Solidarität, 5. Tagung des Netzwerks Kritische Kommunikationswissenschaft

English version below

Solidarität: 5. Tagung des Netzwerks Kritische Kommunikationswissenschaft, 19. – 21. September 2024, Universität Paderborn

Auf unserer fünften Tagung widmen wir uns einem Schlüsselthema der Gegenwart: Solidarität.

Wir möchten dazu anregen, Solidarität in und durch Medien- und Kommunikations- wissenschaft neu und kritisch auszuleuchten: Als Potenzial zur Lösung weltumspannender „Vielfachkrisen (Finanz-, Ökologie-, politische und soziale Krise) und der damit verbundenen Zuspitzung von Ungleichheit und Entfremdungserfahrungen“ (Sevignani, 2017, S. 6). Hierfür wollen wir das Thema „Solidarität“ im Rahmen unserer Tagung auf verschiedenen, ineinandergreifenden und sich teils überschneidenden Ebenen bearbeiten: 

• Schwerpunktbereich I: Solidarität als Gegenstand von Wissenschaft: Hier präsentieren und diskutieren wir aktuelle kritische Forschung zum Thema „Solidarität“.
• Schwerpunktbereich II: Solidarität als Form von Wissenschaft: Hier üben wir uns in Solidarität und loten die Spielräume einer solidarischen Zusammenarbeit von kritischer Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft aus.
• Schwerpunktbereich III: Solidarität in der Produktion von Wissenschaft: Hier reflektieren wir die Bedingungen unserer täglichen Arbeit als Wissenschaftler:innen und besprechen Solidarität in Lehre und Forschung.

Wir bitten Euch darum, Euren Vorschlag per E-Mail bis zum 15. März 2024 einzureichen. Bitte sende uns Deinen Beitrag in elektronischer Form (*.doc, *.docx, *.rtf, kein PDF!) an info@krikowi.net. 

Ausführlicher Call: kritischekommunikationswissenschaft.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/cfp-krikowi-2024-solidaritaet-in-und-durch-medien.pdf

Solidarity: 5th Conference of the Critical Communication Studies Network, 19 – 21 September 2024, Paderborn University

At our fifth conference, we are focussing on a key topic of our time: solidarity. Given the multiple crises of our time, solidarity appears to be a key solution on the one hand. On the other hand, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have observed a veritable proliferation of the discourse on solidarity (Susemichel & Kastner, 2021, p. 7). As with any inflationary use of a term, the object rapidly lost its value: neither did the applauded care workers experience concrete solidarity by means of better working conditions and wages, nor did the global distribution of vaccines follow this premise – instead, countries of the Global South were systematically disadvantaged. This is another reason why solidarity, as sociologist Stephan Lessenich wrote before the pandemic, threatens to become a ’social feel-good category‘ without much consequence due to the harmlessness of its invocation, which does not commit us to anything (ibid., p. 8).

This shows the ambiguity of the concept of solidarity. On the one hand, it can refer to large anonymous groups, but on the other hand, it can also refer to small, non-anonymous groups, thereby changing its meaning and function (Dallinger, 2009). In addition, solidarity, in the sense of its three conditions according to Bayertz (1998), is always particular and exclusive due to its normative charge. This means that if we cannot do without solidarity, the question arises as to how it can be critically conceived from an interdisciplinary perspective. 

We would like to encourage a new and critical examination of solidarity in and through media and communication studies: As a potential for solving the aforementioned global multiple crises (financial, ecological, political and social) and the associated intensification of inequality and experiences of alienation (Sevignani, 2017, p. 6). To this end, we want to address the topic of solidarity at our conference on different, interlocking and partly overlapping levels: 

• Focus I: Solidarity as a subject of academia: Here we present and discuss current critical research on the topic of solidarity.
• Focus II: Solidarity as a form of academia: Here we practise solidarity and explore the scope for solidarity-based co-operation between critical research and society. 
• Focus III: Solidarity in the production of academia: Here we reflect on the conditions of our daily work as scholars and discuss solidarity in teaching and research.

We kindly ask you to submit your proposal by e-mail no later than 15 March 2024. Please send us your contribution in electronic form (*.doc, *.docx, *.rtf, no PDF!) to info@krikowi.net.
You can find the entire Call for Paper here: kritischekommunikationswissenschaft.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/cfp-krikowi-2024_english.pdf