PhD Talks brings together communication, media arts and activism at ULusófona

Lusófona University hosted the “PhD Talks – Media Arts, Communication, Activisms” on 28 October, an initiative that fostered academic dialogue and reflection on the role of communication in society. The event took place simultaneously at the Lisbon and Porto University Centres, bringing together students, lecturers and researchers to explore different perspectives on communication, media arts and activism.

Organised by the Directors of the PhD programmes in Communication and Activisms, Communication Sciences and Media Arts and Communication, in collaboration with CICANT, the initiative featured two international guests: John Plunkett, from the University of Exeter, in the United Kingdom, and Amparo López-Meri, from Universitat Jaume I, in Spain.

Amparo López-Meri highlighted the importance of communication in transforming social perceptions, advocating the creation of more inclusive narratives capable of challenging stereotypes and hate speech. “Communication has the power to transform; it is performative and can change the way we think and how we see things,” stated the researcher.

For Carla Cerqueira, Director of the PhD in Communication and Activisms, these events provide an opportunity to bring the different PhD programmes closer together and encourage knowledge sharing among students of various nationalities. According to the lecturer, the name PhD Talks emerged from the intention to create a space for dialogue encompassing different interests and research areas, bringing together communication sciences, media arts and activism. She also emphasised the importance of connecting the two university centres through a format that enabled guests to participate in person in both cities, with the sessions shared between the two venues.

The session marks the beginning of a series of events that Lusófona University intends to organise throughout the academic year, strengthening collaboration between the two university centres and encouraging debate on contemporary communication challenges.

View the event photographs on the Facebook page of Lusófona University - Porto University Centre

View the event photographs on the Facebook page of Lusófona University - Lisbon University Centre

Credits

Text and Image
Rosalina Baptista