February 2026 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Online Talk "The Quantum Ecology: Ideas for Innovative Policymaking and the Governance of Quantum Information Technologies"
by Stefano Calzati 11 Feb '26

11 Feb '26

This online talk might be of interest to the AoIR community. "The Quantum Ecology: Ideas for Innovative Policymaking and the Governance of Quantum Information Technologies" Online talk at the Centre for Advanced Studies, Joint Research Centre, European Commission 12th of February - 12:30 -13:30 (CET). The talk is open to all! To get the Webex link, just send an email to JRC-Resonances(a)ec.europa.eu<mailto:JRC-Resonances@ec.europa.eu>. More info here: https://science-art-society.ec.europa.eu/news/quantum-ecology-lunchtime-talk The event will be recorded. This talk will take the lead from Stefano Calzati and Derrick de Kerckhove's book "Quantum Ecology: Why and How New Information Technologies Will Reshape Societies" (The MIT Press<https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-mit-press/>, 2024, open access: https://lnkd.in/dEVQF4BS) in which the authors conceptualise the “quantum ecology” as both an onto-epistemological framework – telling us something about the nature of reality and what/how we can know – and a technological paradigm, pivoting around QITs – e.g., quantum sensing, quantum communication, quantum computers. The talk will unpack and expand both sides of the story, on the one hand, exploring how we can think through quantum principles and phenomena – e.g., “uncertainty”, "complementarity", "superposition", “entanglement” – to experiment with alternative ways of doing policy and, on the other hand, investigating the potential impact of QITs on the EU digital sovereignty, and how to govern these technologies considered as a “wicked” policy issue.

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First Monday - Online session to discuss saving it?
by Lyle Skains 11 Feb '26

11 Feb '26

Hi, all, Catching up on the First Monday discussions... Seems there are a number of people interested in saving it. Would it be a good idea to host an online session over zoom with those interested? We could discuss potential ways forward, reaching out to current board, etc. It will require editors, but also hosting, web management, etc., so not without costs, even if time is volunteered. I'm happy to host/set a zoom. (apologies if the convo has moved on without me; I only get a daily digest) Best, Lyle — Trans Rights are Human Rights — Dr. R. Lyle Skains (LIE-ul skaynz ~ she/her) Associate Professor in Literary Media Senior Fellow, HEA | UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisor Director, New Media Writing Prize<http://newmediawritingprize.co.uk> Directors member, Electronic Literature Organization<http://eliterature.org> Faculty of Media, Science and Technology, Bournemouth University lskains(a)bournemouth.ac.uk<mailto:lskains@bournemouth.ac.uk> | Staff Profile<https://staffprofiles.bournemouth.ac.uk/display/lskains> — Playable Comms<http://playablecomms.org/>: Interactive Digital Narrative for Health & Science Communication Winner of the 2023 N. Katherine Hayles Award<https://eliterature.org/elo-awards/> for Criticism in Electronic Literature, Neverending Stories: The Popular Emergence of Digital Fiction<https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/neverending-stories-9781501364938/> ________________________________ BU is a Disability Confident Employer and has signed up to the Mindful Employer charter. Information about the accessibility of University buildings can be found on the BU AccessAble webpages. This email is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed and may contain confidential information. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender and delete this email, which must not be copied, distributed or disclosed to any other person. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Bournemouth University or its subsidiary companies. Nor can any contract be formed on behalf of the University or its subsidiary companies via email.

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Next Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 12:30pm ET! Webinar on AI & the future of creative practice
by Ogden, Claire 11 Feb '26

11 Feb '26

Hello everyone, Next Wednesday at 12:30pm ET! Join us for a Zoom webinar with Northeastern University's Center for Transformative Media<https://camd.northeastern.edu/center-for-transformative-media/> on AI and the future of creative practice. Details below: Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 12:30pm ET: "AI and the Future of Creative Practice<https://camd.northeastern.edu/events/webinar-ai-and-the-future-of-creative-…>" * Panelists: Shaun Foster<https://www.rit.edu/directory/scffaa-shaun-foster>, Jen Gradecki<https://camd.northeastern.edu/people/jennifer-gradecki/>, and Derek Curry<https://camd.northeastern.edu/people/derek-curry/> * Description: Artificial intelligence is reshaping creative industries by changing how ideas are imagined, developed, and shared. Moving between theory and practice, we will examine how AI tools are being used across creative disciplines, from motion generation and generative design to sound and visual composition, while considering the ethical, cultural, and educational implications of this rapidly evolving landscape. * Registration: Learn more and register here<https://northeastern.zoom.us/meeting/register/oDWA4I1RTneJulwOzH63qA>. These events are also being recorded and posted to our YouTube channel<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMtWXkKoWKJUvhmgDltAkRA>. Let me know if you have any questions, or if you are interested in becoming a speaker! All best, Claire Ogden Communications Specialist Center for the Arts Center for Transformative Media Northeastern University

