Academia Europaea Wrocław Knowledge Hub

Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Institute of Social Communication and Media Science

University of Wrocław, Institute of International Studies

organised the conference entitled

Media (&) Life after/during the Covid-19 Pandemic

which was held online

on October 26, 2020.

In view of the situation where researchers found themselves almost all over the world – the cancellation of many academic events and, at the same time, the new challenges posed by the academy and the epidemic – we decided to meet the needs that had arisen and invite media and communication researchers to participate in the discussion on the present and future of communication and media studies in the face of the pandemic.

We aimed to ask important questions and start a discussion on topics that were rapidly emerging. Among those, there were questions such as: What are the biggest challenges in research in the field of media and communication studies posed by the pandemic? What will it probably bring? What has already changed in our studies, projects and research practice? Which important topics are emerging in media and communication studies in relation to the pandemic and its consequences? What kind of ethical challenges and dilemmas will we face? In media and communication studies, as in science: can we expect a change in the distribution model of research results, e.g. the growing role of publications outside the peer review model and a long-term publishing process? Are application projects – constructed ad hoc for the so-called social good – becoming more important now than ever? What are the other changes that have already taken place and/or should take place, and how should we possibly direct them?

The conference consisted of two parts: Session 1: Experts’ debate and Session 2: Presentation of media and communication research projects.
The video recording of the whole conference is available here.

Session 1: Experts’ debate

The first part was dedicated to experts’ speeches and discussions on the following topics:

• Göran Bolin, Södertörn University, Datafication and Educational Value in a Post-Covid19 World
• Veronika Kalmus, University of Tartu, „Jobs That Really Matter”: Some Reflections on Changes in Science
• Nevena Dakovic, University of the Arts in Belgrade, Mediating and Communicating Crisis: C19 Pandemic or Infodemic?
• Fausto Colombo, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Infodemic, Pandemic, and Covid-19: an Ecological Approach
• Leopoldina Fortunati, University of Udine, How a Research Project Had to be Reformulated because of COVID19. A Narrative on the Design and Methodological Changes Intervened in a Research Project during the Emergency
• Heidi Vandebosch, University of Antwerp, Studying People’s Media Use during COVID-19 and Lockdown Times: Opportunities and Challenges
• Helena Bilandzic, Universität Augsburg, The Role of Media in the Pandemic: How Citizens Seek and Avoid, Trust and Mistrust Media Information in a Health Crisis

Session 2: Presentation of media and communication research projects

The second part of the conference was dedicated to the presentation of specific research projects in the field of communication and media studies that concern the pandemic or which were executed in spite of the pandemic, but which addressed the challenge of adapting to changing conditions. We also wanted to look at theoretical, methodological, technical, and ethical challenges faced by media and communication researchers in the research projects they were pursuing at the time as well as at the results of the research, including the preliminary ones, which had been managed to develop during that difficult time.

You can download the printable version of the programme.

PROGRAMME

26.10.20, 10.00 am – 06.00 pm (UTC+1:00, Warsaw Time)

10.00 am – 10.15 am Welcome | Chair: Katarzyna Kopecka-Piech, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin

• Arkadiusz Wójs, Academic Director of the Academia Europaea Wrocław Knowledge Hub, Rector of Wrocław University of Science and Technology
• Iwona Hofman, Director of the Institute of Media and Communication Studies at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin
• Magdalena Ratajczak, Vice Dean for International Relations of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Wrocław

Session 1. Experts’ debate

10.15 am – 11.35 am Part 1 – Methodological turns, new approaches, and research possibilities | Chair: Katarzyna Kopecka-Piech, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin

• Veronika Kalmus, University of Tartu, „Jobs that really matter”: Some Reflections on Changes in Science
• Fausto Colombo, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Infodemic, Pandemic, and Covid-19: an Ecological Approach
• Heidi Vandebosch, University of Antwerp, Studying People’s Media Use during COVID-19 and Lockdown Times: Opportunities and Challenges
• Leopoldina Fortunati, University of Udine, How a Research Project Had to be Reformulated because of COVID-19. A Narrative on the Design and Methodological Changes Intervened in a Research Project during the Emergency

