Call for Papers: International Journal of Cultural Studies Special Issue: Decoloniality in Media and Cultural Studies: Looking Back, Looking Forward Special Issue Editors: Jonathan Corpus Ong, Laura Guimarães Corrêa, and Wen Jin Over the past two decades, there have been many calls to decolonize and de-westernize research in media and communication. While these efforts have generated valuable reflections, as well as academic centers, community-driven projects, and South-to-South networks, the field is still dominated by universalist perspectives based on Global North perspectives. Often the Anglo-American world is taken as the primary or only frame of reference in research on many topics. Even when the empirical material is in other regions, usually the theoretical framework and the references are the ones validated from/in hegemonic groups, places, and institutions. Consequently, there is continuous friction between the main conceptual frameworks in the field and the theories, experiences, interests, and concerns from the Global Majority world (Aouragh & Chakravartty 2016; Arora 2024; Guimarães Corrêa 2023; Lehuede 2024; Ong et al 2024; Poell et al. 2024; Ricaurte 2019; Udupa & Dattatreyan 2023). Applying de- and anti-colonial principles into practice–whether through institution-building, advocacy, or activism–is another matter: what do we actually gain by invoking decoloniality in our scholarly and advocacy efforts if we cannot always walk the talk? Considering that the discussions about inequalities and exploitation are fundamental to the understanding and changing of the contemporary world, this special issue invites critical conversation about diverse initiatives of applying and practicing decolonial perspectives in media, communications and cultural studies. We are concerned that decolonization remains a specialization, rather than a force that transforms the field as a whole. Such a transformation is important for stakeholders around the globe. Universalism shuts out research and initiatives from most parts of the world in developing knowledge frames and proposing policy solutions. Simultaneously, it prevents Global North researchers from critically reflecting on the particularity of Global North institutions, communicative practices, and cultural forms. Across these emphases, we remain attentive to raced, gendered, and sexed formations not only as objects of study, but also as methodological, theoretical, and citational frameworks that remain marginalized within critical cultural studies. Our special issue also wants to pursue more reflexive conversations about the various ways that decoloniality has also become hollowed out, co-opted, and/or de-radicalized when invoked in academic programs. This collection also builds on conversations from the panel “Mainstreaming Decolonality in Media and Communication” in the 2025 Annual Conference of the Association for Internet Researchers, co-organized by Thomas Poell and Jonathan Corpus Ong, which gave particular focus on applying decolonial principles when building global networks and centers. Since its first issue nearly 30 years ago, the International Journal of Cultural Studies has been a consistent home for decolonial analysis in media and cultural studies. We have published papers and special collections about indigenous media and cultural production (e.g., Jaramillo-Dent & Arora 2025; Moylan 2022), critical geopolitics (e.g., Anthique 2022), right-wing nationalisms (e.g., Baishya 2024), theoretical dialogues between Western and non-Western theory (e.g, Schorch & Hakiwai 2013; Fornas 2020; Szulc 2022), global suffering and vulnerability (e.g., Chouliaraki 2010; Ong 2019), and the place of critical theory and cultural studies in global academia (e.g., Hartley 2014). In this light, we welcome submissions that reflect on the past, present and future of decolonial perspectives and analysis in media and cultural studies. Articles are encouraged to address the following questions, though are not limited to these: De- and anti-colonial theories: What are diverse global and indigenous expressions of decolonial thought and critique? How do these ideas circulate and travel across time and space? What are more–and less–radical expressions of decolonial thought? How are they differently vulnerable to co-option and hijacking? How do theories on race, gender, class–and other elements of power–influence and intersect with decolonial perspectives? Theory and practice: How are theories and principles applied and institutionalized? What does a successful practice look like? Thinking critically about the field, what are ambivalences and contradictions of adopting decolonial perspectives in the Global North? Is it possible to do decolonial research in/from large institutions? How can researchers, in their/our practices, avoid the exploitation of less privileged groups? What are the limitations and challenges of carrying decolonial research? Assessing concepts: What is the analytical purchase of concepts such as decoloniality, anti-colonial, postcolonial, counter-colonial; Orientalism; intersectionality; Amefricanidade; pact of whiteness; epistemic disobedience; cultural imperialism; coloniality of power; pluriversality; data and techno-colonialisms? Citation politics: Who can be cited in decolonial research (Udupa & Dattatreyan 2023)? Can the subaltern be a reference? Can a settler think decolonially? Global/transnational collaborations: How do we share or redistribute resources in global collaborative projects? What are examples of centers and networks in media and cultural studies that have successfully navigated situations of political conflict and instability, and what survival strategies can we learn from them? How can our discipline’s governance bodies and associations guard against tokenism and knowledge extractivism? Challenging US hegemony: While we advocate for more bottom-up, situated approaches, we also recognize the need to critically attend to the global dominance of major US-based media and tech companies as well as of their cultural and creative industries. Conflict, repression, and resistance: What are the challenges for cultural studies researchers in times of concrete neo-colonization and violence, such as ongoing conflicts in Europe, in the Middle East or the recent attacks on South American countries? The geopolitics of the internet: How can we account for the human and environmental costs of AI in increasingly digitized and datafied societies? How can we examine these unequal global power relations without reverting to a