Special Issue
Call for Papers: Special issue of the Kentucky Journal of Communication, Communicating Backlash.
Guest Co-editors: Calvin Coker (University of Louisville) and Michelle Funk (Pennsylvania State University)
Increasingly, American political, social, and cultural life is being defined by backlash, an intense and (seemingly) sudden reaction that demands a reversion to a previous state (e. g. Libset & Raub, 1970; Piscopa & Walsh, 2020). Bishin et al (2016) suggest that a relatively common assumption regarding backlash in American politics- that public opinion backlash against the gains of non-dominant groups may ultimately be more harmful than a status quo that denigrates them- is not as well supported or theorized as one may expect. Though both scholars and lay persons can observe “large, negative, and enduring shifts in opinion against a policy or group that occurs in response to some event that threatens the status quo” (Bishin et al, 2016, p. 626), a growing body of research looks to systematically understand the dynamics and contours of those shifts.
To that end, recent work in political science has conceived of “backlash movements” as those with three elements “a (1) retrograde objective as well as (2) extraordinary goals and tactics that have (3) reached the threshold level of entering mainstream public discourse” (Alter & Zurn, 2020, p. 564). Similarly, the 2020 symposium in Signs edited by Piscopo and Walsh highlight the need to differentiate between backlash and the “routine and systematic oppression faced by marginalized groups” (2020, p. 266) toward the end of deepening a feminist understanding of backlash, both as a subject of inquiry and as a threat to non-dominant groups. These prior works have highlighted both the organized nature of backlash in American and European politics (e. g. Freedman, 2020; Murib, 2020), and backlash experienced individually from seemingly random acts of xenophobic, misogynistic, or heteronormative violence (e. g. Rowley, 2020; Sanin, 2020). Taken together, scholars note that backlash is often most visible in reactionary politics that ascend to public salience, such as the retrenchment of policies enshrining the rights of non-dominant groups, or violence directed at institutions. This retrenchment, widely construed as a right-wing political project organized around and facilitated by politicians promising to make America “great again,” has clarified the salience of backlash to our modern political and social moment.
However, the usage of backlash highlighted above, though productive and informative, limits the term by obfuscating its spatial roots- the recoil of firearm, the resulting displacement when ill-fitting machine parts clash, the dangerous whiplash of the sudden release of a tense line- a spatiality that invites consideration of how conceiving of backlash as a communication phenomenon can be fruitful beyond political sensemaking. Though, definitionally, the phenomenon seems to occur suddenly, often the resulting discourse and material changes are traceable to prior utterances and ideological commitments amongst organizations and individuals. Indeed, a combination of factors- increasingly salient political polarization, media fragmentation, simultaneous social isolation with increased connectivity through mediated channels- all increase, to some degree, the likelihood of social and political backlash.
As such, we invite submissions loosely organized around the concept of backlash as a communicative phenomenon to deepen our understanding of sudden, reactionary communication and the resulting demands placed on individuals, institutions, and societal structures. For this special issue, we welcome discussion of sudden, intense communicative reactions in the context of politics, culture, media, and/or society. Though prior scholarship has worked to limit the definition of backlash to public opinion (Bishen et al., 2016), political movements (Alter & Zurn, 2020), or anti-progressive tendencies (Piscopa & Walsh, 2020), we invite authors to position themselves in conversation with these conceptions of backlash to include and foreground communication in a variety of contexts.
For this issue, we are open to multiple methodologies including quantitative, experimental, qualitative, rhetorical, and/or critical work. Topics for consideration could include, but are not limited to:
Theoretical developments of “backlash” as a communication concept, drawing from political science, sociology, and/or critical scholarship to either limit or expand the contours of how backlash can be conceived of, or studied.
Studies of how institutions or individuals insulate themselves from backlash through communication, be that policy, inoculation, or some other mechanism.
Studies of backlash against policies or politicians, understood through phenomena like public opinion data, interviews, or rhetorical analysis.
Studies of backlash fostered in and facilitated by social media platforms such as TikTok, Twitter, or Instagram (examples could include discussions of deplatforming, dogpiling, or the intentional rejection of content creators by user communities).
Studies of backlash by or against movements organized around social justice, broadly conceived.
Studies of colloquializations that organize or recast backlash in the public eye, such as “political correctness,” “wokeness,” or “cancel culture.”
Studies of backlash by or against institutions, organizations, or corporations, broadly conceived.
How individuals navigate interpersonal backlash, both as recipients and instigators of those sudden responses
How discourses of backlash intersect with structures of oppression, and in turn how to theorize backlash to better empower scholars and activist to seek a more just world.
Submissions should be submitted to https://kjc.manuscriptmanager.net by January 13th, 2023 in order to make the Spring Issue of the KJC. The KJC will resume acceptance of regular (non-special issue) submissions for the Fall 2023 issue, and that deadline is July 1, 2023. Submissions may be between 5000 and 8000 words, not inclusive of references and endnotes, and consistent with the latest edition of the APA style manual. All submissions will be subject to anonymous peer review. Any questions regarding submission, including clarification of the above call, are welcomed at calvin.coker@louisville.edu. General questions about the journal may be submitted to the editor, Dr. Erin Gilles Dennis, at eegilles@usi.edu.