11.35 am – 11.45 am Break

11.45 am – 01.05 pm Part 2 – The Pandemic in the Media and the Media in the Pandemic. (Post)pandemic Media World | Chair: Katarzyna Kopecka-Piech, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin

• Espen Ytreberg, University of Oslo, A History of Preparedness: Mediation of Pandemic Events from the Spanish Flu to Covid-19
• Helena Bilandzic, Universität Augsburg, The Role of the Media in the Pandemic: How Citizens Seek and Avoid, Trust and Mistrust Media Information in a Health Crisis
• Göran Bolin, Södertörn University, Datafication and Educational Value in a Post-Covid-19 World
• Nevena Dakovic, University of the Arts in Belgrade, Pandemic Narratives between Facts and Fiction: Serbia 2020

01.05 – 01.35 Break

Session 2: Project presentations

01.35 pm – 02.50 pm Part 1 – Media and Communication Research Challenges during the Pandemic | Chair: Bartłomiej Łódzki, University of Wrocław

• Ilya Kiriya, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Digital Media in Times of the Pandemic: Reconstructing Spaces, Policies and Communications
• Andrzej Jarynowski, Interdisciplinary Research Institute in Wrocław, Monika Wójta-Kempa, Wrocław Medical University, Exploring the Interplay of the COVID-19 Epidemic and Social Dynamics via Internet Media in Poland
• Matteo Tarantino, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Studying COVID-related Social Media Discourse in Italy: A big-data Approach Based on Facebook
• Dorota Piontek, Paweł Łokić, Maciej Świstoń, Monika Jabłońska, Adam Mickiewicz University, Media Broadcasts during the COVID-19 Pandemic as a Predictor of Disinformation and Social Fear
• Anna Jupowicz-Ginalska, University of Warsaw, Survival of the Media – Modification of the TV Product Offer in the COVID-19 Era. A Case Study from Poland.

02.50 pm – 03.00 pm Break

03.00 pm – 04.15 pm Part 2 – Medical, Legal and Social Aspects of Media Usage in the Covid-19 Era | Chair: Justyna Arendarska, University of Wrocław

• Manuela Farinosi & Chiara Piccolo, University of Udine, In Lockdown: Living Social Distancing in the Digital Age
• Christoffer Bagger & Stine Lomborg, University of Copenhagen, Studying, Work and Home while Working from Home
• Ganiu Okunnu & Anthony O. Orebiyi, Crescent University; Modupe Apanisile, Federal Medical Centre (Abeokuta), Assessment of Audience Knowledge of Ebola Virus Disease in Post Containment Era in Lagos State
• Ricardo Matos de Araújo Rios & Edson Carlo Brandão Silva, Hospital Ibiapaba CEBAMS, The Future of Pink October and Blue November Campaigns after Covid-19
• Elena Sherstoboeva, City University of Hong Kong; Valentina Pavlenko, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Asian Fake News Regulations during the COVID-19 Pandemic

04.15 pm – 04.25 pm Break

04.25 pm – 05.40 pm Part 3 – At the Crossroads of the Media, Aesthetics and the Pandemic. Different Dimensions of Media Research Challenges | Chair: Justyna Arendarska, University of Wrocław

• Marina Zagidullina, Chelyabinsk State University, Friendly Visualizating COVID-19: Bottom-up Streams in Culture (Media-Aesthetic Approach)
• Anna Zięba, Adam Mickiewicz University, From a Spiky Ball to Maps – a Diachronic Perspective on the Visual Representation of the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Ana Victoria Falcon Araujo, Estonian Academy of Music and Theater, The Shopless Workshop: A Remote Introduction to Virtual Reality
• Laeed Zaghlami, Algiers University, Media Coverage of Covid-19: Stakes and Challenges
• Katarzyna Kopecka-Piech, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, The Attempt to Draw Conclusions from Something that Cannot be Summarized. Invitation to Discuss the 7 Pandemic Challenges in (Not Only) Media and Communication studies

05.40 pm – 06.00 Summary