Globalization and Changing Patterns in the Public Sphere International Conference co-organized by the Center for Research in Communication

The 4th edition of the annual International Conference at the College of Communication and Public Relations (CC&PR), National School of Political Studies and Public Administration (NSPSPA) was held in Bucharest on November 12 -13, 2010. The conference was organized by the Center for Research in Communication together with the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission with the support of the European Social Fund, SOP Human Resources Development.

The International Conference on Globalization and Changing Patterns in the Public Sphere has spurred a lively debate over the effects of the globalization on the society as a whole, with a particular focus on fields such as politics, economy, knowledge production and diffusion, organizational management, policy-making, mass media and communication. The Conference has generated an intense discussion on the changing patterns in the public sphere triggered by global changes in the media, politics, economy and culture. Furthermore, the widely debated issue of the development of (a) public sphere(s) within the European Union has also drawn the interest of many participants.

Professor Paul Dobrescu, the Rector of the NSPSPA and Professor Remus Pricopie, the Dean of the CC&PR, have opened the event and have given the welcoming addresses. Their speeches have emphasized the goal of the Conference and have underscored the fact that the Conference touches a topic of great moment. Dr. Nicoleta Corbu, the Executive Director of the CRC has introduced the two keynote speakers, Professors Claes H. de Vreese and Martin Löffelholz.

Professor Claes H. de Vreese, Chair of Political Communication and Scientific Director of the Amsterdam School of Communication Research ASCoR at the Department of Communication Science, University of Amsterdam has presented some findings of an ample research project on the framing of Europe in the news. His talk entitled “The Changing Composition of European Public Spheres” has added great value to the Conference and to its subsequent discussions.

Professor Martin Löffelholz, Head of the Department of Media Studies at the Institute of Media and Communication Science of Ilmenau University of Technology, Germany and academic director of the International Crisis Communication Research Group has given a talk focusing on the challenges to the nation-states triggered by the economic and financial crisis. His keynote address was entitled “Addressing Global Citizenship: Public Diplomacy in an Era of Globalization”.

On November 12, the first day of the Conference, three parallel sessions were held. Each of the three panels comprised a number of papers accepted for presentation. The first panel included papers reunited under the following connected themes: “Media, Globalization and the Public Sphere” and “Reconfigurations of the European Public Sphere”. Dr. Elena Negrea moderated the discussions generated by the papers presented in this panel. Some of these papers tackled the theoretical, philosophical or sociological grounds of the concept of the public sphere, whereas other presented interesting views on the consolidation of a public sphere within the EU.

The second panel was moderated by dr. Mălina Ciocea and gathered papers under the two following themes: “Media, Public Opinions and Political Actors” and “Policies: Education & Culture”. Methodologically-based approaches to media coverage of election campaigns and transformations triggered by new media to the political public sphere were some of the interesting topics addressed by the authors of the papers included in this panel.

One of the co-organizers of the conference, George Tudorie, was the chair of the third panel, which brought together papers falling under the following sections: “Marketing and Organization Management in the Global World” and “New Media and the Public Sphere”, respectively. The papers presented concentrated mainly on global challenges to marketing and management strategies of different types of organizations.

On the second day of the Conference, November 13, a doctoral workshop was conducted by Professors Lee B. Becker, Director of James M. Cox International Center for Mass Communication Training and Research, at the University of Georgia (USA) and Tudor Vlad, Associate Director of the Center. A great number of doctoral students and professors from the NSPSPA participated to the workshop. The students had the opportunity to present their research topics and research methodology to the two distinguished American professors and renowned methodologists. The feedback they received will help them further advance in their research work and will significantly contribute to the refinement of their doctoral theses. Both the students and the professors acknowledged the importance of this component of the Conference and expressed their interest in other future similar events.

The Conference was closed by a roundtable chaired by two representatives of the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission, one of the co-organizers of the event. A presentation of one of the Fulbright Senior Postdoctoral Award was given by Corina Dănăilă-Guidea, Romanian Program Director. The doctoral students who participated to the roundtable were the target audience for this award. In addition, Jonathan Stillo, U.S. Fulbright-Hays Grantee and PhD Researcher in Anthropology at CUNY Graduate Center, New York presented a brief comparison of research and teaching practices in American and Romanian universities, respectively, which was highly appreciated by the audience.

Here - the official site of the conference.