Dear Mobile Communication scholars,
this is a short reminder about our special issue call for Mobile Media & Communication "Mobile Communication Theory: The State of the Field" edited by Scott Campbell, Rich Ling, and myself. Please find the call below. The deadline for abstracts is Feb, 15.
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Call for papers for a special issue of Mobile Media and Communication
Mobile Communication Theory: The State of the Field
Guest Editors:
Lara N. Wolfers
Scott W. Campbell
Rich Ling
We have studied the social dimensions of mobile communication for more than three decades, during which the field has grown and developed. Indeed, journals, book series, conferences, etc. speak to the establishment of Mobile Media and Communication as a field.
Mobile communication has been examined in the context of a wide variety of situations and uses. These include the study of mobile communication in everyday life, psychological well-being, gender, the Global South, social/political/civic issues, inequality, mobility, childhood development, news production and consumption, health, education, etc. In addition, various methodological dimensions of mobile communication have been the focus of analysis (Boase & Humphreys, 2018).
That said, there is not a strong sense of mobile communication theory. According to Wei et al. (2022), "…if theory is indispensable to the emergence of an independent field of scholarly inquiry, there are no explicit theories to describe or explain mobile communication" (p. 22). Their review of the field suggests a highly diffuse theoretical landscape moving in a variety of directions, including adoption (e.g., diffusion of innovations), appropriation (e.g., uses and gratifications), and consequences (assortment of lenses from social sciences, critical-cultural studies, and other traditions). Martin (2014) also contends there is a "scholarly problem of a general lack of theoretical depth and structure within mobile communication studies" (p. 174). These concerns are well-supported by content analyses of journal articles indicating a lack of theory in many studies of mobile media and communication (Kim et al., 2017; Taipale & Fortunati, 2014).
While some of the aforementioned theoretical approaches mesh well with the phenomenon of mobile communication, as Wei et al. (2022) suggest, the study of mobile communication does not have a strong track record of generating theoretical insight. Although there is some work that considers mobile connectivity, mobility, or mobile technologies as a central aspect of their theoretical elaboration (e.g., Humphreys et al., 2018; Vanden Abeele, 2021), there are still numerous domains of mobile communication inquiry lacking in theoretical sensitivity and development.
In this call, we ask mobile communication scholars to consider this issue and to provide articles that
advance the development of mobile communication theory. The point of departure can be theoretical approaches developed in other contexts and reapplied to mobile communication or they can be approaches that are native to this domain. Articles might integrate the work surrounding a mobile communication phenomenon into a theoretical framework, refine existing theories, or propose new ones. We are interested in supporting the development of ideas that help explain mobile communication and extend our understanding of how it functions in daily life and in the wider social context. How can we theoretically model the mobility-aspect of mobile communication? What are the theories or theoretical frameworks that take into consideration the role of mobile communication in social life? How does it play out in individuals' and small group interactions? How can we explain individual and organisational uses of mobile communication and mobile devices? We are interested in papers that will help the mobile communication research community extend its work.
The details of the call
Mobile Media and Communication invites abstracts for a dedicated issue to consider the questions
outlined above.
We invite articles that will contribute to the theorizing of mobile media and communication. We will first seek extended abstracts of 1000-1500 words that outline:
∙ the domain of the paper,
∙ the main argument,
∙ the literature upon which the paper is built,
∙ and the proposed contribution to the theoretical understanding of mobile communication.
Submit abstracts to Rich Ling (riseling@gmail.com) and mark the subject line with "MMC Issue on Theory." The submission should be accompanied by a brief biography (approx. 100-150 words) of the authors.
Full articles will be due by 1 Nov 2024, through https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/mmc.
Time table
Extended abstracts (1000-1500 words): 15 Feb 2024
Invitation for submission of full papers: April 2024
Full submission (6000-8000-word articles): 01 Nov 2024 (submitted through
https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/mmc).
Reviews and revisions will follow with provisional publication in 2025. Manuscripts must conform to the formatting standards of Mobile Media & Communication.
References
Boase, J. & Humphreys, L. (2018). Mobile methods: Explorations, innovations, and reflections. Mobile Media & Communication, 6(2), 153–162. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050157918764215
Humphreys, L., Karnowski, V., & von Pape, T. (2018). Smartphones as metamedia: A framework for
identifying the niches structuring smartphone use. International Journal of Communication, 12,
2793–2809. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/7922
Martin, J. A. (2014). Mobile media and political participation: Defining and developing an emerging field. Mobile Media & Communication, 2(2), 173–195. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050157914520847
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Lara Wolfers
University of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Netherlands
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