[csaa-forum] PhD positions at the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism at Charles University in Prague

[Nico CARPENTIER]

((with apologies for cross-posting))

CALL FOR CANDIDATES FOR THE 2023 PHD PROJECTS

The Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism at the Faculty of 
Social Sciences of the Charles University in Prague calls for candidates 
for the following PhD projects (each supported by a scholarship), for 
its English-language PhD programme in Media and Communication Studies:



     Discursive-material communication assemblages

This PhD position consists out of research that is focussed on the 
entanglement of the discursive and the material, driven by a 
discourse-theoretical (or other post-structuralist) framework, enriched 
by new materialism, allowing for attention for the workings of 
contingency, hegemony, materiality and discursive-material struggle. The 
research needs to focus on one or more communication assemblages, which 
can be located in variety of social fields, including media, the arts 
and/or museums.

Proposed supervisor: Nico Carpentier, nico.carpentier at fsv.cuni.cz



     Inclusive media literacy education

The aim of this PhD position is to explore the field of media literacy 
education/media education from the perspective of vulnerable groups, 
such as: migrant and refugee youth, minorities, the elderly, or people 
with disabilities. The project should focus on critical inquiry by 
drawing on theories of intersectionality and feminism, and focus on how 
identities and lived media experiences are shaped through the mediation 
of intersecting axes of difference including nationality, race, 
ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, ability, migration status and 
socioeconomic class. Connected topics, such as the digital civic 
engagement/activism of youth, digital learning and curriculum 
development will also be considered. The PhD project should be 
interdisciplinary in nature and build upon a participatory and/or 
creative/digital methodology. Proposals should be submitted in English.

  Proposed supervisor: Annamária Neag, annamaria.neag at fsv.cuni.cz


     Concepts of National Identity in Europe and the World

Interest in national issues has increased noticeably in recent years. It 
seems that the numerous crises in Europe and the world are strengthening 
many people's focus on their own nation, national culture and collective 
identity.

This call is aimed at doctoral students who want to empirically analyze 
and describe concepts of national identity in a specific country or 
region of their choice – also from a cultural-historical or comparative 
perspective. The research should be based on text material from the 
media, literature, education, etc. Possible methods of text analysis: 
content analysis, discourse analysis, semiotic text analysis. There is 
an opportunity to take part in a project that deals with the 
cross-cultural comparison of national self-images. Students are welcome 
to write their dissertation in English, Czech or German.

Proposed supervisor: Ulrike Notarp, ulrike.notarp at fsv.cuni.cz



     Marketing communication and tobacco control

Department of Marketing Communication and Public Relations welcomes 
Czech or international scholars focusing on primary research in tobacco 
control from the standpoint of marketing and strategic communication 
(e.g. research of new strategies and tactics employed by tobacco 
companies, targeting customers, online and social media marketing, 
stealth marketing, lobbying, public affairs, influencer marketing, 
etc.). Our goal is to analyze and present marketing and communication 
strategies and tactics by the tobacco industry which prevent consumers 
from tobacco or nicotine cessation and undermine public health. We 
especially focus on campaigns or tools aimed at adolescents and youth, 
incl. new forms of tobacco or nicotine products (HTP, pouches, vapes, 
etc.). Close cooperation with the Addictology Dept. of 1st Medical 
Faculty, Charles University, is needed.

Proposed supervisor: Denisa Hejlová, denisa.hejlova at fsv.cuni.cz



     Popular creativity and class: „the bizarre“ and „the new low“ as 
mediated practices of cultural prosumption on the internet

The Internet and social media platforms have become popular venues for 
promoting hobby and DIY practices, which have garnered attention for 
their questionable cultural, aesthetic, or practical quality, and have 
been referred to as "the internet bizarre" or "the new low." This 
project will examine these artifacts and their associated commentaries 
on social networks, focusing on the cultural hierarchies reflected in 
judgments of works of popular creativity. The research problem will be 
best approached theoretically through the lens of Pierre Bourdieu's 
Social theory, specifically analysis of the intersection of taste 
(cultural capital) and class. The methodology will be grounded in 
qualitative methods, particularly virtual ethnography and interviews 
with popular creatives who publish their crafts on social networks.

Proposed supervisor: Irena Reifová, irena.reifova at fsv.cuni.cz



     Constructing history on social media

The aim of this PhD position is to explore how history is constructed by 
communication on social media. Examples therefore could be narratives 
about historical facts or events (also anniversaries ofhistorical 
events), how they are constructed by different social groups and for 
which purpose different pictures of history are constructed. The 
research should focus on critical inquiry of online communication from 
an interdisciplinary perspective. Connected topics, such as how 
historical places that might have turned to museums or places of 
remembrance use social media to promote their messages, will also be 
considered.

Proposed supervisor: Christine Trültzsch-Wijnen, 
christine.trultzsch-wijnen at fsv.cuni.cz



     Parenting in a digital environment

The aim of this PhD position consists of research on how parents use 
digital media for their parenting activities. This could include 
research on formal or informal digital parent networks, on parent 
influencers, or on how different kinds of parenting advice found online 
is used by mothers and fathers. The project should be routed in the 
field of audience research but also be open for other theoretical and 
methodological perspectives on the phenomenon of parenting and the 
integration of digital media in daily life contexts.