universalist and techno-solutionist mindsets that only reifies the centrality of US tech corporations and regulatory agencies? Can we decolonize data? Is China a data colonizer (Tse et al 2024)? What are the promises–and pitfalls–of trends toward digital sovereignty advanced by Global South “middle powers”? Contemporary global cultural practices: How can we study the global circulation and “contra-flows” of such cultural forms as K-Pop and South African pop through the lens of decolonial theory? What are the affective and geopolitical implications of these cultural forms? How do distributed social networks enabled by social platforms establish new hierarchies and how do global cultural practices both conform to and subvert such hierarchies? Important Dates: Extended abstracts (1200 words) and Author Bios due: April 7, 2026 Acceptance decisions announcement: May 1, 2026 First draft of papers (6000-8000 words): September 15, 2026 Submission Guidelines: 1200-word Extended Abstracts are due April 7, 2026. Please email the abstract along with 300-word author bios to ijcseditorong@umass.edu with the subject heading “Special Issue: Decoloniality in Media and Cultural Studies”. For special issue inquiries, please email all three editors at ijcseditorong@umass.edu<mailto:ijcseditorong@umass.edu>, ijcseditorjin@gmail.com<mailto:ijcseditorjin@gmail.com>, ijcseditorcorrea@gmail.com<mailto:ijcseditorcorrea@gmail.com>. About the Journal: The International Journal of Cultural Studies aims to be the flagship outlet for critical cultural scholarship in media, communication and cultural studies. Founded in 1998 by John Hartley and edited by Jonathan Gray from 2017 to 2025, the journal has become widely recognized for advancing globally minded analyses of cultural texts and processes across local, national, and transnational scales of power and action. The journal’s traditional strengths are in critical theories and qualitative methodologies as applied to current and historical debates in media and cultural studies. We especially welcome submissions grounded in critical frameworks such as feminist analysis, critical race theory, postcolonial critique, political economy, queer theory, transnational analysis, intersectionality, planetarity, and posthumanism, among others. The journal’s current editorial leadership is shared between Laura Guimarães Corrêa (Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil), Wen Jin (East China Normal University, China) and Jonathan Corpus Ong (University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA). They are especially dedicated to promoting alternative critical perspectives produced in the global South and diverse sites of critical discourses. The journal publishes six issues annually and receives over 1,000 submissions a year from around the world. Our lead time is approximately four weeks until first notification of desk rejection or activation of the peer review process. Our acceptance rate is 4.5% (as of Fall 2025). Works Cited Aouragh, M., & Chakravartty, P. (2016). Infrastructures of Empire: Towards a Critical Geopolitics of Media and Information Studies. Media Culture & Society, 38(4), 559–575. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443716643007 Arora, P. (2024). From Pessimism to Promise: Lessons from the Global South on Designing Inclusive Tech. HarperBusiness. Athique, A. (2019). Media, civilization and the international order. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 23(3), 334-351. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877919888923 Baishya, A. K. (2024). Viral nationalism: Right wing media and the aesthetics of distributed participation. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 28(3), 597-616. https://doi.org/10.1177/13678779241302489 Chouliaraki, L. (2010). Post-humanitarianism: Humanitarian communication beyond a politics of pity: Humanitarian communication beyond a politics of pity. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 13(2), 107-126. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877909356720 Couldry, N., & Mejias, U. A. (2018). 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International Journal of Cultural Studies, 28(6), 1210-1230. https://doi.org/10.1177/13678779251346959 Lehuedé, S. (2024). The Double Helix of Data Extraction. Technology and Regulation, 2024, 84–92. https://doi.org/10.71265/awqfar53 Madianou, M. (2024). Technocolonialism: When Technology for Good is Harmful. London: Polity. Moylan, K. (2022). ‘Welcome to a Coronavirus production’: Beyond Bows and Arrows’ Indigenous on-air community-building during lockdown. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 26(1), 52-68. https://doi.org/10.1177/13678779221123079 Ong, J. C. (2019). Toward an ordinary ethics of mediated humanitarianism: An agenda for ethnography. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 22(4), 481-498. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877919830095 Ong, J., Lanuza, J., Jackson, D., Alves, M., Grohmann, R., Recuero, R., & Tavares, C. (2024). Custom Built / Feito Sob Medida: Reforming Tech & Democracy Programs for the Global Majority. Global Technology for Social Justice Lab at UMass Amherst. https://glotechlab.net<https://glotechlab.net/> Poell, T., Duffy, B. E., B. Nieborg, D., Mutsvairo, B., Tse, T., Arriagada, A., de Kloet, J. & Sun, P. (2025). Global perspectives on platforms and cultural production. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 28(1), 3-20. Ricaurte, P. (2019). Data Epistemologies, the Coloniality of Power, and Resistance. Television & New Media, 20(4), 350–365. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476419831640 Schorch, P., & Hakiwai, A. (2013). Mana Taonga and the public sphere: A dialogue between Indigenous practice and Western theory. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 17(2), 191-205. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877913482785 Szulc, Ł. (2022). Culture is transnational. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 26(1), 3-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/13678779221131349 Tse, T., Zhang, Y., & Van Noord, N. (2024). China as Data Coloniser? Rethinking Cultural Production, Cultural Mediation, and Consumer Agency on Kenyan and Chinese E-commerce Platforms. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 28(1), 278–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/13678779241292077 Udupa, S. & Dattatreyan, E.G. (2023). Digital Unsettling: Decoloniality & Dispossession in the Age of Social Media. New York: New York University Press.