Research & Venture Lab Research & Venture Lab

Date:

May 7 to 9, 2026. 

Venue:

The conference will be hosted by Steffen Burkhardt, Hendrik Michael and André Haller at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg), Faculty of Management, Governance and Media, Finkenau 35, 22081 Hamburg, Germany

Attendance is by invitation only. The registration links are included in the preliminary program sent to all speakers and participants. If you have not received the preliminary program but would like to register, please feel free to contact the organizers.

This call for papers invites submissions for the 6^th International Conference in Scandalogy.

Scandalogy is an initiative that conducts interdisciplinary research in scandals, media, and society. The research initiative hosts regular conferences and maintains a network of international scholars from the broader academic field, such as political communication, journalism studies, public relations, digital communication research, and cultural studies.

Since ancient times the term scandal signifies schemata of communication in which groups mediate events and actions that involve the breaching of moral and legal codes by evoking strong collective emotional responses in public. From a functional perspective scandal is a communicative means to (re)negotiate social power by clarifying moral and legal codes and symbolically punishing those who break them by exercising collective shaming and ostracization of transgressors. However, during the political or social ruptures of the 21^st century, scandal has become an instrument used by social groups to sow distrust in the power of institutions and their agents, mobilize collective outrage against political opponents or social groups, and eventually reshape public discourse about moral and legal certainties. This conference explores how power, protest, and the politics of emotions intersect in scandalization, and invites scholars to critically engage with these dynamics across disciplines.

Recent interdisciplinary scholarship has underscored the central role of emotions in amplifying the impact of scandals. Scandals rely on emotional triggers such as anger, indignation, and moral shock to gain traction in public spheres (Mau, Lux, & Westheuser, 2023; von Sikorski & Matthes, 2020). Research in political communication shows that moral outrage intensifies media attention and accelerates the diffusion of scandal narratives, particularly in hybrid media systems where digital platforms foster rapid circulation (Chadwick, 2017; Bennett & Pfetsch, 2018; Joller, 2018). Emotions also shape the interpretation of scandalous events, with partisan identity influencing selective exposure and perception (Walter & Redlawsk, 2019). Negative emotions such as anger and disgust have been found to strengthen collective memory of scandals, reinforcing their political consequences (Powell et al., 2019). Yet some self-directed and therefore extremely painful negative emotions, such as shame (Neckel, 1991), may also serve as a consequence of or punishment for the scandal, therefore a shaming frame is not that uncommon in the scandalization either (Corcoran, 2006). Moreover, emotional intensity can extend a scandal’s lifespan by sustaining public debate beyond the original incident, thus increasing its capacity to damage reputations and alter power dynamics (Thompson, 2000). These findings highlight that understanding scandalization requires an integrated perspective on emotional and communicative power.

The emotional dimension of scandals is closely tied to protest culture. Studies on contentious politics demonstrate that scandals can act as catalysts for mobilization when they resonate with pre-existing grievances (Tarrow, 2011). Emotional narratives within scandals, especially those invoking injustice, significantly boost the likelihood of protest participation (Jasper, 2018). Research on digital activism reveals that emotionally charged scandal frames spread more effectively on social media, fostering networked protest communities (Theocharis et al., 2015). These dynamics are visible in movements such as #MeToo, where personal testimonies of scandalous misconduct triggered global mobilization by blending individual emotional accounts with collective outrage (Fileborn & Loney-Howes, 2019). Empirical evidence shows that scandals perceived as emblematic of systemic problems—rather than isolated incidents—are more likely to sustain protest momentum (Vasi et al., 2015). Emotional resonance also shapes protest tactics: outrage can drive confrontational forms, while hope and solidarity encourage sustained, organized activism (van Stekelenburg & Klandermans, 2013). The interplay of scandal emotion and protest culture thus constitutes a powerful force in contemporary social movements.

The “politics of emotion” frames emotion not as a private response but as a strategic and political resource (Ahmed, 2014). In scandalization, emotional appeals are deliberately mobilized by political actors, media outlets, and activists to frame events and influence public perception. Research demonstrates that emotional framing can determine whether a scandal reinforces existing power structures or destabilizes them (Entman, 2012). Political elites may use scandal-induced emotions to delegitimize opponents, while grassroots movements harness them to challenge authority (Hutchison & Bleiker, 2014). Studies of media framing reveal that partisan outlets selectively amplify scandal aspects that align with their audience’s emotional predispositions, deepening polarization (Iyengar & Hahn, 2009). The affective turn in communication studies emphasizes that emotions are integral to meaning-making, influencing not only what audiences think but how they feel about political actors and issues (Papacharissi, 2015). In transnational contexts, the politics of emotion also mediate cross-cultural interpretations of scandals, affecting their international resonance and diplomatic consequences (Waisbord, 2020). This body of research shows that the strategic orchestration of emotions in scandalization is central to understanding its political impact.

