CfP: “Audiences: a cross generational dialogue” - A faculty-mentored cross-generational doctoral workshop on audiences and audience research

Organised by YECREA and COST Action IS0906 Transforming Audiences Transforming Societies
Presented in collaboration with ECREA (Audience and Reception Studies section)

What is new and unique about being an audience researcher in contemporary media environments? Are old questions, challenges and concepts still of worth? What do we envisage in the next few decades of audience studies, and where does our own work fit into that narrative? Addressing, these questions, the ARS section of ECREA, YECREA (the young scholars' network of ECREA) and COST Action IS0906 brings together three generations of audience researchers in an intensive day-long workshop in Brussels on 11th April 2012.

For this, we invite abstracts from graduate students (preferably in advanced stages of doctoral research) who see themselves contributing to audience studies, including print, radio, film, television and internet audiences and users. The proposed workshop is intended as a cross-generational space where audience scholars from three distinct generations come together to discuss the work of the doctoral students participating in the workshop and also broader questions for the field

Mentors! The workshop will bring together Professors Denis McQuail, Kim Schroder, Sonia Livingstone, David Buckingham, Martin Barker and Elizabeth Bird. With a diverse range of approaches to audiences between them, they will spend a day listening and responding to doctoral research and addressing questions raised by their projects especially as they fit into the narrative of audience research in the future decades. The intensive day long workshop will feature opening and closing statements from each faculty mentor, organised in a plenary, and parallel workshops focusing on student work during the day.

Funding! We will be able to accept 20 doctoral students for this workshop, of whom up to 10 students can be funded, provided the student is a member of the COST Action Transforming Audiences Transforming Societies. Students who are not a member of the Action will have to fund themselves if accepted to attend this workshop.

Doctoral students are invited to send in abstracts addressing the following parameters –

1. Abstracts describing the PhD project (500-800 words) should preferably be from advanced doctoral students who are currently analysing their data and writing up their research.
2. Abstracts should present the PhD project in a manner that reflects on the history and future of the field of audience research and which culminates in 3 questions you would like to discuss in the workshop. Please note that the media you work with does not matter – whether print or radio or internet, but what we are interested in is how you reflect on your project as part of the audience research narrative. If selected you will required to prepare a brief presentation of your work for the day.
3. Please include a CV with your application
4. Please indicate if you are an Action Member
5. Our selection criteria will include (a) the intellectual coherence of your PhD project and its relevance to audience research, (b) your attempts at contextualising your PhD project within the broader narrative of the field and (c) the fit between your interests and those of the faculty mentors.

Deadline for submissions – 30th October 2011
Participants will be notified by – 30th November 2011

Please send applications to crossgenerationalworkshop@googlemail.com

Please see the full call in attachment to this webpage.