April 14-16, 2010, Copenhagen, Denmark

Hosting most previous forms of human communication – one-to-one, one-to-many, as well as many-to-many – the internet is a unique kind of medium, a meta-medium (Kay & Richardson, 1977), which users access from stationary as well as mobile platforms. As such, it challenges media and communication studies to think again about relevant and appropriate research methodologies. The internet also provides an opportunity for research to refashion, or reinvent, familiar approaches and instruments.

This PhD course provides an overview of the state of internet research, illustrating the applicability of both new and old methodologies to this field of inquiry. The central contributor to the course will be Professor Steve Jones, University of Illinois at Chicago, the founding president of the Association of Internet Researchers, and a key figure in internet research for more than a decade. Steve Jones is a guest professor of the Danish National Research School for Media, Communication, and Journalism during the spring of 2010. Other contributors to the seminar include key figures in Scandinavian new media studies. Participants will have the opportunity to present and discuss papers on their doctoral projects.

Time: April 14-16 2010

Place: IT University of Copenhagen, http://www1.itu.dk/ (rooms to be announced)

Organizers: Klaus Bruhn Jensen & Gitte Stald

Contact: kbj@hum.ku.dk, stald@itu.dk

Sponsored by The Danish National Research School in Media, Communication and Journalism (FMKJ) 

Program:

Wednesday April 14

12:00                                      ARRIVAL

12:00 – 13:00                        LUNCH

13:00 – 15:00                        Opening lecture: “The emergence of internet research – looking back, looking forward” (Steve Jones)

15:00 – 15:30                        COFFEE

15:30 – 17:00                        Individual consultations of PhD students with seminar teachers and course organizers – and with each other

19:00                                      DINNER IN TOWN

Thursday April 15

9:00 – 10:00                          “The three-step flow of communication – after the online/offline  divide” (Klaus Bruhn Jensen)

10:00 – 10:30                        COFFEE

10:30 – 11:30                        “Social media – the case of blogs” (Lisbeth Klastrup)

11:30 – 12:30                        “The big head and the long tail: findings from a content analysis of internet use in Denmark” (Rasmus Helles)

12:30 – 13:30                        LUNCH

13:30 – 17:00                        Participants’ project presentations – group and plenary discussions (coffee break included)

17:00 – 18:00                        Individual consultations of PhD students with seminar teachers and course organizers – and with each other

19:00                                      DINNER IN TOWN

Friday April 16

9:00 – 10:00                          Closing lecture: “Pew Internet and American Life – the project and its implications for the field of internet research” (Steve Jones)

10:00 – 10:30                        COFFEE

10:30 – 11:30                        “The mobile internet – brief presentations by Rich Ling and Gitte Stald, followed by panel discussion

11:30 – 12:00                        Summing up – evaluation

12:00 – 13:30                        LUNCH

Papers presented by

Ates Gursimsek

Stine Lomborg

Ib Tunby Gulbrandsen

Thomas Mosebo

Anders Koed Madsen

Christina Neumayer

Sascha Hoelig

Emma Witkowski

Kjetil Vaage Øie

Course registration

In order to register for the course, you should send an email to the FMKJ secretary, Chris Holmsted Larsen, fmkj@ruc.dk, by March 25 2010. You should also attach a 1-page description of your PhD project. You are welcome to contact either Klaus Bruhn Jensen or Gitte Stald for additional information. Maximum number of participants: 20.

Course Requirements and ECTS points


Participation in the course requires two kinds of preparation: readings that address each of the presentations in the course, and a 10-page paper that you must submit by April 1 2010. The paper should outline your doctoral project, with particular reference to the research design and its methodological challenges. The course readings will be available by mid March 2010.

ECTS points

3 ECTS

Costs

The Danish National Research School in Media, Communication and Journalism (FMKJ) will cover all expenses for Ph.D. students who are enrolled in the School. Ph.D. students who are not enrolled in FMKJ will have to pay for their own travel, accommodation, and meals while in Copenhagen.