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Archives with Brazilian media?
by Dr. Emma Briant 11 Feb '26

11 Feb '26

Dear Colleagues, I have a wonderful team of Brazilian students who have been looking for right-wing and mainstream broadcast transcripts to compare. They were looking for Jornal Nacional (TV Globo) and Jovem Pan and have tried Lexis Nexis, Factiva, Newsbank and Vanderbilt University's archives and have struggled to find transcripts to analyze. Please do you know where they could access these? - Your help would be very much appreciated! Thanks very much, Emma *Dr Emma L Briant* Visiting Associate Professor at University of Notre Dame, USA Fellow at Bard College, Human Rights Project, USA Associate at George Washington University, Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication, USA Associate at University of Cambridge, Center for Financial Reporting & Accountability, UK Affiliate at Monash University, Monash Global Peace and Security Centre, Australia Owner, Director and Consultant: Maven of Persuasion LLC LEARN MORE FROM ME: 🎓 Online course: https://www.udemy.com/course/propaganda-disinformation-level-1-beginners/?r… 📚 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/emmalbriant 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dremmalbriant2459/streams 🌐 emma-briant.co.uk 🗣️ Speaking agent: Chartwell Speakers <https://www.chartwellspeakers.com/speaker/emma-briant/> 📰 Sign up for my Newsletter <https://emma-briant.co.uk/sign-up-for-important-updates/> 📘 Editor of *The Routledge Handbook of the Influence Industry* (2024, with Bakir) 📘 Author of: *Propaganda and Counter-Terrorism: Strategies for Global Change *(2015) 📘 Author of: *Bad News for Refugees* (2013, with Philo and Donald) Mastodon @emmalbriant@mastodon.online Twitter @emmalbriant "I thought yesterday was the first day of the rest of my life but it turns out today is." - Steve Martin “Women are like teabags . We don’t know our true strength until we are in hot water.” - Unknown

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NEW DEADLINE: 27 February | SWING – School on Internet Governance 20-24 April 2026 @ Bruges
by Mauro SANTANIELLO 11 Feb '26

