*CFP* CALL FOR PAPERS, THE POSTER JOURNAL

The Poster stands as a vehicle for the ideas of media theorists; scholars of cultural studies and cultural materialism; for social psychologists of visual communication, for architects and designers of wayfinding schemes; for philosophers of aesthetics and politics, society and linguistics; for social scientists, anthropologists and ethnographers; for political campaigners and artist activists; for communications researchers and visual communications practitioners.

The relationship between culture and technology has shaped political communication since the time of the Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide, and now emergent communications tools have widened the grasp and increased the reach of a political message. The rise of the Net has given individuals and small groups the same grasp and reach as the largest power-block, and the possibilities for technically mediated political communication keep expanding. More than timely, it has become imperative for researchers to examine the complex interplay between the means and methods of political communication and the possibility of a normative consensus in the political world.

Areas of interest for studies of visual-political communication include (but are not limited to):

• Is there a social disconnect with the normative narratives that mass communication depends on, rendering propaganda speechless? 
• Is the rise of the Digital Public Sphere killing consensus politics, or saving us from a weight of overbearing myth? 
• Does the disruption of large-scale monocultures by online communities mark an end for 20th century models of mass propaganda? 
• Are the subalterns taking control? 
• What happens to informed democratic systems when the rulers and the ruled fundamentally inhabit different worlds, shaped by different ideas? 
• Universal translators: Are there communication methods that can speak across the divides? 
• Can we ‘mass customise' political communication to speak the same truth, in different tongues, to all audiences at once?

Multimodality is a key element to understanding the use of images in combination with other forms of mediated communication. We therefore encourage scholars from both social and political science, as well as cultural studies, arts, and communication studies, to submit proposals for work for publication. The journal is looking for:

1. Full papers of 7,000-9,000 words, plus illustrations on the issue's theme (for double blind peer review). Rich illustration of the text is welcomed. Theoretical papers as well as methodological discussion are welcomed, but preferably in combination with empirical analysis of imagery. Case studies, comparisons across culture, or historical studies are invited. 
2. Artist/designer monographs: Extended scholarly pieces addressing the issue's theme (for double blind peer review). 10,000 – 25,000 words, plus extensive illustrations. 
3. Image and photo essays composed of illustrations, photographs, diagrams or schematics that use visual languages to communicate their stance on this edition's themes. Textual support may be added, if necessary. 
4. Reviews of relevant books, exhibitions and political gatherings (the editors would be more than happy to publish a good review of the US Republican or Democratic party conferences, a Congressional investigation or a demonstration).

Journal contributors will receive a free PDF copy of their final work upon publication. Print copies of the journal may also be purchased by contributors at half price.

Please send all journal submissions to the Editor, Simon Downs, at s.t.downs@lboro.ac.uk

All articles submitted should be original work and must not be under consideration by other publications.

More information about the journal.