[Air-L] Applications invited for 2 short fellowships on WhatsApp research, LMU Munich

[sahana udupa]

*Fellowships in the CAS Research Group *

*“Messaging Apps, Encryption and the Enticement of Extreme Speech”*



*Center for Advanced Studies, LMU Munich*





The Center of Advanced Studies (CAS) at LMU Munich, Germany, is advertising
two fellowships for Internet media researchers (for a stay up to 3 months)
to join the CAS Research Group *"Below the Radar? Messaging Apps,
Encryption and the Enticement of Extreme Speech"*.



The Center for Advanced Studies at LMU Munich is a forum for intensive
international academic exchange. Its purpose is to promote cooperation with
national and international Visiting Fellows who work closely on
collaborative projects with LMU professors. In order to intensify
cooperation between researchers at LMU Munich and leading experts from
other universities, the Center has set up a major program, the CAS Research
Groups.



The CAS Research Group *“**Messaging Apps, Encryption and the Enticement of
Extreme Speech*” is initiated by Professor Dr. Sahana Udupa (Media
Anthropology, LMU) and will commence its work in October 2024:
https://www.cas.lmu.de/en/programs/cas-research-groups/below-the-radar-messaging-apps-encryption-and-the-enticement-of-extreme-speech.html



The focus of the CAS Research Group is to develop global critical inquiry
into entanglements between encrypted messaging apps and forms of extreme
speech such as hateful language and disinformation. The group will approach
the problem with an empirical focus on WhatsApp – an end-to-end encrypted,
cross- platform messaging service owned by Meta, which has emerged as a
central communication tool for a vast number of people, with more than 2
billion users and 100 billion daily messages around the world. The group
will also extend its focus to Telegram, Signal and similar encrypted
messaging services. Based on insights from different regions and diverse
contexts of use, the research group will analyze the role of encrypted
messaging services in extreme speech cultures globally, and highlight the
regulatory and methodological challenges they have raised for academic
research and policymaking.



The CAS Research Group will bring together internationally renowned
researchers and policy experts who are invited to LMU Munich to contribute
to the Group’s research.



Applications are invited from candidates with

·       a PhD in a relevant field such as anthropology or communication
studies OR Internet policy expertise

·       ongoing policy-focused or field-based empirical research on
encrypted messaging apps and extreme speech in Africa or South Asia

·       publications relevant to the topic



The successful candidates will team up with the group for a co-authored
policy and public-focused report on methodological, policy and practical
issues in addressing extreme speech on instant messaging apps such as
WhatsApp. This report is jointly commissioned by United Nations
Peacekeeping.



The Center for Advanced Studies will provide financial and organizational
support for visits from a stay of up to three months in early 2025,
coinciding with the first workshop planned in January 2025. The costs for
travel and accommodation as well as an expense allowance will be covered. The
successful candidates will receive a workspace in an open and stimulating
research environment in an interdisciplinary setting at the Center, and a
team of academic researchers, policy experts and factcheckers.



*Applications* should consist of a brief outline (1-2 pages) of the
expertise and intended contribution to the CAS Research Group. Applications
should also contain a résumé including a list of the most recent
publications as well as the names of two referees. In order to strengthen
the role of women in research, female scholars are strongly encouraged to
apply.



Please submit all the application documents electronically (in one PDF
file) by



*29 February 2024 *to



Email: researchgroups at cas.lmu.de

Center for Advanced Studies

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1

80539 München



For any questions on the CAS Research Groups please contact Dr. Lena Bouman
at CAS:



Email: Lena.Bouman at cas.lmu.de