11 Feb '26

*DEADLINE EXTENDED: SWING School on Internet Governance* 📅 *New Application Deadline: 27 February 2026* We're pleased to announce that the application deadline for SWING School on Internet Governance 2026 has been extended to *27 February 2026*. *About SWING School on Internet Governance 2026:* Join us in Bruges, Belgium (20-24 April 2026), at the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS), for an intensive week exploring *Digital Sovereignty, *one of the most pressing issues at the intersection of Internet governance, geopolitics, innovation, and fundamental rights. *Who should apply:* Graduate students, early-career researchers, ICT professionals, policymakers, and anyone interested in Internet governance. *What you'll gain:* - Expert-led lectures from internationally renowned scholars; - Interactive lectures on topics including AI, cybersecurity, undersea cables, semiconductors, low earth orbit satellites, and fundamental rights; - Seminars on topics including Digital Sovereignty, EuroStack, the Geopolitics of Digital Sovereignty; - Hands-on group work developing policy recommendations; - Networking with peers and multistakeholder discussions. *Key Dates* 27 February 2026 — Application deadline, including fee payment 20–24 April 2026 — SWING 2026 (Bruges, UNU-CRIS) *Core Seminars and Lectures* - Introduction to Digital Sovereignty (seminar) with *Jamal Shahin* - VUB, UVA, UNU-CRIS; *Julia Pohle* - WZB, BSoG, CNRS France; *Sophie Hoogenboom* - UNU-CRIS, VUB; *Chris Mondini *- ICANN. - From Governance to Sovereignty (seminar) with *Jamal Shahin* - VUB, UVA, UNU-CRIS; *Mauro Santaniello *- University of Salerno, UNU-CRIS; *Julia Pohle* - WZB, BSoG, CNRS France. - EuroStack: European Digital Sovereignty (seminar) with *Paul Timmers* - KU Leuven, European University Cyprus; *Niels ten Oever* - University of Amsterdam; more TBA - Digital Sovereignty and Competitiveness with *Orsolya Gulyas* - Brussels School of Governance - The Impact of Digital Sovereignty on the Internet with *Azadeh Akbari *- Center for critical computational studies, Goethe University Frankfurt. - Digital Sovereignty and Fundamental Rights with *Marianne Franklin* - University of Groningen. - Indigenous Data Sovereignty with *Claudia Padovani* - University of Padova. - Digital Sovereignty and Undersea Cables with *Kavé Salamatian* - Polytech Annecy-Chambéry. - Digital Sovereignty and Semiconductors with *Linda Monsees* - Institute of International Relations Prague. - Digital Sovereignty and Artificial Intelligence with *Nicola Palladino* - University of Salerno. - Digital Sovereignty and LEOs (Low Earth Orbit satellites) with *Berna Akçalı Gür* - Queen Mary University of London, UNU-CRIS. - Internet Governance: Conflicts and Cooperation with *Jan Aart Scholte *- Leiden University. - The Geopolitics of Digital Sovereignty (seminar) with *Kseniia Ermoshina* - CNRS, France; *Grace X. Yang* - Freie Universität Berlin; more TBA. *Registration* To register, applicants will be asked to submit: - Curriculum Vitae (CV) - Completed application form (template <https://cris.unu.edu/sites/cris.unu.edu/files/SWING_2026_Registration_Form%…> ) - Copy of a valid ID document (passport or national identity card) - Proof of payment of the participation fee (receipt/confirmation) *Participation Fee and What It Covers* The participation fee is 800,00 € and includes: - Registration costs - Meals provided during the School programme - Social event(s) The participation fee does not include: - Accommodation Although students are required to provide for their own accommodation, SWING has an agreement with a local hotel that is willing to provide a reduced fare for the students of the school. Details will be provided after a successful registration. - Dinners *Scientific Committee* *Co-directors: *Mauro Santaniello (University of Salerno, UNU-CRIS) and Jamal Shahin (VUB, UVA, UNU-CRIS). *Scientific Advisory Board: *Andrea Beccalli (ICANN), Dennis Broeders (Leiden University), Edoardo Celeste (Dublin City University), Philippe De Lombaerde (UNU-CRIS), Sophie Hoogenboom (UNU-CRIS, VUB), Robin Mansell (London School of Economics), Francesca Musiani (CNRS), Nicola Palladino (University of Salerno), Dennis Redeker (University of Bremen) and Riccardo Nanni (CNRS). *Organizing Committee: *Sophie Hoogenboom (UNU-CRIS, VUB), Carlos Andres Fonseca Diaz (Ghent University, UNU-CRIS), Armando Antonio Ferrara (University of Salerno), Chiara Spiniello (University of Salerno) and Stephanie Teeuwen (VUB). *More information on the programme, faculty and registration*: https://cris.unu.edu/swing-school-on-internet-governance *For further information about the School and registration, please contact Sophie Hoogenboom at *shoogenboom(a)cris.unu.edu.

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Workshop on Workshopping at Utrecht University
by Ana Kubrusly 10 Feb '26

10 Feb '26

WORKSHOP ON WORKSHOPPING Date: Thursday 26 February 15:00-17:15 Location: The Playground, Utrecht University Science Park RSVP: edu.nl/hpbxd Are you interested in exploring and reflecting on the craft behind workshops as method? We invite you to join us in Utrecht for a ‘Workshop on Workshopping’. As workshops are increasingly employed for participatory engagement, we ask what does it mean to approach workshops as a method and intervention? Open to anyone interested in developing or using workshops, the session will offer pressure cooker’ style demos where you will experience a short versions of multiple workshops from experts, including Adi Kuntsman, Anna Hickey-Moody, Annette Markham, Jessica Enevold, Joy Zhang, Levien Nordeman, Rebecca Coleman and Riccardo Pronzato, to give a taste of different styles and modalities of workshops. This will be followed by a fishbowl style discussion about the intersection of futures, literacies and participatory engagement. This event is organised by researchers from the Futures + Literacies + Methods Lab: Taylor Annabell (Cardiff University), Ana Kubrusly (NOVA University of Lisbon), Annette Markham (Utrecht University) and Levien Nordeman (University of Applied Sciences Utrecht). For more information visit: https://fll.pubpub.org/pub/24hnndae For any questions, please contact Ana Kubrusly at: a59022(a)campus.fcsh.unl.pt Kind regards, Ana Kubrusly *On behalf of the organizing team* -- *Ana Kubrusly (she/her) * *ana.kubrusly.com <http://ana.kubrusly.com>* *LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-kubrusly-02291033a/>* PhD-candidate at Nova University of Lisbon (NOVA FCSH) FCT Fellowship PRT/BD/154767/2023

