*CFP* "CIUDADANÍA COMUNICACIONAL EMERGENTE", NÚMERO 40, REVISTA CONTRATEXTO

El número 40 de Contratexto acoge la relación entre ciudadanía, comunicación y diversidad. El antecedente de la propuesta temática está en el concepto de “ciudadanía democrática" que enfatiza la justicia social y los derechos, pero con el tiempo y fruto de procesos políticos, innovaciones tecnológicas y del acceso a la educación aparecieron las denominaciones de “ciudadanía comunicacional” y “ciudadanía mediática”.

La ciudadanía comunicacional se construye a través diálogos e interacciones, interpela al poder y ayuda al surgimiento de nuevas vinculaciones que alientan al ciudadano como protagonista de la vida política (Uganda, 2015).

La ciudadanía comunicacional implica mecanismos que impiden la monopolización y la homogeneización de los múltiples sentidos culturales, contribuye a la igualdad de oportunidades (Ottaviano, 2013), supone la participación creativa de las personas porque no hay democracia política sin democracia comunicacional (Mutirão de comunicação, 2010).

*CFP* "USEFUL FILM IN (NEURO) PSYCHIATRY EUROPE, 1900-1950", WORKSHOP

Workshop “Useful Film in (Neuro) Psychiatry Europe, 1900–1950”

University of Lausanne 3-4 March 2022

This workshop is organized in the framework of the SNSF project Cinéma et (neuro)psychiatrie en Suisse: autour de la collection Waldau, 1920-1990

 

Since its inception, the cinematograph had many applications in the medical field, and particularly in the fields of psychiatry, neurology and neuropsychiatry. With surgeons, neurologists and psychiatrists are at the forefront of using film as a tool for analyzing, storing, archiving, and transmitting knowledge. For a long time, the (neuro) psychiatric films made by doctors as part of their teaching and research have been overshadowed by educational and health films. But since 2000, and especially 2010, scholars from different disciplines are increasingly interested in these practices. Several interdisciplinary teams have conducted research, with the aim of rehabilitating film as a privileged source for both the history of medicine and the history of cinema.

*CFP* "CRISIS SANITARIA Y CRISIS DE LA COMUNICACIÓN EN LA ERA COVID-19", 9ª REUNIÓN DE LA RED DE LAS CÁTEDRAS UNESCO EN COMUNICACIÓN (ORBICOM)

 

Crisis sanitaria y crisis de la comunicación en la era Covid-19

9ª Reunión Anual de la Red de las Cátedras UNESCO en Comunicación (ORBICOM)

3-5 de Septiembre, 2021

 

 

En medio de la pandemia que estamos viviendo creemos que se hace necesario reflexionar sobre los procesos de comunicación generados en torno a la crisis sanitaria, los fenómenos de desinformación y noticias falsas que vivimos día a día, dificultades en las dinámicas de consenso en la opinión pública y retos institucionales y éticos para gestionar la información en la actualidad.

Entre los aspectos a tratar en el evento podrán incluirse, aunque no exclusivamente:

• Conocimientos y experiencias sobre el valor de la investigación en comunicación para el diálogo en sociedades en crisis. 

*CFP* "MIS- AND DISINFORMATION ABOUT COVID-19: CHALLENGES FOR HEALTH COMMUNICATION", SPECIAL ISSUE, EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH COMMUNICATION

Millions of lives have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021). However, scientific knowledge on how to effectively respond to COVID-19 outbreaks has also increased considerably in a very short time (Weiner at al., 2020). For example, several research teams have developed promising COVID-19 vaccines, and, as of April 2021, about 732 million vaccination doses have been administered worldwide (WHO, 2021). Further success in reducing the COVID-19 burden relies on the public’s awareness and acceptance of scientific knowledge. Health communication plays an essential role in the complex relationship between scientific knowledge and individuals’ beliefs and behaviours. However, attempts by health communicators to inform and educate individuals about the characteristics of the disease and effective prevention measures compete with persuasive mis- and disinformation, especially online (Lewandowsky et al., 2021). Studies reveal that misinformation about COVID-19 undermines trust in institutions (Pummerer et al., 2020), decreases willingness to undertake effective prevention measures such as vaccination (Loomba et al., 2021) and adds to the overabundance of (mis-)information that makes it difficult for individuals to find trustworthy sources – an overabundance known as an infodemic (WHO, 2020). That is, mis- and disinformation pose major challenges for health communication around the globe.

