Assistant Professor in Political Communication: The Université de Montréal

The Department of Communication invites applications for a full-time tenure-track position as Assistant Professor in Political Communication.

Responsibilities

Successful candidates will be expected to teach at all three levels of the curriculum, supervise graduate students, engage in ongoing research and publication, and contribute to the academic life and reputation of the institution.

Requirements

• PhD (or near completion) in Communication or in a related field.
• Evidence of dynamism and creativity in teaching and pedagogy.
• Research interests and relevant research experience in issues related to contemporary Political Communication, such as analysis of new communication practices and strategies of political actors including citizens, parties, elected officials, journalists, government bodies, para-governmental agencies and pressure groups; Web-based political activities and new types of activism and militancy; studies of new media practices and media roles in political processes; analysis of speeches, interaction or elements that contribute to the definition of the field, its participants and contemporary power formations.
• Proficiency in the French language. The Université de Montréal is a Québec university with an international reputation. French is the language of instruction. To renew its teaching faculty, the University is intensively recruiting the world’s best specialists. In accordance with the institution’s language policy [http://www.direction.umontreal.ca/secgen/recueil/politique_linguistique.html], the Université de Montréal provides support for newly-recruited faculty to attain proficiency in French.

Salary

The Université de Montréal offers a competitive salary and a complete range of employee benefits.

Starting Date

From January 1 or June 1, 2012.

Submission Call for Special JoC Issue on “Social Media and Political Change”

Over the past several months events in the Middle East and elsewhere in the developing world have placed an international spotlight on the role of social media in facilitating and resisting social change. Communication researchers should be at the center of efforts to understand these events. I am pleased to announce that a special issue of the Journal of Communication will be devoted to this exciting and important topic. Prof. Philip Howard, whose recent book, The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Information Technology and Political Islam, makes an important contribution to our understanding of the “Arab Spring,” has agreed to serve as Guest Co-editor of this special issue planned for early 2012.

The “Arab Spring” as well as recent events in other parts of the world have demonstrated that new communication technologies, such as mobile phones and the internet, are simultaneously new tools for social movement organizing and new tools for surveillance by authoritarian regimes. Though communication theory necessarily transcends particular technologies, software, and websites, digital media have clearly become an important part of the toolkit available to political actors. These technologies are also becoming part of the research toolkit for scholars interested in studying the changing patterns in interpersonal, political, and global communication.

How have changing patterns of interpersonal, political, and global communication created new opportunities for social movements, or new means of social control by political elites? The role of social media in new patterns of communication is especially dramatic across North Africa and the Middle East, where decades of authoritarian rule have been challenged—with varying degrees of success. Social media—broadly understood as a range of communication technologies that allow individuals to manage the flow of content across their own networks of family, friends and other social contacts—seem to have had a crucial role in the political upheaval and social protest in several countries. Mass communication has not ceased to be important, but is now joined with a variety of other media with very different properties that may reinforce, displace, counteract, or create fresh new phenomena.

This Special Issue seeks original qualitative, comparative, and quantitative research on social media and political change, particularly as related to events in North Africa and the Middle East, but we are also receptive to work on political change in other parts of the developing world. We would welcome manuscripts from a diverse range of methodologies, and covering diverse communities and cultures. Methodological innovations or mixed method approaches are particularly encouraged, and manuscripts on the interpersonal and intergroup aspects of social movement organizing are central interest. Whatever the approach, our goal is to select manuscripts that are grounded in the actual use of social media in promoting or resisting political change in developing countries and regions. If you have questions regarding the appropriateness of a potential submission, please contact Prof. Philip N. Howard (pnhoward@uw.edu).

Deadline for Submission is August 15^th, 2011, through http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jcom. Manuscripts must confirm to all JOC guidelines, including the use of APA 6^th edition format and a limit of 30 pages total manuscript length. Please indicate your desire to be considered for the special issue in your cover letter.

New Textbook: Making Sense of Media and Politics: Five Principles in Political Communication

"This small book is destined for greatness. If I were stuck on a
desert island with a single book about political communication as
my only possession, I’d want it to be this one."
—Scott Althaus, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing you this note to encourage you to check out my new textbook: Making Sense of Media and Politics: Five Principles in Political Communication. The book is designed to provide students with a basic introduction to our field. The underlying idea is that when students understand some of the central principles in political communication it provides them with an important base for learning more. This approach can also teach students why many of us believe that there is nothing so practical as a good theory.

Here are the five principles:

1) Political power can usually be translated into power over the news media.

2) When authorities lose control over the political environment they also lose control over the news.

3) There is no such thing as objective journalism (nor can there be).

4) The media are dedicated more than anything else to telling a good story and this can often have a major impact on the political process.

5) The most important effects of the news media on citizens tend to be unintentional and unnoticed.

Making Sense of Media and Politics is written in a conversational style which should appeal to many students. Because of its distinctive approach, the book can easily be combined with other introductory textbooks.

April 2015: 246x174: 448pp
Hb: 978-0-415-88522-5: $108.00
Pb: 978-0-415-88523-2: $23.96

For a free exam copy, please e-mail my Marketing Manager Christine Swedowsky at christine.swedowsky@taylorandfrancis.com.

All the Best,

Gadi Wolfsfeld

Hebrew University of Jerusalem