals should consist of an abstract (maximum 300 words) and a bio (maximum 100 words). Panel proposals should include the abstracts of each paper, bios of the panelists and a short description of the panel (max. 200 words). All proposals will be evaluated through a blind-review process.

To submit a proposal, please send the abstracts and bios to the following email address: tfayykonferans@gmail.com

The deadline for submission is February 10, 2019.

For the CfP, please see this link: http://tfayy.org/callforproposals.html

Film Competition

In addition, 20th New Directions in Turkish Film Studies Conference organizes a migration themed short film competition. For submission guidelines, please see the link below:

http://tfayy.org/shortfilmcompetition.html

Deadline: March 1, 2019

We are seeking applicants for the position of Editor of Environmental Communication. This journal, published by Taylor & Francis since 2007, is the official journal of the International Environmental Communication Association (IECA). The journal has become the flagship publication in the field of environmental communication, currently publishing eight issues per year. The journal’s Impact Factor for 2017 is 1.360. For more information about the journal’s mission, aims, and scope, along with samples of published work, go to here.

We are looking for candidates who are actively involved in the field of environmental communication, with an international reputation for excellence and enthusiasm for the journal.

The editorship of Environmental Communication is a rewarding role in which you will:

• develop your own networks
• promote research that you are passionate about
• contribute to the direction of the journal and the shape of the discipline

As Editor you will be responsible for promoting the mission of the journal through seeking, commissioning, and developing articles of the highest quality, and ensuring that these articles are delivered to the publisher in good order and on a timely basis. You will oversee the peer review of submitted articles and have the authority to accept or reject articles following peer review. You will identify strategies to continue to enhance the quality and reputation of the journal.

The role will begin on 1 January 2020. Prior to this there will be a period of transition with the current Editor. The expected length of term is three years.

Relationships and Support

You will work with the publisher through the Taylor & Francis Managing Editor on the Environment journals list as well as promotional staff. You will also work with the Research & Publications Committee of the IECA and will serve as a member of the IECA’s Board of Directors. Taylor & Francis will provide advice, support, and performance analysis of the journal. Taylor & Francis will also provide annual contributions to the successful applicant to cover journal-related expenses.

Primary Tasks

• Recruit and manage a team of Associate Editors that reflects the breadth of the field 
• Develop a broad-based and international Editorial Board with expertise in both the social sciences and the humanities 
• Process and make editorial decisions on open submissions 
• Commission special issues of the journal that reflect trends in the field 
• Provide quality assurance in the selection and performance of reviewers 
• Deliver high-quality, peer-reviewed manuscripts for publication within prescribed deadlines 
• With Taylor & Francis, identify and deliver strategies to enhance the quality and reputation of the journal, its citation levels, and readership/circulation 
• Increase awareness of articles published in the journal in all relevant communities and amongst colleagues 
• Work with the publisher and the IECA to promote the journal at professional meetings and other venues 
• Communicate with members of the IECA about journal developments through blog posts and email

Selection Criteria

We seek candidates with the following attributes:

• Leading researcher/scholar in the field of environmental communication 
• Knowledge of the international environmental communication research community 
• Ability to communicate effectively and manage projects and tasks on deadline 
• Demonstrated capacity to work collaboratively with faculty and staff 
• Experience in reviewing and editing (books, journal issues, etc.)

Applications should include a cover letter that addresses your vision for the future direction and scope of the journal, your interests and capabilities (including any potential institutional support), as well as a current CV. Applications will be reviewed beginning March 1, 2019, and will continue until the position is filled. Final editor selection will be made by Taylor & Francis in consultation with the search committee.

Send applications electronically to: Professor Nik Norma Nik Hasan (search committee chair), Universiti Sains Malaysia (nik.norma.nik.hasan@theieca.org).

The YECREA network is calling for early-career communication researchers across Europe to apply for 7 vacant positions as YECREA representatives.

