Jointly organized by the Faculty of Human Sciences (Universidade Católica Portuguesa), the Center for Media@Risk at the Annenberg School for Communication (University of Pennsylvania), the School of Journalism and Communication (Chinese University of Hong Kong), the Department of Media and Communications (London School of Economics and Political Science) and the Faculty of Social Sciences (University of Helsinki), the Second Lisbon Winter School for the Study of Communication will take a comparative and global approach to the study of media and uncertainty across time.

The media today are troubled by uncertainty.

Externally, a growing sense of uncertainty draws from deep-seated questions about identity formation, increasing angst over the viability of familiar cultural, political and social formations and intensifying social and economic precarity and inequality. Ultimately, the risks and challenges posed by climate change expose an even deeper sense of risk, calling into question the usual cyclical social imaginations about risk, crisis and renewal.

Within media environments, uncertainty builds from the rapid unfolding and often unforeseen ramifications of digital technology, the collapse of traditional business models, new degrees of irrelevance, the emergence of new players and platforms, the development of new reception practices, changing expectations of what media are for and a shift in the very relationship of the media to the outside world in an era marked by widespread dis- and mis-information. The viability of media as we know them is up for grabs.

How and in what ways will the media – as institutions, as occupational and professional contexts, as a diverse set of practices – adapt to this age of uncertainty? Will the media continue to produce meaningful content, and if so in which ways? How will the media push back against political assault? Who will fund the media’s continued presence? Will new business models allow the media to play a central role in democratic societies, producing investigative journalism and relevant information on current affairs? How do we move forward in rebuilding public trust in the media, ensuring that they help sustain some kind of inclusive public space? How will audiences relate to and engage with different media platforms? How will new forms of media change and disrupt legacy media platforms? How will journalism report about uncertain and risky futures? How will political powers be held accountable?

Questions like these fuel the imaginary that uncertainty introduces into considerations of the media, demanding global approaches to the different occupational, professional, economic, political, cultural and environmental contexts in which the media operate. Thus, the Second Lisbon Winter School for the Study of Communication will consider how uncertainty is molding the media in different geographies and how societies rely on the media to deal with moments of uncertainty.

The Lisbon Winter School invites proposals by doctoral students and early career post-docs from all over the world that address, though may not be not be strictly limited to, the topic of media and uncertainty as it relates to:

  • Media and digital transformation

  • Emergent cultural, political and social formations

  • New business models

  • New notions of risk and resistance to it

  • Media and uncertainty throughout history

  • Online harassment

  • Alternative media forms and outlets

  • Media activism

  • Reporting uncertainty

  • Authoritarian media

  • Media and political accountability

  • Dis- and misinformation, fake news and hate speech

  • Environmental precarity

PAPER PROPOSALS

Proposals should be sent to  no later than July 22, 2019 and include a paper title, extended abstract in English (700 words), name, e-mail address, institutional affiliation and a brief bio (max. 100 words) mentioning ongoing research. Applicants will be informed of the result of their submissions by September 20, 2019.​

FULL PAPER SUBMISSION

Presenters will be required to send in full papers (max. 20 pages, 1.5 spacing) by November 22, 2019.

For further information, please visit: cstonline.netwww.lisbonwinterschool.com/