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Best lit for documenting/explaining lower online participation by disadvantaged groups
by David Brake 24 Jan '17

24 Jan '17

Dear all, I am teaching how to encourage participation in online communities and I have a paper - my own (a) - which describes some of the inequalities in education level, class and age that exist in terms of usage of social media but I realized looking back at it I don't have enough foundational literature on how and why it is that the voices of the disadvantaged (women, LGBT people, the disabled, ethnic minorities) are less often heard - in part because of straightforward discrimination but also because of internalized doubts that they will be understood or appreciated and feelings of inarticulacy. I was always struck by Bourdieu’s writing about this (b) Much of this literature is I imagine from political science and may not relate directly to the internet - that's okay. I'm just interested in short, clearly argued and (preferably) recent works. I have been struck by the absence of this factor in text book and practitioner discussions of how to encourage participation in online communities… I hope you can help! Regards, David (a) Brake, D. R. (2013). Are we all online content creators now? Web 2.0 and digital divides. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19(3), 591–609. doi: 10.1111/jcc4.12042 (b) "Certain categories of locutors are deprived of the capacity to speak in certain situations and often acknowledge this deprivation in the manner of the farmer who explained that he never thought of running for mayor of his small township by saying: ''But I don't know how to speak!’’ p. 146 Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L. J. D. (1992). The Purpose of Reflexive Sociology (The Chicago Workshop). In P. Bourdieu & L. J. D. Wacquant (Eds.), An invitation to reflexive sociology (pp. 62-215). Chicago: University of Chicago Press -- Dr David Brake, Researcher and Educator http://davidbrake.org/, @drbrake Author of "Sharing Our Lives Online: Risks and Exposure in Social Media” https://www.facebook.com/sharingourlivesonline

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2017 Workshops on Digital Psychology & Emotional Design
by Alter Spark 23 Jan '17

23 Jan '17

Hello. For researchers with an applied focus, you may be interested in my upcoming workshops, on using psychology and neuroscience, for behavior change technology. My foundational workshops P2+A1 draws from multiple behavioral science fields, but focused on tech, with a good blend of science and practice. My latest workshop E2 on emotional design is great for anyone wishing to gain a simple view on the neuroscience of emotion, which has applications to everyday UX and HCI with lots of inspiration for anyone struggling with cutting-edge applications, like what to do with the latest cognitive AI algorithms, bot design, or building emotionally intelligent software. In 2017, I'm running limited number of training weeks in Canada and the USA. Here's the list: *2017 TRAINING WEEKS:* - Toronto: Mar 20-24 - New York: Apr 3-4 - Chicago: May 15-19 - Ottawa: May 25-26 - Toronto 2: Oct 30 – Nov 3 - Vancouver: Nov 14-17 - Palo Alto: Nov 27 – Dec 1 *WORKSHOPS: * *Emotional Design Psychology [E2] (2-Day) * Our emotional design workshop covers the latest psychology and neuroscience of user emotions, with a focus on interactive design, UX and digital marketing applications. During this workshop, you'll take a deep-dive into the neuroscience of user cognition, emotion, motivation and behavior. By the end of this workshop, you’ll understand the full spectrum of user emotions, recognize how to avoid triggering unpleasant user experiences, and possess new skills in applying emotional design to websites, apps and campaigns. *- LEARN MORE:* https://www.alterspark.com/e2 *Psychology for Digital Behavior Change [P2] (2-Day)* In our foundational workshop, you’ll learn the core psychological design principles that drive the world’s most successful websites, mobile apps, and campaigns. You’ll be able to recognize and apply over 40 behavioral science principles, reverse engineer your competitors’ psychological strategies, build psychology-infused wireframes and optimize them. After completing this workshop, you will then qualify to take our advanced workshop A1. *- LEARN MORE:* https://www.alterspark.com/p2 *Psychological Architectures of Digital Behavior Change [A1] (1-Day)* In this advanced workshop, you’ll learn about psychological architectures – the winning design patterns that drive influential campaigns and technologies. You’ll learn 10 new principles of feedback psychology, and develop skills in applying psychological architectures from popular patterns including gamification, landing pages, habit loops, stages of change, and more. *- LEARN MORE:* https://www.alterspark.com/a1 *SAVE 20-34% by 17 Feb 2017* You'll save 20-34% by the early bird deadline on 17 Feb 2017. After, our tickets increase to the full price. If you miss these, we also offer deals for students, academics, people from non-profit and groups. Warm regards, Brian ================== Brian Cugelman, PhD AlterSpark http://www.AlterSpark.com <http://www.alterspark.com/> p: +1 (888) 977-2055 c: +1 (416) 858-2055 brian(a)alterspark.com http://linkedin.com/in/cugelman http://slideshare.net/cugelman http://twitter.com/cugelman

