O'Loughlin and Sennett to keynote Negotiating (In)Visibility conference, Barcelona 4-5 June

The NPCU's Ben O'Loughlin and the LSE/New York University's Richard Sennett are the keynote speakers for the conference Negotiating (In)Visibility: Managing Attention in the Digital Sphere convened by the Blanquerna School of Communication and International Relations, Universitat Ramon Llull, Barcelona on 4-5 June 2015. The programme is available here. 

Ben's talk is entitled, The Shadow People: The Subject of Global Social Order? He will argue that the idea of 'the people' is being invoked by leaders of technology and foreign ministries at the same historical moment that 'people' are making themselves visible and present via ICT. However, locating who 'the people' are is problematic. What may be happening is that the great powers are using different conceptions of 'the people' strategically to advance their competing visions of global order. The people are not quite in sight - they're a shadow, invoked as a locus of hope or anxiety, or flitting into view during crises. It is in that half-light that political struggle is occurring, the post-Cold War 'great game' that will determine the course of the Twenty-First Century.

 

New Piece in Social Media and Society Manifesto Issue: The Social Media Maneuver

The first issue of Social Media and Society, Zizi Papacharissi’s new journal, has just published. It’s a terrific collection of over 50 short Manifesto pieces written by editorial board members.

As she writes in her editorial, our brief from Zizi for this Manifesto Issue was unusual:

I asked potential contributors to think about what social media means to them, what it should mean, what it could be, and what they do not want to see it become. But beyond that, I left it open for people to be as spontaneous, unorthodox, formal, personal, or scholarly as they wanted to be. I wanted people to write about whatever they may have been yearning to write about but had no previous outlet to do so in—as long as it pertained to the broad topic of social media and society.

My piece in the issue is entitled “The Social Media Maneuver.” Here’s the abstract:

The term “social media” is the product of diverse strategies of discursive colonization and boundary drawing. It is a contested concept, one that implies digital media logics of activism, interactivity, exuberance, community-building, diversity, pluralism, horizontality, and free expression, but also one used by those in the fields of news, entertainment, politics, and commerce, who constantly seek to fix and freeze its understanding in ways that suit their own interests and identities. 

Does the free flow of information harm peace? New from Powers & O'Loughlin

Shawn Powers and Ben O'Loughlin have published a commentary article in Media, War & Conflict entitled The Syrian data glut: Rethinking the role of information in conflict. Based on their recent work on Syria and the potential role of media in conflict resolution, they argue that the free flow of information can in some cases decrease the chances of peace. This contradicts centuries of thought concerning the role of information as leading to cooperation, trust and shared understanding. One potential avenue to improve the prospects of peace may be to map areas where people are getting on - where social relations are stable and markets and infrastructure are functioning. Instead of crisis mapping, why not look through the other end of the telescope and map peace? If we can explain why social relations do continue to function, it may be possible to build out from those areas.

Read the article for free here.

http://mwc.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/05/12/1750635215584286?papetoc

Awan to speak at CEU Budapest on Charlie Hebdo, Religion, Security and Media Freedom

On Tuesday 19th May Akil Awan will be speaking at the L'après Charlie – Reflecting on Freedom(s), Religion, and Security conference hosted by the School of Public Policy at Central European University, Budapest. Akil will address media freedoms, security, and religious identities in the post-Charlie Hebdo context.

Attendance is free of charge, but participants must register in advance, using the online registration form HERE.

