Month: August 2024

Semiotic Superdiversity in an Urban Linguistic Landscape: Mozambique (Online)

EventsSarita Monjane Henriksen, Semiotic superdiversity in an urban linguistic landscape: A case study in Mozambique, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, 16 September 2024, 17:00 EEST (Online).

One of the most defining features of African countries has been their multilingual and multicultural nature, with citizens being mostly bilingual or plurilingual and proficient in a variety of languages. However, as a result of increasing mobility and migration, European countries — once perceived as relatively homogenous in linguistic and cultural terms — now also display growing levels of superdiversity. This raises challenges regarding language management in schools and classrooms, and in society at large.

This paper looks at Mozambique, one of the most highly linguistically diverse countries in the world, with its official language Portuguese co-existing alongside various languages of African origin, and other European languages such as English and French, as well as Asian languages. The paper analyses societal and education language policies and practices through an ethnographic semiotic lens. Key foci include people’s perceptions and views on existing languages, official discourses on languages, discussions of language hierarchies, and the role of language in education and development. Further issues of linguistic human rights in education and society are also covered. Altogether this highlights the key insights brought about from a thorough analysis of semiotic superdiversity in an urban landscape in the global south.

This is one of the University of Jyväskylä Online English Seminars for 2024-25. The event will be live-streamed online with interactive Q&A after the talk. All are welcome to attend.

UCL: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Global Socialisms (UK)

Postdocs
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Global Socialisms, University College London, London, UK. Deadline: 15 September 2024.

Applications are invited for the position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Global Socialisms within the framework of the ‘The Socialist Anthropocene in the Visual Arts’, a research project funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee. The Socialist Anthropocene in the Visual Arts (SAVA) sets out to radically transform current debates on the Anthropocene, addressing the major lacuna in existing accounts by establishing the Socialist Anthropocene as a novel conceptual framework that asserts the constitutive role of the twentieth century environmental histories of socialism in the formation of new geological times. It is the first large-scale interdisciplinary research project that institutes the Socialist Anthropocene as a new field of study within the critical corpus concerned with challenging and decentring the West-centric discourses of the Anthropocene. The approach of the project is to reconstruct the histories of the Socialist Anthropocene through visual arts led interdisciplinary research, which entails analysing historical artworks and engaging with contemporary art practices that act as a catalyst to integrate the insights of multiple disciplines and as a critical agent to pose ambitious and expansive questions, challenging assumptions and engendering new cross-disciplinary paradigms to illuminate the specificities of the Socialist Anthropocene. The research incorporates insights from the fields of art history, environmental history, the history of science, anthropology and the history of global socialisms, along with the work of contemporary artists who contribute to the SAVA team as creative fellows. The distinctiveness, epistemologies, relationalities and potentialities of the Socialist Anthropocene are analysed through annual thematic streams. The focus of this cohort of research fellows and creative fellows will be on agrarian and botanical politics of socialism, animal husbandry and species under socialism and the cultures of the Socialist Anthropocene, from official to dissident and Indigenous approaches to the natural world.

CFP ALF Knowledge for Action

“Publication

Call for proposals for Anna Lindh Foundation Knowledge for Action. Deadline: 9 September 2024.

The ALF Knowledge for Action Programme is designed to promote the production of evidence-based and policy-oriented research that addresses relevant dimensions of Intercultural Dialogue in the Euro-Mediterranean region through presenting recommendations to facilitate policymaking by evaluating policy options regarding a specific issue. The Programme seeks to enhance collaboration between research/academic institutions (think-tanks, specialised centers, and universities) and civil society organisations.

Briefs or papers adressing the following topics:

  • Peacebuilding, conflict resolution/prevention, coexistence and inclusive dynamics
  • Disinformation and misinformation in the Euro-Mediterranean region
  • Living together promoting tolerance and understanding in the Euro-Mediterranean context
  • Youth engagement in participatory dialogues and decision-making processes in the Euro-Med
  • Ethics and governance of Artificial Intelligence technologies in the Euro-Mediterranean region
  • Social innovation as a catalyst for social inclusion in culturally diverse Euro-Med societies
  • Empowering women in the Euro-Med region as a way to challenge gender stereotypes and beyond
  • Integrating social dimensions in climate change policies in the EuroMed region
  • International cultural relations and cultural diplomacy to bridge both shores of the Mediterranean
  • Creative industries and arts

Colorado State U: Rhetoric & Race (USA)

“JobAssistant or Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Race, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA. Deadline: 24 September 2024.