To master these challenges and prepare for future public health crises, it is vital to understand mis- and disinformation surrounding COVID-19. What kinds of mis- and disinformation do individuals encounter off- and online? What impact do these have on cognition, emotions, attitudes and behaviours? Which groups are specifically susceptible to mis- and disinformation, and how can theory-based interventions be designed to combat mis- and disinformation surrounding COVID-19?

*CFP* "CONTAINING COVID-19, THE MOBILE WAY: A GLOBAL COMPARISON", BOOK CHAPTER

As a sister volume to Containing COVID-19, the Mobile Way: Experience and Expertise from China, this volume concentrates on comparative studies of the global efforts in leveraging mobile to battle the pandemic. As the battle still goes on, it is imperative to compare and learn from each other globally different experiences and expertise in containing the pandemic.

As the central theme of this volume is how mobile has been leveraged to battle the pandemic in different countries, we welcome chapter contributors from around the world to contribute a country-specific chapter to investigate and explore the unique experience and expertise from different countries.

The suggested topics include, not limited to, the following:

• How governments in different countries have leveraged mobile to fight the pandemic
• The public responses via mobile to the pandemic and its related issues
• Mobile learning and mobile teaching during the pandemic

*CFP* "COMUNICACIÓN PÚBLICA DE LA CIENCIA Y LA TECNOLOGÍA EN IBEROAMÉRICA", NÚMERO MAYO 2022, REVISTA CUADERNOS.INFO: COMUNICACIÓN Y MEDIOS EN IBEROAMÉRICA

La comunicación pública de la ciencia y de la tecnología constituye un área de vital importancia para el desarrollo social. La divulgación científica es fundamental para una educación social en ciencias que contribuya a que las personas tomen decisiones y juzguen del modo más objetivo e informado posible (Calvo, 1992). Durante décadas, los científicos, los políticos, los periodistas, conservadores de museos y otras personas a nivel comunitario interesadas en la comunicación pública de la ciencia y la tecnología han trabajado para mejorar su comprensión (Lewenstein, 2003). Nuestra región no está ajena a diversos problemas sociales; algunas áreas principales de conflicto son la salud, el medioambiente y el atraso hacia el desarrollo sustentable. La comunicación del conocimiento científico sería una forma de contribuir a superarlos (Kreimer & Zabala, 2006), considerando también la importancia de que las personas accedan a la información científica, la comprendan y le den un uso adecuado. No obstante, en América Latina el acceso a la comunicación científica está segregado y, por lo tanto, los grupos sociales mejor posicionados tendrían mayor posibilidad de apropiarse de la cultura científica (Polino, 2019).  

En Chile, por ejemplo, un 48,37% de las personas se sentiría poco informada sobre ciencia y 41,51%, poco informada sobre tecnología (Centro de Microdatos Universidad de Chile, 2019). Desde marzo de 2020, la pandemia del coronavirus ha desencadenado un desafío sanitario mundial que involucra a todos los sectores de la sociedad; esta epidemia ha puesto a prueba el tratamiento de la información en los medios de comunicación y en primer plano la relevancia de la comunicación pública de la ciencia y la tecnología en su manejo y relación con la población, no solamente en el ámbito iberoamericano, sino a nivel global. 

