Calls & Grants

Call for Chapter Contributions Publisher: Springer Volume Editors: Benachour Saidi, Mohamed First University, Morocco Yolanda López García, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany Abdellah El Boubekri, Mohamed First University, Morocco Decentering Racism in Intercultural Communication and Pedagogy: Perspectives from the Periphery See link for the full information Submission Deadlines: Abstract (250-300 words max) April 10, 2025 Decision (accept/reject) May 30, 2025 Submission of full chapters Septembre 30, 2025 Review and Report to be sent to authors Novembre 30, 2025 Final drafts of each chapter to be submitted January 15, 2026 Submission of the book to the publisher March 30, 2026 Publisher Springer Contributors send their abstracts 250-300 words including 5 keywords alongside their biodata to the editors by April 10, 2025 at springerproposals@gmail.com

The 31st Nordic Network for Intercultural Communication Conference will be arranged in Helsinki on 13–15 August 2025. The NIC 2025 conference theme is "Evolutions in intercultural communication: New concepts and methodologies". With this theme, we wish to encourage discussion of conceptual and methodological development in the field of intercultural communication, drawing connections between research, teaching and practice. In addition to those addressing the theme, we also welcome proposals that explore related aspects of intercultural communication. These are, for example: • Critical evaluations of theories of intercultural communication, education, or management • Migration and new or alternative forms of language, interaction, and communication • Challenges of trans/poly/cross/intercultural encounters and relationships • Decolonization and the knowledge on culture and communication • Diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in different spaces and settings • New questions on education and learning in multicultural societies

The Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA) is looking for new members. AGYA promotes research cooperation among excellent early-career researchers (3−10 years after PhD) from all disciplines affiliated with a research institution in Germany or any Arab country. The academy supports the inter- and transdisciplinary research projects of its members who collaborate in Arab-German tandems and working groups on topics such as Health and Society; Dynamics of Transformation; Energy, Water and Environment; Arab and German Education; Common Heritage and Common Challenges; and Innovation. AGYA is based at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW) in Germany and at the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) in Egypt. AGYA is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and several Arab and German cooperation partners. Benefits: A unique opportunity to develop and realise ideas, projects, and visions for the bilateral Young Academy Exclusive access to the AGYA academic network of excellence Support and funding to realise inter- and transdisciplinary research projects Travel grants for AGYA workshops, conferences, and research stays Training in career development and promotion of academic leadership Active membership for five years, followed by a lifelong membership in the AGYA Alumni Network Eligibility: Early-career researchers (3-10 years after PhD) from any field of the Natural Sciences, Life Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences, Technical Sciences, and the Arts ƒ Affiliation with a university or a research institution in Germany or any Arab country: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen Full command of English, both spoken and written Requirements: Proven record of research excellence in any field of specialisation Strong potential for leadership and advancement in academia High motivation to engage in AGYA activities and to implement collaborative research projects Special interest in exploring research approaches which transcend disciplinary boundaries for innovative solutions and resilient societies

The Journal of Anime and Manga Studies is a double-blind peer reviewed, open-access journal published by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. JAMS is dedicated to publishing scholarly works concerning anime, manga, cosplay, and the fandoms related to them. As an open-access journal, JAMS aims to reach an audience of scholars both inside and outside the academe, encouraging public engagement through the digital humanities. Because anime and manga studies is such a diverse field, JAMS welcomes papers regarding anime, manga, cosplay, and their fandoms as analyzed from any relevant scholarly perspective. Works previously published in JAMS have ranged from media industry history, to disability studies, to data analysis, and many more. A

The Queerness and Games Conference is a community-oriented, internationally-recognized event dedicated to exploring the intersection of LGBTQ+ issues and games. In addition to this Call for Presentations, which focuses on talks and other sessions, QGCon releases an annual Call for Games. Accepted games will be featured at our arcade, where they will be playable throughout the conference. Those interested in submitting to the arcade should refer to the Call for Games. Speakers from all backgrounds are encouraged to submit. Because QGCon is a community-oriented event that seeks to foster dialogue across areas of expertise, we especially value sessions that are engaging for a diverse audience. Though the focus of the conference is LGBTQ issues, QGCon takes an intersectional approach to queerness. Sessions that center race, ethnicity, gender, disability, mental health, neurodiversity, socioeconomics, and sexual expression all address important aspects of the queer experience, and are welcomed. We are organizing QGCon 2025 around two themes: Access and Urgency. For more details see the link below.

Die AG „Soziologie Digitaler Spiele“ innerhalb der DGS-Sektion „Medien- und Kommunikationssoziologie“ möchte zum diesjährigen Soziologiekongress innerhalb und außerhalb des Kontexts digitaler Spiele einen Blick auf Avatare als digitale Körper in Transition und Verkörperungen von Transformation werfen. Aufgrund der vielfältigen Zugangs- und Betrachtungsmöglichkeiten von Avataren begrüßen wir zudem soziologische Beiträge, die über den hier abgesteckten Rahmen hinausgehen.