The Department of Communication Studies at Colorado State University seeks a tenure track assistant or associate professor who specializes in rhetoric and race in the United States. Successful candidates will study race through any of a number of rhetorical perspectives (theory, criticism, history, or any combination of these approaches) and will demonstrate race is a central and animating focus of their scholarship and teaching in their application. Possible areas of study include but are not limited to racial rhetorical criticism, antiracism rhetorics, postracism, race and space/place/borders, intersectionality, whiteness, decolonizing rhetorical scholarship, and Latina/o/x rhetorics, Asian/Pacific American rhetorics, Black and/or African American rhetorics, and Indigenous and/or Native rhetorics, among others. This faculty member will develop new coursework in rhetoric and race at the undergraduate, M.A., and Ph.D. levels and will rotate with other faculty members to teach the department’s existing courses in rhetoric. Candidates will employ humanistic and/or critical methods in their study of rhetoric and race.

U Pennsylvania: Global Programs Manager (USA)

“Job

Global Programs Manager, University of Pennsylvani, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Deadline: open until filled; posted 13 August 2024.

Reporting to the Senior Global Programs Manager, the Global Programs Manager (GPM) is responsible for the coordination and administration of Penn Abroad’s outbound programming and advising on a portfolio of semester abroad programs. In close collaboration with on-campus academic partners and overseas partners, the GPM administers the student application, selection, and admissions related to the semester abroad portfolio. The GPM coordinates and delivers student advising, outreach, and info sessions for semester abroad, leads student pre-departure programming, and manages student communications and support at all phases of their experience, from pre-departure through their return to campus. With oversight from the Senior Global Programs Manager, this position manages partner engagement and relationships within their assigned portfolio.

Asian Cultural Council: Director of Development & Communications (USA)

“Job

Director of Development and Communications, Asian Cultural Council, New York, NY, USA. Deadline: 31 August 2024.

The Director of Development and Communications will be a member of the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) leadership team, responsible for building, managing, and leading a comprehensive fund development and communications program to ensure ACC’s ongoing success, growth, and sustainability. The successful candidate will focus on developing strong relationships with diverse constituencies to drive major gift commitments from funders and meet ambitious fundraising goals.

The Director will provide the necessary leadership, motivation, and support to identify new opportunities in addition to developing and executing effective cultivation and solicitation strategies for existing funders. He/she/they are responsible for raising a minimum of $2 million in philanthropy support annually—and increasing that goal exponentially over time—in addition to an ongoing endowment campaign ($20 million goal with $11 million raised to date) and other special initiatives.

The Asian Cultural Council (ACC) advances international dialogue, understanding, and respect through cultural exchange activities in Asia and the United States to create a more harmonious and peaceful world. The mission is accomplished through fellowships and other programs that support individual artists, scholars, and arts professionals. Established by John D. Rockefeller, 3rd in 1963 as the Asian Cultural Program of the JDR 3rd Fund to support cultural exchanges between Asia and the U.S. through grants to individuals and organizations working in the visual and performing arts, ACC incorporated as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit in 1980. Since then, ACC has enabled more than $100 million in grants to support cultural exchange. To date, ACC has supported nearly 6,000 exchanges across 26 countries and regions in 16 artistic disciplines.

ICA25 Regional Hub Application

ConferencesCall for proposals: ICA25 Regional Hub Application. Deadline: 30 August 2024.

In conjunction with ICA’s 75th Annual Conference on 12-16 June 2025 in Denver, Colorado (USA), the organization welcomes proposals for ICA Regional Hubs worldwide to host events concurrent with the annual ICA conference.  While there is no substitute for an in-person experience at an ICA conference, they recognize that a significant and growing proportion of current and potential ICA membership resides in the Global South, making travel to in-person attendance inaccessible due to fiscal, political, environmental, health, and other hurdles.

In response to these concerns, ICA’s Regional Hubs Initiative offers a window into ICA – its community and scholarship. The Regional Hubs also provide communication scholars in various Regions around the world an opportunity to foster community and build intellectual networks. It reflects ICA’s commitment to welcome and support a broader global community of communication scholars. Since its inception at the virtual ICA 2021 and continuing at the hybrid conferences in ICA22, ICA23, and ICA24, each year, around 10 ICA Regional Hubs have been hosted.

Regional Hubs host sessions for regional submissions, with some Hubs receiving over 100 submissions, from which some were selected for oral presentation and others for posters. Most of the Hubs hosted themed workshops and invited lectures from local and global scholars, including some who joined from other Regional Hubs and others from the main ICA Conference location. Some Hubs live-streamed presentations and sessions from the primary conference location (Paris in 2022, Toronto in 2023, Gold Coast in 2024) and organized local panels to facilitate discussion around them. A few organized Blue Sky workshops or workshops on special topics such as scholarly publishing, submitting grants, and scholarship applications. Some Hubs live-streamed their locally-originated events on platforms such as Facebook and YouTube and often garnered considerable local media coverage. In some cases, the Hubs hosted those presenting papers selected for the ICA conference remotely from their locations. Finally, after the selection of Hubs, some Hubs collaborated on organizing joint Hub-to-Hub sessions.