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Visualizing for Justice - A Public Event on Data Vizualisation for Social Justice - Boston 5 April 2017
by Anna Feigenbaum 23 Jan '17

23 Jan '17

For those in the Boston area or who are coming to the American Association of Geographers conference this year, we are hosting an event that may be of interest to folks on this list: Visualizing for Justice - Creative, Critical and Contestational Mapping April 5, 2017 6:00-8:00pm The Bordy Theater Emerson College 216 Tremont Street Boston, 02116 A public event on data visualization and mapping for social justice in association with the American Association of Geographers subconference? Book your ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/visualizing-for-justice-creative-critical-an… The rise of Big Data, freedom of information and user-friendly software has contributed to the popularity of infographics, data visualizations and mapping for civic engagement and advocacy. This surge in data visualization brings with it opportunities for information re-use, increased transparency, and new forms of civic participation. Yet visualizing data for social justice also comes with its own set of challenges . From issues of security and tracking down hard to find information, to the ethics of making infographics out of death and suffering, participatory practices of data visualization often take place on ambiguous ethical terrain. SHOWCASE Short presentations of recent data visualization and mapping work from critical cartographers, journalists, designers and social justice campaigners will be followed by audience discussion. Together we will explore what it means to visualize for justice today. Full Line-up of speakers coming soon! YOUR WORK HERE! Want to feature your maps & visualizations? We will have a running slideshow of social justice maps & visualizations at the event. To include your work in our slideshow: * Send one image of your work to catherine_dignazio(a)emerson.edu<mailto:catherine_dignazio@emerson.edu> and akshaya_sawant(a)emerson.edu<mailto:akshaya_sawant@emerson.edu>. * Your image should be a high quality (at least 1200px width, 72 dpi) JPG or PNG file. * Your image should have a caption that explains the project and links to your website or contact info. This event is organised in association with the American Association of Geographers subconference and is supported by Bournemouth University's Civic Media Hub, Emerson Engagement Lab and College of Art, Media and Design at Northeastern University. **This event is open to the public, but you are required to book a ticket and register your details in advance https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/visualizing-for-justice-creative-critical-an… ***?? Dr. Anna Feigenbaum Principal Academic in Digital Storytelling Faculty of Media and Communication Weymouth House Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB United Kingdom BU is a Disability Two Ticks Employer and has signed up to the Mindful Employer charter. Information about the accessibility of University buildings can be found on the BU DisabledGo 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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Elsevier and peer review
by Sharon Greenfield 23 Jan '17