PROGRAM

  • 9.15 – 9.30 Welcoming Remarks
H. E. Mr. Roland Galharague (Ambassador of France to Hungary)
John Shattuck (President and Rector, Professor, Central European University)
Marie-Pierre Granger (Associate Professor, Department of Public Policy, Central European University)
  • 9.30 – 11.15 Discussion Panel 1. Freedom of expression: what to say or not to say?
Moderator: Mathias Möschel (Associate Professor, Department of Legal Studies, Central European University)
Panelists
Stephanie Hennette-Vauchez (Professor, University of Paris-Ouest, Nanterre)
Sejal Parmar (Assistant Professor, Department of Legal Studies, Central European University)
Renáta Uitz (Professor, Head of Legal Studies Department, Central European University)
Simon Rippon (Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy and Philosophy Department, Central European University)
  • 11.45 – 13.15 Discussion Panel 2. Media freedoms: between the state, money and security
Moderator: Ellen Hume (Annenberg Fellow in Civic Media, Center for Media, Data and Society, School of Public Policy, Central European University)
Panelists
Peter Noorlander (Chief Executive Officer, Media Legal Defence Initiative)
Tamás Bodoky (Editor-in-chief, atlatszo.hu)
Kate Coyer (Director of the Civil Society and Technology Project, Center for Media, Data and Society, School of Public Policy, Central European University)
  • 14.15 -15.45 Discussion Panel 3. The role of religion(s): what place for Islam in Europe?
Moderator: Brett Wilson (Assistant Professor, Macalester College; Visiting Research Fellow, School of Public Policy, Central European University)
Panelists
Akil Awan (Associate Professor, Royal Holloway, University of London)
Rüdiger Lohlker (Professor, Oriental Studies Department, University of Vienna)
Nasser Suleiman Gabryel (chargé d’enseignement, Ecoles des Hautes Etudes et Sciences Sociales)
  • 15.45 Concluding Remarks – Lessons from Charlie? Marie-Pierre Granger & Hervé Ferrage (Director, Institut français de Budapest)
The event is held in English.
This event is financially supported by the CEU School of Public Policy, the Center for European Union Research, and the French Institute in Budapest. It is organized within the context of the research activities carried out under the EU-funded bEUcitizen project (FP7 Grant Agreement 320294)

 

Ben O'Loughlin speaking on Wednesday @NclPolitics 3.30pm

Newcastle UniversityOn Wednesday 13th May Ben O'Loughlin will present at Newcastle University's Politics Department Seminar Series, reflecting on the recent Parliamentary debate on soft power and Britain's role in the world:

Title: Soft Power Over Who, For What? The National Interest after the New Public Diplomacy

Time: 3.30pm 

Place: Research Beehive Room 221 

All welcome. The seminar is organised by Dr. Simon Philpott: Simon.Philpott@ncl.ac.uk 

 

Fulbright award brings US student to the New Political Communication Unit

Elon senior Mary Rouse

Mary Rouse, a political science major from Charlotte, North Carolina, will study strategic narratives in the New Political Communication Unit at Royal Holloway, University of London, as she works toward our MSc graduate degree in media, power and public affairs.  

Mary moves to the United Kingdom in September 2015 for our graduate program, funded through a Fulbright U.S. Student Award. 

The prestigious international fellowship will help continue her ongoing work on “strategic narratives,” which, broadly defined, are the stories leaders tell about the international system, state identity and policies.

Mary has conducted research under the mentorship of Professor Laura Roselle, a leading international scholar on strategic narratives. Professor Roselle is the co-author of the book Strategic Narratives with Ben O'Loughlin and Alister Miskimmon. Mary hopes to eventually join the foreign service through the U.S. Department of State.

“As an aspiring diplomat, this master’s program will allow me to build on my undergraduate research pertaining to political communication while gaining a broader understanding of the media landscape that shapes our increasingly interconnected world,” Mary told Elon. “I am incredibly excited for the opportunity to study at Royal Holloway, University of London, among scholars pioneering the idea of strategic narratives in the international context necessary for successful public diplomacy.”

The End of the Material Archive? Closed workshop, 14 April 2015

The New Political Communication Unit will host an invite-only workshop on 14 April 2015 on the theme, The End of the Material Archive? The workshop stems from Andrew Hoskins' ongoing project Archives of War funded by the AHRC. 

The workshop is intended as a provocation to address the challenges of dealing with the transformations in scale and complexity of records with the transition to the digital and how this might shape future history. 

Key issues include:


The technological, security and general resource issues of handling digital records.

The impact of the loss of the subliminal context of paper on how records are searched, found, lost.

The cultural devaluation of paper (and its worth for retention) in light of the digital move.

Changing Military/Government/Public/National Archive expectations on what should be accessible to them and how and when.

The impact of the shift from the 30 to the 20 year rule in shaping the above.

