In a journey through communication rituals, BoJo Club´s quest to unveil the transformative power of reading in book clubs in journalism communities. Transcending disciplinary boundaries, these book clubs reveal as promising communication ecosystems. The case studies are catalogued through the lens of a social constructivist framework, mapped globally. From a book club at a public radio maintained by an avid reader living in Oregon, to the case of a community platform from Bogotá created by a journalist to unite the country through a shared list of literary journalism and biographical books, or an environmental book club nurtured by journalists in Madrid at a public library, or the case of a New York club with a list of history books, challenging censorship. Reading circles in journalism emerge as bonds of healing communication for journalists and readers. While revealing echoes to the first literary salons - standing on the shoulders of giants - the BoJo Club research seeks the therapeutic benefit of book clubs in fragmented societies; is there a cure behind the power of such reading circles for fostering empathy, well-being and communal bonds?
Mercedes de Luis Andrés is a Senior Scientist at CMC | OeAW, learn more
Chair: Georg Traska, IKW