ECREA Communication and Democracy Conference 2015 9-10 October 2015, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

Deadline for submission is 1 May 2015

Research on media and politics has traditionally tended towards separating the sphere of politics from political processes in other societal spheres, focusing on parliamentarian politics and formal, institutionalised interest group politics (e.g. unions). At the same time, there has been a tendency to focus on elites, whether political, corporate, media or cultural. With the emergence of digital media, the research agenda within the field of media and politics research is shifting towards exploring interrelations between institutionalised politics and political processes in other societal spheres, and moving beyond elites to also include =93ordinary=94 people. The personalization of digital media and the rise of user-generated content have led to an increased interest in personal self-expression of citizens at an individual level as a political act. While this represents an important development, it also warrants fundamental questions about what counts as politics and who count as political actors. At the same time euphoric accounts of the potential of digital media for political agency are questioned critically both in terms of actual potential and the wider structures in which they are embedded.

We are seeking for contributions that address questions of shifting agency in connection with changing media technologies, while considering a dialectical relationship between social and media-related change. Contributions could address =but are not limited to the following topics

  *   Social movement/radical/alternative media
  *   Digital activism
  *   Materiality of media participation
  *   Spaces of participation and protest
  *   Civic resilience in times of crisis
  *   Digital media uses in extra-parliamentarian and non-institutionalized politics
  *   Digital media representations of extra-parliamentarian and non-institutionalized politics
  *   Digital media at the intersections of traditional politics and social movements
  *   DIY citizenship and digital media
  *   Performance and political agency
  *   Everyday life and civic culture
  *   Popular culture and civic engagement
  *   Digitization and individualization

Confirmed keynote speakers Nick Couldry, London School of Economics and Political Science; Anastasia Kavada, University of Westminster; Guobin Yang, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania

Submission details
Individual presentations Please submit a 300 Word anonymised abstract

Panel proposals Panel proposals should include a 300 word panel rationale plus individual 200 word abstracts from a minimum of four speakers Please submit your abstract here:
https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=3Dcd2015

Important Dates Deadline for submission is 1 May 2015 Notifications of acceptance will be issued by 1 June 2015