Marc Verboord has been appointed as full professor at Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC) as of December 1st, 2021. Verboord is now full professor of ‘Media and Society, with a focus on 'Media Use and Institutions in the Digital Age’ at the department of Media & Communication. Verboord elaborates on his ambitions as Chair-holder in this interview.
“The main ambition of this Chair is to come to a better understanding of how the legitimacy of social institutions can be enhanced and which role media can play in this.”
What is the purpose of your Chair?
This Chair aims to contribute to the study of media use and its societal impacts, taking a more sociological empirical approach that pays due attention to the interaction of the micro, meso- and macrolevel where individual media use, institutions, and societal contexts meet.
His team will address questions such as: Which media use patterns can we observe in current society and which inequalities emerge? How are media use patterns related to the legitimacy of media institutions? And how can we describe the societal impact of media, in terms of the relationships of media use with attitudes, values and taste preferences?
What does this Chair mean for Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication?
‘Media and Society, with a focus on Media Use and Institutions in the Digital Age’ has a clear interdisciplinary focus. It will connect to research from sociology, communication science, media studies, and culture studies, while also not ignoring longitudinal or historical, and comparative aspects. It will also strengthen the visibility of ESHCC in the international research field, given my existing networks in cultural sociology and media & communication studies.
What do you hope to achieve as Chair-holder?
The main ambition of this Chair is to come to a better understanding of how the legitimacy of social institutions can be enhanced and which role media can play in this. For this, it is crucial to comprehend how individuals perceive media and mediators (such as journalists) as trustworthy or credible sources of information, and what influences these perceptions.
What are your plans for the near future?
For the coming years, the main research focus will be within the INVENT project. In line with the general ambition of the Chair, I will analyse how trust in institutions is related to media use and socio-political backgrounds in Europe. Second, I will contribute to the development of new methodological tools for measuring how European citizens experience culture in the social and mediated contexts in which they live. Using experience sampling and smart phone technology I will take the lead in the part of project which examines the impact of cultural preferences and media usage on societal values such as tolerance, well-being and openness.
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