In the face of major socio-political crises - such as climate change, migration, or military conflicts - the role of digital and social media has become increasingly vital (Zhang, 2023). These platforms offer unparalleled access to information, providing real-time updates and direct communication from both official and unofficial sources (Kumpel, 2021). While this empowers individuals to share and receive information, it also accelerates the spread of diverse, radical non- mainstream narratives, misinformation, conspiracy theories and propaganda (Gago-Ja'afaru & Asemah, 2024). In a world marked by ongoing upheaval, the digital space provides fertile ground for the creation of alternative communities that challenge traditional political systems and mainstream media. Digital platforms act as sorting mechanisms that promote the formation of microidentities characterized by their narrow and emergent nature, marked by distinct epistemic realities, unwavering internal support for their ideology and activities, and in-group self- determination at the expense of the broader society (Kossowska et al., 2023). These identities may range from fragmented narratives that create echo chambers and isolate individuals from the broader societal discourse contributing to polarization (Fukuyama, 2019; Kossowska et al., 2023) to grassroots activism, providing marginalized groups with a platform to campaign for fairness, increased participation, and better representation (O’Brien & Kerrigan, 2023). Thus, social media can encourage a host of non-traditional identities and shared realities that can challenge social integration and existing power structures. Although significant research has explored how social media shapes attitudes, identities and behaviors (e.g., Baldauf-Quilliatre et al., 2017; Gerbaudo & Trere, 2015; Wang et al., 2021), many crucial dimensions remain unexamined. The alarmingly increased levels of misinformation and ideological extremism in the aftermath of recent crises (e.g., COVID-19) or amidst ongoing crises (e.g., climate crisis, wars and military conflicts) necessitate revisiting the dynamics of identity in digital environments and the emergence of alternative identity forms, captured by terms such as the micro-identities in online environments as responses to socio-political, economic and other challenges that contemporary societies face. These highly specific, nuanced, and situational aspects of an individual’s identity constitute newly emerging forms of identities as responses to socio-political challenges, which are more fluid and dynamic than other forms of identity and more tied to specific contexts compared to other broader identity forms that encompass a general sense of self. This special issue seeks to address these gaps by gathering empirical evidence on the formation of identities that arise as precursors or consequences of the spread of ideologically extreme and radical narratives in digital environments. Firstly, it will explain and furnish strategies to grapple with themedia environments which, in turn, initiate and/or exacerbate social segregation and alienation. By gaining a holistic and interdisciplinary understanding of what leads to the emergence of alternative identities in digital environments, we can begin to envision creative ways to use digital and social media, bringing to the foreground many of the upsides and untapped opportunities of digitalization. To this end, our special issue also aims to focus on contexts and examples of radical and propagated narratives in online environments that stem not only from polarized societies or not only constitute manifestations of a segregated society, but also reflect the weaknesses and inequalities of otherwise democratic societies. Secondly, our special issue invites different types of contributions - empirical articles, conceptual and theoretical papers, systematic reviews, meta- analyses, and policy briefs that report theory-solid and evidence-based recommendations (relevant to, for example, mitigation strategies for spreading extreme and propagated narratives in online environments). To this end, it aims to be open to varied submission formats in an effort to reach a wider academic and non-academic audience. Our special issue will center on the emergence of alternative identities and narratives in digital and social media as responses to: 1) major political and societal changes and also 2) structural hierarchies within democratic societies. Thus, it will be in a position to reach out to and engage with audiences from the Global North to the Global South, especially given that recent crises (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic, war and military conflicts) and ongoing emergencies (e.g., climate change) unsettle societies worldwide. Additionally, by proposing a topic that concerns societies across the globe, and calls for interdisciplinary perspectives, this special issue aims to ensure a diversity of authors across gender, geographical location and discipline. Potential research questions that our special issue aims to address, include the following:  How does social media use affect forms of identities relevant to socio-political topics?  What are the contextual, psychological, social or political factors that lead to the spread of radical, extreme and propagated narratives in digital and social media?  Which forms of political participation take place in the digital environment and either precede or follow forms of identification with online groups?  Are there any differences in political participation forms and in manifestations of identification with online groups between mainstream and alternative media outlets?  What are the motivational mechanisms and needs (e.g., need for power, security, and/or significance) that drive spread of radical, extreme and propagated narratives in media environments or precede the formation of alternative identities as responses to socio- political, economic and other challenges? These are some questions that the special issue aims to shed light on, but the list is not exhaustive.

Diese k@g-Sonderausgabe rückt digitale Bilder ins Zentrum und untersucht die Verhältnisse von Glokalisierung, Ethik und Bildhandeln. Ziel ist, Spannungen zwischen dem globalen Bildermarkt, regionalen Ansätzen und Entscheidungen im Feld in Bezug auf Ethik und Bildhandeln aufzuspüren und zu befragen. Im Fokus stehen Bilder in digitalen Medienökologien und deren Provenienz: Drohnen- und Satellitenaufnahmen, Bewegtbilder, Verifikation von found footage aus Social Media und KI-generierte Bilder können ebenso Forschungsgegenstände sein wie klassischer Fotojournalismus.

The second annual COSME PGR Conference invited abstracts from postgraduate researchers exploring dimensions of disruption, resistance and change in the technological, industrial, cultural, or social spheres of media industry. Throughout this, we aim to offer a platform for postgraduate researchers to challenge existing paradigms, offer fresh perspectives and consider the trajectories of global screen media industries.

