About the division
The TWG Media, communication, and health draws together researchers from media and communication studies, journalism, sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, psychology, and medicine. Hence the research on media, communication, and health is diverse in terms of theoretical perspectives, methods, and approaches. The TWG asks how technological takeover is affecting and changing, culturally constructed perceptions of and communication on health and illness, life and death, patient- and doctor roles, every day health practices and experiences, as well as the healthcare system.
The TWG Media, communication, and health has two thematical orientations this year: (i) The increasing platformisation (and mediatization) played out on different levels: individual, institutional, or societal. This includes studies of media and communication technologies, interfaces, actors, audiences, and agency, and the power dynamics around media and health issues, e.g. biopolitical, or other critical perspectives on health and medicine related to justice and inclusion, the increased responsabilisation and commercial interests. The other orientation is (ii) Vulnerability related to illness and suffering, and its entanglements with digital technologies in the form of “vital” or “existential media”. It comprises studies of digital mourning, distant suffering, online support, and various ethical challenges in clinical or domestic settings.
This TWG encourages empirical and theoretical research on a broad range of media, communication and health-related topics. We invite scholars from the Nordic countries and beyond, to participate in academic discussions deriving from all corners of the field of media, communication and health: From the production, and the representation (presence) of bodies marked as (un)healthy in the news media, and in popular culture, to digital media and participatory cultures on health and illness