23 Jan '17

The other day I was told by someone not in academia that there are regularly planted independently written 'articles' (quotes mine) to places like the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) https://www.ssrn.com so as to give a 'credible source' for right wing racist media pundits and those who follow them. Thoughts on this process? SSRN is an arm of Elsevier. As apparent by below planted 'article' (quotes again mine) and the multitude of scientific errors, there is no peer review. Does this 'open access' of research journals from Elsevier dilute any credibility they have? Would love to chat with someone at Elsevier about this. I do understand what a tough place the publishing industry is in right now. I was pointed to below link which is being used to back up quotes like "97% of women with children by black male partners get ZERO financial help from their partner." : https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2625893 Ninety Two Percent: Examining the Birth Trends, Family Structure, Economic Standing, Paternal Relationships, and Emotional Stability of Biracial Children with African American Fathers Tiffany N. Calloway <https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=2418846> Independent June 2, 2015 *Abstract: * This study examines the birth trends, family structure, economic standing, paternal relationships, and emotional stability of biracial children with African American fathers. For study implementation quantitative research methods were used. Questions were asked through a questionnaire that was administered to 1000 women spanning the united States that were equally ranging from 3 different racial groups; Caucasian, Asian, and Hispanic. Participants were recruited through the internet, radio, and news. This study finds that 92% of biracial children with African American fathers are born out of wedlock and 82% end up on government assistance. The results of this study make it very clear that biracial children with African American fathers are fatherless on a scale much larger than the public may realize. *Number of Pages in PDF File:* 12 *Keywords:* Biracial, out of wedlock, fatherless, black fathers, interracial -------------------------- *Sharon Greenfield* PhD Researcher School of Media and Communication RMIT University, Australia *I and RMIT acknowledge the Wurundjeri people as the traditional owners of **the land * *on which the University stands and respectfully recognise Elders past and present.*

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WEBCAST MONDAY: State of the Net 2017 in Washington DC
by Joly MacFie 22 Jan '17

22 Jan '17

Just packing up my kit to go and stream this. At least DC is not snowed in like last year! All the streams are embedded on http://isoc-ny.org/p2/8924 joly posted: "On Monday January 23 2017 the Internet Education Foundation (IEF) will host the 2017 State of the Net Conference at the Newseum in Washington DC. As the 115th Congress kicks off, attendees include some 300 congressional staff and other policymakers. Spe" [image: Livestream] <https://livestream.com/internetsociety/sotn17>On *Monday January 23 2017* the *Internet Education Foundation <http://neted.org/> *(IEF) will host the *2017 State of the Net Conference* <http://www.stateofthenet.org/sotn-17/> at the *Newseum* in *Washington DC*. As the *115th Congress <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/115th_United_States_Congress>* kicks off, attendees include some 300 congressional staff and other policymakers. Speakers include, from the Internet Society, Trustee *Jason Livingood*, North America Director *Mark Buell*, and Trust & Identity Program Lead *Steve Olshamky.* Other familiar names include *Milton Mueller*, *George Sadowsky*, *Gigi Sohn*, *Andrea Glorioso*, and *Susan Aaronson*. Congress will be represented by, from the House, Representatives *Suzan DelBene* and *Bob Goodlatte *and, from the Senate, Senators *Brian Schatz* and *John Thune*. The entire event will be webcast live on the *Internet Society Livestream Channel <https://livestream.com/internetsociety/sotn17>*. *What: 2017 State of the Net Conference <http://www.stateofthenet.org/sotn-17> Where: Newseum, Washington DC When: Monday January 23 2017 9am-5pm EST | 14:00-22:00 UTC Agenda: http://www.stateofthenet.org/sotn-17/agenda/ <http://www.stateofthenet.org/sotn-17/agenda/> Speakers: https://stateofthenet2017.sched.com/directory/speakers <https://stateofthenet2017.sched.com/directory/speakers> Twitter: #sotn17 <https://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=%23sotn15&src=typd>* Webcast *Plenary + Breakout1* - https://livestream.com/internetsociety/sotn17 (9am-5pm) *Breakout 2* - https://livestream.com/internetsociety2/sotn17 (12pm-4:30pm) * Breakout 3* - https://livestream.com/internetsociety3/sotn17/ (12pm-4:30pm) Comment <http://isoc-ny.org/p2/8924#respond> See all comments <http://isoc-ny.org/p2/8924#comments> *Permalink* http://isoc-ny.org/p2/8924 -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast -------------------------------------------------------------- -

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Submission site for AoIR 2017: Networked Publics now open!
by Andra Siibak 21 Jan '17