Special Issue Editor(s) Julian Sefton-Green, Deakin University julian.seftongreen@deakin.edu.au Luci Pangrazio, Deakin University luci.pangrazio@deakin.edu.au Andy Zhao, Deakin University xinyu.zhao@deakin.edu.au How edtech is made: Researching an evolving industry-education complex Education(al) technology, or its popular abbreviation edtech, has been framed as an unavoidable solution to many of our contemporary social and educational problems, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic (Williamson et al., 2020). A growing body of research is looking at how edtech apps and software are used in everyday settings; however, what needs more attention is critical investigation into the rapidly developing edtech industries (Decuypere et al., 2024; Williamson, 2022), as a specific institutional form of ‘production culture’ (Caldwell, 2008). Such an investigation should include the roles of investors, companies, distribution networks, governments, schools, and labour, as well as other intermediaries that create digital services and content for schools and education (Hillman et al., 2020; Ortegón et al., 2024; Regan & Khwaja, 2019). This special issue will ask: Where is the evidence that helps us map and understand the edtech industry? How can we collect the evidence? What are the established and new conceptual vocabularies that we can employ in analysing edtech as industry? And what are the opportunities and challenges of researching this industry? Articles in this special issue will contribute to how we can critically think and talk about edtech through a production culture and industry lens. This lens draws attention to how edtech industries are made through both state and corporate policies and cultural practices on the ground. We believe that a focus on edtech as industry allows us to reveal and interrogate the political economy and belief systems that underpin the everyday operation of technology in and for education. We invite empirical, theoretical, and methodological contributions that address the industries of edtech across various educational, geographical and/or sociocultural contexts. We are especially interested in bringing together original empirical case studies. Topics may include but are not limited: edtech ownership and business models how edtech articulates with or is shaped by state-based policies and initiatives edtech brokers and intermediaries forms of labour in the production of and engagement with edtech content and products value creation in edtech modes of financial investment in edtech the assemblage of actors involved in the industry platformisation of learning and education edtech industries in the Global South and non-English speaking countries Submission Instructions Please submit a 300-word abstract, title and author details to Dr Andy Zhao (xinyu.zhao@deakine.edu.au) before the submission deadline. Please note that all abstracts must align with the journal’s aims and scope. Authors will be invited to submit full papers in ScholarOne once their abstracts are accepted. All final papers (expected to be between 6,000 and 8,000 words, including references) will be subject to blind peer reviewing and refereeing processes. Please remember to select the special issue title when submitting your full manuscript in ScholarOne. Papers will be published online as soon as they are accepted with the Special Issue as a whole to follow.

25-26 September 2025, University of Padova, Italy: While the main focus of the conference lies within media, cultural, and gender studies—particularly concerning young people, digital intimacies, and everyday life—interdisciplinary perspectives are welcome. We invite presentations on the following topics, but not limited to: • Dating, relationships, and intimate connections • exual expressions and practices, including sexting and pornography • Gender identities, performances and representations • LGBTQIA+ activism and communities • Intersectional perspectives on digital intimacies • Friendship and networks of care • Constant connection and digital disconnection in interpersonal communication • Bodies, health, and sex education • Online and offline abuse in intimate relationships • Datification and commodification of intimacy • Platforms, algorithms, and digital monitoring, including intimate partner surveillance and location tracking • Intimate citizenship and rights • Methodological and ethical challenges in doing research with young people and digital intimacies

Aus Mitteln der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung werden zum frühesten Beginn im Oktober 2025 bis zu 12 Promotionsstipendien für das Promotionskolleg „Vertretung marginalisierter Interes- sen im Wohlfahrtsstaat (MARGIN)“ (PK 061) an der TH Köln sowie Uni Duisburg-Essen ver- geben. Vielfältige Stimmen im öffentlichen Diskurs und in der Wissenschaft sehen derzeit das Mo- dell der liberalen Demokratien in Gefahr, weil gesellschaftliche Polarisierungen zunehmen und autoritär-populistische Kräfte an Bedeutung gewinnen. Die Thematisierung der politi- schen Interessenvertretung von marginalisierten Bevölkerungsgruppen ist zudem vor dem Hintergrund einer aktuell geringen Responsivität von Sozialpolitik gegenüber den Bedarfen einkommensschwacher Bevölkerungsgruppen relevant, die gleichzeitig seltener politisch partizipieren. Die Promotionsprojekte erforschen, wie sich Interessen formieren und wie die Vertretung marginalisierter Interessen im Wohlfahrtsstaat motiviert und organisiert werden kann. Es wird zudem gefragt, wie diese Interessenvertretung diskursiv gerahmt wird, mit welchen Instru- menten sie stattfindet und unter welchen Bedingungen sie durchsetzungsfähig ist. Marginalisierung wird im Kolleg als Prozess verstanden, der mit einer maßgeblichen Benach- teiligung in mindestens einem von drei Bereichen einhergeht: (1) Existenzgefährdung, (2) Entwürdigung und Stigmatisierung sowie (3) Randständigkeit, d.h. geringe Teilhabe am öko- nomischen, sozialen und politischen Leben. Dabei wird (je nach Themenstellung) an vier Forschungsperspektiven angeknüpft: Gewerkschaftsforschung, Verbändeforschung mit dem Fokus auf ‚schwache Interessen‘, Forschung zu Sozialen Bewegungen sowie zu Sozialer Arbeit als (armutsDer Promotionsverbund nimmt ausgewählte Formen und Akteursebenen der Repräsentation marginalisierter Interessen im Wohlfahrtstaat in den Blick: - Advokatorische Interessenvertretung durch Sozial- und Wohlfahrtsverbände oder einzelne Fachkräfte der sozialen Dienste und Sozialer Arbeit - Selbstvertretung durch Adressat:innen des Wohlfahrtsstaats - Mitvertretung durch Gewerkschaften - Neue Akteure im Feld der Interessenvertretung Dabei wird ein theoriepluraler und multimethodischer Ansatz verfolgt. Es sind qualitative und quantitative Forschungsdesigns möglich. Das Programm des Kollegs mit weiteren Informationen zu Zielen, Fragestellungen und mög- lichen Promotionsthemen finden Sie hier: www.th-koeln.de/margin Die Leitung des Kollegs erfolgt gemeinsam durch Prof. Sigrid Leitner (Technische Hochschu- le Köln) und Prof. Simone Leiber (Universität Duisburg-Essen), die Betreuung erfolgt in Kern durch insgesamt sechs Professor:innen an beiden Hochschulen im Rahmen von Betreu- ungsteams. Eingebettet u.a. in die Kooperation mit dem Promotionskolleg NRW sowie dem Deutschen Institut für Interdisziplinäre Sozialpolitiforschung (DIFIS) bietet das Kolleg eine strukturierte Promotionsförderung, die Sie umfassend bei theoretischen und methodischen Fragen unterstützen wird. Die Arbeitsplätze der Stipendiat:innen sind in Köln oder Essen angesiedelt. Das Kolleg ist interdisziplinär ausgerichtet. Wir freuen uns über Bewerbungen aus den Be- reichen politikwissenschaftlicher und soziologischer Wohlfahrtsstaatsforschung sowie der Sozialen Arbeit und Erziehungswissenschaft.

