Host: Media Department, Faculty of Communication, Istanbul Bilgi University, Santral; Istanbul Campus
8-10 September 2025
(ALSO: PhD pre-conference - 7 September 2025 - details to be circulated separately)
**Keynote Speaker: Professor Mia Lindgren, University of Tasmania**
The conference theme - Cog in a Wheel? Radio and Sound in the Changing Mediascape:
This conference aims to examine the past, present, and evolving role of radio around
the world within a dynamic global media landscape. We will highlight the
transformation of radio from a static entity to an adaptive component of the larger media
ecosystem, continually reshaping itself in response to socio-political, economic, and
technological changes. In the early 20th century, radio played an important role in the
establishment and development of nation-states - especially militarily, economically,
politically, and linguistically. Today, it is ubiquitous in various forms, multi-faceted, and
present throughout the world. With the advent of artificial intelligence and non-human
presenters, along with rising public mistrust and the prevalence of disinformation, radio
faces new pressures to evolve. Nevertheless, radio endures as a critical medium,
especially during global conflicts, where it serves as a source or way of communication
for the different parties to the conflict as well as for the diaspora communities.
Starting from this premise, we invite papers that help conceptualise "radio" as a cog in a
changing wheel and focus on the dynamics that have shaped, over time and across the
globe, the role of radio, be these roles assumed, attributed, or presumed by both
broadcasters and listeners and be these radios private, public, university, community,
clandestine, political, and more. We seek papers which explore the resilience and
ongoing transformation of radio, emphasising its vital role in a shifting media environment
and welcome interdisciplinary perspectives. We also welcome papers that contribute to
investigating the various roles and forms that radio has occupied, as well as the various
topics it has tackled since its inception to the present day across different political, geographical, economic, and cultural contexts. We are particularly interested in exploring the contexts and reasons behind these evolutions.
The conference situates radio and sound studies within the broader contemporary media
landscape and aims to start a dialogue with, and accept contributions from platform
studies, Internet studies, sound studies, social media studies, critical political economy of
the media, media history, digital media management, cultural studies, production studies,
ethnography, and social sciences.
The conference will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, and paper
presentations that address many themes related to the main topic(s)
of this conference. See the complete list and the full call on the conference website:
https://ecrearadioandsound2025.org/
IMPORTANT DATES:
Deadline for abstract submissions: 7 March 2025
Notification of acceptance (and announcement of Early Bird date): 31 March 2025
Publication of Programme: w/c 28 April 2025
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Proposals for individual papers and panels can be submitted until 7th March 2025
through the conference website's platform https://ecrearadioandsound2025.org/.
Abstracts should be written in English and contain a clear outline of the argument,
theoretical framework, and, where applicable, methodology and results. Individual
abstracts and panel proposals should be between 300 and 500 words. In the case of a
panel, proposals should contain a short summary of the panel and include the 4 or 5
individual contributions (with the title and author's names of each contribution composing
the panel.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Emma Heywood
Chair, ECREA Radio and Sound