International Conference: Ambiguity and Belonging in Times of Social Media
We invite to an interdisciplinary conference on the theme of „Ambiguity and Belonging in Times of Social Media” from July 1 to July 3, 2026, in Konstanz, Germany. The international conference is hosted by the Konstanz section of the Research Institute Social Cohesion.
Speakers: Melanie May, Albrecht Koschorke, Alexander Yendell, Wolfgang Ullrich, Laura Haddad, Samuel Uwem Umoh, Aluko Opeyemi Idowu, Gregor Wiedemann, David Garcia, Taylan Yildiz, Katarina Ristic, Achim Landwehr, Irmtraud Huber, Whitney Phillips, Jordan Rothschild, Julia Wilms
Moderation: Anne Ganzert
Convenors: Ines Grau, Meike Hein, Steffen Krämer, Marko Jevtic, Kathrin Leipold, Isabell Otto
Ambiguity has long been valued as an indicator of cultural sophistication, democratic resilience, and social pluralism. Celebrated in the arts and understood as a prerequisite for tolerance and intercultural understanding, it has also been studied in psychology as a personality trait linked to open-mindedness and resistance to authoritarianism. However, in the era of ubiquitous social media, the nature of ambiguity is changing. The features of digital platforms, such as algorithmic curation, virality, and multimodal expression, facilitate new forms of ambiguity that can be as socially divisive as they are cohesive.
The keynote speakers of the conference are Whitney Phillips (University of Oregon) and Wolfgang Ullrich (Leipzig).
Veranstaltungen
- Address
- Wolkensteinsaal, Wessenbergstr. 43, 78462 Konstanz
- Teilnahme
- Please register in advance by filling out this form until June 29:Zur Anmeldung
- Schlagworte
- Demokratie, Konflikt, Medien/Kommunikation, Netzwerke/Bubbles, Polarisierung, Populismus
- Themenfeld(er)
- A: Politik des demokratischen Zusammenhalts , B: Sozioökonomische Status- und Verteilungsordnungen , C: Bereitstellung öffentlicher Güter und Infrastrukturen , D: Kulturelle Dynamiken des Zusammenhalts
- Zielgruppe
- Interessierte Bürger:innen , Medienvertreter:innen , Wissenschaft
Referent:innen
Kontakt
FGZ
Konstanz
Dr. Steffen Krämer
Principal Investigator, Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Mitglied im Datenausschuss
FGZ
Konstanz
Dr. Kathrin Leipold
Themenfeldkoordinatorin von C, Principal Investigator, Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin, Mitglied im WissKomm-Ausschuss
