The project was organized as 7 work packages (a mixture of substantive research, training, management, dissemination and communication activities) that are referred to here as a whole.
The main scientific achievement of the project illuminated the nature of media and journalistic critique today, including on Twitter, but also highlighted its interplay with ideological, political and cultural critique of other institutions. These achievements were theoretical in focus and explored the place of media critique in the politics of the so-called “culture wars”. The core scientific rationale focused on 8 key written outputs: 2 (in progress) single-authored books; 1 (in progress) open-access edited special issue; and 5 full-length peer-reviewed journal articles (1 published, and 4 under review at the time of writing). These were supplemented by 8 conference papers, 7 seminar/workshop/panel talks, 1 additional peer-reviewed journal article co-authored with a Master’s student and the supervisor, 1 (forthcoming) paper in a conference proceedings special issue, 1 review essay, and 2 publications for popular media outlets.
Of the 8 key outputs, the first book develops an argument about “critique, media and reactionary politics” that expands arguments first made in three conference papers presented in 2021. The book has attracted publisher interest and is being written to appeal to a general non-specialist readership. The second book is a book about journalistic identity and digital culture that centres on 24 interviews (12 male, and 12 female) done with journalists in Belgium and Ireland. Of the 5 peer-reviewed journal articles, 3 are theoretical in focus, while the other 2 analyze Twitter discourse. The special issue is based on a conference that the fellow organized in May 2022 (see below) and will include an introductory essay that he co-authored.
The project included multiple training objectives, mainly in the form of “training as research”, and a two-way transfer of knowledge with research groups at the host institution (University of Antwerp). Highlights included the fellow’s (a) lead organization of a one-day hybrid pre-conference on the topic of critique at the 2022 annual conference of the International Communication Association in Paris (see accompanying flyer) and (b) his organization of an online seminar series at the host institution that featured presentations by top international researchers.
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