21 Jan '17

Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to open submissions for proposals for AoIR 2017: Networked Publics (Tartu, Estonia, 18 - 21 October, 2017). To re-familiarize yourself with the call for proposals and types of submissions solicited, please see here: https://aoir.org/aoir2017/subinfo2017/ [1]. Accepted paper and panel submissions will be included in our open access conference paper archive, Selected Papers of Internet Research (SPIR). SPIR helps us further publicize the work of our members and introduce our research to a wider audience. All submissions must therefore follow our SPIR formatting requirements, which includes a consistent header and style format for the papers that will enable people to easily locate author and title information, identify the papers as part of the AoIR conference. This format is only intended to bring consistency to basic elements (such as typeface and spacing), not to impose any disciplinary constraints. You can download a Word template here: https://aoir.org/aoir2017/aoir2017sub_temp/ [2]. Please note that if you submitted a proposal to the conference through ConfTool last year, you will need to re-register. When submitting, please take the time to read the submission categories and topics carefully. In the interest of diversity and collegiality, each conference participant is limited to presenting one individual paper and one paper in a panel, and to participating in one roundtable. You can be a co-author on additional papers, but you must not be the scheduled presenter of these papers. If you have any questions about the submission process, please email aoir2017(a)aoir.org. We look forward to seeing your proposals. Click below to go to the submission site: https://www.conftool.com/aoir2017 [3]. We look forward to your proposals and to a vibrant and stimulating conference in Tartu! Sincerely, Andra Siibak AoIR2017 conference chair, on behalf of the program committee ---- AoIR2017: Networked Publics http://aoir.org/aoir2017/ [4] Important Deadlines: 1 MARCH 2017 Submissions due for EXTENDED ABSTRACTS, PANELS, ROUNDTABLES and FISHBOWLS, EXPERIMENTAL SESSIONS, and PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS 1 APRIL 2017 Nominations for Nancy Baym Book award and Best Dissertation Award due 20 MAY 2017 Applications due for conference travel SCHOLARSHIPS and for DOCTORAL COLLOQUIUM 1 AUGUST 2017 Early Bird Registration Deadline for all presenters 30 SEPTEMBER 2017 Deadline for uploading accepted, non-blind, final version of paper and panel submissions ------------------- Andra Siibak Professor of Media Studies Head of research - Center for the Information Society University of Tartu Links: ------ [1] https://aoir.org/aoir2017/subinfo2017 [2] https://aoir.org/aoir2017/aoir2017sub_temp [3] https://www.conftool.com/aoir2017 [4] http://aoir.org/aoir2017

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Call for Papers: First Workshop on Abusive Language Online
by Zeerak Mustafa Waseem 21 Jan '17

