European Sociological Association (ESA): Research Network 18 – Sociology of Communications and Media Research Conference “Communication, Crisis, and Critique in Contemporary Capitalism“ October 18-20, 2012. University of the Basque Country, Bilbao Abstract submission deadline: May 31st Keynote talk: Peter Golding "Why a Sociologist should take Communications and Media Seriously” Submission information: http://fuchs.uti.at/wp-content/uploads/ESA_RN18_CfP2012.pdf Dear colleagues, In my role as chair of the European Sociological Association’s (ESA) Research Network 18 – Sociology of Communications and Media Research, I want to invite you to submit abstracts for presentations at the RN18 conference “Communication, Crisis, and Critique in Contemporary Capitalism“. The deadline for submission is approaching – May 31st. The conference will provide opportunities for presenting ideas in the field of the critical study of media, communication & society, for networking, and for meeting people working in this research area. It will feature the keynote talk “Why a Sociologist should take Communications and Media Seriously” by Peter Golding, who is not only a leading scholar in the political economy of media and communication, but also founded RN18 and is its honorary chair. The conference will take place in Bilbao, which is a great city to visit in autumn. Membership in the ESA and RN18 provides reduced participation fees both for the bi-annual ESA conference and the bi-annual RN18 conference and furthermore gives you access to a great community of scholars interested in critical studies of media, communication & society. http://www.europeansociology.org/member/ RN18 also has a mailing list, to which you can subscribe here: http://lists.jacobs-university.de/mailman/listinfo/esa-rn18 Best, Christian Fuchs -- Chair of ESA RN18 – Sociology of Communications and Media Research http://www.europeansociology.org/research-networks/rn18-sociology-of-communications-and-media-research.html