The day features presentations from the Historical Branch (Army), The National Archive, and scholars Michael Moss (Northumbria), Elizabeth Shepherd (UCL), Catherine Moriarty (Brighton) and Debra Ramsey (Glasgow).

The workshop is intended as a provocation to address the challenges of dealing with the transformations in scale and complexity of records with the transition to the digital and how this might shape future history. 

Key issues include:

·         The technological, security and general resource issues of handling digital records.

·         The impact of the loss of the subliminal context of paper on how records are searched, found, lost.

·         The cultural devaluation of paper (and its worth for retention) in light of the digital move.

·         Changing Military/Government/Public/National Archive expectations on what should be accessible to them and how and when.

·         The impact of the shift from the 30 to the 20 year rule in shaping the above.

The day features presentations from the Historical Branch (Army), The National Archive, and scholars Michael Moss (Northumbria), Elizabeth Shepherd (UCL) and Catherine Moriarty (Brighton) and Debra Ramsey (Glasgow).

Bumper new issue of Media, War & Conflict out

The April 2015 issue of Media, War & Conflict is out. Please find the table of contents below. Thanks as ever to the legion of anonymous reviewers who undertake peer-review for the journal. 

April 2015 8(1) issue:

    • Tal Samuel-Azran, Amit Lavie-Dinur, and Yuval Karniel - Narratives used to portray in-group terrorists: A comparative analysis of the Israeli and Norwegian press Abstract Full Text (PDF)
    • Kristian Steiner - Images of Muslims and Islam in Swedish Christian and secular news discourse Abstract  Full Text (PDF)
    • Aimei Yang and Charles Self - Anti-Muslim prejudice in the virtual space: A case study of blog network structure and message features of the ‘Ground Zero mosque controversy’ Abstract  Full Text (PDF)
    • Jesper Falkheimer and Eva-Karin Olsson - Depoliticizing terror: The news framing of the terrorist attacks in Norway, 22 July 2011 Abstract  Full Text (PDF)
    • Daniel Binns and Paul Ryder - Re-viewing D-Day: The cinematography of the Normandy landings from the Signal Corps to Saving Private Ryan Abstract  Full Text (PDF)
    • Seth Ashley - Making the case for war: A comparative analysis of CNN and BBC coverage of Colin Powell’s presentation to the United Nations Security Council Abstract  Full Text (PDF)
    • Carol B Schwalbe and Shannon M Dougherty - Visual coverage of the 2006 Lebanon War: Framing conflict in three US news magazines Abstract  Full Text (PDF)

Book reviews

    • Kate Siegfried - Human rights journalism: Advances in reporting distant humanitarian Interventions Full Text (PDF)
    • Patrick Michael Dudas - Quantitative intelligence analysis: Applied analytical models, simulations, and games Full Text (PDF)
       

#GeneralElection2015 debate - join us tomorrow night

In the final Departmental Seminar of the academic year, we look ahead and discuss the 2015 General Elections. Nicholas Allen, Kaat Smets and Cristian Vaccari from the Department of Politics and International Relations, will participate in a round table discussion which starts with a short presentation by all three of them. Kaat Smets will talk about trends in voter turnout generally and youth voter turnout in particular, Cristian Vaccari will discuss the latest trends in media coverage of the election and the campaign, and Nicholas Allen will shed light on political leaders and the coalition. The last part of the round table discussion, which is chaired by Amy Smith (PhD Candidate at the NPCU), consists of a Q&A session.

The Tuesday Seminar starts at 5.15pm in FW101. If FW101 turns out to be too small to accommodate all guests we will move to the Founders Lecture Theatre.

Dennis: new article in Civic Media Project and appearance on BBC Radio Scotland

NPCU PhD researcher James Dennis has published a new article in the Civic Media Project published by MIT Press. The collection, edited by Eric Gordon and Paul Mihailidis, brings together over 100 case studies from practitioners and scholars all over the world. Dennis' contribution is based on his ongoing PhD research on the hybrid mobilization movement, 38 Degrees. You can read the article here.

Dennis also took part in a discussion on online political advertising with Katie Ghose, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society, on BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland. You can listen to the discussion here.