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13 February Book Launch "Twitter Activism and the Current Uprising in Iran"
by Ülker Sözen 10 Feb '26

10 Feb '26

ECPR Research Network on Digital Authoritarianism <https://ecpr.eu/group/digital-authoritarianism> kindly invites you to the book launch and discussion: * “Twitter Activism and the Current Uprising in Iran” * *Author: Dr. Hossein Kermani (University of Vienna)* *Discussant: Dr. Gi Yeon Koo (Seoul National University Asia Center) * *Date: 13 February 2026, Friday, 10:00 CET* You can register here <https://ecpr.eu/Events/337>. Please find the details below. Kind regards, Steering Committee ---------------- Twitter Activism in Iran: Social Media and Democracy in Authoritarian Regimes <https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-81538-6> by Hossein Kermani investigates Twitter activism in authoritarian regimes, with particular attention to Iran. The platform has been blocked in Iran since the 2009 presidential election and its subsequent protests, the Green Movement. Nevertheless, Iranians have been continually using it to date. Recently, another significant hashtag movement unfolded in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini. But it is only an instance of how Iranians employ Twitter to fight a dictatorship. Given the unique context of Iran as a non-democratic society with a high number of Twitter users, this book tries to explore how Iranian users participate in politics, challenge the regime, mobilize their protests, and shape anti-regime discourses. It also examines the strategies that the Iranian regime takes to dismantle Twitter activism. Moving from the book, the lecture will further discuss the dynamics of the current uprising and brutal state repression in Iran. *Hossein Kermani* is a senior researcher at the Political Communication Research Group of the University of Vienna, Austria. He studies social media, digital repression, computational propaganda and political activism in restrictive contexts, with particular attention to Iran. He is the principal investigator of the BeyondCBA project, which is funded by WWTF. *Gi Yeon Koo* is a HK professor at Seoul National University Asia Center, South Korea. Gi Yeon Koo’s current interest focuses on Islamophobia in Korea, Muslim migration and refugee in Korea, Media and Social Movements in Iran, Young Generation’s Popular Culture, and Iranian Women. ----------------- Dr. Ülker Sözen Postdoctoral research fellow (DFG 2022-2026, Gerda Henkel Foundation 2024-2027) Chair of Development Politics, University of Passau Institute for the Study of Religions, Leipzig University

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Internet Histories Seeking Book Reviewers
by Maemura, Emily 10 Feb '26

10 Feb '26

Dear AoIR community, I'm the Reviews Editor for the journal Internet Histories (https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rint20) and we are seeking book reviewers. Our book reviews are generally between 1500 and 2000 words, focused on titles related to the cultural, social, political and technological histories of the internet and associated digital cultures. For instance, we are currently looking for reviewers for the following titles: * Archiving Machines: From Punch Cards to Platforms by Amelia Acker https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262553247/archiving-machines/ * Digital Authoritarianism in the Making: Repression and Resistance on the Russian Internet Edited by Françoise Daucé, Benjamin Loveluck and Francesca Musiani https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262553674/digital-authoritarianism-in-the-maki… * Healthy Users: The Governance of Well-Being on Social Media by Niall Docherty https://www.ucpress.edu/books/healthy-users/paper * Influencer Creep: How Optimization, Authenticity and Self-Branding Transform Creative Culture by Sophie Bishop https://www.ucpress.edu/books/influencer-creep/paper * Mourning on Mobile Media: Everyday Affective Witnessing by Larissa Hjorth https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262553551/mourning-on-mobile-media/ * The Internet Stack by Amrit Tiwana https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262553629/the-internet-stack/ * The Inattention Economy: How Women of Color Built the Internet By Lisa Nakamura https://www.upress.umn.edu/9780816699063/the-inattention-economy/ * The Routledge Companion to Transnational Web Archive Studies Edited By Susan Aasman, Anat Ben-David, Niels Brügger https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Companion-to-Transnational-Web-Arch… If you're interested in being added to the list of potential reviewers for these or other books in the future, please get in touch with me at emaemura(a)illinois.edu . Please also note that we do not accept unsolicited reviews, so please reach out to me first -- we may decline a reviewer or book title if determined to not be a good fit for our journal. Best, Emily Maemura Reviews Editor, Internet Histories