21 Jan '17

ALW1: 1st Workshop on Abusive Language Online ACL 2017 (Vancouver, Canada), August 3rd or 4th, 2017 Submission deadline: April 27th, 2017 Website: https://sites.google.com/site/abusivelanguageworkshop2017/ Contact: abusive.language.workshop(a)gmail.com<mailto:abusive.language.workshop@gmail.com> Overview The last few years have seen a surge in abusive online behavior, with governments, social media platforms, and individuals struggling to cope with the consequences and to produce effective methods to combat it. In many cases, online forums, comment sections, and social media interaction have become sites of bullying, scapegoating, and hate speech. These forms of online aggression not only poison the social climate of the online communities that experience it, but can also provoke physical violence and harm. Addressing abusive language necessitates a multi-disciplinary approach that requires knowledge from several fields, including (but not limited to): media studies, natural language processing (NLP), psychology, sociology, law, gender studies, communications, and critical race theory. NLP, as a field that directly works with computationally analyzing language, is in a unique position to develop automated methods to analyse, detect, and filter abusive language. By working across disciplinary divides, researchers in all these fields can produce a comprehensive approach to abusive language that blends together computational, social and legal methods. In this one-day workshop, we therefore want to bring researchers of various disciplines together to discuss approaches to abusive language. The workshop will include invited speakers and panelists from fields within and outside of NLP, as well as submitted papers from researchers across all areas. In addition, the workshop will host an “unshared task”. Paper Topics We invite long and short papers on any of the following general topics: • Assessment of all current methods of addressing abusive language • The social, personal and cultural effects of abusive language online • Legal ramifications of measures taken against abusive language use • NLP models and methods for abusive language detection • Application of NLP tools to analyze social media content and other large data sets • NLP models for cross-lingual abusive language detection • Best practices for using NLP techniques in watchdog settings • Development of corpora and annotation guidelines Unshared task In order to encourage focused contributions, we direct researchers to consider the following list of data sets an unshared task, where participants can choose from a list of datasets to conduct their experiments. This list includes: • Twitter Data Set [Waseem and Hovy, NAACL 2016] • German Twitter Data Set [Ross et al. NLP4CMC 2016] • Wikipedia Abusive Language Data Set [Wulczyn et al., Preprint available here<https://arxiv.org/abs/1610.08914>] Submission Information We will be using the ACL 2017 Submission Guidelines<http://acl2017.org/calls/papers/>. Authors are invited to submit a full paper of up to 8 pages of content with up to 2 additional pages for references. We also invite short papers of up to 4 pages of content, including 2 additional pages for references. Accepted papers will be given an additional page of content to address reviewer comments. We also invite papers which describe systems are also invited to give a demo of their system. If you would like to present a demo in addition to presenting the paper, please make sure to select either "full paper + demo" or "short paper + demo" under "Submission Category" in the START submission page<https://www.softconf.com/acl2017/alw/>. Previously published papers cannot be accepted. The submissions will be reviewed by the program committee. As reviewing will be blind, please ensure that papers are anonymous. Self-references that reveal the author's identity, e.g., "We previously showed (Smith, 1991) ...", should be avoided. Instead, use citations such as "Smith previously showed (Smith, 1991) ...". We have also included conflict of interest in the submission form. You should mark all potential reviewers who have been authors on the paper, are from the same research group or institution, or who have seen versions of this paper or discussed it with you. We will be using the START conference system to manage