Climate change, artificial intelligence, algorithms, and senior citizens’ media uses – these are some of the topics of the new doctoral theses that were defended at Nordic universities last year. In 2022, almost 60 doctoral theses were defended in the field of media and communication studies.
It can be said that by taking a look at fresh doctoral theses you can see the emerging trends in research. Partly, that may be true, as doctoral students are often connected to new research projects and take up themes that are timely and debated. This view also seems to be confirmed when looking at the doctoral theses topics from 2022: artificial intelligence, datafication, algorithms, open science, climate change, online identity politics, media literacy, and seniors and aging.
We found 56 dissertations in total accepted in 2022 in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden (and none in Iceland). The information was retrieved by searching in the national databases in the scholarly field of media and communication studies. As media-related studies are submitted beyond this frame, this selection does not tell the entire picture, but may give us a hint of the contemporary emphases and preferences. The number of doctoral theses found from 2022 was less than from 2020, when we made the latest overview. In 2020, more than 70 doctoral theses in media and communication research were defended.
Congratulations to all who graduated last year! If you know a thesis that is missing on the list, please let me know. The information searches were carried out in the databases Diva in Sweden, Cristin in Norway, Nora in Denmark, and Finna in Finland.
Doctoral theses in 2022
Denmark (9)
Bagger, Christoffer: The medium in the middle: Workplace from Meta, enterprise social media, and the intersection of the personal and the professional, University of Copenhagen
Grundtmann, Naja le Fevre: Convolutional aesthetics: A cultural and philosophical analysis of the perceptual logic of machine learning systems, University of Copenhagen
Henningsen, Birgitte Sølbeck: Video som refleksionsredskab: En undersøgelse af potentialer og udfordringer ved brugen af video i læreprocesser og deltagerinddragende forskning, Aalborg University
Kapsch, Patrick: Algorithms in everyday media use: A user-centered approach to studying the significance of algorithms in digital media, University of Copenhagen
Krogh, Søren Christian: Et ungdomsliv under pres? Når udskolingselever skal navigere i præstationer, køn og sociale medier, Aalborg University
Lehaff, Josephine: Serious news: Roles of emotions in news repertoire formation among young adults in Denmark, Roskilde University
Liljedahl, Anders Aktor: On black poetics and the renunciation of categorical distinction in multimodal music video analysis, University of Copenhagen
Rasmussen, Penille: Traveling imagery: A qualitative study of young people’s use and sharing of sexualized digital imagery of peers, Aarhus University
Vestergaard, Mads: Digital threats to democracy: Studies in digital politics and digitalization policy-making, University of Copenhagen
Finland (10)
Airola, Ella: Older people and eHealth service use An exploration of a complex learning and care ecosystem in the rural areas of Finnish Lapland, University of Lapland
De Paola, Jennifer: Happiness and its digital publics : social representations of happiness in social media and digital journalism arenas, University of Helsinki
Hiltunen, Ilmari: External interference in Finnish professional journalism, Tampere University
Kerttula, Tero: (Broad)casting the game: The spectacle of real in representing and narrating video game play, University of Jyväskylä
Koiranen, Ilkka: Distorting mirror: Formation of party political sphere on social media in Finland, University of Turku
Koskinen, Kristiina: Läpinäkyvä luontokäsitys – ekokriittisen elokuvatutkimuksen näkökulmia luontodokumenttien kerrontaan, University of Lapland
Oksa, Reetta: Towards thriving or draining? Psychosocial well-being implications of social media use at work, Tampere University
Reinikainen, Hanna: Fostering organizational intangible assets through strategic social media influencer communication, University of Jyväskylä
Salam-Salmaoui, Rauha: Constructing gender identities multimodally: Young, middle-class Pakistanis on Facebook, University of Jyväskylä
Salomäenpää, Ilkka: Art life as communicative action on Facebook, University of Jyväskylä
Norway (8)
Amdam, Synnøve Hedemann: Media teachers’ discursive understandings in developing 21st century education: Are we the tugboat, the satellite, or the terror cell? University of Oslo
Bjørkelo, Kristian A.: Playing with boundaries: Empirical studies of transgressions and gaming culture, University of Bergen
Dutoit, Madeleine: We exchange data all the time : A case study on data conceptualisation and data sharing by researchers in the context of open data policies, Oslo Metropolitan University
