International Summer School on (New) Media Effects on Electoral Behaviour, to be held from 7-11 July 2014 in Milan

The Department of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Milan (Italy) and the Political Communication Division of the International Communication Association (ICA) are pleased to announce the 4th edition of the International Summer School on (New) Media Effects on Electoral Behaviour, to be held from 7-11 July 2014 in Milan.

The School addresses the main theoretical and empirical questions at the intersection of political communication, political science, and political sociology, with a special focus on the impact of communication factors, from television to the new digital media, on electoral participation, political attitudes, and voting behaviour.

The lecturers are internationally renowned academics. Confirmed speakers include Patricia Moy, Rachel Gibson, Andrew Chadwick, Stefano Iacus, David Karpf, Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck, Sara Hobolt, Claes de Vreese, Magdalena Wojcieszak, Winfried Schulz (see the School’s webpage for more information and for the speakers of the past editions: www.polcomm2014.net).

Student participants come from around the world; countries represented at previous Summer Schools include USA, Canada, Colombia, Brazil, UK, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Russia, Poland, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, among others.

Building on its successful experience, this year’s Summer School will present another opportunity for 30 PhD candidates and early career academics in Communication, Sociology, Psychology and Political Science to attend an intensive, 5 day-long Program that consists of two morning lectures daily and paper presentations and discussions in the afternoon. Furthermore, two workshops on Big Data research methods an on writing for scholarly journals will be offered during the week.

Candidates interested in participating in the Summer School should submit a 3-page research proposal or an extended abstract of a research paper on issues related to the main theme of the Summer School. Submissions should include the application form, a CV, a brief bio (max. 100 words) mentioning main research interests and ongoing projects, as well as a supporting recommendation letter from an advisor or another academic supervisor endorsing the candidate with a brief explication of why the candidate will benefit from the Summer School.

All participants are expected to be present for all the 5 days of presentations and training, contribute actively to the discussions, as well as get acquainted with the materials distributed before their arrival to the Summer School. A Certificate and 6 ECTS will be awarded to each participant successfully completing the School.

Application deadline – 12 April 2014
Selected candidates will be contacted – 3 May 2014
Registration deadline – 20 May 2014

This year the School will offer 3 tuition waivers and 5 travel grants: more information available at the School’s website.

*For more information about the program and application instructions* please see www.polcomm2014.net

If you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact us: summerschool.polcomm@gmail.com