8th International Conference on Social Representations

Social Representations: Media and Society

Like the previous conferences, the 8^th International Conference on Social Representations will be organised around a central theme:

"Social Representations: Media and Society".

The 8^th International Conference will provide a forum for debate on the inter-relationships between  representations,  communication  and the polyphonic  system  of media,  particularly  in view of the fact  that  social  representations  are  different  from  isolated  cognitions  and  need  to  be  investigated  while  in  action  in    society.

Although there is a vast amount of literature in  communication studies and social representations,  empirical studies from a multidisciplinary  perspective remain relatively rare.

Another important issue of ongoing scientific debate is that of global communication. There is the need to investigate social representations not simply as referential systems or "discourses" but as dynamic multi-faceted social constructions in action in the media and in society. The phenomena  studied,  such  as  the  information  society,  new  forms  of  socialization  and  communication  strategies  and  their applications to politics, health, the environment, social minorities, etc., are of clear societal interest and highly relevant to citizens.

    The theme of the 8^th International conference is relevant to educational institutions, public and private organizations and research centres interested in the study of social representations, both in national and international contexts. Specifically, this theme is concerned with questions as to how individuals, groups and social movements think about and create their knowledge and how they act in the process of generating social realities.

Almost 350 contributors (out of almost 450-660 participants) will be engaged in scientific symposia, thematic discussion groups, round tables, interactive poster sessions and free papers, depending on the subjects on the following preliminary sub-themes:

• Social Representation and the History of the discipline: the roots of Social Psychology with respect to other social sciences.
• Knowledge, beliefs and epistemic functions of Social Representations.
• Science and Social Representations: systems of diffusion and popularization.
• Methods and data analysis strategies in the study of Social Representations through different Communication systems.
• New technologies and social practices anchored to Social Representations.
• Representational Systems and practice of use of the Television
• Music, Communication and Social Representations.
• Internet, interaction and Social Representations.
• Social Representations, media and collective memory.
• Social Representations and History in the media.
• Social Representations, media and imagination.
• Social Representations and globalisation.
• Social Representations, media and youth.
• Social Representations, media and education.
• Social Representations, media, subjective identity.
• Social Representations of gender in the media and society.
• Social Representations, media and politics.
• Social Representations, national and supranational Identity in the media.
• Social issues, group cultures and social representations.
• Social representations, stereotypes, prejudice and normative regulations towards minority groups.
• Social Representations of the environment and media.
• Social Representations of the economy in the media and society.
• Professional identities in media and society and Social Representations of work.
• Social Representations and popularised knowledge about health and medicine in the media.