Studies in Communication and Politics

ISSN: 2197-1625

Technological development and the emergence of new notions of media and media-like services (blogs, online gaming, social networks, wikis, virtual worlds etc.) have changed the nature of communication, making it more open, personalized, fragmented and interactive. At the same a shift in paradigms in relation to traditional concepts of democracy, political communication and public participation has been observed. All of this has an impact on the functioning of contemporary societies and offers a wide range of opportunities for reexamination and redefinition of several concepts in social science. In Studies in Communication and Politics the editors are particularly interested in changing approaches to democracy, communication, political participation and media. By publishing collaborative works and monographs they aim at supporting and promoting interdisciplinary research, offering comparative approach and/or examining national factors for communication and politics development. Hence, the emphasis here is being put on the changing approaches to democracy and its institutions, political actors, electoral campaigns, as well as citizens' participation in political processes, electoral behavior, and so on. Having in mind the changing media landscape and the rise of media ecologies we also aim at investigating emerging communication and media policies, evolution of journalism culture, changing patterns of users' behavior and media innovations in the digital and multiplatform scenario. All of this when taking into account interrelations between communication and as well as the role of media in contemporary politics. The editors believe that the topic presented here will stimulate international and interdisciplinary research changes and challenges facing communication and politics today. We also hope that the wide range of approaches presented in each collection will be of interest for researchers, academic experts as well as policy makers and media professionals who might be particularly interested in taking a part in the debate on emerging theories and practices.

22 publications

Education Management

ISSN: 1947-6256

The Education Management: Contexts, Constituents, and Communities (EM:c3) series includes the best scholarship on the varied dynamics of educational leadership, management, and ad-ministration across the educational continuum. In order to disseminate ideas and strate-gies useful for schools, colleges, and the education community, each book investigates critical topics missing from the extant literature and engages one or more theoretical perspectives. This series bridges the gaps between the traditional management research, practical approaches to academic administration, and the fluid nature of organizational realities. Additionally, the EM:c3 series endeavors to provide meaningful guidance on con-tinuing challenges to the effective and efficient management of educational contexts. Volumes in the series foreground important policy/praxis issues, developing professional trends, and the concerns of educational constituencies. The aim is to generate a corpus of scholarship that discusses the unique nature of education in the academic and social spaces of all school types (e.g., public, private, charter, parochial) and university types (e.g., public, private, historically black, tribal institutions, community colleges). The EM:c3 series offers thoughtful research presentations from leading experts in the fields of educational administration, higher education, organizational behavior, pub-lic administration, and related academic concentrations. Contributions represent re-search on the United States as well as other countries by comparison, address issues related to leadership at all levels of the educational system, and are written in a style ac-cessible to scholars, educational practitioners and policymakers throughout the world.

17 publications

Critical Praxis and Curriculum Guides

The Critical Praxis and Curriculum Guides is a curriculum-based series reflective of theory creating praxis. The series targets not only undergraduate and graduate audiences, but also tenured and “experienced” teachers of all disciplines. Research suggests that teachers need to have well-designed, thematic-centered curricula and lessons at their disposal. This is accomplished when the school works as a community to meet their own needs. Community in this sense includes working collaboratively with students, parents, and local community organizations to help build the curriculum. Practically, this means that time is devoted to professional development workshops, not exam reviews or test preparation pointers, but real learning. Together with administrators, teachers form professional learning communities (PLCs) to discuss, analyze, and revise curricula and share pedagogical strategies that meet the needs of their particular school demographics. This communal approach was found to be more successful than requiring each individual teacher to create lessons on her/his own. Ideally, we would love it if each teacher could create their own authentic lessons because only s/he truly knows her/his students – and we encourage it, because it is possible! However, as educators ourselves, we understand the realities our colleagues in public schools face, especially when teaching in high needs areas. The Critical Praxis and Curriculum Guides provides relief for educators needing assistance in preparing their lessons. When possible, and in the spirit of communal practices, the series welcomes co-authored books by theorists and practitioners or solo-authored books by an expert deeply informed by the field. Because we strongly believe that theory guides our practice, each guide will blend theory and curriculum chapters creating a praxis. All, of course, in a critical pedagogical framework. Ultimately, the guides will serve as resources for teachers to use, expand upon, revise, and re-create.