Proposed supervisor: Christine Trültzsch-Wijnen, 
christine.trultzsch-wijnen at fsv.cuni.cz



     Feminist/gender studies research on struggle and resistance

This PhD position involves research in the broad area of feminist and/or 
gender studies. Projects in this thematic area are expected to be 
grounded in social constructionist/ poststructuralist paradigmatic 
approaches, driven by feminist, intersectional, postcolonial, or other 
relevant, theories. The research can be located in a variety of social 
fields, e.g. media, culture, environment, politics, activism, and 
explore topics related to gender/ethnic/political/cultural identities, 
democracy, social change, social in/justice, struggle and resistance.

Proposed supervisor: Vaia Doudaki, vaia.doudaki at fsv.cuni.cz



     Photography and practices of othering

The position involves researching the specific means of othering in 
technical images with particular regard to photography. The methodology 
can be qualitative (although qualitative- quantitative methods are not 
excluded), analysing the depiction of the other as an enemy - in the 
war, for example, or as a cultural or ethnic enemy. The research can be 
aimed at gender stereotypes too. The researcher is expected to focus on 
the visual (thematic, aesthetic, formal) constructions of othering - 
e.g., what aesthetics and formal aspects are typically used to create 
the image of the other. The position can concentrate on historical 
imagery as well as the contemporary one or its historical development.

Proposed supervisor: Robert Silverio, robert.silverio at fsv.cuni.cz


     Photography composition as a narrative and cognitive construct

The topic analyses composition in photojournalistic photography or, more 
generally, in a

photographic image, as a narrative element with a cognitive impact. 
Photography as a static, time-limited image tells stories taking place 
in an extended time. Research emphasizes how photographs create 
narrative functions and create awareness of the world through 
composition. It scrutinises the cognitive possibilities of this 
narration and potential cognitive biases. It can also concentrate on 
similarities and differences between technical and pre-technical images. 
The research analyses how specific themes can be framed. The project 
also enables the research of other formal aspects that participate in 
making the overall narratives. A wide range of methodological approaches 
can be applied: synchronic or diachronic analysis, qualitative or 
qualitative-quantitative approach, poststructuralist analysis, a series 
of case studies, or a combination of these approaches.

Proposed supervisor: Robert Silverio, robert.silverio at fsv.cuni.cz



     The technical image and the legacy of the hand-made image

The topic focuses on the research of specific means of expression that 
represent in technical images – and in particular photography – the 
legacy of the aesthetic and narrative aspects of hand-made images such 
as painting, etching, drawing or possibly other traditional arts such as 
theater (in the case of staged photography). Methodologically, it is 
primarily qualitative research (although a quantitative-qualitative 
approach is not excluded), analyzing how the legacy of older media 
affects not only photographic creation but also its perception. The 
project can focus on compositional, color, tonal and narrative 
stereotypes. It can analyze either historical photography or 
contemporary photography. It is also possible to deal with a diachronic 
perspective, i.e., how much the legacy of the hand-made image changes in 
the specific phases of photography's history, depending on photography's 
technical possibilities.

Proposed supervisor: Robert Silverio, robert.silverio at fsv.cuni.cz



     The Influence of Persuasion and Communication in Food Decisions

In general, this project aims to explore what factors influence people's 
short and long-term food preferences. This objective can be fulfilled by 
focusing on the research of the supply (communication of restaurants, 
lifestyle magazines, or influencers) and the demand (psychological 
mechanisms of how we make food decisions and what contextual factors 
play a role). The project's methodology will correspond to the specific 
objective chosen, but experimental evidence is preferred. The detailed 
objective of the project must be agreed upon with the supervisor in advance.

Proposed supervisor: Petr Houdek, petr.houdek at fsv.cuni.cz


APPLICATION

Interested candidates should submit their applications, using the online 
application system, which will be open from 1st January to 30th April 
2023. Interest in a particular PhD project should be mentioned in the 
motivation letter, together with a more developed proposal on the PhD 
project.

All relevant information, including the link to the online application 
system, can be found here:
https://fsv.cuni.cz/en/admissions/phd-programmes/media-and-communication-studies
https://is.cuni.cz/studium/prijimacky/index.php?do=detail_obor&id_obor=29207 


Please download the form for filling your dissertation project proposal 
here:
https://iksz.fsv.cuni.cz/sites/default/files/uploads/files/DISSERTATION%20PROJECT_form%20in%20English_updated_0.docx

For general questions, please contact the Centre of PhD Studies, at 
cds.iksz at fsv.cuni.cz. For questions about particular projects, please 
contact the proposed supervisors.

The Open Doors Day for PhD Study in Media Studies will take place on 
February 24, 2023, at 12:30 PM CET. It will be organised online. If you 
wish to participate, please email the Centre of PhD Studies, at 
cds.iksz at fsv.cuni.cz, asap.


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