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Registration Open for The Digital Conference 2026 at KCL, 23-26 June 2026
by g. tavmen 10 Feb '26

10 Feb '26

Dear colleagues, We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for The Digital Conference 2026, which will take place from 23 to 26 June 2026 at Bush House, King’s College London. Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Centre for Computing in the Humanities officially becoming a department at King’s College London, and the 15th anniversary of its renaming as the Department of Digital Humanities in 2011, the conference invites scholars from around the world to critically reflect on what the “digital” entails today. The conference theme, Digital Humanities Today: Critical Inquiry With and About the Digital, foregrounds discussion, debate, and exchange across disciplines. Please note that there will be no keynote lectures; instead, the programme is designed to centre collective inquiry through panels, presentations, and conversations. 📍 Dates: 23–26 June 2026📍 Location: Bush House, King’s College London 📝 Registration:Please click here or use this link to register for the conference: (https://estore.kcl.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/academic-faculties/faculty-…) Please click on the “More Info” tab on the registration page for additional details, including the refund policy. ℹ️ Further information:Further information about the event can be found here or through this link: (https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/digital-humanities-today-critical-inquiry-with…) ➡️Fee categories and other details: - Fee categories are determined geographically, based on where you reside and/or the location of the institution you are affiliated with (i.e., not your nationality).- Please refer to your acceptance email, the conference website, or the programme for the appropriate category.- If you are unsure which fee category applies to you, please contact us at thedigitalconference(a)kcl.ac.uk- The conference fee includes lunch and coffee during the conference as well as drinks during the conference reception.- All the attendees need to register for the conference; e.g, if you have co-authored your paper and want to invite all the authors to the conference, each of these attendants need to register.- The conference does not offer day passes and all registrations include access to 4 days of the conference.- Panel organizers are responsible from making sure that their panel members receive the registration link and have their registration completed on time.- The conference team is unable to provide you with advice on accommodation and travel. The conference venue is in central London. 🗓️Important deadlines: - Category A–C and Abstract Reviewer categories: available until 8 March 2026- King’s Staff and Students and Conference Attendees categories: available until 5 April 2026- King’s Staff and Students rates must be used with a KCL email address. A dedicated conference webpage will go live in the coming weeks. A preliminary programme will be published at the end of March 2026, with the full programme announced at the end of April 2026. For any questions, please get in touch with us at thedigitalconference(a)kcl.ac.uk. We are delighted to welcome you to London this June for four days of critical reflection and exchange. With best wishes,The Digital Conference 2026 Organising Committee(Chloe, Güneş, Jamie and Orçun)Department of Digital HumanitiesKing’s College London

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AoIR 2026 panel on Global fediverse experiences
by Leonardo Foletto 10 Feb '26

10 Feb '26

Hi everyone We're organizing a panel for AoIR 2026 in Mexico City (October 2026) provisionally titled "Beyond corporate platforms: Navigating challenges of decentralized social media across the Global South and North" and looking for colleagues who would like to participate - and are planning to attend the conference in person as well. We'd especially welcome perspectives from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania (there are already participants from both South and North America) examining how federated networks are being implemented, adapted, or resisted in different contexts. We're interested in diverse experiences, from institutional implementations to grassroots initiatives, from technical infrastructure challenges to cultural and governance questions. If you're interested or have questions, please reply to this email or contact me directly at leonardo.foletto(a)usp.br. The submission deadline is March 1st, so we'd need to coordinate abstracts by mid-February, or after carnival. Best, -- Leonardo Foletto BaixaCultura <http://baixacultura.org> - Cultura Livre & Contracultura Digital desde 2008 <https://br.creativecommons.org/> *leofoletto.info <http://leofoletto.info> - @leofoletto <https://www.instagram.com/leofoletto/> - Linkedin <https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardo-foletto-9187447/>Professor e pesquisador - ECA-USP <https://www.eca.usp.br/>*

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