Mit dem Themenheft laden wir dazu ein, innovative, aktuelle Forschungsbeiträge einzureichen, die über die blosse Anwendung KI-gestützter Tools hinausgehen und sich kritisch-konstruktiv mit dem Verhältnis von Medienbildung und generativen sozio-technischen Systemen in der Post-Digitalität auseinandersetzen: Wo und wie knüpfen aktuelle Forschungen an bisherige Arbeiten an? Wie lassen sich unterschiedliche Forschungsperspektiven sinnvoll verbinden? Welche theoretischen und methodischen Zugänge braucht eine medienpädagogisch informierte Forschung? Welche Impulse kann eine gestaltungsorientierte Forschung für die Bildungspraxis geben?

Für die diesjährige Online-Konferenz zum Thema Spielkulturen lädt der AKGWDS insbesondere dazu ein, Beiträge zu den folgenden Themenschwerpunkten einzureichen: i. Metadiskurse ii. Methoden und Ansätze iii. Kultur in Spielen iv. Rezeptions- und Vermittlungskulturen v. Entwicklungskulturen vi. Forschungskulturen (Wissenschaft und Spiele, Geschichte des AKGWDS und Forschungsgeschichte)

This special issue will focus on multilingualism as a critical dimension of migration experiences, digital transnationalism, and intercultural communication. It will draw from themes presented at the conference 'Beyond Borders: Creative Methods and Reflexive Approaches to Migration, Media, and Intercultural Dialogue', addressing how multilingual practices shape and are shaped by the intersections of migration, media, and intercultural dialogue. This special issue will aim to explore innovative and reflexive methodologies, along with empirical studies that highlight the role of multilingualism in fostering (or hindering) social cohesion, identity formation, and ethical engagement in global migration contexts. This special issue will contribute to understanding multilingualism not merely as a linguistic phenomenon but as a socio-political and cultural practice deeply intertwined with migration and media. It aligns with the journal's mission to showcase rigorous, theory-driven, and methodologically diverse research that resonates globally. The special issue will welcome articles that could be: • Empirical studies: Case studies on multilingual communication in migration crises, border zones, or diasporic communities. • Theoretical papers: Reflections on multilingualism as a lens to understand migration and intercultural dialogue. • Methodological contributions: Innovative methods for researching multilingualism in migration and digital contexts. • Practitioner perspectives: Working papers from activists, educators, and policymakers engaged with multilingual migrant communities.

The Centre for Postdigital Cultures (CPC) and its Post-Publishing research strand invite applications to a fully-funded PhD studentship that explores alternative publishing practices and formats and discusses their potential to cultivate more supportive, diverse, and equitable publishing cultures. Project Details We invite applications for PhD projects that challenge and intervene into the prevailing systems of scholarly publishing which prioritise research outputs (such as books and papers) as well as competitive, individualistic authorship models as the main metrics for academic recognition and success. This conventional approach often reduces scholarly works to commodities, neglecting the intricate socio-material processes of knowledge creation and sharing, which are inherently collaborative involving both human actors (authors, editors, reviewers, programmers) and non-human ones (digital texts, research cultures, technologies). Doctoral proposals are welcomed that focus on how alternative approaches to publishing can foster collaboration and mutual support over individual competition, social processes over quantifiable outputs, and knowledge equity and diversity in scholarly publishing. This includes but is not limited to applications that explore publishing and editorial collectives in- and outside the university, publishing practices (including joint writing, open peer review, shared annotation, alternative licencing, and collective editorship), as well as open, processual, and versioned books. The members of the supervisory team have expertise in critical, experimental, activist, and academic print and digital publishing; radical open access publishing; social justice, knowledge equity and diversity in academia; as well as in curatorial studies and spatial practices. We welcome applications that focus on specific case studies, engage in practice-research, and/or want to conduct an experimental publishing projects. We encourage projects that critically engage with existing literature in fields such as publishing and communication studies, digital humanities, cultural studies, media studies, and critical university studies as well as with past and current publishing initiatives and publications. Questions of interest include: How can collaborative and processual approaches to publishing displace traditional metrics of scholarly productivity and success? How can these approaches provide alternatives to a scholarly communication system currently focused on books and articles as objects and commodities? How can these approaches create more supportive, diverse, and equitable research and publishing environments Funding Tuition fees and bursary Benefits The successful candidate will receive comprehensive research training including technical, personal and professional skills. All researchers at Coventry University (from PhD to Professor) are part of the Doctoral Researcher College, which provides support with high-quality training and career development activities. The successful candidate will become a member of the Centre for Postdigital Cultures (CPC) and its Post-Publishing research strand. They will benefit from opportunities and resources within the Centre. These include participating in reading groups and team meetings, co-organising events and conferences, and teaching opportunities, which will help the candidate to develop important communication, presentation, and critical thinking skills. Beyond the CPC, the successful candidate will be supported in undertaking networking and knowledge-transfer activities to develop their research and future career: such as (co-)writing academic research articles and participating in conferences, joining relevant professional societies, and participating in professional forums. Entry requirements A minimum of a 2:1 first degree in a relevant discipline/subject area with a minimum 60% mark in the project element or equivalent with a minimum 60% overall module average. PLUS The potential to engage in innovative research and to complete the PhD within 3.5 years. A minimum of English language proficiency (IELTS academic overall minimum score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each component). Additional Requirements The successful candidate will have a theoretical and/or practical foundation in fields related to publishing: This includes publishing studies, graphic design, artistic publishing, digital humanities, communication studies, literature studies, or related disciplines. Working with social justice, intersectional feminist, posthumanist, and decolonial approaches is especially desirable.