Deadlines:

February 15, 2019 (YECREA Representatives)

February 28, 2019 (Women’s Network YECREA Representative)

The vacant positions are in the following sections/TWGs:

• Communication Law and Policy
  
• Digital Games Research
  
• Health Communication (TWG)
  
• Media & The City (TWG)
  
• Philosophy of Communication
  
• Science and Environment Communication
  
• Women’s Network
  

The young scholar (YECREA) representative in each section/TWG/network assists the managing team (consisting of a chair and two vice-chairs) in organising panels, symposiums and/or conferences, promoting the specific research area. Furthermore, the YECREA representative works to inform early-career scholars about events in the field and take part in organising events, such as pre-conference workshops or meetings.

The ‘young’ in young scholar is not a measure of age, but of career progression. Thus, all scholars in non-tenure positions (e.g. PhD’s and postdocs) are welcome to apply. It should be noted that the position as YECREA representatives is not paid.

Applications should be no more than 500 words and contain the following information:

• A heading with your name and the specific position you are applying for
  
• Details on your current university, position and progression
  
• A brief description of your research
  
• A brief statement on your work’s connection to the specific section, TWG or network
  
• A brief statement on your aspirations for improving early-career research
  

The managing team of YECREA (Corinna Lauerer, Norbert Šinković and Johan Farkas) will evaluate applications. The final decision on candidates will be taken in collaboration with the managing teams of each section/TWG/network.

As part of the evaluation, motivation will be emphasised as well as ensuring geographical diversity and supporting new scholars in the field.

More information about each section/TWG/network can be found at: https://www.ecrea.eu/Sections

More information about YECREA can be found at: http://yecrea.eu/

Questions can be addressed to Johan Farkas (Chair): johan.farkas@mau.se

Applications should be sent to: yecreanetwork@gmail.com

Nordmedia

August 21-23, 2019

Deadline: February 20, 2019

Organised by the ECREA Science and Environment Section (moderators Anna Maria Jönsson and Mette Marie Roslyng)

In the light of the increasing challenges faced by local, national and international communities in dealing with risk and crises related to science and the environment, the role of citizens has been identified as an important way forward (Philips, Carvalho & Doyle 2012; Stilgoe, Lock & Wilsdon 2014). This panel will explore how citizens engage in environmental and scientific problems characterised by some of the features: scientific uncertainty and contestation, diverging interests, democratic processes and inclusion (or lack thereof), debate and critique, implementation of initiatives and projects etc.

This focus will allow for the analysis of how the discourse of science and environment communication can be democratized in order to include more perspectives and voices in a debate where they have often been excluded (Philips, Carvalho & Doyle 2012; Smith 2003; Chilvers & Kearnes 2016). The aim is to explore how this discourse can be developed in more dialogical, critical, inclusive and deliberative ways. We are particularly interested in papers addressing new ways forward in developing a space for public debate and emerging publics in science and environment communication in relation to either new or traditional media, and papers problematising the concept of engagement and participation in relation to these issues. Following this, the panel also addresses how to theorise the citizen and the role of citizenship which may be critical, constructive, populist etc (Dahlgren 2006).

The papers in this section will address how citizen engagement and participation can contribute to creating deliberative practices or critical publics that may contribute to creating a way forward when facing crises relating to science and the environment. The papers may address the issue of citizen engagement and the role of publics theoretically or empirically and may adopt a multitude of methodological and communicative approaches within this theme.

The 300-word abstract must be sent to Mette Marie Roslyng by February 20, 2019: mmroslyng@hum.aau.dk

The final paper can be a full paper (6-8000 w) or a long abstract (2-3000 w)

Deadline: February 15, 2019

This anthology is designed to survey the use of counterterrorism laws and their effects on civil liberties, particularly freedom of expression. The editors for the volume will be Dr. Téwodros Workneh and Dr. Paul Haridakis of Kent State University. We are seeking chapter proposals for inclusion in a book proposal we are submitting to Routledge.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States as well as other terrorist-related incidents in different parts of the world have caused profound changes in political, economic, and social relations globally. Nations have aggressively sought a wide range of mechanisms to proactively curb potential threats, such as strengthening controls on immigration, financial transactions, and regulation of communication systems. While arms of executive branches such as law enforcement bodies and even militaries are commonly part of the anti-terrorism apparatus, the most conspicuous common denominator across nations has been the rise of what came to be known as counter-terrorism laws. Today, more than 45 countries in the world have enacted legislation that specifically is designed to address terrorism concerns. Counter-terrorism laws usually empower states to expedite prosecution of alleged offenders by bypassing standard criminal jurisprudence processes. Critics argue that counter-terrorism laws are prone to be misappropriated by state actors who routinely use such laws in non-terrorism domestic contexts. As a consequence, laws designed to combat terrorism are being applied domestically in contexts not involving terrorism—such as governmental efforts to quash political dissent or restrict other forms of citizen expressive activities.

