Information

Announcements from the division could be found on our blog:
http://www.politicalcommunication.org/blog.html

NEWS OF POTENTIAL INTEREST

EDITOR OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

The APSA-ICA Political Communication Joint Publications Committee invites applications for the position of (1) Editor of Political Communication, our refereed journal published by Routledge, and (2) Webmaster and Editor of Political Communication Report. The editor of Political Communication is responsible for the intellectual oversight of the journal. S/he will oversee the review and publication of manuscripts; shepherd submissions through the peer-review process; coordinate and work with the journal's book review editor; and collaborate with authors, reviewers, and Routledge representatives to ensure timely quarterly publication of the journal. The publisher provides the editorial office an annual stipend for operational support.

Interested applicants should send a c.v., a statement of institutional support from their chair/dean, and letter of interest indicating relevant experience by 1 May 2013. The editor will begin his/her three-year term of appointment early autumn 2013, in time for the publication of volume 31:1.

S/he is expected to coordinate with current editor Shanto Iyengar during the editorial transition period.


WEBMASTER AND EDITOR OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION REPORT

The Political Communication Report is the online newsletter sponsored by the ICA and APSA Political Communication Division/Section. The editor of PCR is responsible for creating three newsletters a year and for oversight of the two sections' website, politicalcommunication.org. The editor is expected to keep abreast of developments in our professional associations (e.g., upcoming conferences, calls for papers), recently published books, and organizing online forums on topics of his/her choice. S/he also will maintain the blog housed on our website. Funding is available for updating the website as needed.

The successful applicant will be appointed to a three-year term beginning 1 January 2014, after current webmaster Talia Stroud steps down. Interested applicants should send a c.v. and letter of interest indicating relevant experience by 1 May 2013.

All applications and queries should be directed to Patricia Moy (pmoy@uw.edu)

CONFERENCE

Governing Algorithms
A conference on computation, automation, and control
New York U
16-17 May 2013

Algorithms are increasingly invoked as powerful entities that control, govern, sort, regulate, and shape everything from financial trades to news media. Nevertheless, the nature and implications of such orderings are far from clear. What exactly is it that algorithms “govern”? What is the role attributed to “algorithms” in these arguments? Can we turn the “problem of algorithms” into an object of productive inquiry?

This conference sets out to explore the recent rise of algorithms as an object of interest in scholarship, policy, and practice beyond computer science. Taking a fresh view on the current wave of interest in this topic, we aim to discuss themes such as:

* the very idea of “algorithms” as a subject and object of analysis
* issues of methodology and the kind of knowledge claims that come with algorithms
* the rhetoric of problems and solutions, success and failure
* questions of agency, accountability, and automation
* secrecy, obscurity, inscrutability
* rules, regulations, resistance

Speakers include: Lucas Introna, Tarleton Gillespie, Evgeny Morozov, Daniel Neyland, Frank Pasquale, Claudia Perlich, Robert Tarjan as well as Mike Annany, Kate Crawford, Lisa Gitelman, Moritz Hardt, Matthew Jones, Karrie Karahalios, and Martha Poon.

Everyone is welcome, but registration is required:  http://governingalgorithms.org/registration/

Organizing committee:  Solon Barocas, Sophie Hood, Helen Nissenbaum, Malte Ziewitz

The conference is supported by the Intel Science & Technology Center for Social Computing, the Information Law Institute at NYU School of Law, and the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York U.

http://governingalgorithms.org

CONFERENCE

NEW TRENDS IN POLITICAL COMMUNICATION
Evidence, Theories, Implications, Opportunities
19-20 September 2013
Milano (Italy)

CALL FOR PAPERS

The 2013 conference of the ECREA Political Communication Section aims to explore new trends in the way politics is communicated in the public arena. More than a decade ago, Blumler and Kavanagh (1999) diagnosed a ‘third age of political communication’ characterized by media abundance, a growing pressure on political elites to adopt the media’s rule of the game and an increasingly critical citizenry that challenges both political authority and the opinion leadership of the media. The rise of Web2.0 with its interactive features and social media platforms has brought about new opportunities and new challenges to political communication, which are fundamentally transforming the relationship between rulers and citizens in modern democracy far beyond the emerging ‘third age’ described by Blumler and Kavanagh.

