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Communication, Capitalism and Social Change: Policy, Practice, Praxis
ESA RN18 Mid-Term Conference 2018
University of Zagreb, Croatia
6-8 September 2018
Conference website: http://esarn18zagreb.org

European Sociological Association (ESA) ‐ Research Network 18: Sociology
of Communications and Media Research in cooperation with the:
Croatian Sociological Association (HSD)
Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO)
Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
(FFZG), University of Zagreb

Invites applications for the:

COMMUNICATION, CAPITALISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE: POLICY, PRACTICE, PRAXIS

ESA RN18 Mid-Term Conference 2018

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Natalie Fenton (Goldsmiths, University of London): Fake Democracy,
Digital Media: Reinventing our Democratic Futures?

Vincent Mosco (Queen's University, Canada): The Next Internet

CALL FOR PAPERS

Communication is essential to society. There are no social relations
without communication, and communication is the key for the
inter-subjective understanding of humans. Communication is embedded
within relations of production in digital capitalism. It is increasingly
commodified in digital networks while political radicalism finds new
support in right-wing populism. Open, democratic communication is much
needed in times of increasing radicalisation of human existence in
conservative discourses and confines of consumer logic. Non-regulated
markets, radical politics and corporate technologies distort the social
foundations of critical reason, and common-sense. Legacy media,
automated systems, fake news, market failures, and global monopolies of
key internet services systematically distort the inter-subjective
potential of communication. Burning social issues such as rising
inequality, poverty, migration, and climate change cannot be tackled
without a common understanding of the main challenges facing humanity.
While global networks offer the potential for human liberation, we are
witnessing a familiar pattern in which political and economic elites
take over the means of communication and common understanding. What is
to be done remains an open question. Supposedly value-neutral media
policies often end up proposing administrative adjustments to
communication systems, cater to the existing structures, and offer only
minor adaptations of the regulatory framework. The key is to break the
cycle in which such reforms perpetuate the fundamentally flawed social
system. Systemic tendencies of global capitalism towards creating
monopolies, destroying natural resources, increasing inequality,
spreading racism and xenophobia are well established. Yet moving from
the accumulated critical knowledge towards an actual social change is no
easy task. The demand for a better society, and a move from theory to
action is a thorny political issue. Open, democratic communication is
the starting point for any meaningful societal change. Such a situation
makes it increasingly important to revisit the critical ideas of
democratic rationalization within policy and the philosophy of praxis.

The ESA mid-term conference is particularly interested in, but not
limited to, the following questions:

Theorizing communication and social change

What theories help us to explain communication and social change? What
is the role of the philosophy of praxis in establishing a more just and
equal society? What are the current and ‘forgotten’ theoretical
approaches that can be of use for us today?

Market failures

Why and how do markets fail to provide positive externalities and public
goods? Why do commons-based projects become increasingly commodified?
What is the role of intellectual property rights in digital capitalism?

Policy failures

What kind of policies regarding communication and the media prevail
today? Why do policies fail to promote the establishment of a more just
and equal society? What is the future of media policy for bringing
social change?

Media frames of key social issues

How are social inequality, poverty, migration, climate change and other
issues framed by the media? How do key actors communicate through the
media? What are the obstacles and barriers of mediated representations
for bringing social change?

Ideological discourses

What are the main obstacles for democratic communication? How is
communication distorted by ideological, conservative and nationalist
discourses in contemporary society? What is the role of automated
systems and algorithms?

Digitized workspaces

How is communication turned into labour? What is the role of global
supply chains for digitized work environments? What are the main
tensions, contradictions and struggles in digitized work relations?

Alternatives and social movements

Who are the potential actors promoting democratic communication? How is
social change in general demanded by the current media development and
how by social movements, NGOs and community media with the use of ICTs?
What are the main global and local demands for social change?

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

Abstract submission deadline: 1 April
Notification of selected abstracts: 15 May
Conference date: 6-8 September 2018

Abstracts should be sent to:

Dr Roy Panagiotopoulou (University of Athens, Greece),
[log in to unmask], and
Dr Thomas Allmer (University of Stirling, UK), [log in to unmask]

Abstracts should be sent as an e-mail attachment (250-300 words
including title, author name(s), email address, and institutional
affiliations). Please insert the words "ESARN18 submission" in the subject.

CONFERENCE FEES

80 Euros for ESA RN18 members / 100 Euros for non ESA RN18 members
(conference dinner included)

60 Euros for ESA RN18 members / 80 Euros for non ESA RN18 members
(without conference dinner)

25 Euros for students (Bachelor and Master) (without conference dinner)
/ 45 Euros (conference dinner included)

The registration details, including the registration form, will be
available on the conference website (http://esarn18zagreb.org) in May 2018.

You can become a member of ESA RN18 by joining the ESA and subscribing
to the network. The network needs material support, so we encourage you
to join or renew your membership. The network subscription fee is only
10 Euros: http://www.europeansociology.org/member
Participation support for 4 PhD students and/or independent researchers
will be available. This will not cover all costs, but part of them
(accommodation and full conference fee). Preference will be given to
presentations that suit the overall conference topic.
If you want to apply for participation support, please send an extended
abstract (300-400 words), biographical information (up to 250 words) and
indicate this in your abstract submission by adding the sentence "I want
to apply for participation support for PhD students / independent
researchers". The notifications about participation support will be sent
out together with the notifications of acceptance or rejection of
presentations. Additional information to prove your position as a PhD
student or independent researcher will be requested.
CONFERENCE VENUE

The conference will be hosted by the Department of Sociology, Faculty of
Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb. The Faculty
is located at Ivana Lučića 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. The event is
co-organized by the Croatian Sociological Association (HSD), Institute
for Development and International Relations (IRMO) and the Department of
Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of
Zagreb (FFZG).

The ESA RN18 organising committee is led by:

Dr Roy Panagiotopoulou, Coordinator of ESA RN-18, University of Athens
Dr Romina Surugiu, Coordinator of ESA RN-18, University of Bucharest
Dr Thomas Allmer, Co-coordinator of ESA RN-18, University of Stirling
Dr Marisol Sandoval, Co-coordinator of ESA RN-18, City University of London

The local organising committee includes:

Dr Paško Bilić, Chair of the organisational board, Department for
Culture and Communication, Institute for Development and International
Relations
Dr Kruno Kardov, Chair of the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social
Sciences and Humanities, University of Zagreb
Dr Jasminka Lažnjak, President, Croatian Sociological Association
Dr Helena Popović, Department of Journalism, Faculty of Political
Science, University of Zagreb
Dr Jaka Primorac, Department for Culture and Communication, Institute
for Development and International Relations

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http://allmer.uti.at