submissions. Important Dates Submission due: April 27th Author Notification: May 17th Camera Ready: May 26th Workshop Date: August 3rd or 4th Submission link: https://www.softconf.com/acl2017/alw/ Organizing Committee • Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, Brown University • Dirk Hovy, University of Copenhagen • Joel Tetreault, Grammarly • Zeerak Waseem, University of Copenhagen (Primary contact) Program Committee/Reviewers The following researchers have agreed to serve on the program committee as reviewers. • Swati Agarwal, IIIT Delhi, India • Fiona Barnett, Duke University, USA • Darina Benikova, University of Duisburg-Essen, LTL, Germany • Simone Browne, UT Austin, USA • Anneke Buffone, University of Pennsylvania, USA • Pete Burnap, Cardiff University, United Kingdom • Christina Capodilupo, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA • Guillermo Carbonell, University Duisburg-Essen, Germany • Pedro Cardoso, Synthesio, France • Gabriella Coleman, McGill, Canada • Bart Desmet, LT3, Ghent University, Belgium • Lucas Dixon, Jigsaw, USA • Nemanja Djuric, Uber ATC, USA • Jacob Eisenstein, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA • Hugo Jair Escalante, INAOE, Mexico • Lucie Flekova, UKP Lab, TU Darmstadt, Germany • Matthew Fuller, Goldsmith, UK • Tanton Gibbs, Facebook, USA • Lee Gillam, University of Surrey, United Kingdom • Jen Golbeck, University of Maryland, USA • Erica Greene, New York Times, USA • Kevin Hamilton, University of Illinois, USA • Sora Han, University of California, Irvine, USA • Christopher Homan, Rochester Institute of Technology, USA • Veronique Hoste, Ghent University, Belgium • Ruihong Huang, Texas A&M, USA • Els Lefever, LT3, Ghent University, Belgium • Shuhua Liu, Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Finland • Elizabeth Losh, College of William and Mary, USA • Shervin Malmasi, Harvard Medical School, USA • Fumito Masui, Kitami Institute of Technology, Japan • Yashar Mehdad, Airbnb, USA • Rada Mihalcea, University of Michigan, USA • Mainack Mondal, Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, Germany • Manuel Montes-y-Gómez, INAOE, Mexico • Kevin Munger, NYU, USA • Preslav Nakov, Qatar Computing Research Institute, HBKU, Qatar • Courtney Napoles, Johns Hopkins University, USA • Chikashi Nobata, Apple, USA • Guy De Pauw, CLiPS - University of Antwerp, Belgium • Whitney Phillips, Mercer University, USA • Karolien Poels, University of Antwerp, Belgium • Martin Potthast, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Germany • Daniel Preotiuc-Pietro, University of Pennsylvania, USA • Michal Ptaszynski, Kitami Institute of Technology, Japan • Awais Rashid, Lancaster University, United Kingdom • Björn Ross, University Duisburg-Essen, Germany • Paolo Rosso, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain • Masoud Rouhizadeh, Stony Brook University & University of Pennsylvania, USA • Christina Sauper, Facebook, USA • Molly Sauter, McGill University, Canada • Nishant Shah, Leuphana, ArtEZ University of the Arts, CIS (Bangalore), India • Thamar Solorio, University of Houston, USA • Jeffrey Sorensen, Jigsaw, USA • Dennis Tenen, Columbia University, USA • Jennifer Terry, University of California, Irvine, USA • Achint Thomas, Embibe Indiavidual Inc, India • Nanna Bonde Thylstrup, University of Copenhagen, Denmark • Lyle Ungar, University of Pennsylvania, USA • Anna Vartapetiance, University of Surrey, United Kingdom • Kristin Veel, University of Copenhagen, Denmark • Erik Velldal, University of Oslo, Norway • Ingmar Weber, Qatar Computing Research Institute, Qatar • Jacque Wernimont, Arizona State University, USA • Michael Wojatzki, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany • Lilia Øvrelid, University of Oslo, Norway Related Events • CHI Workshop on Online Harassment<http://social.umd.edu/woh/>: a workshop focused on developing datasets for researching online harassment • Text Analytics for Cyber Security and Online Safety<http://ta-cos.org/>, LREC 2016 • Discourses of Aggression and Violence in Greek Digital Communication<http://icgl13.westminster.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2017/01/icgl13_…>, ICGL13 • Conceptualizing, Creating, & Controlling Constructive and Controversial Comments<http://comp.social.gatech.edu/comments-cscw2017/>: A CSCW Research-athon