*CFP* "STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL CHANGE: GOVERNANCE, SUSTAINABILITY AND PARTICIPATORY PERSPECTIVES IN AFRICA", BOOK CHAPTER

In a post-colonial landscape, governments from across the African continent are experiencing a myriad of disparate challenges related to development and social change (cf. Chambua, 1994; Raheem, Anamuah-Mensah & Dei, 2014). At the heart of these challenges, is the need to bring about development, rapid urbanisation, as well as the improvement in the quality of life for all citizens. However, several stumbling blocks stand in the way of this, namely:

• Corruption 
• Challenges with management and sustainable use of natural resources 
• Conflict 
• The debt-crisis and underdevelopment 
• Contestation around legitimacy in the democratisation processes (including protests, violence and resistance, extremism, extreme poverty and famine) 
• Pandemics (i.e. Ebola, Malaria and Covid-19)

These issues have adversely affected the achievement of goals related to humanitarian upliftment, development and social change for all African nations. Consequently, citizen participation lies at the heart of these challenges when considering the question of sustainable governance and policy development for social change in an African context. To this end, various case studies exist where local citizens do not inform sustainable development programmes; while the promotion of bottom-up development and social change is largely replaced by top-down instrumental action approaches and hemispheric communication (cf. Williams, 2006; Molale, 2019; Mwesigwa, 2021). 

*CFP* "INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE MEDIA AND DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION", BOOK PROJECT

Since the 1970s, the active role and involvement of marginalized citizens in development and social change programmes at local, national, and in some instances, international levels, has sparked much interests from scholars around the globe (cf. Waisbord, 2008). At the heart of this scholarship is the need to coordinate active citizen participation in different aspects of development, which is a breakaway from the earlier top-down development agenda of the 1940s- which placed emphasis on the Marshall plan of economic growth (i.e. Modernisation), where beneficiaries of development played little or no role in decision-making processes involving them (cf. Melkote & Steeves, 2015; Manyozo, 2008). Through participatory communication- which was influenced by Paulo Freire’s work on dialogical praxis, liberation pedagogy, and conscientisation as part of his classical treatise: /“Pedagogy of the oppressed” /(cf. Molale, 2021), scholars around the global south, largely from Latin America, began exploring ways in which different theories, frameworks and models can be established to facilitate and enhance meaningful and sustainable transformation in the quality of life for local citizens through their active involvement in development processes (cf. Manyozo, 2012).

The alternative paradigm that emerged was geared toward the popularisation of the development and design of campaign messages, that are supposed to be culturally sensitive, */language specific/* (emphasis intended) and in tune with the social realities of the people of the developing world (cf. Salawu, 2015; Nwuneli, 1993; Uribe-Jongbloed, 2013). The language in which a development message is disseminated is a very important aspect of the massage treatment. It is posited that the indigenous language of any community is best suited for the purpose of conveying any message, whatsoever, to the said community (cf. Salawu, 2015; Nwuneli, 1985: 203). 

*CFP* CALL FOR ARTICLES, SECOND ISSUE, QUALITATIVE HEALTH COMMUNICATION

Qualitative Health Communication (QHC), is a new, no-fee, open access online journal dedicated to publishing articles employing qualitative methods to investigate, improve and innovate health communication.

We are calling for submissions to QHC’s second issue (to be published in July 2022) and subsequent issues via the journal's website. Detailed instructions for authors can also be found on the website. This is a general call for submission not tied to a special issue topic. All submissions within scope of QHC are welcome. Submission from researchers at any stage of their career is encouraged. All submissions will be peer-reviewed: initial screening in-house followed by external peer-review. There are no article submission or processing fees. Accepted articles will be available online free of charge.

The first issue of Qualitative Health Communication (QHC) will be published in January 2022 featuring contributions by renowned health communication researchers. Topics include COVID-19 communication, communication in antenatal group consultations, paediatric palliative care, surgeon-patient consultations, communication in patient information leaflets and forensic assessment reports and co-construction of experiential knowledge.