In support of this initiative, ICA provides the opportunity to apply for modest financial support to host a Regional Hub. For instance, a university may want to propose a Regional Hub and invite the participation of local attendees from a city, region or country. Hosts are also encouraged to secure additional funding to complement support from ICA.

U Oslo: PHD Research Fellowships in Political Science (Norway)

“Studentships“1-3 Ph.D. Research Fellowships in Political Science, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. Deadline: 1 September 2024.

The Department of Political Science is recruiting 1-3 Ph.D. Research Fellows. They invite applications from excellent candidates in all sub-fields of political science, including public policy and administration, comparative politics, political theory, international relations and research methods. The appointment is for a fixed, non-tenured term of 4 years, and has a 25% teaching component. The Department teaches in all the sub-fields mentioned above, and directs study programmes in Political Science, Peace and Conflict Studies, International Studies, and Public Administration and Leadership. The successful candidate will be part of the Faculty’s PhD programme. The work is expected to lead to a PhD in political science.

AIEA Conference Internship (USA)

Professional OpportunitiesCall for Applications – Paid conference internships, Association of International Education Administrators, Houston, TX, USA, 2-5 March 2025. Deadline: 16 September 2024.

AIEA is currently accepting applications for interns to assist at their annual conference, taking place March 2-5 in Houston, Texas. They are seeking multiple interns, including a conference communications intern. AIEA conference interns will gain practical experience in organizing and managing a large-scale conference, overseeing student volunteers, handling session and speaker logistics, and supporting educational leaders and the AIEA secretariat staff. Responsibilities include pre-conference preparation through mandatory planning meetings, active involvement at registration desks, directing attendees, and assisting with logistical tasks.

​The conference communications intern will play a crucial role in recruiting and coordinating volunteers, maintaining regular communication with volunteers and other interns, and creating content to share with members during the conference.

Although interns are responsible for their travel and lodging expenses, some meals during the conference will be provided, as well as a modest stipend.

CFP Televisual Dissidence in an Era of Information Warfare

“Publication

Call for chapters for Televisual Dissidence in an Era of Information Warfare: Separatism, Terrorism and the Screen Media in Africa. Deadline for abstracts: 15 November 2024; full chapters will be due 15 March 2025.

Editors: Dr. Floribert Patrick C. Endong (University of Dschang, Cameroon), and Dr. Augustus Onchari Nyakundi (Chuka University, Kenya).

Since the independence period, the African continent has been home to various insurgent and separatist movements. Some of these violent movements include the Oromo Liberation Front (of Ethiopia), the Al-Shabaab militia (of Somalia and the Horn of Africa), the Islamic Salvation Army (of Algeria), the Casamence Liberation Movement (of Senegal), the Indigenous People of Biafra and the Boko Haram movements (of Nigeria), the Ambazonia Defence Forces and the Ambazonia Restoration Forces (of Anglophone Cameroon) and the FLEC guerrilla (of Angola) among many others. The movements mentioned above have through their military activities and their media-assisted propaganda constituted destabilising forces and threats to the cooperate existence of the nations in which they subsist. They have of recent entrenched the culture of using clandestine television stations and other screen media for separatist and/or terrorist purposes. African central governments’ efforts to counter the above mentioned clandestine screen media-based campaigns have led to a new and complex information warfare which, so far, has been understudied.

Previous research has mainly focused on separatist insurgents’ and terrorist groups’ use of the social media for terror, online extremism, or rebel diplomacy. No serious scholarly attention has been devoted particularly to television and the other screen media as a battlefield for both pro and anti-separatism forces. Meanwhile, television remains a key tool for both central states and insurgents’ efforts towards reaching and controlling the minds of local audiences in particular. According to Article 19, television is the most controlled medium in Africa. How have separatist insurgents and terrorist movements challenged this government control of television in Africa is still grossly understudied. Understanding the ramifications of this struggle to control the minds of local screen media audiences may enable better policy formulation in African states confronted by separatist and terrorist movements. In view of filling the gap mentioned above, the current volume seeks to examine how government institutions’ and separatist movements’ efforts towards controlling television and other screen media in African territories, is giving birth to new broadcasting policy and practices as well all as postmodern televisual cultures and aesthetics. Against this background, the present project focuses on engaging academics in various disciplines to interrogate television broadcasting and other screen media as a site of the information war opposing African governments and separatist groups since the independence period.