With this interdisciplinary scope, the organizers call for proposals in all subfields of communication studies, political communication research as well as related disciplines in the field of the humanities and invite conceptual, empirical, and methodological proposals reflecting on scandals and the role which media and/or communication plays therein. The conference encourages submissions of both empirically and theoretically focused work from advanced scholars as well as graduate students or doctoral candidates.

Proposals may focus on – but are not limited to – such topics as:

• moral emotions such as anger, shame, or indignation as drivers of scandal dynamics (e.g., Jasper, 2014; Joller, 2018; Verbalyte, 2020)
• media scandals and emotional triggers in shaping public discourse, legitimacy, and political authority (e.g., Thompson, 2000; Wahl-Jorgensen, 2018; Mau, Lux, & Westheuser, 2023)
• scandals as catalysts for protest mobilization, activist strategies, and collective resistance (e.g., Adut, 2008; Claudio, 2014)
• scandals in “alternative news media" and emotionalized digital media environments as danger to democracy (e.g., Humprecht, Amsler, Esser, & Van Aelst, 2024)
• historical perspectives and comparative on scandals and their emotional impact (e.g., Kepplinger, Geiß, & Siebert 2014)
• emotional dissonance and identity work within scandalized groups, political parties, companies, and other organizations (Frandsen, Grant, & Kärreman 2025)

In this context, topics that are more general can still be relevant to the theme of this conference, e.g.:

• scandal management and crisis communication
• cross-national or cross-cultural studies on dissemination of scandals
• scandalization techniques in political communication and campaigning
• challenges to professional norms of objectivity in journalism and their ethical dilemmas
• media effects studies in the context of scandals and emotions

The complete call can be downloaded as PDF here. 

The conference will feature both presentations of individual research papers, and thematic panels.

Paper submissions will be grouped in sessions of 3-4 papers by the conference program chair.

A limited number of slots will be available for coherent panels where one topic is addressed in 3-4 presentations, followed by responses. Preference will be given to panels with presenters from diverse backgrounds and affiliations.

For individual research papers:

Please send an MS Word (.doc, .docx) file including (a) the title of your paper and an abstract of no more than 400 words, and (b), on a separate page, the names and affiliations of the authors.

For panel submissions:

Please send an MS Word (doc., docx) file including (a) a rationale of no more than 300 word; (b) summaries for all the presentations in the panel (no more than 150 words for each summary); and (c) the names and affiliations of the chair, presenters, and respondents.

All submissions will be evaluated on relevance and originality, clarity of research purpose, grounding of theoretical and methodological approach, focus, and organization.

Only one proposal per first author can be accepted. A publication of selected articles is planned.

Please send all submissions to scandalogy@haw-hamburg.de

Deadline for submissions:

November 30, 2025 (updated)

Date of notification:

December 15, 2025 (updated)

This edited volume presents contributions from international researchers. The book combines empirical research and theoretical studies on scandals which were presented at the 1^stInternational Conference in Scandalogy at the University of Bamberg in 2016. Contributions range from the field of communication studies to literary analysis. The publication is a pioneering work that maps the new research field of Scandalogy. You can find more information here.

How certain actions lead to mediated scandalization and public outrage is an indicator for the specific scandal culture of a society. For instance, sex scandals used to end political careers in the USA. Nevertheless, the prominent case of Silvio Berlusconi shows that there may be a different Mediterranean scandal culture. With larger political and technological trends in mind, it seems evident that scandal cultures are mutable, although by a long process.

The book examines such phenomena more closely because scandal studies lack a deeper analysis of cultural factors in the process of (non-)scandalization. In this publication international researchers present desiderata of scandalogy for cultures of scandals and scandals in culture.

This books presents research on mediated scandas and substantiates the understanding of such forms of scandals and thei impact on societies. It connects the study of scandals with the broader field of political communication research, organizational communication, journalism studies, and digital communication studies. The authors focus on the 21st century as an age of perpetual scandalization and on digital technologies as a catalyst in this respect. Against this backdrop, the book examines different aspects of the transformation of mediated scandals through digital communication practices. Click here to get more information about the book.

