WPCC invites submissions for its next special issue, which explores communication as a force of change. We are looking to shape the field and bring new knowledge with the most recent theoretical interventions, reflections on practice-based or empirical research. 

Key dates:

Abstract submission deadline: 30 June 2025

Full manuscript deadline: 30 September 2025

Expected publication: Spring 2026

Submission information is available here: https://www.westminsterpapers.org/submissions/ 

Full details below:

FROM PRIMITIVE PRACTICES TO DIGITAL FUTURES: COMMUNICATION AS A FORCE OF CHANGE: Call for abstracts, papers. 

Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture (WPCC) journal invites submissions for its upcoming issue, welcoming innovative research that critically examines the intersections of communication, culture, and society in the 21st century and before. We are interested in communication in all its forms and how it influences culture, or vice versa. From digital to analogue, culture Industries to primitive practices, we view communication as a tool that builds and one that can also destroy. 

In the Western world contemporary communication manifests itself as a capitalist tool that appropriates culture which is then commodified to make a profit (Prodnik 2016). Culture, on the other hand can be defined as “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group” (Merriam Webster 2025) or seen as a “set of agents” that are not necessarily linked to nation states but to other forms of communities such as ones without borders on the internet (Birukou, A., Blanzieri, E., Giorgini, P., Giunchiglia 2013).  When communication and culture meet is when change occurs - such as where mass media communication can be weaponised against culture (Fletcher 2024); advertising communication can be used for the human good (Jones 2021) (Tso. Cowling 2020); or during colonisation, communication technologies became tools of both control and resistance (Burman 2018)(Headrick, D. 2010).  These dynamics demonstrate that communication and culture meeting can be a powerful force for change.

This special issue of WPCC invites the most recent theoretical interventions, reflections on practice-based research, or empirical research that explores how communication can be a Force of Change. We are looking to shape the field and bring new knowledge, and presentations of knowledge to this evolving area of study. 

As an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, open-access journal, WPCC fosters global scholarly dialogue on emerging challenges and transformations in media, cultural practices, and digital technologies. We encourage submissions from academics at all career stages, including early-career researchers, practice-based researchers, or established scholars. Also, we encourage book reviews and reflections on practice.  If you have a proposal idea that you are not sure will fit into our theme of COMMUNICATION AS A FORCE OF CHANGE do send our editor an email to discuss ( jonesca@westminster.ac.uk ). 

Scope and Topics
This issue of WPCC seeks contributions that address, but are not limited to, the following areas:

Culture Industries: Advertising, Public Relations, Music, Film, TV, Internet; Gaming, etc.

Media History and Political Economy

Media as a Critical Practice 

Colonisation and Decolonization 

Digital Technologies and Globalization

Popular Culture and Social Change

Advertising as a Force for Good

Political Communication

Intercultural Communication

Media Users and Producers

Ethics and Policy

Crisis Communication

Communication with other species terrestrial and non-terrestrial

Submission Guidelines
Submissions should present original research, theoretical advancements, or methodological innovations. Interdisciplinary approaches bridging communication studies, cultural anthropology, media sociology, and related fields are particularly encouraged. Manuscripts must adhere to the journal’s formatting guidelines and undergo rigorous peer review.

Important Dates

Abstract submission deadline: 30 June 2025

Full manuscript deadline: 30 September 2025

Expected publication: Spring 2026

More detailed information is available here: https://www.westminsterpapers.org/submissions/ 

How to Submit
Authors should register an account via the WPCC submission portal https://www.westminsterpapers.org/register/step/1/  and upload their manuscripts following the guidelines available at https://www.westminsterpapers.org/submissions/ 

For inquiries, contact the editorial team at jonesca@westminster.ac.uk 

Join us in advancing critical scholarship that redefines the role of communication and culture in an era of rapid technological and social change. Your contributions will enrich a vibrant academic community committed to equity, innovation, and global engagement.

Deadline for abstracts:
Please submit a 150-250 word abstract with 6 keywords to WPCC’s submission system by Monday 30 June 2025 by registering at https://www.westminsterpapers.org/register/step/1/ then submitting from https://www.westminsterpapers.org/submit/start/ 

You will receive feedback regarding encouragement to submit a paper or feedback from editors/WPCC around the 18th July 2025

Deadline for full papers:
Full papers are expected by 30 September 2025 submitted to the WPCC system. All papers will go through double peer-review. 

Anticipated Publication date: Spring 2026

Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture is an open access journal indexed in multiple services, including the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), EBSCOHost and Clarivate Analytics. Published by the University of Westminster Press. All content in this issue and in its archive is available free to read. Please Note there are no fees for contributors.

References                                                                                                                        

Birukou, A., Blanzieri, E., Giorgini, P., Giunchiglia, F. (2013). A Formal Definition of Culture. In: Sycara, K., Gelfand, M., Abbe, A. (eds) Models for Intercultural Collaboration and Negotiation. Advances in Group Decision and Negotiation, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5574-1_1
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-5574-1_1 (accessed May 10. 2025)

Burman, J.  (2018, December 20). Colonialism and Postcolonialism. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. Retrieved 10 May. 2025, from https://oxfordre.com/communication/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228613-e-626 (Accessed May 8 2025)

Finnegan, Ruth (2013). Communicating: The multiple Modes of Human Communication. Routledge. London. 

Fletcher, J. (2024). PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWNS: ANALYZING TRUMP’S LEADERSHIP APPROACH. Michigan International Journal of Marketing, New Media, and Communication, 12(2), 20–31. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11235622 (accessed May 10. 2025)

Headrick, Daniel. “A Double-Edged Sword: Communications and Imperial Control in British India.” Historical Social Research / Historische Sozialforschung, vol. 35, no. 1 (131), 2010, pp. 51–65. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20762428. (Accessed 10 May 2025.)

Jones, C. (2021) Advertising and way forward. westminsterpapers.org/37/volume/15/issue/2 (accessed May 10. 2025)

Merriam Webster (2025) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture  (accessed May 8. 2025)

‘Marx in the Age of Digital Capitalism’ (2016) ProtoView. Beaverton: Ringgold, Inc.

Tso Ricky V,. Cowling,  Benjamin J, (2020)  Importance of Face Masks for COVID-19: A Call for Effective Public Education, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 71, Issue 16, 15 October 2020, Pages 2195–2198, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa593 (accessed May 10. 2025)

Prodnik, A. Jernej (2016) 3c: commodifying communications in capitalism. In Fuchs ,C, and Mosco ,V. (Eds) Marx in the age of digital capitalism .Vol. 3.  Brill. Beaverton. p233-321

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