13 publications

Post-Anthropocentric Inquiry

In recent years, critical researchers, educators, and activists have become aware of the problems and limitations that have resulted by placing the ‘human’ at the center of all societal conceptualizations, concerns, and practices. Across fields, ranging from medical research laboratory practices—to the construction of the humanities—to the social sciences—to environmental studies (just to name a few), this anthropocentric focus is being called to question. The goal of this book series is to provide scholars and readers with critical opportunities to contest this anthropocentrism, (1) by creating a textual field of Post-Anthropocentric Inquiry that generates critical spaces for (re)thinking philosophies, knowledges, and ways of being/living and performing, as well as methodologies and inquiries, that decenter the human, (2) while at the same time attempting always/already to actively transform inequities and injustices performed by human privilege on nonhuman others, traditionally disqualified human others, and the natural world more broadly. This Post-Anthropocentric Inquiry can represent difference and the multiple, while at the same time exploring and welcoming notions of indistinction. Work that further develops and expands current notions of becoming (animal, earth), new feminist materialisms, critical posthuman sensibilities, hybrid existences (past and present) are example locations from which an intersectional, non-anthropocentric politics may emerge. Additionally, post-anthropocentric inquiry and activism will always include the unthought, not-yet-considered modes of living, thinking, research while critically acknowledging that alternatives can create new dualisms, new forms of human privilege, and are not always liberatory for those labeled not human or for those human beings who have traditionally been marginalized. Further, post-anthropocentric scholarship acknowledges, and attempts to (1) transform, the current post-anthropocentric predicament that facilitates neoliberal capitalism as all forms of life, matter, and relations have been/are constructed to serve market economies, and (2) examine the unprecedented human/nonhuman interaction with the increasingly intrusive and intimate technological order. Post-anthropocentric inquiry is necessary as related to these contemporary aggressive, and all-encompassing post-human conditions. Single or multiple authored manuscripts are encouraged that facilitate the development of Post-Anthropocentric Inquiry by addressing one issue, multiple issues, research purposes, methodologies, and/or forms of activism. Over a wide range of volumes that cross disciplines, the series will address broad issues, as mentioned above, and questions like the following: What is post-anthropocentric inquiry? What is made possible, enabled by post-anthropocentric approaches and research methodologies? How is post-anthropocentric research conducted without (re)privileging the human? How does the work in fields that would decenter the human, like critical animal studies, intersect with professional content and practices in fields like education or medicine? How can coalitions be formed (and actions taken) that decenter the human and increase possibilities for all forms of justice, while countering capitalist and technological orders that devalue all forms of life? Interested authors should contact Gaile S. Cannella, gaile.cannella@gmail.com

2 publications

Documentary Film Cultures

ISSN: 2504-4834

This series provides a space for exploring the development of documentary film cultures in the contemporary context. The series takes an ecological approach to the study of documentary funding, production, distribution and consumption by emphasizing the interconnections between these practices and those of other media systems. It thus encourages new ways of understanding documentary films or practices as part of other, wider systems of cultural production. Volumes may focus on specific sociopolitical environments, such as that of a nation or region. Alternatively, they may explore specific themes or production practices, such as new wave documentaries, environmentalism or indigenous film communities. Studies of shared technological platforms, including films that make use of embodied technologies or using emergent distribution platforms, are also welcome. The series reflects not only the maturing of literature on documentary film and media production studies over the last two decades but also the growing interest amongst nonacademic and professional audiences in documentary texts as they occupy an increasingly hybrid cultural space: part journalism, part art cinema, part activism, part entertainment, part digital culture. Editorial Board: Jouko Aaltonen (Aalto University), John Corner (Liverpool University, UK), Yingchi Chu (Murdoch University, Australia), Jonathan Dovey (University of the West of England, Bristol), Susanna Helke (Aalto University, Finland), Anette Hill (Lund University, Sweden), Bert Hogenkamp (Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision), Ilona Hongisto (Macquarie University, Australia), K. P. Jayasankar (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India), Susan Kerrigan (Newcastle University, Australia), Richard Kilborn (University of Stirling), Erik Knudsen (University of Central Lancashire, UK), David MacDougall (Australian National University), Anjali Monteiro (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai), Pablo Piedras (Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina), Agnieszka Piotrowska (University of Bedfordshire, UK), Laura Rascaroli (University College Cork, Ireland), Belinda Smaill (Monash University, Australia), Inge Sorensen (University of Glasgow, UK), Bjørn Sørenssen (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway), Malin Walhberg (Stockholm University, Sweden), Deane Williams (Monash University, Australia), Yingjin Zhang (UC San Diego, USA)

6 publications

Studies in Education and Spirituality

ISSN: 1527-8247

Studies in Education and Spirituality presents the reader with the most recent thinking about the role of religion and spirituality in higher education. It includes a wide variety of perspectives, including students, faculty, administrators, religious life and student life professionals, and representatives of related educational and religious institutions. These are people who have thought deeply about the topic and share their insights and experiences through this series. These works address the questions: What is the impact of religious diversity on higher education? What is the potential of religious pluralism as a strategy to address the dramatic growth of religious diversity in American colleges and universities? To what extent do institutions of higher learning desire to prepare their students for life and work in a religiously pluralistic world? What is the role of spirituality at colleges and universities, particularly in relationship to teaching and learning pedagogy, the cultivation of values, moral and ethical development, and the fostering of global learning communities and responsible global citizens? Studies in Education and Spirituality presents the reader with the most recent thinking about the role of religion and spirituality in higher education. It includes a wide variety of perspectives, including students, faculty, administrators, religious life and student life professionals, and representatives of related educational and religious institutions. These are people who have thought deeply about the topic and share their insights and experiences through this series. These works address the questions: What is the impact of religious diversity on higher education? What is the potential of religious pluralism as a strategy to address the dramatic growth of religious diversity in American colleges and universities? To what extent do institutions of higher learning desire to prepare their students for life and work in a religiously pluralistic world? What is the role of spirituality at colleges and universities, particularly in relationship to teaching and learning pedagogy, the cultivation of values, moral and ethical development, and the fostering of global learning communities and responsible global citizens? Studies in Education and Spirituality presents the reader with the most recent thinking about the role of religion and spirituality in higher education. It includes a wide variety of perspectives, including students, faculty, administrators, religious life and student life professionals, and representatives of related educational and religious institutions. These are people who have thought deeply about the topic and share their insights and experiences through this series. These works address the questions: What is the impact of religious diversity on higher education? What is the potential of religious pluralism as a strategy to address the dramatic growth of religious diversity in American colleges and universities? To what extent do institutions of higher learning desire to prepare their students for life and work in a religiously pluralistic world? What is the role of spirituality at colleges and universities, particularly in relationship to teaching and learning pedagogy, the cultivation of values, moral and ethical development, and the fostering of global learning communities and responsible global citizens?