Holtar, Ingrid Synneva: Feminism on screen: Feminist filmmaking in Norway in the 1970s, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Sakariassen, Hilde: Social network sites as arenas for public discourse: Perception, participation and experience, University of Bergen
Salzmann, Anja: Responsible innovation in mobile journalism: Exploring professional journalists’ learning and innovation processes, University of Bergen
Vibeto, Håvard Andreas: Dataspillets spillverdener: En undersøkelse av audiovisuelle virkemidler som innganger til spillopplevelser, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Wenaas, Lars: Open access: A change in academic publishing with limited reach? University of Oslo
Sweden (29)
Agin, Sol: Communicating climate action: Combining action repertoires and linguistic repertoires in social movement message construction, Karlstad University
Björnfot, Patrik: Being connected to the world through a robot, Umeå University
Centerwall, Ulrika: Att ta plats och göra skillnad: Skolbibliotekariepraktiker i framgångsrika verksamheter, University of Borås
Edin, Fredrik: Kronopolis: tid, makt och medialisering i Malmö, Karlstads universitet
Eklund, Pieta: Academic librarianship in flux : The dynamics of negotiating professional jurisdiction, University of Borås
Elmadagli, Cansu: Challenging normative beauty ideals by undressing online? Body acceptance, identity politics and construction of non-normativity: A multimodal critical discourse analysis, Örebro University
Eriksson, Catarina: Barnbiblioteket tar form : En idéanalytisk studie av perioden 1945–2018, University of Borås
Fischer, Björn: A socio-material study of user involvement : Interrogating the practices of technology development for older people in a digitalised world, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Ghita Cristina: Technology in absentia : A new materialist study of digital disengagement, University of Uppsala
Gonçalves, Dulce: Organizational agility and digital innovation capability : The case of automotive startups, Halmstad University
Granholm, Martina: Verksamhetens påverkan på post-adoptiva teknikval, Mid-Sweden University
Handler, Reinhard: Colliberate : The practices of free and open source software, Karlstad University
Hellberg, Therese: Vanära, fattigdom och dubbelarbete : Om kvinnors platser och värden i folkhemmet i romaner och krönikor 1940–1955, Malmö University
Jangdal, Lottie: Hype or hope? The democratic values of Swedish hyperlocals in the media ecology, Mid-Sweden University
Juneström, Amalia: Content moderation and fact-checking : A study of journalists’ information practices in the contemporary news media landscape, Uppsala University
Karni, Liran: Health information technology for empowering elderly patients with chronic diseases, Örebro University
Kenalemang-Palm, Lame Maatla: Recontextualising ageing as a choice : A critical approach to representations of successful ageing, Örebro University
Kuštrak Korper, Ana: Innovating innovation : Understanding the role of service design in service innovation, Linköping University
Landwehr Sydow, Sophie: Makers, materials and machines : Understanding experience and situated embodied practice in the makerspace, Södertörn University
Lindgren, Thomas: Recharging future mobility : Understanding digital anticipatory UX through car ethnographies, Halmstad University
Lindskog, Carin: Tensions experienced and balancing strategies used in Agile Software Development environments, Karlstad University
Malling, Milda: The story behind the news : Informal and invisible interactions between journalists and their sources in two countries, Mid-Sweden University
Pitkäjärvi, Tiina: Mer än bara vara rosa: Bröstcancertematiserande kampanjer i Sverige (2015–2016) som social praktik, Uppsala University
Poikolainen Rosén, Anton: Noticing nature : Exploring more-than-human-centred design in urban farming, Umeå University
Rangraz, Masood: Recompetencing : Coping with digital and robotic agents at work, University West
Ryczer-Dumas, Malgorzata: Users’ agencies : Juxtaposing public portrayals and users’ accounts of app-mediated cardiac arrest volunteer work in Sweden, Linköping University
Souza, Ana Carolina Almeida: Transmedia experiences in the Magic Kingdom theme park : Branding, space, and (un)sustainability at Disney, Jönköping University
Strömberg, Fredrik: Comics and the Middle East : Representation, accommodation, integration, University of Malmö
Tattersall Wallin, Elisa: Sound reading : Exploring and conceptualising audiobook practices among young adults, University of Borås
Is your thesis missing? Let us know and we will complement the list! Please contact Maarit Jaakkola, maarit.jaakkola@gu.se.
What Did the New Doctors Study for Two Years Ago?
Doctoral Theses in 2020
Photos: Eliott Reyna, Becca Tapert, Unsplash