The recent prominence of counter-terrorism laws across the world has had significant implications to the study of global terrorism from social scientific perspectives (e.g., legal and policy perspectives), especially in terms of determining what constitutes (and doesn’t) an expression of terrorism. Evidence from different parts of the world indicate many journalists, media practitioners, activists and everyday citizens who disseminate alternative or critical political discourse are experiencing various forms of harassment, persecution, intimidation, and even legal prosecution under broadly framed terrorism charges sanctioned by state-sponsored counter-terrorism legislation. For example, in Ethiopia, the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation of 2009 has been used to prosecute several bloggers and journalists who were accused of writing about opposition groups designated by the government as terrorists. In the United States, despite its strong tradition of First and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights of free speech and privacy, the FBI has routinely used, provisions of the USA Patriot Act of 2001 to demand information about U.S. citizens including journalists’ sources. Saudi Arabia has aggressively used its anti-terrorism law to criminalize a wide range of peaceful expression that has subjected several individuals to different forms of retribution including capital punishment.

Broadly framed, this call for proposals is concerned with how global counter terrorism laws have conditioned communication patterns, especially in terms of individual and institutional political speech. Almost all counter-terrorism laws incorporate language that affects communication, communication systems, media and/or media practitioners, an individual expression. In many instances, these laws define alleged terrorist speech, delineate the use of communication systems to disseminate said speech, and designate parameters to prosecute terrorists and networks of terrorism. At the same time, journalists, activists, and everyday media users across the world continue to experience varying degrees of state-sponsored harassment as a result of the broad interpretation of counter-terrorism laws that conflate terrorist expression with freedom of speech. In the midst of the rise of populist politics, nationalist political movements, and the retreat of the democratic order globally, the question about freedom of speech in the era of counter-terrorism frameworks is urgent. It is against this backdrop that we ask: What happens when a state-sanctioned legal framework aimed at protecting the public from terrorist activity, mostly perpetrated from foreign adversaries, is used internally against citizens? What are some of the consequences of using counter-terrorism laws that are prone to conflate freedom of expression with terrorist acts?

Manuscript submissions may address the following themes through a case study approach. Contributors shall focus on a given nation state and can explore one or a combination of the following thematic areas in addition to other related themes with the above scope in mind:

▪ Counter-terrorism laws and self-censorship

▪ The discourse/rhetoric of counter-terrorism laws

▪ Counter-terrorism laws and surveillance

▪ Country case studies of litigation focusing on counter terrorism laws

▪ Counter-terrorism laws and media practitioners

▪ Public communication in the age of counter-terrorism laws

▪ Counter-terrorism laws in democracies

▪ Counter-terrorism laws in autocracies

▪ Internet governance and counter-terrorism laws

▪ Counter-terrorism laws and privacy in digital platforms

▪ Journalism ethics and counter-terrorism laws

Deadlines

If you would like to contribute, please submit an abstract of 250-300 words to Dr. Téwodros Workneh (tworkneh@kent.edu) by February 15, 2019.

Submission components

▪ Title of chapter

▪ Author name/s, institutional details

▪ Corresponding author’s email address

▪ Keywords (no more than 5)

▪ A short bio (Maximum 100 words)

Additional guidelines

Commissioned chapters will be around 7,000 words. Accepting an abstract does not guarantee the publication of the final manuscript. Once the book proposal is approved, all chapters will be subject to a double-blind reviewing process.