This collection will bring together emerging and established feminist scholars and practitioners in the fields of digital scholarship, digital humanities (DH), and digital studies (DS) to examine the myriad ways in which digital scholarly work takes shape in academic and activist spaces. The editors are seeking … Pieces that extend and deepen the domestic metaphors presented here, in relation to digital scholarship Scholarly or theoretical essays about engaging in feminist digital scholarship Pedagogical blueprints and lesson plans Project snapshots Case studies of successful (or failed) collaborations, gatherings, and process work And other ideas! If you want to pitch it, we’re eager to listen.

This conference considers the Middle Ages and Medievalism in Modern Games. We invite analytical ‘papers’ (comprising 400-500 words of text or 5-minute videos) and sessions of 3 to 5 papers which address any aspects of the medieval period or medievalism in any and all forms of modern games. We particularly welcome papers addressing the central conference themes of ‘Globalities’ and ‘Regionalities’. The conference will be conducted remotely and there will be no registration fee. To promote accessibility and inclusivity, the event runs asynchronously across time zones. Topics may include (but are not restricted to): •Regional and International Game Development •Extra-European Perspectives •Game Mechanics of Globalism •Modding and Counterplay •Regionalisation of Medievalist Games •National Schools of Medievalist Game Studies •Anglocentrism in Development and Play •Global Fantasy Worlds and Peoples •Non-Anglophone Research and Games •Roleplaying across Culture and Race •Controversy in and Around Global Medievalist Games •Regional and National Gaming Communities •Indigeneity and Colonialism •Minority Cultures and Languages within Europe •Distinguishing Cultures in Play and Mechanics •Medieval Travellers in Games •Stereotypes, Racism and Xenophobia

Hype is a powerful and pervasive phenomenon that influences economic trends, political agendas, media narratives, and technological development. It creates momentum, attracts investment, and fuels speculation, while simultaneously distorting reality, misallocating resources, and amplifying uncertainties. Hype is not just an exaggeration—it is a dynamic process that plays a crucial role in contemporary societies, shaping decision-making at multiple levels. This conference aims to examine hype as a performative force, exploring its mechanisms, effects, and implications across different domains. From the speculative visions of emerging technologies to political rhetoric, from financial bubbles to cultural trends, we seek to understand how hype operates, who benefits from it, and how it transforms the social, media, political, economic and technological landscape. We invite researchers, journalists, students, artists, designers, policymakers, technologists and communication professionals to contribute to discussions about the nature of hype and its effects.

The Faculty of Arts & Humanities at King's is pleased to offer 3 new fee scholarships annually reserved for home students from some minoritised ethnic groups underrepresented in academia. These ‘Bridge Scholarships’ are intended to bridge the funding gap between undergraduate programmes and doctoral studies. Each scholarship to the value of 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time master’s tuition fees. Eligibility criteria: For master’s programmes in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities at King’s College London. Open to home students (eligible for home tuition fees) who identify as Asian or Asian British, Black, Black British, Caribbean or African, or Mixed.

This special issue will interrogate the concepts and definition of young people’s “play” in borders and boundaries that have often reinforced settler colonialism, racism, hetero-patriarchy, homophobia, transphobia, and white supremacy. We are specifically calling for papers that center young people’s voices, perspectives, and experiences. Playing with Borders invites work that engages with transdisciplinary methods and perspectives from across the humanities and qualitative and critical social sciences. The Special Issue theme invites research that draws from critical perspectives that center marginalized selves: queer, trans, feminist, crip, antiracist, abolitionist, decolonial, Indigenous, diasporic, transnational, and so on.

Media and Communication, peer-reviewed journal indexed in the Web of Science (Impact Factor: 2.7) and Scopus (CiteScore: 5.8), welcomes article proposals for its upcoming issue "Exploring Engagement With Complex Information: Perspectives on Generative AI as an Information Intermediary," edited by Monika Taddicken (TU Braunschweig), Esther Greussing (TU Braunschweig), Evelyn Jonas (TU Braunschweig), Ayelet Baram-Tsabari (Technion—Israel Institute of Technology), Inbal Klein-Avraham (Technion—Israel Institute of Technology), and Shakked Dabran-Zivan (Technion—Israel Institute of Technology). The thematic issue aims to facilitate a multi-perspective reflection on the intricate relationship between generative AI and public engagement with complex information. In the realm of public engagement with complex information, the thematic issue aims to understand how and for what reasons people use generative AI. The focus shall be on the potential benefits offered by generative AI to diverse audiences—evident in enhanced information access, personalized content experiences, and efficiency—and the corresponding risks of misinformation, reinforced biases, polarization, and the erosion of traditional structures of knowledge production. As such, generative AI introduces new complexities that complicate the public’s engagement with information and may challenge conventional notions of well-informed democratic discourse.

