Higher Seminar in Media and Communication Studies with Visiting Fellow Lynn Schofield Clark

It’s been a minute: Decolonizing the concepts of participation and time in the study of youth, news, and civic engagement

Political participation and civic engagement are both concepts that are well-established in the fields of political communication and media studies and both terms include a broad swath of activities. With the proliferation of social media platforms, the rise of disinformation campaigns, and increased polarization in countries around the world, in recent years researchers from many parts of Europe and elsewhere have focused attention on questions of youth news practices and political and civic participation.

In addressing the changing articulation of participation in the study of youth, news, and civic engagement, I will argue for the necessity of integrating current thinking from decolonization into communication studies, with a specific focus on the notion of time. I do this in order to come to terms more effectively with the ways that digital and mobile media have prompted a rethinking of what participation means, and what both young people and adults might hope for in the way of participation. The presentation draws on ethnographic studies I have conducted in partnership with U.S. colleagues who have some shared affinities with the young people at the center of our study. My colleagues Johnny Ramirez, Carlos Jimenez, Angel Hinzo, and Badiah Haffejee, with their commitments to decolonizing pedagogies, have taken the lead as partners in understanding the experiences and perspectives of those we study who live in lower income U.S. neighborhoods who have experienced various forms of marginalization as Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous persons in the U.S. Viewing issues of participation and experiences with time from the perspectives of these young people, the presentation will discuss ideas of belonging and exclusion, the role of news and information in the development of oppositional consciousness, and emergent opportunity structures for youth civic engagement and political identity formation.

Lynn Schofield Clark is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Denver, CO, USA. She has co-authored the book Young People and the Future of News (2017, Cambridge University Press) together with Regina Marchi. She is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of Media and Communication Studies at Södertörn University.

It will be possible to participate in the seminar both live on campus or digitally via Zoom. For more information including Zoom link, please contact Saga Hansén (details below).