*CFP* "THERAPEUTIC NARRATIVES? PROCESSES AND EFFECTS OF EUDAIMONIC ENTERTAINMENT", ONLINE SYMPOSIUM

Therapeutic Narratives? Processes and Effects of Eudaimonic Entertainment

Online Symposium

8-9 July 2021

 

The last decade has seen a surge in research on eudaimonic entertainment, or entertainment that provides viewers with meaning and insight into human life. In this research area, several processes and effects of eudaimonic entertainment have been studied, such as mixed affect, need satisfaction and well-being. In addition, it has been suggested that eudaimonic entertainment can be beneficial to viewers’ health and that it may contribute to being able to cope with difficult issues and situations. For instance, tragic portrayals of characters’ death may enable viewers to better deal with their own fear of death.

Also, portrayals of characters showing virtues like love and kindness may motivate viewers to be kinder to others. Potential underlying processes of these effects have been suggested, such as the feeling of being moved and self-reflection. The aim of this symposium is to discuss the benefits viewers may gain from eudaimonic entertainment and the processes that facilitate these effects. Proposals for presentations of empirical results as well as theoretical frameworks are invited.

*CFP* "INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE MEDIA AND DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION", BOOK PROJECT CHAPTER

Since the 1970s, the active role and involvement of marginalised citizens in development and social change programmes at local, national, and in some instances, international levels, has sparked much interests from scholars around the globe (cf. Waisbord, 2008). At the heart of this scholarship is the need to coordinate active citizen participation in different aspects of development, which is a breakaway from the earlier top-down development agenda of the 1940s- which placed emphasis on the Marshall plan of economic growth (i.e. Modernisation), where beneficiaries of development played little or no role in decision-making processes involving them (cf. Melkote & Steeves, 2015; Manyozo, 2008). 

Through participatory communication- which was influenced by Paulo Freire’s work on dialogical praxis, liberation pedagogy, and conscientisation as part of his classical treatise: “Pedagogy of the oppressed” (cf. Molale, 2021), scholars around the global south, largely from Latin America, began exploring ways in which different theories, frameworks and models can be established to facilitate and enhance meaningful and sustainable transformation in the quality of life for local citizens through their active involvement in development processes (cf. Manyozo, 2012).

*CFP* "MEMORY, AFFECTS AND EMOTIONS", INTERNATIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY ONLINE CONFERENCE

Affects, emotions and perceptions have always been at the center of philosophical discussion. Yet the so called “Affective turn” in social studies and humanities is relatively a new phenomenon inspired by Deleuze and Guattari´s influential works among others. Affective turn challenges the still dominant representational approach in semiotics, discourse analysis and text analyses of all kind. Its goal is to overcome human exceptionalism together with the domination of the word-based language over the other forms of expression in the process of creating meaning and knowledge altogether. Brian Massumi in The Politics of Affect (2015) defines affect as “being right where you are – more intensely” based on the bodily experiences of the relations with the world.

He compares affect with hope that can motivate one´s contribution to formation of a just and more inclusive society, the urgent transformation that has to start with the changes in ontology. The aim of the present conference is to create an academically challenging and productive space for discussion of affect based research practices throughout disciplines. We are particularly interested in exploring the potential of affective turn in the memory studies. As an interdisciplinary conference, we consider it important to discuss possible differences and similarities in the definitions of the affects as well as in the approaches to their studies and their application in research practice.

*CFP* "THE LANGUAGES AND ANTI-LANGUAGES OF HEALTH COMMUNICATION IN THE AGE OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES", SPECIAL ISSUE, LINGUE E LINGUAGGI JOURNAL

We are calling for abstracts for a special issue of Lingue e Linguaggi focusing on the languages of health communication in both institutional and non-institutional media settings. The special issue will address aspects related to genre and discourse as well as morphosyntactic characteristics of health communication in the current age, an age increasingly characterised by (dis-/mis-)information, conspiracy theories and hate speech as occurring in the context of both mass media and social media.