This volume examines the growing presence of populism, partisanship, and polarization and analyzes what this means for scandalization processes. While politics appears to have entered a mode of perpetual crisis and growing dysfunctionality, the rapid succession of scandals may be a symptom of this crisis and its catalyst at the same time. The book provides a better definition of political scandals and discusses from an interdisciplinary and critical scientific perspective how such scandals are relevant to political developments and how they impact public discourse and media practices. International experts from various subfields of communication studies, political communication research as well as related disciplines contribute to the volume with conceptual, empirical, and methodological approaches which reflect on political scandals and the role of media and/or communication. Read chapters from Scandalogy 4 here.

This special issue of Medijske Studije | Media Mtudies presents a global perspective on scandals. The studies published in this special issue showcase that scandals are not trivial. Scandals are like a magnifying lens that offers us insights into the dynamics of public communication and societal change. As such, scandals offer us focal points to observe larger narratives and evolving media practices used by producers and consumers alike. The publication is open access.

The aim of this conference was to foster exchange between “scandalogists” from different academic disciplines in order to gather and present recent findings from a wide range of theoretical approaches. We were pleased to welcome scholars from Austria, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Algeria, USA, Russia, and Germany to Bamberg. Keynotes were delivered by Prof. Dr. Robert M. Entman (School of Media and Public Affairs / George Washington University), Prof. Dr. Steffen Burkhardt (Hamburg University of Applied Sciences) and Prof. Dr. Martina Wagner-Egelhaaf (WWU Münster). For more information see here.

The 2nd conference in Scandalogy followed the theme "Cultures of Scandals - Scandals in Culture". It established contacts with colleagues around the globe, who are interested in research of scandals. The conference was conceived as a forum for an academic dialogue about scandals as social phenomena. Prof. Dr. Hans-Mathias Kepplinger (University of Mainz) delivered a keynote on "Functional Analysis or Impact Research - Where is Scandal Research Going?" For more information see here.

The conference focused on “Scandals in New Media Environments”. The overarching theme served a two-fold goal: On the one hand, we intensified research on mediated scandals and substantiated our understanding of such forms of scandals and their impact on societies. On the other hand, we connected the study of scandals with a larger scientific community in the broad field of digital communication research, be it in organizational communication, journalism studies, political communication research or other fields. For more information see here.

The conference theme acknowledges the growing presence of populism, partisanship, and polarization and the need to analyze what this means for scandalization processes. Thus, the aim of this conference is to better understand possible impacts of these phenomena on public discourse and media practices from an interdisciplinary and critical scientific perspective. The organizers invited proposals from all subfields of communication studies, political communication research as well as related disciplines and create a forum where conceptual, empirical, and methodological research is presented, reflecting on political scandals and the role which media and/or communication plays therein. For more information see here.

The conference aims to analyze scandals in all their manifestations in regard to crises, conflicts, and conspiracies and discuss how this interrelation is relevant.The goal is to better understand possible impacts of these phenomena on public discourse and media practices from an interdisciplinary and critical scientific perspective.

Research at Scandalogy 5 comes from all subfields of communication studies, political communication research as well as related disciplines and presents conceptual, empirical, and methodological papers reflecting on scandals and the role which media and/or communication plays therein. The conference program includes both empirically and theoretically focused work from advanced scholars as well as graduate students or doctoral candidates. You can find the program for the 5. International Conference in Scandalogy online now.

Character assassination and scandals have a lot in common! To explore the links, CARP Lab will host the founders of the Scandalogy Research Initiative, André Haller of the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tyrol (Austria) and Hendrik Michael of the University of Bamberg (Germany). In this webinar, Haller and Michael discuss the transformation of scandals by drawing on a comparative framework that makes sense of scandals in global media systems.

Video available on YouTube

Together with crisis researcher W. Timothy Coombs from Texas A&M University we discuss character assassination, scandals, and crisis communication.

Video available on YouTube

Together with Marijana Grbeša (University of Zagreb) we were invited to a roundtable discussion at 4th CARP International Conference in Amsterdam (virtual) to discuss the relationship between scandals and character assassination in illiberal times.

Videos available on YouTube

The Lab for Character Assassination and Reputation Politics (CARP) is an interdisciplinary research team of scholars studying character assassination. It was founded in 2016 in cooperation with the International Society for the Study of Character Assassination (ISSCA). CARP includes researchers with disciplinary homes in psychology, history, communication, and public relations. The research team spans continents, including scholars here at George Mason University and at the University of Amsterdam.