SOJC’s Hearst Demystifying Media Speaker Series with Thorsten Quandt: Wednesday October 26, 6pm-7pm
The second speaker for Fall term SOJC’s Hearst Demystifying Media Speaker Series is Thorsten Quandt. Quandt is a high-profile researcher (with more than 11,000 citations) from the University of Münster whose work covers a range of issues related to digital media, journalism, and society. Quandt will be in Eugene to visit with students and faculty on Wednesday and Thursday, October 26-27. His main lecture is at 6 p.m. Wednesday, in Allen Hall room 141.
Thorsten Quandt is Full Professor of Online Communication at the University of Münster, Germany. His work focuses on societal changes connected to the Internet and new media. Recent research includes studies on “dark participation” online propaganda, dysfunctional online use, and the transformation of journalism. His research group’s approaches and methods operate at the intersection of communication studies, psychology, and data science. Previous academic stations include the University of Hohenheim, the Free University Berlin, and LMU Munich, and he was a visiting professor at Stanford University, the Univer
PRESENTATION ABSTRACT
From participation to dark participation: online news between hope and hate
Online communication has been subject to many projections and wild speculation, both in society and academia. In particular, online news and participation were greeted with optimism and hopes for democratic rejuvenation. However, not all of these expectations were met. On the contrary: In recent times, academics have been discussing how destructive forms of “dark participation” serve malicious purposes and undermine democracy. How did it come so far? In his presentation as part of the Hearst Demystifying Media Speaker Series, Thorsten Quandt will sketch the development of online news and participation during the past 20 years, discuss urgent issues, and outline potential solutions, including for democratic countries under stress.
Online communication has been subject to many projections and wild speculation, both in society and academia. In particular, online news and participation were greeted with optimism and hopes for democratic rejuvenation. However, not all of these expectations were met. On the contrary: In recent times, academics have been discussing how destructive forms of “dark participation” serve malicious purposes and undermine democracy. How did it come so far? In his presentation as part of the Hearst Demystifying Media Speaker Series, Thorsten Quandt will sketch the development of online news and participation during the past 20 years, discuss urgent issues, and outline potential solutions, including for democratic countries under stress.
Links of interest:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorsten_Quandt
- https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=kv6knsIAAAAJ&hl=en
- https://twitter.com/thorstenquandt?lang=en
Recent studies in connection with Prof. Quandt’s talk:
- https://arxiv.org/pdf/2004.02566.pdf
- https://arxiv.org/pdf/2005.13290.pdf
- For more background on his work, see this well-cited article on participatory journalism: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17512780802281065