Call for papers: special issue of Punctum. International Journal of Semiotics

Semiotics of political communication

Special issue of Punctum. International Journal of Semiotics

Editor: Gregory Paschalidis

In the last few decades the field of political communication is characterized by an increasing degree of pluralization and fluidity. The large-scale crisis of long-established political agents (e.g. traditional political parties, the European Union) has proceeded together with the rise of a wide array of new parties, NGOs and social movements. The media ecosystem, on the other hand, marked by the hybrid interplay of legacy and digital media, has become distinctively polycentric, multi-voiced and participative. Political identities and communities, finally, have become notably more fluid and inconstant, signaling major shifts in the terms and forms of political representation. The basic premise of our invitation to investigate the changing semiotic nature of contemporary politics is Pertti Ahonen’s assertion that “politics is always a communicative enterprise”, inherently embedded in narration, symbolism, representation and signification. Having in mind a comprehensive understanding of political agency (including national and supra-national entities, political parties and NGOs, social movements and activist organizations) and with a specific historical focus on the post-Cold War period, we invite contributions (case studies or theoretical articles) that address the semiotic labor involved in contemporary political communication by investigating verbal and/or non-verbal political discourse across all the different communication modes, media and practices. Specifically, contributions may concern one or more of the axes below:

• political campaigns, debates and rhetoric
• political symbols, logos, images, music/songs and narratives
• political ritual, aesthetics and performativity
• political leadership, charisma and style
• political cartoons, comics, murals and graffiti
• political identities and ideologies

Prospective authors should submit an abstract of 250-300 words by mail to the editor, Gregory Paschalidis (paschagr@jour.auth.gr), including their affiliation and contact information. Acceptance of the abstract does not guarantee publication, given that all research articles will be subjected to the journal’s double peer review process.

Timeline:
Deadline for abstracts: April 20, 2020
Notification of acceptance of the abstract: April 30, 2020
Deadline for submission of full papers: August 31, 2020
Reviewers’ report: October 19, 2020
Final revised papers due: November 30, 2020
Publication: Volume 6, Number 2 (December 2020)