CFP: "Communication Policies and Culture in Europe," 2nd Conference, European Communication Research and Education Association, November 15-18, 2008.

The broad theme of this major international congress, "Communication Policies and Culture in Europe," refers to the confluence that can be established between the media and the different interpretations of culture in Europe nowadays. This confluence refers to the globalization effects on a diversity of spaces (multinational, national, local) with all its political implications. It moreover refers to the different mediations and interactions that configure the current European society with respect to migrations, new forms of political participation, the dialectics of identity and diversity, new cultural consumptions, etc. The broad title aims to emphasize the importance of politics and culture, but also refers to new ways of regulation and de-regulation, the technology and the management of convergence within the cultural industries the new public service remit, and the variety of communication policies that aim to guarantee cultural diversity and development in Europe. The Philosophy of Communication section (http://www.philosophy-of-communication.eu/) invites proposals within the area of philosophy of communication, broadly conceived. The Philosophy of Communication Section in particular sets out to consolidate a European forum for the philosophy of communication. The section is explicitly oriented to reflect the cultural variety and the variety of traditions in the history of thought, scholarship and science. The philosophy of communication encompasses a variety of concerns including reflective, theoretical, analytical, normative and historical questions relating to communication as a phenomenon, a dialectical or hermeneutical process, a central element of social reality, a form of expression, a theoretical construct or last but not at least a paradox. What distinguishes Philosophy of Communication from other approaches is the foundational dimension embodied by the Section. The Philosophy of Communication section welcomes contributions that deal with questions regarding theory formation and methodology in communication scholarship, and with fundamental questions regarding the place of communication in human existence. Further information on the conference is available here: http://www.ecrea2008barcelona.org/eng/home.asp.