Call for candidates for the PhD projects 2024

The Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Charles University in Prague calls for candidates for the following PhD projects (each supported by a scholarship), for its English-language PhD programme in Media and Communication Studies:

1. Popular creativity and class: „the bizarre“ and „the new low“ as mediated practices of cultural prosumption on the internet

The Internet and social media platforms have become popular venues for promoting hobby and DIY practices, which have garnered attention for their questionable cultural, aesthetic, or practical quality, and have been referred to as "the internet bizarre" or "the new low." This project will examine these artifacts and their associated commentaries on social networks, focusing on the cultural hierarchies reflected in judgments of works of popular creativity. The research problem will be best approached theoretically through the lens of Pierre Bourdieu's Social theory, specifically analysis of the intersection of taste (cultural capital) and class. The methodology will be grounded in qualitative methods, particularly virtual ethnography and interviews with popular creatives who publish their crafts on social networks.

Proposed supervisor: Irena Reifová, irena.reifova@fsv.cuni.cz

2. Constructing history on social media

The aim of this PhD position is to explore how history is constructed by communication on social media. Examples therefore could be narratives about historical facts or events (also anniversaries of historical events), how they are constructed by different social groups and for which purpose different pictures of history are constructed. The research should focus on critical inquiry of online communication from an interdisciplinary perspective. Connected topics, such as how historical places that might have turned to museums or places of remembrance use social media to promote their messages, will also be considered.

Proposed supervisor: Christine Trültzsch-Wijnen, christine.trultzsch-wijnen@fsv.cuni.cz

3. Perceptions of European identity

The aim of this is to focus on actual perceptions of Europe, European Union and European identity. This might also be connected to perceptions of home and nationality as an addition or contradiction to a European identity. The research will look into media artifacts which are produced, shared and discussed, online and beyond. It can be connected to various social fields (e.g. culture, education, politics, activism etc.). The research should be interdisciplinary in nature and might be grounded in discourse theory, cultural studies, semiotics, and beyond.

Proposed supervisor: Christine Trültzsch-Wijnen, christine.trultzsch-wijnen@fsv.cuni.cz

4. Post-structuralist Communication Studies

Post-structuralism has slowly entered the field of Communication and Media Studies, offering a series of relevant theoretical frameworks for the theoretical and empirical study of communication. This PhD position is for PhD students who focus on one of the many post-structuralist frameworks, e.g., Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory or Foucauldian discourse theory, to support the research into a particular communication assemblage or into particular representational practices. While in this PhD position the theoretical framework needs to be post-structuralism, the object of study can be freely chosen.

Proposed supervisor: Nico Carpentier, nico.carpentier@fsv.cuni.cz

5. Analyzing the Impact of Strategic Communication on Public Health in the Czech Republic: A Mixed-Methods Approach

This PhD position aims to investigate the effectiveness of strategic communication in influencing public health behavior in the Czech Republic. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods, the research will examine contemporary communication strategies used in public health campaigns. The project will include a comprehensive survey to quantify public awareness and behavioral changes in response to these campaigns. In-depth interviews and focus groups will qualitatively explore individual perceptions and attitudes towards these communications. Special attention will be given to the role of digital media in disseminating health information. This project, requiring prior consultation with a PhD supervisor, seeks to provide valuable insights into how strategic communication can be optimized for public health promotion in the Czech context. Proficient knowledge of both Czech and English language is a condition for this research project due to the study of local language materials.

Proposed supervisor: Denisa Hejlová, denisa.hejlova@fsv.cuni.cz

6. Marketing communication and tobacco control

The Department of Marketing Communication and Public Relations welcomes Czech or international scholars focusing on primary research in tobacco control from the standpoint of marketing and strategic communication (e.g. research of new strategies and tactics employed by tobacco companies, targeting customers, online and social media marketing, stealth marketing, lobbying, public affairs, influencer marketing, etc.). Our goal is to analyze and present marketing and communication strategies and tactics by the tobacco industry which prevent consumers from tobacco or nicotine cessation and undermine public health. We especially focus on campaigns or tools aimed at adolescents and youth, incl. new forms of tobacco or nicotine products (HTP, pouches, vapes, etc.). Close cooperation with the Addictology Dept. of 1st Medical Faculty, Charles University, is needed.

Proposed supervisor: Denisa Hejlová, denisa.hejlova@fsv.cuni.cz
 

7. Social constructions of democracy

This PhD position involves research that explores how democracy is socially constructed, through its representations, contestations and reconfigurations, and how the struggles pertaining to democracy may intersect with claims to freedom, equality and social justice, but also with conflict, violence and war.

Projects in this thematic area are expected to be grounded in social constructionist/ poststructuralist paradigmatic approaches, embedded in the broad fields of discourse studies, cultural studies and related fields.

The research can be located in a variety of societal fields, such as media, culture and politics, but the proposals should clearly demarcate the area of research.

Proposed supervisor: Vaia Doudaki, vaia.doudaki@fsv.cuni.cz

8. Decolonizing Environmental Communication

In the latest decade, Environmental Communication emerged as an `urgent` sub-field in communication studies inquiring, among other things, how representations of nature play a central role in the shaping of socio-ecological settings. Critical approaches to EC are needed to investigate structural power asymmetries often underestimated in this emerging field of studies. This doctoral position is open to candidates aiming at deconstructing the coloniality of power and knowledge embedded in the representation and communication of the environment in media and institutional communication practices. Potential materials to be analyzed are national mainstream media outlets, promotional campaigns of national parks, tourist sectors, patrimonialization of plants and agrarian practices, food industry and discourses of food authenticity, and communication of environmental crises such as climate change, wildfire and invasive species management.

Proposed Supervisor: Gerardo Costabile Nicoletta, gerardo.nicoletta@fsv.cuni.cz

9. The Influence of Persuasion and Communication in Food Decisions

The detailed objective of the project must be agreed upon with the supervisor in advance. In general, this project aims to explore experimentally what factors influence people's short and long-term food preferences. This objective can be fulfilled by focusing on the research of the supply (communication of restaurants, lifestyle magazines, or influencers) and the demand (psychological mechanisms of how we make food decisions and what contextual factors play a role). The project's methodology will correspond to the specific objective chosen, but experimental evidence is preferred.

Supervisor: Petr Houdek, petr.houdek@fsv.cuni.cz

10. The Art of Persuasion and Political Skills: An Intra-organisational Study

This dissertation project concerns research on persuasion within organizations (and groups of people in general). The research aims to identify the factors of organizational politics - at the individual and organizational level - that hinder the implementation of measures that can increase organizational effectiveness, ethicality, or sustainability (or other prosocial goals). Subsequently, the aim will be to design interventions that would enhance effective political skills. Laboratory and field experiments are preferred, but different approaches can also be used.

Supervisor: Petr Houdek, petr.houdek@fsv.cuni.cz

Interested candidates should submit their applications, using the online application system, which will be open from 1st January to 30th April 2024. Interest in a particular PhD project should be mentioned in the motivation letter, together with a more developed proposal on the PhD project.

All relevant information, including the link to the online application system, can be found at here.

Please download the form for filling your dissertation project proposal.

For general questions, please contact the Centre of PhD Studies, at cds.iksz@fsv.cuni.cz.

For questions about particular projects, please contact the proposed supervisors.

The Open Doors Day for PhD Study in Media and Communication Studies will take place on February 21, 2024 at 12:30 PM CET. It will be organised online. If you wish to participate, please email the Centre of PhD Studies, at cds.iksz@fsv.cuni.cz, asap.