8 publications

Extreme teaching: rigorous texts for troubled times

ISSN: 1534-2808

Books in this series will provide practical ideas on classroom practice for teachers and teacher educators that are grounded in a profound understanding of the social, cultural, political, economic, historical, philosophical, and psychological contexts of education as well as in a keen sense of educational purpose. Within these contextual concerns contributors will address the ferment, uncertainty, and confusion that characterize the Troubles of contemporary education. The series will focus specifically on the act of teaching. While the topics addressed may vary, EXtreme Teaching is ultimately a book series that addresses new, rigorous, and contextually informed modes of classroom practice. Authors will bring together a commitment to educational and social justice with a profound understanding of a rearticulation of what constitutes compelling scholarship. The series is based on the insight that the future of progressive educational reform rests at the intersection of socio-educational justice and scholarly rigor. Authors will present their conceptions of this rigorous new pedagogical frontier in an accessible manner that avoids the esoteric language of an "in group." In this context, the series editors will make use of their pedagogical expertise to introduce pedagogical ideas to student, teacher, and professional audiences. In this process, they will explain what they consider the basic concepts of a field of study, developing their own interpretive insights about the domain and how it should develop in the future. Very few progressive texts exist to introduce individuals to rigorous and complex conceptions of pedagogical practice: thus, authors will be expected to use their contextualized interpretive imaginations to introduce readers to a creative and 'Progressive view of pedagogy in the field being analyzed. Books in this series will provide practical ideas on classroom practice for teachers and teacher educators that are grounded in a profound understanding of the social, cultural, political, economic, historical, philosophical, and psychological contexts of education as well as in a keen sense of educational purpose. Within these contextual concerns contributors will address the ferment, uncertainty, and confusion that characterize the Troubles of contemporary education. The series will focus specifically on the act of teaching. While the topics addressed may vary, EXtreme Teaching is ultimately a book series that addresses new, rigorous, and contextually informed modes of classroom practice. Authors will bring together a commitment to educational and social justice with a profound understanding of a rearticulation of what constitutes compelling scholarship. The series is based on the insight that the future of progressive educational reform rests at the intersection of socio-educational justice and scholarly rigor. Authors will present their conceptions of this rigorous new pedagogical frontier in an accessible manner that avoids the esoteric language of an "in group." In this context, the series editors will make use of their pedagogical expertise to introduce pedagogical ideas to student, teacher, and professional audiences. In this process, they will explain what they consider the basic concepts of a field of study, developing their own interpretive insights about the domain and how it should develop in the future. Very few progressive texts exist to introduce individuals to rigorous and complex conceptions of pedagogical practice: thus, authors will be expected to use their contextualized interpretive imaginations to introduce readers to a creative and 'Progressive view of pedagogy in the field being analyzed. Books in this series will provide practical ideas on classroom practice for teachers and teacher educators that are grounded in a profound understanding of the social, cultural, political, economic, historical, philosophical, and psychological contexts of education as well as in a keen sense of educational purpose. Within these contextual concerns contributors will address the ferment, uncertainty, and confusion that characterize the Troubles of contemporary education. The series will focus specifically on the act of teaching. While the topics addressed may vary, EXtreme Teaching is ultimately a book series that addresses new, rigorous, and contextually informed modes of classroom practice. Authors will bring together a commitment to educational and social justice with a profound understanding of a rearticulation of what constitutes compelling scholarship. The series is based on the insight that the future of progressive educational reform rests at the intersection of socio-educational justice and scholarly rigor. Authors will present their conceptions of this rigorous new pedagogical frontier in an accessible manner that avoids the esoteric language of an "in group." In this context, the series editors will make use of their pedagogical expertise to introduce pedagogical ideas to student, teacher, and professional audiences. In this process, they will explain what they consider the basic concepts of a field of study, developing their own interpretive insights about the domain and how it should develop in the future. Very few progressive texts exist to introduce individuals to rigorous and complex conceptions of pedagogical practice: thus, authors will be expected to use their contextualized interpretive imaginations to introduce readers to a creative and 'Progressive view of pedagogy in the field being analyzed.

4 publications