Papers are invited for presentation, which address the current changes in political communication. We are looking for new empirical evidence, but we are also keen to discuss fresh theoretical approaches to conceptualize the new trends and locate them in the wider context of the future quality of democratic life. Papers should engage with the following broad areas of enquiry:

• How do citizens engage with politics; is there evidence for new forms of political participation and what is the role of the media, both traditional and new, in citizens’ involvement; in what way do new media alter the relationship between citizens and between citizens and political leaders; how do citizens express themselves and communicate their concerns; etc.

• How do media organizations and journalists respond to the challenges of new communication technologies and wider social and cultural changes; is there evidence for new forms of presenting politics; to what extent has the coverage of political matters travelled away from traditional news formats and with what consequences; how has the changing nature of citizenship and new media affected the power balance between journalists and political elites; etc.

• How do political actors – parties, political leaders, governments, social movements – communicate in an environment of networked media abundance; how does the rise of populist leaders, identity politics and the ‘politics of outrage’ interact with new journalistic formats and new communication platforms; how do political leaders navigate between transparency and secrecy and between grass root politics and transnational decision making; etc.

Paper proposals

Paper proposals of about 400-500 words length should consist of a title page stating paper title, author(s) and contact address, and a blind abstract with the title as a running head.

All paper proposals will be double-blind reviewed.

The proposal should be submitted to the following address: ecrea-milan@unimi.it

Deadlines:
Deadline for the submission of proposals: 30 April 2013
Paper acceptance will be communicated within 3 June 2013
Registration deadline: 1 July 2013
Final paper delivery: 31 August 2013

Local organizer: Gianpietro Mazzoleni

Scientific committee:

• María José Canel


• Boguslawa Dobek


• Frank Esser


• Paolo Mancini


• Gianpietro Mazzoleni


• Patricia Moy


• Lars Nord


• Zrinjka Perusko


• Franca Roncarolo


• Katrin Voltmer

Conference venue:

Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali e Politiche
U degli Studi di Milano
Via Conservatorio, 7
I-20122 Milano

www.sps.unimi.it

21-25 May 2013 Danube University Krems Austria

Transparency and access to information, new ways of interacting with government and democratic institutions, and Internet-based, decentralized grassroots activism have caused profound changes to the way states are run and society expected to function. Social media and new dimensions of online social activity, including individual and collective content generation, collaboration and sharing as well as the emergence of spontaneous multilevel networks change our understanding of how to run countries and companies. Services provided by public and private organisations have increased citizens’ independence and flexibility, but at the same time allow for more control. Now we have reached the point where we need to look at what the ideas, promises and suggestions have brought and why some projects have failed to reach the aims. Have aims and expectations been set too high? Or is the question how we define success (and failure)? Has the role of technology been overemphasised?

These are some of the questions and topics we would like to discuss at the 2013 Conference. CeDEM13 critically analyses present and future developments in e-democracy and open government.


TRACKS

E-Democracy and E-Participation
Open Collaborative Government
E-Policies and E-Society – Human Rights for the Internet Age
Social and Mobile Media for Public Administration
E-Campaigning & E-Politics
Bottom-Up Movements
Open Data, Transparency and Open Innovation
Freedom in Digital Societies

DATES

Deadline for the submission of papers and workshop proposals: 15 January 2013
Notification of acceptance: 29 March 2013
Camera-ready paper submission: 21 April 2013
Pre-conference event: 21 May 2013
Conference: 22-23 May 2013
Open space, extended workshops, colloquia: 24-25 May 2013