Dis- and misinformation, conspiracy theories and hostile communication are reportedly on the rise and are beginning to receive significant attention among linguists and discourse scholars because of the alternative discourses which are generated through them (Demata et al, forthcoming; Knoblock 2020; Zummo 2018, 2017; Lazaridis et al., 2016). In particular, health communication has been subjected to mis-and disinformation as well as to contributing to conspiracy theories which have become very influential in many countries. With the growing influence of social media in the public sphere (KhosraviNik & Unger 2015; KhosraviNik 2017; Zummo 2017; Demata, Heaney & Herring 2018), the communication of alternative health discourse, often in opposition to that of “official” media and science, has become very difficult to challenge. Furthermore, the narratives supporting alternative health discourses have increasingly become part of the growing consensus for populist parties and leaders in many parts of the world, as distrust in the official science feeds into the typically populist drive against establishment politics (Bergmann 2018).

*CFP* "INQUIRING HEALING ACROSS SCREEN CULTURES", JUNE 2021 CONFERENCE ONLINE

Inquiring healing across screen cultures

1st-2nd June 2021

Workshop Online

 

There has always been a desire and necessity to tell the difficult times, to uncover how they have been lived. Letters were written, diaries were kept, cameras captured the moments. Memories, narratives, images, and utterances have been shared across all kinds of media in diverse forms. Do these exposures have a capacity to heal us or others? Or do they trap us in our traumas by constantly reproducing them? What kinds of recuperating potentials can we ascribe to our screen cultures across film, media, and art in troubling times?

Amid the turbulent events of our age that rapidly emerge and expand in personal, social, and political realms, we are prompted to explore questions of healing. During a global pandemic, and while we are spending more and more time on the screens, this workshop aims at a critical inquiry of the recuperating forms, mediums, and creativities across screen cultures. Experienced in bodies, homes, institutions, environments, and borders, difficult times can leave us in loss, deprivation, confusion, anxiety, fear, and grief.

*CFP* "THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON COMMUNICATION. ANALYSIS AND RETROSPECTIVE OF THE EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC ON THE MEDIA ECOSYSTEM", FIRST ISSUE 2022, PALABRA CLAVE JOURNAL

Palabra Clave Journal is opening a Call for Papers (CFP) for a special issue "The Impact of COVID-19 on Communication. Analysis and Retrospective of the Effects of the Pandemic on the Media Ecosystem", to be published in the first issue of 2022. For this issue, we seek a renge of work of manuscripts that consider or provide empirical studies on topics that:

• Delve into the concept of infodemic and retrospectively discuss its effects during the COVID-19 health crisis.
• Go over the dynamics of information consumption during the health crisis.
• Compare the media’s approach in the affected countries to determine which have been the most effective in raising awareness among citizens and providing them with information.
• Study the influence of the editorial line in the crisis management and the type of news spread.
• Explore the influence of social media on public opinion about crisis management by the affected governments.
• Look into the dissemination of fake news and hoaxes, and their impact on society during the health crisis.
• Examine the role of traditional mass media in the fight against fake news and misinformation on social media.

*CFP* "DIGITAL NARRATIVE AND INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING FOR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WITH HEALTH AND SCIENCE", SPECIAL ISSUE, FRONTIERS SITE

Outside formal school education, digital media have emerged as a major source of information and knowledge that shapes how societies follow, understand, perceive, reason about and connect with health and science issues. This, however, has recently been greeted with some fears, with digital platforms in the largely unregulated social media sphere having been identified as key drivers of widespread mis/disinformation around the globe. 

Together with the rise of post-truth, populist politics, where science denial has become a personal and political act, digital platforms have fueled an increasing resistance to scientific theories and to science-based medical advice and public health policy (such as COVID-19 safety measures, vaccination safety and benefits, the facts of climate change, and even the notion of the Earth as a spherical planet). While such fears are strongly grounded and should continue to be raised in the public debate, it is important not to let them distract us from the less discussed but significant potential of digital media. This special issue will focus particularly on the power of digital narrative and storytelling.

