Call for Papers
Theme Issue: Online Media and Image Studies Under Conflicts
Submission Deadline: January 15, 2024
Most global communication occurs via images. Images about foreign nations and peoples, cities of diversified cultures, enterprises and products imported from elsewhere in the world, have already penetrated in our daily life. As W. J. Thomas. Mitchell claimed, images are abstract and reside in a people’s consciousness. It is media that materialize images into pictures and transmit them in specific global communication contexts. In the past decades, online media have significantly changed the nature of images. The digitization of image communication is changing the foundation for most global collaborations or conflicts, in global politics, global businesses or global cultural exchanges.
Online media, news sites, messaging apps have become common ways people learn about the world and other racial groups. However, the news and postings on these online media may exacerbate conflicts through emotional, impulsive and sensational postings and comments. They may also help in reducing international conflicts by finding common interests and success of international collaborations and learn about how other nations deal with the similar problems such as climate change, environmental protection, public health issues (such as COVID-19). Governments, cities, news organizations, NGOs, businesses and individuals can all play a role in promoting peace or exacerbating conflicts via digital sharing of institutional and personal experience in global communication.
Within this context, the theme issue intends to draw insights from multiple disciplines and explore the dynamic relations between image studies and global communication in the digital era, with the theme on Online Media and Image Studies Under Conflicts. We welcome manuscript submissions related to (but not limited to) the following topics.
1. Image of global conflicts as portrayed in online media and their impacts
2. National images, city images or images of smaller-scale places on digital platforms and their impacts on global spheres including diplomacy and cultures
3. Images about foreign governments and racial groups in global online media and their impacts on global communication order
4. Images of global corporation, products or brands on digital platforms and their impacts on global trade
5. Cyber cultures and artificial intelligence such as virtual artists, avatars, AI agents in global communication
6. Images and tactics of global news organizations (especially in social media) in the contexts of global conflicts
7. Images and roles of global NGOs (e.g., climate change, environmental protection, public health) in promoting peace and global conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Palestine war
8. Images and roles of individual users from different cultures and races on digital platforms in global communication
9. The effect of different narratives and discourses on perception of foreign countries or racial groups in the context of global conflicts
10. Research method innovation about online media and global image studies
11. Comparative studies related with global image studies on digital media platforms
12. The role of big technology companies/social media platforms in mitigating or facilitating the spread of misinformation and propaganda
Full paper submissions are to be in English and no longer than 25 pages of text.
Paper format please refer to the OMGC citation style with structured abstract at https://www.degruyter.com/journal/key/omgc/html?lang=en#submit
Submit manuscript to: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/omgc
Select themed issue: Online Media and Image Studies Under Conflicts
Inquiries: OMGC@shisu.edu.cn