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PornResear.ch seeks online curations
by digital＠humaniti.es 20 Jan '17

20 Jan '17

The online community space PornResear.ch is seeking online curations, critical and/or aesthetic, to be hosted on its website (http://pornresear.ch/) Submission details at http://pornresear.ch/curations song lei digital(a)humaniti.es

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DIGITAL EXISTENCE II: Precarious Media Life - Call for contributions
by Amanda Lagerkvist 20 Jan '17

20 Jan '17

Call for contributions “DIGITAL EXISTENCE II: Precarious Media Life” Conference October 30-November 1, 2017, at the Sigtuna Foundation, Sweden Digital media have the power to transform our existence, raising particular questions and vulnerabilities as part of the experience of being human in the digital age. Big data and hyperconnectivity, tracking and trolling, digital life and digital death are only some of the issues that require an existential media analysis that underscores the precarity of human existence. This conference will be devoted to critically mapping the various digital vulnerabilities that face us in our contemporary media age. Confirmed keynote speakers: Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, Brown University, USA Jeremy Stolow, Concordia University, Canada Beverley Skeggs, Goldsmiths College, UK Endnote speaker: Peter-Paul Verbeek, University of Twente, Holland Following on from the conference “Digital Existence: Memory, Meaning, Vulnerability” organised by DIGMEX and the Nordic Network for Media and Religion in October 2015 (et.ims.su.se), which successfully opened up the field of existential media studies, the second Digital Existence conference will specifically focus on the precarity and vulnerability of the digital human condition. Focusing on the keyword vulnerability raises a number of questions that invite fresh answers. For instance: does hyper-connectivity imply a heightened sense of connective presence – through social media, tagging, and sharing selfies – and/or is anxiety and loneliness saturating our mundane being-in-and-with-the-digital-world? How do big data, tracking and mass surveillance affect our sense of ‘existential security’? What is the role of technological affordances for producing cultures of affirmation and shared celebration – as well as cultures of trolling and hate? What existential challenges are involved when our selves are distributed? What kind of human being and types of sociality are normatively forged in digital culture? And what regimes of knowledge, truth and belief are prompted by digital means for measurement, recording and visualization? How are digital tools meaningful (or not) for those exposed to extreme conditions of precarity, such as displaced and refugee populations? How does the internet shape how we are born and celebrate, die and mourn? And if digital technologies mediate transcendence, what are the exposures and values of such forms of technospirituality? Such questions will need to be engaged within a reframing of the digital beyond the prevailing frameworks of social, cultural, political and economic analyses. They invoke existential issues that require an existential media analysis that foregrounds the precarity of human existence (Lagerkvist 2016). This conference will therefore unearth the diverse renditions of vulnerability that face us in digital existence. In Precarious Life, Judith Butler (2004) argues for conceiving of vulnerability as a precondition of being and becoming human – as an ontological given – bound by the fact that we are relational beings, exposed to one another. We are exposed, that is, by virtue of being finite, dependent and limited; and that exposure and vulnerability are what constitutes us as moral beings. The utterance of vulnerability, she holds, will enact its very acknowledgement, and such a performance will bring about something important: “Vulnerability takes on another meaning at the moment it is recognized and recognition wields the power to reconstitute vulnerability“ (2004: 43). This conference takes this acknowledgement as its point of departure: naming vulnerability as part of the preconditions for being human in the digital age, may similarly forge a fresh and timely perspective on our precarious media life. Our very being is one of limits and incompleteness. Human communication itself is limited (cf. Pinchevski 2005). The boundedness by limits also applies to the limitations (and vulnerabilities) of technologies themselves, due to breaches of and glitches within the systems. Digital existence is constituted both of and within limits. In Karl Jasper’s philosophy the limit-situation of crisis, loss or guilt (Jaspers 1932) in itself constitutes a space that also brings forth or enables new possibilities; these are today entangled with the digital. The conference will therefore also seek to highlight the enabling aspects of limitation and vulnerability. While concurring with a cautious universalist position, conceiving of vulnerability and suffering as transformative existential experiences that create a “tenuous ‘we’ of us all” (Butler, 2004: 20), the conference will simultaneously stress the diverging, unevenly distributed, locally specific, and often culturally-variable dimensions of our digital vulnerability. Thus, our inescapable existential uncertainty is amplified both by the technological culture and socio-political order (Bauman 2007). And aspects of digital media expose us differently in different national and cultural settings across the world, and with different racialized and gendered implications (Citron 2014, Chun & Friedland 2015). Hence, in conversation with existential philosophy, the interrogation of the ways in which our media societies and technologies position us as vulnerable, may furthermore harness broader debates on vulnerability, frailty and debility in feminism, crip theory, posthumanism, sociology, postcolonial