Travel and communication are themes that has not been extensively explored by communication scholars. Intercultural scholars have studied travel as encounter but a broader exploration of travel and communication has not been studied in depth. Travel has been extensively studied as it relates to tourism, hospitality, and marketing studies. Philosophers have also explored the meaning of travel and experiences while travelling. Travel includes countless dimensions: vacationing, embodied communication, movement, encountering other cultures, experiencing difference, etc. This topic continues to gain social and cultural currency, as well as in various relevant industries. Paradigmatic shifts such as in how and where people work in a post-pandemic world, Gen Z’s demand for a better work-life balance, and surges in “digital nomad” visas are just a few indicators of why this area of study demands attention. We seek to bring the study of travel alongside our study of communication. The many approaches to reflecting on communication can be brought to bear on the specific context and content of travel. This call for book chapter proposals invites contributors to examine travel and communication using a variety of approaches: including rhetorical studies, philosophical inquiry, narrative, critical, dialogic, semiotic, global, cross-cultural, and media studies. We welcome theoretical and practical approaches to the subject. In this edited volume, we explore multiple dimensions of how travel and communication intersect, interact and inform each other. We communicate about travel as lived experience, as performative expressions, for monetizing purposes, for personal reflection, etc. We seek to explore themes included but not limited to: What does travel mean? How do we talk about or describe our travel experiences? In anticipation of, during or after the travel? Through print, video, or social media?

The international workshop History of Digital History between East and West will take place on 5-6 February 2026 at the Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH) of the University of Luxemburg. In histories of digital history, as in digital humanities in general, much emphasis has been placed on the two commonly recognized centers of the development of historical computing since the 1950s: the United States and Western Europe. As a result, crucial developments elsewhere have been overlooked, including in the Nordic countries as well as the Soviet Union and the various states of the Eastern bloc. The consequence of this omission is not merely a lack of knowledge about specific countries and a skewed understanding of digital history’s manifold early trajectories. It also creates epistemological blind spots regarding the political dimensions of the development of early historical computing and, given the latter’s networked nature within a general context of ‘East-West’ scholarly exchange in the Cold War period, obscures the transnational dimensions of the early history of digital history. This workshop will address these blind spots by focusing attention on the question of how the local and the transnational intersected in the technology-inflected reshaping of historical research practices and how political backgrounds, contexts and constraints fed into this process. We therefore seek papers that focus on local case studies in a transnational ‘East-West’ context, as well as those that consider comparative perspectives. Papers that ask what resources are available to support research in this area are similarly welcome.

Abstract submissions may address any implementation of AI in studies of the human past while maintaining historical and hermeneutical perspectives to appropriately situate contemporary generative AI developments within their historical context. Additionally, submissions should examine these practices within the broader evolution of computational methods (including antecedent mechanographic systems) in humanities and social sciences research since the post-war period (for instance: François Furet, Adeline Daumard 1959 ). Submissions must adhere to the journal’s established multilayered article format (narrative/hermeneutic/code and data). Prospective contributors are strongly advised to review the Author Guidelines prior to submission.

Mit diesem Call for Papers sind interessierte Wissenschaftler:innen aller Fachrichtungen dazu eingeladen, sich mit Formen des alltäglichen, lebensweltlich sedimentierten praktischen Umgangs mit digitalen Medien auseinanderzusetzen. Denkbar sind dabei fundierte Auseinandersetzungen mit Praktiken wie dem Kommentieren, Liken, Swipen, Zoomen, Online-Dating, dem Aufnehmen und ästhetischen Bearbeiten von Selfies, dem Studieren oder Forschen mit digitalen Medien, Spielen, 3D-Drucken, Influencen, dem Tiktoken, Prompten oder generativen Schreiben. Die spezifische Rede von Medienpraktiken adressiert dabei einerseits praxistheoretische Ansätze, die praktische mediale Umgangsformen jenseits eines Verständnisses vom Medium „als Objekt, Produkt, Text oder Institution“ erforschen (Dang-Anh et al. 2017, S. 7). Andererseits sind ebenso wissenschaftstheoretische Zugänge erwünscht, die Praktiken in allgemeiner Hinsicht als routinisierte, regelgeleitete und sozial verfasste Handlungsmuster sowie Interaktionsformen (vgl. z. B. Jaeggi 2014, S. 95-103) im Horizont von Medialität und (Post-)Digitalität verhandeln.

The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy (JITP) seeks scholarly work for a special issue on minimalist digital humanities pedagogy. Scholars have defined minimal computing as "computing done under significant constraints of hardware, software, education, network capacity, power, or other factors." Drawing inspiration from this work, this special issue explores minimalist digital humanities pedagogy, a broad approach to teaching and learning in DH that works within significant technological, infrastructural, resource, or pedagogical restrictions, whether undertaken intentionally or as a response to circumstance.

CLS was first convened in 2018 with the mission to fuel a growing movement of innovators harnessing the power of emerging technology to expand access to participatory, playful, and creative learning. It was launched as a merger between three community events with this shared vision and values: the Digital Media and Learning Conference, the Games+Learning+Society Conference, and Sandbox Summit. With a unique focus on cross-sector connections and progressive and catalytic innovation, the event brings together leading researchers, educators, and developers. The hosting and stewardship of the event has continued to evolve in tandem with the changing conditions of the global pandemic. UC Irvine’s Connected Learning Lab and MIT’s Scheller Teacher Education Program and Education Arcade were the founding hosts of the event. As we have moved online and become a more international event, we are expanding our roster of partners and hosts.

