ESA Research Networks
Sociology of Mass Media and Communications Research Network
Call for Papers
The Network will be meeting in Glasgow, and invites papers for its sessions there. It has been the custom of the Network in the past not to be overly restrictive about topics, providing papers fall within the interests of the network. We may organise joint sessions with other networks, and would especially welcome papers that address the Conference theme, particularly focussing on "contemporary citizenship in Europe and debate about the state of democracy and the fate of civil, political and social rights that have been the political lifeblood of European societies". Within this broad theme are many topics on which sociological theory and debate about the media and communications have much to say.
The provisional deadline for abstract submission is 15th February, 2007. For this conference, abstracts will only be accepted through online submission (at
http://www.esa8thconference.com/abstractsubmission/index.php). Please do not send in abstracts in any other format. Submitted abstracts will go directly to RN coordinators and simultaneously to the Conference Organiser.Those who submit abstracts will also receive an automatic email acknowledgement of their submission - so you will have no need to attend to this formality. A link between the conference website and the appropriate page for all the Research Networks on the ESA site has been established, so you do not need to contact the RN formally, though of course we would be happy to answer informal queries.
The Conference website is at
www.esa8thconference.com. All registration and other information will be found there.We look forward to receiving lots of paper abstracts.
RN officers.
General information about the Research Network
The interests of this research network are in fostering research and debate about the social role of communications, information and media in the constitution of the public sphere, and in the sociological analysis of the role of communications in contemporary social change.
Report to ESA Vice-President (Networks) 2006
1. Officers
Chair: Prof. Peter Golding
Department of Social Sciences
Loughborough University
Loughborough, Leicestershire
LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
tel.: +44 1509 223390
Fax: +44 1509 238277
e-mail:
P.Golding@lboro.ac.uk
Vice-Chair: Prof. Peter Ludes
Professor of Mass Communication
International University Bremen
P.O. Box 750 561, 28725 Bremen
Germany
Phone: +49-421-200 3476
Fax: +49-421-2003303
Email: p.ludes@iu-bremen.de
Secretary: Prof. Rossella Savarese
Dept. of Sociology
Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
Vico Monte della Pietà 1
80138 Napoli, Italy
Tel: +39-812535879
Email: rossella.savarese@fastwebnet.it
N.B. The officers have been in post for several years, beyond the constitutional requirements now set in place by the ESA Guidelines. This takes advantage of the “normally” inserted in the statute, but also reflects the triumph of pragmatism over bureaucratic correctness, in that network members have been invited to hold office but have so far preferred to ask the existing officers to continue, with every evidence of satisfaction with their efforts. However, nominations and elections will be properly conducted for the Glasgow meeting.
2.
Membership
As with all ESA Networks membership is free and
self-defining. We encourage all members to become members of the ESA if
they are not already, but do not police this. Anyone who contacts us or
attends any meeting is automatically added to an email list which receives
all information about the network. There are currently 168 names on the
Network list.
3. Network Meetings
The Mass Media and Communications Research Network has met at all the ESA biennial conferences since 1997. It has also held network meetings in intermediate years at the University of Naples, the International University of Bremen and at the Aristotle University of Thessalonica. In 2006 we were grateful to receive the hospitality of the Faculty of Communication at the University of Ankara, Turkey.
3.1 Meeting in Turkey November 2006
The Network held 5 sessions at the meeting at the University's conference
centre near Antalya. In all, 13 different papers were presented by authors
from 5 different countries. Average attendance was about fifteen. The papers
presented in the seminar on current research focused upon a range of
sociological concerns based on the following range of theoretical and
empirical research areas:
- The role of the media in fostering or inhibiting a ‘European public sphere’;
- Changes in the political economy of the European media industries;
- Sociological analysis of media culture, especially comparative studies;
- Changes in patterns of consumption or reception of media output;
- Theoretical innovation and debate within sociology of relevance to scholars concerned with media and communications
Members from outside of Turkey did experience some difficulties with travel arrangements to Antalya, as flights are somewhat reduced once the summer season has ended, which resulted in a number of last minute cancellations to the programme. Despite the lower than expected turnout, the quality of the papers presented was high and the opportunity for discussion proved most fruitful for all in attendance. The sessions took place in a large well-designed conference room and the PowerPoint and microphone facilities were used in all sessions. Accommodation and meals locally were heavily subsidised by the host department. We are extremely grateful to our colleagues in Ankara and to the University of Ankara. In particular our thanks to the Faculty of Communication and to our colleague Mine Gencel Bek, for enabling this meeting to take place.
For the full programme, including abstracts, please see this
file. If you would like to read the full papers, please
contact the authors directly using the email address stated in the
programme.
4.
Future Planning
The Network has a website within the general ESA website, and
this needs updating to include this report and further details of the
Glasgow meeting as they arise. It has been confirmed that the research
network meeting for 2008 will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, probably in
November. The exact dates are to be confirmed. We are looking forward to the
special issue of European Societies and the continuing development of
the network.
Peter Golding
November 2006
About the Research Network
The interests of this research network are in fostering research and debate about the social role of communications, information and media in the constitution of the public sphere, and in the sociological analysis of the role of communications in contemporary social change.
Coordinator
Peter Golding
Department of Social Sciences
Loughborough University
Loughborough, Leicestershire
LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
tel.: +44 1509 223390
Fax: +44 1509 238277
e-mail: P.Golding@lboro.ac.uk
Vice-Chair: Prof. Peter Ludes
Professor of Mass Communication
International University Bremen
P.O. Box 750 561, 28725 Bremen
Germany
Phone: +49-421-200 3476
Fax: +49-421-2003303
Email: p.ludes@iu-bremen.de
Secretary: Prof. Rossella Savarese
Dept. of Sociology
Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
Vico Monte della Pietà 1
80138 Napoli, Italy
Tel: +39-812535879
Email:rossella.savarese@fastwebnet.it