Inspired by self-reflexive debates on the status quo and transnational trajectory of communication studies, this special issue aims to shed light on the multifaceted global history of communication studies in stages of ‘in betweenness’. Such transition periods are marked by political system changes in which rules have become unclear and fluid, old authorities lost legitimacy and new rules are not yet established. How have such times influenced ideas, academic communities and institutions of communication and media studies? How have scholarly communities navigated turbulent times such as the so-called Arab Spring, the end of the socialist Era in Eastern Europe or the long transition from colonialism to independence and republic for instance in Brazil in nineteenth century?

This special issue intends to address, but is not limited to, the following questions:

• How can we understand times of ‘in between’ in terms of political and societal upheavals across time and space?
• How have politically shaped times of disruption, passage or transition affected the production and distribution of knowledge in the field and what were phenomena of resilience?
• What consequences did periods of disruption, passage or transition have for intellectual discourses in communication and media studies, for paradigms, scholarly careers and institutional efforts?
• How have times of ‘in between’ been remembered or forgotten within scholarly communities of the field?

The proposed special issue invites scholars to reflect historically on communication studies as a disrupted and resilient discipline by choosing four different possibilities, by which time and space contexts have been challenged:

1. the practices of control and consensus regarding ideas, theories, methods or overall paradigms,
2. the practices of inclusion and exclusion of scholars, groups and the formation of academic networks,
3. the institutionalization and de-institutionalization of communication studies, and overall,
4. communication studies potential to address the problems of their time.

The call for papers for this special issue invites authors from all over the world exploring global histories of communication studies in times of ‘in betweenness’. These histories may cover the older and the more contemporary times. The special issue aims to gauge the breadth and depth of the field's development.

For more information, please visit the following website: 
https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/CEYEHKUW9SG7N5DYUSBA/full