The “manosphere” refers to a heterogenous group of online communities that broadly promotes anti-feminism, misogyny, and hateful ideas about women, trans, and non-binary people. These communities attract, among other others, involuntary celibates (Incels), Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW), pick-up artists (PUA), and Men’s Rights Activists (MRA). Although these communities are different, they share a broad ideology that women are to blame for a society in which men are victims, and that feminism is the cause of societal ills. These communities frequently endorse pseudo-science to justify male supremacy and produce hateful and violent narratives, which can lead to extremist behaviour with dangerous and fatal real-world consequences. First appearing in social media in the late 2000s-early 2010s, these groups are broadly understood to have historical roots from movements in the 1970s and 1980s. Although the numbers of individuals who frequent these online spaces are hard to determine, the communities they have come to represent have become more prominent in the mainstream due to well-publicised violent (and often tragic) actions undertaken by self-proclaimed members. Additionally, some prominent influencers, who share overlapping ideologies with the manosphere, find audiences beyond the online community in the mainstream media. This collection invites research that interrogates the causes, impact, and repercussions of this manosphere and networked misogyny. Research that engages with the following, and other, topics is welcomed: The reasons why and how men enter and exit the manosphere or similar communities What makes men vulnerable to the manosphere ideologies How these communities function and evolve, and network across online spaces The relationship between online groups and real-life violence The mechanics of radicalisation and extremism within networks of misogyny Analysis of memes, trolls, and other online tools used in such communities How influencers and public figures capitalize and cultivate the manosphere Discursive strategies used by members of the manosphere to support their ideology and ideas Overlap between the manosphere and other movements, such as the far right and white supremacy groups Mainstreaming of manosphere ideas and ideologies Counter narratives and movements (e.g., #metoo movement) Toxic narratives and ideologies in other spheres (e.g., arts, culture, politics) We welcome submissions that employ diverse methodologies and draw from a range of disciplines, including: sociology, anthropology, ethnography, gender studies, psychology, media studies, political science, among others.

This special issue of the Chinese Journal of Communication aims to expand our understanding of transnational migration in the digital age, especially as it relates to platforms, publics, and policies. It explores how digital platforms (Chinese and non-Chinese), their sociotechnical affordances, and the discourses they produce (or censor) bear upon transnational migration between China and various parts of the world, including Southeast Asia, Oceania, Africa, and Latin America, as well as North America, Europe and the rest of Asia. We are particularly interested in submissions that draw attention to the implications of digital technologies for migrant communities and the relations of power they (re)produce, user practices that work with or around digital affordances to achieve individual or collective goals, and national or supranational laws and regulations that shape digital industries and ecosystems and their impact on transnational migration.

This proposal aims to reflect on migration studies' contemporary dynamics and histories in their academic and activist practices in knowledge production in these universes. It seeks to aggregate studies that contribute to our thinking on issues relevant to research practices, their modalities, publication, feedback, collaborative processes, and activism. One of the issues that prompted us to organize this dossier, since migration studies are interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary, was the relevance of discussing the limits and openings of our methodological, theoretical, and feedback choices in knowledge production, both for interlocutors and for society as a whole. After all, to what extent can we or cannot, in a dialogue between different areas of knowledge, propose broad criteria of scientific objectivity or questions about scientificity or activism? Or even question the various forms of writing and formatting of studies. The aim is also to include studies that reflect on the ethical issues involved in producing knowledge about migrations and that present proposals for “ethical care” that encompass the different Human Sciences. Another important perspective of this dossier is to disseminate research that works with the collaborative proposal and presents negotiated forms of feedback to the groups studied and studies produced and published collectively.

Digital technologies have assumed a multifaceted role in transnational migration, especially for people who migrate to/from a highly platformized society such as China. More than 50 million people of Chinese origin are estimated to live outside China, especially in Southeast Asia, Oceania, and North America, although emigration to other parts of Asia, as well as Africa and Latin America, has also picked up. While the majority identify as Han Chinese, many ethnic minority Chinese also migrate around the world. At the same time, China hosts nearly 1.5 million immigrants. The country’s digital ecosystem creates unique opportunities and challenges for both groups. Researchers have examined the Chinese diaspora’s homeland and ethnic media use from the perspective of identity construction and political intervention. Others have looked at how Chinese emigrants employ homeland platforms, such as WeChat and Sina Weibo, as a migration infrastructure and ethno-transnational media, and how they serve as tools for digitized diasporic governance. Some scholars have also investigated the use of local and global platforms by immigrants arriving in China. Even as Chinese migrants experience racism online, Chinese platforms are not immune to exclusivist narratives targeting immigrants, either. Digital nationalism and populist discourses are important contexts in which immigrants and emigrants are represented by Chinese social media. This special issue of the Chinese Journal of Communication aims to expand our understanding of transnational migration in the digital age, especially as it relates to platforms, publics, and policies. It explores how digital platforms (Chinese and non-Chinese), their sociotechnical affordances, and the discourses they produce (or censor) bear upon transnational migration between China and various parts of the world, including Southeast Asia, Oceania, Africa, and Latin America, as well as North America, Europe and the rest of Asia. We are particularly interested in submissions that draw attention to the implications of digital technologies for migrant communities and the relations of power they (re)produce, user practices that work with or around digital affordances to achieve individual or collective goals, and national or supranational laws and regulations that shape digital industries and ecosystems and their impact on transnational migration.We invite contributions that address questions such as, but not limited to, the following: • What are the ways in which transnational migrants to/from China—or particular ethnicity-, religion-, income-, gender-, or sexuality-based groups within migrant communities—use digital technologies? • How do the sociotechnical affordances of digital devices and platforms, from interface design to algorithmic features such as filter bubbles, shape their use by transnational migrants to/from China? • How do transnational migrants to/from China deal with technological, financial, and/or linguistic barriers to communication through digital devices and platforms? • How do the business models of digital industries bear upon transnational migrant experiences to/from China? Who are its key stakeholders and intermediaries? • How does the attention economy of digital platforms influence transnational migrant experiences to/from China? How do these migrants negotiate their (in)visibility in this attention economy? • What are the discourses about transnational migration to/from China emerging in digital spaces? What are the ideological underpinnings of such discourses, and how do they impact domestic or international politics? • What are the emerging national/supranational laws and policies vis-à-vis digital platforms, and how do they impact transnational migration to/from China or migrant experiences? Who are their key stakeholders and intermediaries? • How will emerging trends in digital society, from augmented reality to the increasing use of artificial intelligence, impact transnational migration to/from China?