Abstracts and questions should be addressed to Dr. Tewodros Workneh at tworkneh@kent.edu or Dr. Paul Haridakis at pharidak@kent.edu

MA Program at University for Peace

San Jose, Costa Rica

Deadline: February 28, 2019

The University for Peace, established by the General Assembly of the United Nations is seeking visiting lecturers to teach courses within the MA in Media and Peace program of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies for the academic year 2019-2020. Visiting lecturer-ships are available for the following courses and will be held on the dates mentioned below.

• Introduction to Media and Peace: 30 October-19 November 2019
  
• Global Structures and Cultures, Media and Conflict: 25 November-13 December 2019
  
• Censorship, International Law and Media 13-31 January 2020
  
• Conflict, Media Technoculture and Peace: 3-21 February 2020
  
• Culture Wars, Peacebuilding and Media Representations: 15 April-05 May 2020
  

For detailed description of the courses, see further below.

Appointment will be on the basis of a short-term, full-time contract for the three-week duration of the courses. The University for Peace will cover the financial costs of your travel: ticket in economy class, hotel accommodations and a daily allowance amount of US$55.00 to cover meals, personal transportation and miscellaneous expenses. The honorarium for the course will be US$4,500.00. Please be aware that in accordance with the Income Tax Law of the Republic of Costa Rica, the UPEACE will withhold from the amount to be paid (US$4,500.00) 15% (fifteen percent).

Interested applicants are requested to review the attached course descriptions and determine the course for which they want to be considered as a lecturer based on their relevant academic expertise and/or equivalent professional experience. They are then invited to apply for the positions to the following persons (copying both):

Dr. Saumava Mitra (Coordinator, MA in Media and Peace): mailto:smitra@upeace.org

Dr. Heather Kertyzia (Head, Department of Peace and Conflict Studies): mailto:hkertyzia@upeace.org

Emailed applications must include

1) a detailed curriculum vitae (Max. 5 Pages)

2) a cover letter mentioning which course the applicant is applying to teach, and describing briefly how their relevant experience and expertise in the topic area makes them a suitable candidate (Max. 2 Pages)

3) a teaching statement which clearly states examples of pedagogy as they might be used in the course (Max. 2 pages)

Please include the words ‘UPEACE Media Visiting Lecturer’ in the subject line of the email. Successful applicants will demonstrate exceptional research and pedagogic expertise in the topic area of the relevant course and/or up-to-date outstanding practical and training experience in the intersectional area of Media and Peacebuilding.

Emailed applications must reach by 11: 59 PM Central Standard Time, February 28, 2019.

About the Department

The Department of Peace and Conflict Studies of the University for Peace offers a range of postgraduate programs in the areas of peacebuilding and conflict transformation, gender studies and peace education. Since its inception in 1980, it has also been home to cutting edge research and pedagogy at the cross-disciplinary area of Media and Communication Studies and Peace and Conflict Studies. In the academic year 2019-2020, the department is re-launching its MA in Media and Peace as a full-fledged postgraduate program. This program is a revitalization of the MA in Media, Peace and Conflict that was previously offered by the department and extends the current Specialization in Media, Peace and Conflict offered within the MA in Peace and Conflict Studies program. For more information see www.upeace.org.

About the University

The University for Peace is renowned for its globally inclusive research and pedagogy in the broad area of Peace and Conflict. Home to the departments of Peace and Conflict Studies, Environment and Development, and International Law, it attracts a global body of students drawn from every continent of the earth every year. The University was established as a Treaty Organization of the United Nations with its own Charter in an International Agreement adopted by the General Assembly in Resolution 35/55 in December 1980. Its mission is "to provide humanity with an international institution of higher education for peace and with the aim of promoting, among all human beings, the spirit of understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, to stimulate cooperation among peoples and to help lessen obstacles and threats to world peace and progress, in keeping with the noble aspirations proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations". For more information see www.upeace.org.