*CFP* "COMMUNICATION RESEARCH ON HEALTH DISPARITIES", SPECIAL ISSUE, HEALTH COMMUNICATION JOURNAL

The past year has witnessed heightened health disparities among distinct social groups which have been exposed and exacerbated by COVID-19. This global pandemic, in conjunction with other major crises, has brought challenges far beyond medicine and public health and is causing long term and devastating impacts. Socially vulnerable populations in particular are experiencing some of the greatest disparities caused by COVID-19. With the announcement of this Call for Papers, we ask in what ways health communication scholarship is producing knowledge and evidence-based practices to address health disparities and prepare for challenges to come. We believe addressing those emerging disparities in our ever-changing social environment requires multilateral collaboration. We encourage research involving interdisciplinary collaboration that could initiate meaningful dialogue and insightful knowledge sharing among scholars with different expertise on communication strategies to close social gaps enlarged by COVID-19.

This special issue seeks contributions on health communication research at individual, family, group, community, and societal levels in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has given rise to different types of local and global crises. Contributors are encouraged to embrace diversity in theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. We welcome submissions addressing health disparities caused by factors including but not limited to gender, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, ethnic and cultural background (e.g., BIPOC), educational level, ability level, and immigration status. Research from international and global contexts, including the Global South, are especially welcome.

*CFP* "MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IN FANDOM", BOOK CHAPTER

Rationale: Before the concretization of fan studies as an academic discipline, fans would routinely be labeled and treated as “fanatics” - people with excessive love for something or someone that could lead them to engage in maladaptive, even dangerous, behavior. Over time the term mental health disorders developed to mean a condition that affects a person’s behavioral, and emotional well-being. As both fanaticism and mental health are framed as being all about how people think, feel, and behave, public discourse framed fandom as a mental health issue. Along with being problematic due to class, racial, gender and other issues, this positioning meant that fandom was not well understood until the recent couple decades.

Now, scholars return to this idea of mental health and fandom, but for the purposes of understanding how being a fan relates to their own mental health. This collection explores what fans learn about mental health from their fandoms and how their fandoms can impact their own mental health, for better or worse. Discussing these issues and intersections will further our understanding of the complex ways in which fandom weaves into people’s lives.

*CFP* "COMMUNICATING HEALTH AND PANDEMICS IN AFRICA: THEORY, PRACTICED, AND GUIDELINES", BOOK CHAPTER

The rapid spread of the SARs-COV 2, or novel coronavirus, the causative agent of COVID-19, from the City of Wuhan in China in late 2019, has wrought a lot of anxiety and economic downturn in the world. Political tempers have flared up with the West, led by the US, accusing China of deliberately releasing the virus into the world or covering it up until the infection reached pandemic levels. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been accused of being complicit in China's 'hiding' of the coronavirus.

This West versus East (China) 'conflict' has led to a lack of international agreements on a common approach to eliminating the virus. Russia, China, the US, Germany, France, Australia, and the UK are all working on their candidate vaccines. When Russia announced its Sputnik 5 vaccine release, the West was skeptical, but China and other sympathizers of Russia either overtly or silently managed the news. Then, by December 2020, Pfizer and Moderna had announced they had an effective vaccine. January 11, 2021, Pfizer announced it can quickly develop vaccines for future Covid-19 variants, fueling suspicions that a world order ordained by the Rockefeller Foundation, per its website, put in place in 2010 an assimilated plan to reduce the world population, annihilate the African population, and strain the global economy. However, media reports show that a densely populated Africa has so far recorded less than 50,000 deaths, whereas, as USA Today reports, health experts had forecasted that African health care systems would be overwhelmed as cases of COVID-19 escalated, and deaths exceeded 300,000 to nearly 3 million. 

*CFP* "DIGITAL STORYTELLING FOR HEALTH", SYMPOSIUM AT THE WATERFRONT MUSEUM, GALES

Digital Storytelling for Health

June 17th – 19th 2021

The Waterfront Museum, Swansea

 

We are looking for up to 30 people – practitioners and thinkers to join us for two days of conversation in Swansea in June 2021 – everyone who comes to the gathering will be a presenter and the sessions will be filmed to create an online event for a wider community in the Autumn.

To further improve the UK health service through the development of digital storytelling

 

 

Objectives

• Bring key practitioners together
• Present sessions which stimulate new insights and thinking