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) supports researchers who have fled their home countries by making it easier for them to join research projects and apply for funding under the Walter Benjamin Programme. The following requirements must be met in principle: The person has not been outside their home country for more than three years at the time of application and they have residential status in connection with an asylum procedure within the EU and are recognised as being at risk, or in lieu of proof of residency status, they are able to present credible third-party evidence of being at risk no more than 12 months prior to application. This way, the DFG also underlines its solidarity with researchers from Ukraine and Russia who had to flee their home country due to the current war situation triggered by the Russian attack. By integrating them swiftly in the German research system, the aim is to enable them to maintain continuity in their academic work. Die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) unterstützt aus ihrem Heimatland geflüchtete Forschende durch die Erleichterung der Mitarbeit an Forschungsprojekten und die erleichterte Antragstellung im Walter Benjamin-Programm (Option Walter Benjamin-Stelle). Voraussetzungen: - Die Person darf sich noch nicht länger als drei Jahre außerhalb ihres Heimatlandes aufhalten (Zeitpunkt der Antragstellung) und - Es muss ein aufenthaltsrechtlicher Status im Zusammenhang mit einem Asylverfahrens innerhalb der EU vorliegen, aus dem eine anerkannte Gefährdung hervorgeht oder - Statt eines aufenthaltsrechtlichen Staus muss ein glaubwürdiger Nachweis der Gefährdung von einer dritten Stelle vorgelegt werden, der nicht älter als 12 Monate alt sein darf (Zeitpunkt der Antragstellung). (Information available in German and English. The deadline is just a dummy, the grant is open at the moment)

Do you study the past? Perhaps you even do historical research and know the difference between the Internet and the Web, and even how to historically and technically explain them? Chances are this Call for Articles may be of interest to you... Are you conducting groundbreaking research in the field of Internet or web history? Do you spend hours immersed in the archives of the web? You didn't dare but would like to propose an article for a first publication... Would you like to share methodological and critical issues that demonstrate a promising work in progress? Do you want to discuss your project with advanced researchers who will be ready to help you develop your paper and support you in this first experience with friendliness and rigor? This Call is definitely for you! This call for papers is addressed to early career researchers whose research focuses on the history of the internet and/or the web, and histories of digital cultures — or any historical topic within the scope of the Internet Histories journal. We invite any interested early career researchers (masters students, doctoral students, and post-doctoral researchers) to send us an original article, between 6,000 and 8,000 words, by 1 October 2025. If the scholar has a PhD degree this must not have been awarded more than three years prior to the time of submission, exclusive of any leaves (parental, medial, etc.). Co-authored submissions will be accepted if all authors are early career researchers. In this case, the award will be evenly split between all authors. The journal embraces empirical as well as theoretical and methodological studies within the field of the history of the internet broadly conceived — from early computer networks, Usenet and Bulletin Board Systems, to everyday uses of the Internet with the web, through to the emergence of new forms of the internet with mobile phones and tablet computers, social media, and the Internet of Things. The journal is the premier outlet for cutting-edge research in the closely related area of histories of digital cultures. All selected articles will be published in a special issue of the journal Internet Histories in the second half of 2026 and also automatically be nominated for the “Internet Histories Early Career Researcher” Award, which carries a prize of 500 euros. In addition to the prize the winner will be asked to give a brief talk about the article (online or onsite). The winning article will be made free to access for one year.

The ReDICo project is pleased to announce an open call for submissions for the book series Studies in Digital Interculturality. This peer-reviewed series explores the diverse dimensions of intercultural practices and discourses within digital spaces, as well as their influence upon issues such as identities, group social cohesion and cultural change. In the series, we aim to publish thematically relevant monographs, edited volumes, dissertations and other contributions of the highest quality. A possibility also exists to publish all books as open access by the transcript Publishing House, in cooperation with the international de Gruyter Publishing House. To read the full call for submissions please see the link below.

This volume explores the largely untapped field of Rural Media Studies, focusing on the impact of digitalization beyond metropolitan centers. We aim to compile the final manuscript by *December 15, 2025*. Scope and Objectives The volume will examine the processes of digitalization and their unique influences in rural contexts, addressing the need for scholarship that moves beyond urban-focused research. Digitalization—the integration of digital technology across sectors of government, business, and society—is often examined through an urban lens, leaving the media landscapes of rural areas underexplored. This volume seeks to address this gap by establishing a *"rural turn"* within Media Studies. This shift is essential to avoid knowledge gaps and enhance decision-making across social, political, and environmental domains. Recognizing that transitioning to climate-neutral societies requires a robust understanding of media practices within rural populations, this volume encourages scholarship that moves beyond traditional urban-centric frameworks.