University North

HiM

https://www.croris.hr/projekti/projekt/15640?lang=en

Sveučilište Sjever

25300 EUR

21.10.2025 – 30.09.2029

The project "Humanities and Media: Humanistic Foundations of Social Communication" brings together humanistic research from several fields of humanities, primarily philology and history, and related sciences that correspond to the topic humanistic aspects of media research highlighted in the Scientific and Research Strategy of the University of North. The moment when artificial intelligence mastered text and became capable of creating its own texts, which are seemingly indistinguishable from texts written by humans, can be considered a turning point in human communication. This is particularly reflected in contemporary media. The direction of this research is focused on the use of artificial intelligence in digital media, namely linguistic and stylistic imitations of journalistic writing, as a result of using previous media publications when creating a new text produced by artificial intelligence. The goal of this research is to show how artificial intelligence takes over codes and formats specific to a particular writing style that it recognizes by sublimating a large number of texts and then (re)produces them into a seemingly new text, which raises questions of authorship and many others. Strengthening media literacy is certainly an important part of this project activity, which will include both undergraduate and graduate students, and will analyze the issue of artificial intelligence and authorship in doctoral studies. The project will also address the changing role of the media consumer (reader). When it comes to contemporary media, the interpretations of the mass audience until recently show their shortcomings and cease to be relevant to their full extent. During the implementation of this project, we will try to offer a new toolkit for media analysis, borrowing it from the theory and history of literature, relying on the initial assertion that at the heart of both literature and media in general is communication. An important part of the planned research is the history of journalism, which in itself is a link between history in general and communication studies. Since its inception, the history of media and journalism has been researched at the University of North, especially its development during the 20th century in Croatia, and especially in the period after World War II. The focus is on researching republican and local weeklies in socialist Croatia, through an interdisciplinary analysis of individual aspects of the development of the press at the local and republican level, primarily on the history of weekly newspapers and the analysis of their textual and visual content. Special focus is placed on the history of local media, which also represents a contribution to regional and local history. This is a complex and insufficiently researched topic, so research will continue on the history of individual newspapers, the work of their editorial teams, the activities of prominent journalists, and the dynamics of relations between journalists and the authorities. As for recent media development, attention will be paid to new challenges and new initiatives in the media. The next section to be researched in the planned project is history and collective memory understood as an important foundation for the formation of nations from their beginnings. Research that falls within the framework of the so-called Memory studies shows that the beginnings of national narratives, which - although subject to change - survive to this day, are found in the period of the formation of modern nations in the 19th century. These questions are an important topic of research because in Croatia, as everywhere in the world, history represents an inexhaustible source of various elements that politicians and other participants in public life use in their speeches, with which they present their own positions, try to mobilize real or potential supporters, and draw a vision of the future. In their mouths, past events are put together (more or less successfully) into a complete picture of the past which - transposed through the media towards the public - becomes the ideological foundation of political action. Interpretations of history by political factors constitute a basic component of the politics of history, which is carried out through various forms of official and unofficial action. It should be emphasized that a significant role in the politics of memory belongs to the media. When shaping theoretical concepts and methods, researchers will choose several directions, or questions: "dealing with the past", "politics of history", "collective memory", "culture of memory" or analysis of historical narratives. By systematically researching gender strategies in the media, the Department of Communication, Media and Journalism of the University of North intends to contribute to a platform for strengthening professional journalism in Croatia, in which (despite the "glass ceilings") an increasing proportion of women is noticeable. Since the history of Croatian journalism is still "male", the goal of this research is to offer a "female" experience - to point out the continuity of female journalism since 1896 and the first Croatian professional journalist M. J. Zagorka, who, at the suggestion of Bishop J. J. Strossmayer, was appointed as a political journalist in the most renowned Croatian daily newspaper Obzor. The aim is, among other things, to connect this thematic area with the topic History of Journalism – to investigate and point out the participation of women in “serious” journalism and to specifically analyze the “oases” of Croatian women’s journalism; in order to raise awareness of the role and responsibility of the media in promoting gender stereotypes, not only through misogynistic journalism but also through advertising and promotional materials that often resort to stereotypes and prejudices. This research is part of recent interdisciplinary scientific interests that seek to raise awareness and/or define the role of the media in the production and distribution of various media content – to a media audience, not only with diverse interests but also with an unequal level of media literacy. The content of the research consists of the following subtopics: Language and gender in the media, Media (re)presentation of gender, Online journalism – between misogyny and feminization, Promoting and sanctioning gender stereotypes in the media, Gender textuality, Women’s magazines as a female mass culture, From the history of Croatian women’s journalism. This structured research starts from a broader context – diagnosing gender aspects in mainstream/independent, national/regional/local, commercial/specialized media – towards the analysis of prototypical examples from Croatian journalistic practice. Special attention will be paid to gender and work segregation in the media – researching “invisible” media or editorial offices dominated by women, the construction of leading couples (an experienced journalist and a young, beautiful colleague), focusing female journalists on lifestyle topics or culture replaced by spectacle, “removing” investigative journalists into non-fiction, (non)respect for professional journalism standards, etc. Based on the results of the research, conclusions on gender strategies in the media will be synthesized, or – part of the material will be shaped into additional literature at the Department of Communication, Media and Journalism. The research on heritage presentation will be based on an analysis of the way in which cultural and historical content is presented to users in the heritage sector, primarily in museums, but also in libraries, archives and other organizations (associations, cultural centers) that deal with heritage communication. The project will focus on identifying innovative approaches in heritage communication to users, without neglecting to raise awareness of the preservation of local identity. An interdisciplinary approach will be used to explore how digital technologies, educational programs and participatory methods contribute to the presentation and valorization of cultural heritage, both to tourists and the local population. The project will explore models of cooperation between heritage and scientific institutions with the aim of improving the presentation, but also the sustainability of cultural heritage. The possibilities of long-term knowledge exchange between the scientific community and heritage institutions will be explored. The project will explore how heritage interpretation can contribute to solving social challenges that arise in contemporary society. The emphasis will be on the rich cultural heritage of continental Croatia: castles, sacral buildings, visual heritage, as well as the cultural heritage of neglected groups. Members of the research team, each in their area of primary scientific interest, will research selected topics from different disciplines, and in collaboration with each other, interdisciplinary topics, and will publish scientific articles based on this research. In order to deepen the insight into the research topics being addressed, a scientific conference is planned with the participation of members of the research team and other scientists. Part of the material that will be collected during the project in digital form will be available on the project website. At the end of the project, it is planned to publish a joint collection of papers with texts based on the aforementioned research, which will summarize the results of scientific research and contribute to improving the quality of teaching at the Communication, Media and Journalism study program. The published collection of papers will be presented at the final conference of the project, which will be one of the ways to disseminate research results, as well as establish cooperation with educational and cultural institutions and contribute to general media literacy through science popularization programs. It is planned that the results of research conducted within the Humanist and the Media project will ultimately serve as the basis for preparing an application for a new competitive project.

prof. dr. sc. Magdalena Najbar-Agičić

doc. dr. sc. Irena Radej Miličić

izv. prof. dr. sc. Gordana Tkalec

doc. dr. sc. Lidija Dujić

dr. sc. Dejan Pernjak

dr. sc. Ivana Grabar

dr. sc. Branimir Felger

doc. dr. sc. Ivona Čulo

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