For informal inquiries about the visiting lecturer-ships, contact the program coordinator at smitra@upeace.org

University for Peace Media and Peace MA 2019-2020: Courses open for visiting lecturers

The list below outlines the five courses of the Media and Peace MA Program for which we are seeking visiting lecturers. Dates when the courses will be held are mentioned in brackets beside the title of the course. Applicants are requested to kindly make sure that they are available to travel to Costa Rica and teach these courses on these dates before applying as dates of the courses are non-negotiable and re-scheduling is not possible. MA courses offered at UPEACE are intensive and consist of five three-hour sessions per week during the three week period. Typically, final assignments by the students are due within the course period or shortly thereafter.

Introduction to Media and Peace [30 October -19 November 2019]

This course will draw on theories and prior knowledge from both Media and Communication studies and Peace and Conflict Studies to identify the areas where ideas, concepts, theories and practices of the two disciplines merge and can help augment each other. It will particularly aim to provide students with a clear understanding of how media and conflict, communication and peace, are inter-related with each other. It will also apply this knowledge through student-led analysis of real world examples of contemporary conflicts and peacebuilding efforts. The course will ideally culminate in student projects of case study analyses of media’s role in a particular conflict-affected context or type of social conflict.

Global Structures and Cultures, Media and Conflict [25 Nov-13 Dec 2019]

This course will build a critical understanding of how political-economic and socio-cultural inequities in the macro structures that govern media in today’s globalized world, form obstacles to peace, and fuel conflict in and between societies. Including the influential and still-relevant debate surrounding the New World Information and Communication Order (1980) of the UN General Assembly, this course will focus on the continuities and changes before and since in the political and economic structures that underlie global media. It will focus on understanding how globalization, media structures and contemporary conflicts are inter-related and influence each other. A special focus within this broader discussions will be to create understanding of what role news media and journalism has traditionally played in reporting and representing conflict in ways that have been detrimental to peace-related goals of the international community.

Censorship, International Law and Media [13-31 January 2020]

Taking advantage of synergies between the fields of International Law and Human Rights on one hand, and Media and Peace on the other, this course will offer a critical analysis of the relationship between law and media around the world. It will include topics such as legal and illegal censorship of news and other media in different national contexts, as well as the international rights to communication and freedom of expression, enshrined in regional and international legal frameworks. Specific sessions will describe how national and international media-related legal structures and policies can encourage or discourage processes of conflict transformation, peacebuilding, and humanitarian advocacy.

Conflict, Media Technoculture and Peace [3-21 Feb 2020]

This course will focus on the emerging techno-cultural forces in the ‘new’ digital media environment and relate these to issues of peacebuilding and conflict transformation. It will focus on citizen journalism as well as other user-generated content to explore how conditions of peace and conflict can be affected by them in different contexts. These intersections between ‘new media’ and peace will include discussions of privacy and surveillance in an online environment, cyber-wars and cyber-terrorism on the one hand and potentials for global civic engagement and empowerment of the dis-enfranchised through digital media tools and platforms, on the other. Ideally, the students will be encouraged to build their own digital media-based communication product aimed for conflict transformation or social justice as the final student project for this course, with the option to instead critically analyze existing examples of digital platforms and communications from a peacebuilding perspective.

Culture Wars, Peacebuilding and Media Representations [15 Apr-05 May 2020]

The course will focus on introducing students to the theories of critical cultural studies and identity politics as it applies to media representations of peacebuilding processes and contemporary conflicts. The course will focus on existing research and real-world examples to show how different types of media, can perpetuate conflicts in societies and between societies through visual and textual representations that underscore racial, gender-related and cultural differences. It will also build critical knowledge of how media is currently used in humanitarian communication that aims to bring down boundaries between groups with different identities and how it can be improved for peacebuilding purposes. Ideally, the course will culminate in a choice for students to critically analyze a humanitarian campaign or to create a media campaign for a humanitarian purpose, of their choice.

Murat Akser and Victoria McCollum (eds.)

Lanham, MA: Rowman and Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-78661-063-8.

The volume outlines the history of alternative media use and the ways in which it has become a tool for the critics of the neoliberal economic system in Turkey. The collection concentrates on social media use within social movements and applies interdisciplinary approaches and research methods, ranging from cinema and visual arts to sociology, political science, content analysis and ethnographic study.