[ARCHIVE] Call for Papers: Media Sociology Preconference 2015

Call for Papers: Media Sociology Preconference 2015

Venue: Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management (Chicago Campus)

Date: August 21, 2015

We invite submissions for a third preconference on media sociology to be held at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management on Friday, August 21, 2015. (This is one day before the start of the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Chicago.) To encourage the widest possible range of submissions, we have no pre-specified theme again this year and invite both theoretical and empirical papers on any topic related to media sociology. Submissions from graduate students and junior scholars are particularly welcome.

This preconference is linked to an effort to strengthen media sociology within the ASA: After a long period of negotiation, the media sociology steering committee was able to broker a deal with the Communication and Information Technologies section (CITASA) at the end of 2014.  If all goes well in 2015, CITASA will be changing its section name to "Communication, Information Technologies and Media Sociology." The current section membership still needs to formally vote in favor of this change but we have been assured--based on the recent survey of current CITASA members—that this will most likely happen.

Media sociology has long been a highly diverse field spanning many topics, methodologies, and units of analysis. It encompasses all forms of mass-mediated communication and expression, including news media, entertainment media, as well as new and digital media. Outstanding research exists within the different subfields both within and beyond the discipline of sociology. Our aim is to create dialogue among these disparate yet complementary traditions.

Papers may be on a variety of topics including, but not limited to:

-production processes and/or media workers

-political economy (including the role of the state and markets)

-media and the public sphere

-mediatization

-media content

-the Internet, social media, cellular phones, or other technology

-the digital divide

-new uses of media

-media globalization or diaspora

-media effects of media consumption

-identity, the self, and media

Invited Speakers

Last year’s preconference, held at the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business at Mills College in Oakland, California, was again very well-attended and featured an invited keynote by Clayton Childress (University of Toronto – Scarborough) and a plenary panel addressing the theme, “Media Sociology as a Vocation” featuring Laura Grindstaff (UC Davis), Paul Hirsch (Northwestern University), Ron Jacobs (SUNY Albany), Paul Lopes (Colgate University), and Guobin Yang (University of Pennsylvania).

This year’s keynote speaker will be Tressie McMillan Cottom (Virginia Commonwealth University, starting fall 2015). 

UPDATE: A special plenary session organized by Laura Robinson (Santa Clara University) on "The Future of Digital Sociology" will feature Shelia Cotten (Michigan State University), Eszter Hargittai (Northwestern University), Saskia Sassen (Columbia University), Judy Wajcman (LSE), and James Witte (George Mason University).

Submissions

Submissions should include:

-Separate cover sheet with: title, name and affiliation, and email address of author(s).

-Abstract of 150-300 words that discusses the problem, research, methods and relevance.

-Also include at least three descriptive keywords. Note: DO NOT put identifying information in the body of the abstract; only on cover sheet.

-Use Microsoft Office or PDF format.

Send abstracts to casey.brienza.1@city.ac.uk. Please write “Media Sociology Preconference” in the subject line.

Abstract deadline is March 31, 2015.

Notification of acceptance will occur sometime in mid-April.

Contact Casey Brienza (casey.brienza.1@city.ac.uk) or Matthias Revers (matthias.revers@uni-graz.at) for more information about the preconference.