theory etc. We are looking for contributions in the shape of position papers that highlight various thematic aspects of digital vulnerability, relating for instance to birth, death, presence, memory, trauma, selfhood, agency, sociality, ethics, religiosity, exile, trolling, hate, surveillance, virality, automation, mental illness, debility or the precariousness of technologies themselves. Conference format The conference will adopt an exploratory workshop format with the aim of creating new trajectories of thought. This is by deliberately veering away from conventional paper presentations followed by a discussion toward a more open-ended but at the same time intellectually intensive framework. The success of the conference will therefore depend on participants’ commitment, which will involve a fair amount of in advance preparation. First, each participant is required to submit beforehand a concise position or ‘provocation’ paper consisting of 1000 words, or 2 pages. These position papers will be used as a starting point for opening the discussion, and need not include polished statements or comprehensive conclusions/arguments but should present ideas or cases in relation to the overarching theme. All participants will be expected to read all positions papers, which will be made available electronically well before the conference. Participants are also expected to come well prepared with comments and feedback. A chair will be assigned for each session, and those selected for the job will be contacted with specific instructions. Each session will begin by a short recap of relevant position papers, followed by invited responses by 2-3 discussants, continuing with an open discussion. The overall idea is to build on previous reading and preparation by participants in order to advance in our thinking on the conference themes as far as possible. During Day II of the conference there will be a walk-and-talk session where participants will be encouraged to step outside and walk in groups through the magnificent Sigtuna area while continuing the conversation. These walking-and-talking discussion groups will then reconvene to a full plenum discussion. Later that day there will be a screening or performance in relation to the theme of digital vulnerability. On the final day there will be a writing session. The conference will end with a final plenary with keynote speakers and respondents, and an assigned discussant who will be asked to also round up the conference in a brief endnote. This will be followed by an open discussion with a focus on how to move further within DIGMEX in terms of conferences, workshops, publications and research collaborations. Important dates Deadline for abstracts of 200 words, bio and contact details: March 15, 2017 (Send them to katerina.linden(a)ims.su.se) Notification of acceptance: April 15, 2017 Deadline for confirmation of attendance: April 30, 2017 Deadline for submitting position papers: August 20, 2017 Practical information The Sigtuna Foundation is a beautiful venue, located in medieval Sigtuna. only 15 minutes from Stockholm’s main airport (Arlanda). http://www.sigtunastiftelsen.se/?lang=en No fee will be charged for this event, and lodging and food for attendees presenting a position paper will be covered by the conference budget. There is an option to participate without presenting and this would imply covering the expenses by other means. Presenters will cover their own trips to Sigtuna! A limited number of master students may receive a scholarship covering their travels. The organising committee consists of Amanda Lagerkvist (Head of programme), Katerina Linden (Conference co-ordinator), Michael Westerlund, Timothy Hutchings, Amit Pinchevski, Charles Ess, Mia Lövheim, Anna Reading and Tony Walter. Funding The conference is organised by DIGMEX, a network within the research programme EXISTENTIAL TERRAINS: Memory and Meaning in Cultures of Connectivity (2014-2018) and funded by Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation and Stockholm University, in collaboration with Sigtunastiftelsen. The programme is headed by Amanda Lagerkvist, PhD. Associate Professor, Wallenberg Academy Fellow in The Department of Media Studies at Stockholm University. Questions about the research programme may be directed to Amanda Lagerkvist: amanda.lagerkvist(a)ims.su.se<mailto:amanda.lagerkvist@ims.su.se>

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Frankfurt School Critical Theory - Donald Trump, authoritarian capitalism/populism & Twitter
by Christian Fuchs 20 Jan '17

20 Jan '17

Read how Donald Trump is prototypical for a new form of authoritarian capitalism. What is authoritarian capitalism? How does Trump practice authoritarian capitalism? These questions are discussed in C. Fuchs' new study "Donald Trump: A Critical Theory-Perspective on Authoritarian Capitalism" that uses critical theory for the analysis of Trump: http://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/835 What does Trump's Twitter use tell us about how politics works in authoritarian capitalism? The following piece analyses how Twitter's me-centredness is the ideal tool for Trump's narcissistic and authoritarian politics: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/christian-fuchs1/how-the-frankfurt-school-_… Critical theory is urgently needed today... The journal tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique will throughout 2017 operate the special section "Critical Theory Interventions on Authoritarianism and Right-Wing Extremist Ideology in Contemporary Capitalism" and invites submission of interventionist contributions to this section - Submission details: http://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions Please make sure to use the template and to apply the guidelines http://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/abou/submissions#authorGuidelines

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