Sebastian Kubitschko
Institutionalisation: the (civic) struggle for (political) influence
The nature of associational life in general and societal settings around political agency in particular is in fundamental transition as (civic) actors ever more comprehensively utilize new communication resources that challenge vertical modes of power. My thesis interrogates these efforts to shift democratic legitimacy and to change the boundaries of the political – to widen the space of influence and the arena of agendas. More particular, I analyse specific civic collectives that aim for political influence and the role information and communication technologies and infrastructures play in their (civic) struggle for (political) influence.
My PhD research project is supervised by Professor Nick Couldry and made possible by Goldsmiths’ Humanitarian Scholarship programme.
Sebastian is European Editor of Arena Magazine and editorial member of the fully refereed graduate journal PLATFORM: Journal of Media and Communication. He holds a BA in Philosophy and German Philology from the Free University of Berlin and an MA in Global Journalism from the University of Melbourne.
Recent publications
Peer reviewed
Kubitschko, S. and Daniel Knapp (2012/forthcoming) ‘An Invisible Life?’, Media, Culture & Society 34(3): 359-64.
— and Robert Hassan (2012) ‘The Information Age’ pp. 914-16 in H. Anheier and M. Juergensmeyer (eds.) Encyclopedia of Global Studies. London: Sage.
— (2011) ‘Networked Civic Life: Issue Publics During Federal Elections in Germany’, Communication, Politics & Culture 44(2): 112-32.
Not peer reviewed
— (2012⁄forthcoming) ‘Critical Media Studies in Times of Communicative Capitalism’ [Interview with Jodi Dean], PLATFORM: Journal of Media and Communication 4(1).
— and Rebecca Welge (2012) ‘Mobility and the Quest(ion) of Legitimacy’, Open Citizenship 2(2).
— and Bogdan Dragos (2011) ‘Explain, Express’, Lotto Magazin 1(July).
— (2011) ‘Not Radical – But Refreshingly Persistent’ [Book Review], Communication, Politics & Culture 44(1): 175–78.
— (2011) ‘London Calling: Protest in Europe’, Arena Magazine 110(Feb–Mar).
— (2010) ‘How Social is Web 2.0?’, Arena Magazine 108(Oct–Nov).
— (2009) ‘Blogging for Iran’, Arena Magazine 100(Apr–Jun).
— (2009) ‘Bloggen in Iran’, Kulturaustausch II(Apr).
— (2008) ‘Housing Markets, Global Cities’, Arena Magazine 97(Oct–Nov).
— (2008) ‘Wir Isländer sind ich-bezogen’ [Interview with Sjón], Kulturaustausch I(Jan).
Recent conference papers
‘Hacking Legitimacy’, Articulating Alternatives: Agents, Spaces and Communication in/of a Time of Crisis, Goldsmiths, London, 3 May, 2012.
‘Institutionalisation: The (civic) struggle for (political) influence’, NYLON Research Network Conference, BGSS, Berlin, 12-14 March, 2012.
‘Institutionalisation: Socio-political dimensions of mobility’, Medienkommunikation in Bewegung (DGPuK FG “Soziologie der Medienkommunikation”), TU Ilmenau, Erfurt, 1-3 December, 2011.
‘Institutionalisation: The Struggle for (Civic) Influence’, IV International Conference on Communication and Reality, Ramon Llull University, Barcelona, 30 June–1 July, 2011.
‘Institutionalisation: Civic Collectives Struggling for Influence’, Joint PhD Symposium (Goldsmiths, LSE, City University London, University of Westminster), London, 25 March, 2011.
‘Networked Civic Life’, ECREA 2010, Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research, University of Hamburg, 12–15 October, 2010.