Doctoral studentship in media and communication studies with specialisation in the affective aspects of news reporting and journalism - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Description

The Department of Geography, Media and Communication is seeking a doctoral student in media and communication studies, as part of the NODE project Emotion and the news: affect, engagement and community in the digital media landscape.

The department comprises the subjects media and communication studies, film studies, human geography and tourism studies, and offers bachelor-level courses as part of several programmes as well as master-level programmes.

Media and communication studies, which forms part of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, offers an attractive research and teaching environment. Boundary-crossing contacts and global perspectives form naturally part of our work. Most of our bachelor-level education is offered as part of two large programmes: Public Relations, and Media and Communication. The second of these is offered with two tracks: Visual Communication Design, and Digital Media and Analysis.

Research in media and communication studies is conducted in two profiled research groups at the department: the Geomedia research group (http://www.kau.se/geomedia/) and NODE (the Ander Centre for Research on News and Opinion in the Digital Era, http://www.kau.se/node/). Geomedia has recently been designated a strong research group in an internal research excellence initiative and brings together media scholars, human geographers, tourism scholars and film scholars. Research done in Geomedia is located at the intersection between media and geography and focuses on issues such as mediatisation and space, in a broad sense. NODE focuses on developments in news reporting and the formation of opinions at a time characterised by a weakened daily press and an increasingly fragmented media landscape. Geomedia and NODE researchers regularly publish in international journals and successfully secure external research funding.

Further information on the university is available at https://www.kau.se/en and on the subject at https://www.kau.se/en/media-and-communication-studies.

The project Emotion and the news: affect, engagement and community in the digital media landscape

Prof. Henrik Örnebring and Prof. Michael Karlsson head the project. The overall focus of the project is on the affective aspects of the content, production and consumption of news. News has always aroused emotions in problematic and unproblematic ways. However, emotions and emotional reactions can now be spread, reinforced and distorted in the new digital media landscape, particularly on platforms that explicitly rely on users’ emotional (and ideally immediate) reactions through liking, spreading and/or commenting on the information that appears in their feeds. These affective aspects are primarily studied based on the concepts of engagement and community.

The appointed doctoral student is expected to conduct an independent thesis project with relevance to the overall focus and research questions addressed in the “Emotion and the news project".

Doctoral studentship and work duties

The doctoral programme comprises 240 ECTS credits, including the doctoral thesis. The doctoral studentship may also include some departmental duties such as teaching, in accordance with the means and needs of the department. The successful applicant is expected to be involved in the daily activities of the department. A doctoral studentship comprises four years’ full-time studies, which may be extended in correspondence with any departmental duties performed.

Eligibility and selection

General as well as specific entry requirements have to be met for admittance to doctoral-level studies, and the applicant must be considered to have the capacity to complete a programme at the doctoral level successfully.

General entry requirements are fulfilled by a person who has earned a master’s degree and at least 240 ECTS credits, of which at least 60 credits are master-level studies, or who in some other way in Sweden or abroad has acquired largely equivalent knowledge.

Specific entry requirements are fulfilled by a person who has completed at least 90 ECTS credits of progressive specialisation courses in media and communication studies at bachelor level. For this studentship, specific entry requirements may also be deemed fulfilled by a person who has completed at least 90 ECTS credits of progressive specialisation courses at bachelor level in a different subject, such as journalism, provided that these studies were focused on media and are relevant to the “Emotion and the news project ”. A person who in some other way in Sweden or abroad has acquired largely equivalent knowledge also fulfil entry requirements.

Selection from eligible applicants is based on their prior studies, and considerable weight is given to the quality of independent research or investigative projects, particularly at master’s level. Considerable weight is further given to applicants’ research interests and how those fit into the overall “Emotion and the news project” as well as to applicants’ intention to be present at the workplace and participate in the departmental research environment.

Admission

Appointment is contingent upon necessary funding allocation decisions. Selection is based on individual assessment of the applicants’ qualifications and capacity to complete a programme at the doctoral level successfully. The position starts in August/September 2019 and is based in Karlstad.

Application

Applications are submitted via Karlstad University’s web-based recruitment platform Varbi and should comprise:

• CV (including certified copies of transcripts, degree certificates, etc.)
• Copies of degree projects at bachelor and master’s levels
• Any other research publications, such as articles, books or chapters, demonstrating applicants’ capacity to complete a programme at the doctoral level successfully
• Brief application letter (1000 words), including information on the applicant’s background, reasons for applying to the position and expectations of doctoral studies.
• Research proposal (2000 words) describing the thesis project idea and how it fits into the “Emotion and the news project” and NODE’s overall research profile. A detailed project description can be obtained from NODE’s coordinator, Prof. Henrik Örnebring, henrik.ornebring@kau.se
• Two letters of recommendation and the contact details of two references

Documents and publications should be attached to the electronic application (do not provide links only).