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New book announcement: Barcode (Object Lessons series)
by Jordan Frith 07 Nov '23

07 Nov '23

Hi all, I am delighted to announce the publication of my new book *Barcode*, which was just published as part of the *Object Lessons *series. I know barcodes seem like a weird thing to write a book about, but I promise they're way more interesting than they seem, and the book explores how barcodes became a proto-Internet of Things that intertwined the digital of the physical and have been one of the most successful technologies of all time. I also discuss how the humble barcode somehow played a significant role in everything from dystopian science fiction to biblical prophecies to a US Presidential election. And ha...I have a section on barcode tattoos and wrote that I would get a tattoo when the book was published, and...I now have the book's barcode permanently on my arm :). Anyways, the book is currently on sale for $10 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Barcode-Object-Lessons-Jordan-Frith/dp/1501399918/re… And you can listen to a podcast interview about the book that was just published by the New Books Network: https://newbooksnetwork.com/barcode Thank you! -- Jordan Frith, Ph.D. Pearce Professor of Professional Communication Clemson University Pronouns: He/Him My new *Object Lessons *book: *Barcode <https://www.amazon.com/Barcode-Object-Lessons-Jordan-Frith/dp/1501399918/re…> *

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job alert: TT position in Intermedia
by Mia Consalvo 07 Nov '23

07 Nov '23

hi all, Please share as you see fit: https://www.concordia.ca/artsci/about/jobs/tenure-track-appointments/2023/t… Assistant Professor, Intermedia Production Last updated: October 19, 2023, 4:06 p.m. Job title: Assistant Professor, Intermedia Production Position code: 21_T_COMS_O Date posted: October 19, 2023 Application deadline: November 30, 2023 Advertised until: Position is filled Position description The Department of Communication Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Science at Concordia University invites applications for a tenure-track position in Intermedia Production at the rank of Assistant Professor. We are seeking candidates with expertise in one or more of the following areas: expanded cinema, critical audio narratives, non-linear/interactive forms, and/or related practices. As a humanities-oriented department with a founding tradition of concern for social justice, we value diversity among our faculty and strongly encourage candidates whose creative work and academic research engages with issues of racial and gender inequality, LGBTQ rights, Indigenous rights, economic inequality, critical disabilities, and other related areas. The successful candidate will be expected to teach technical approaches along with critical histories and theories that explore different political, ethical, and institutional frameworks of media production. Additional university-level teaching experience in moving images and sound is an asset. The successful candidate should also have an active practice in creating and exhibiting intermedia-based work at a professional level. Duties will include developing and leading research-creation projects, teaching production and theory courses at the graduate and undergraduate level, managing two computer teaching labs with the assistance of technical staff and service to the department, the institution, and the wider scholarly community. Qualifications and assets Candidates must have completed their PhD in Media or a cognate Humanities or Fine Arts area by the start date of the appointment. Qualified candidates must be media makers/scholars who have the expertise to teach media production in an academic context, have professional experience or up to date skills with new production technologies, and have experience with innovative forms of media-making. The main criteria for selection are scholarly and teaching excellence. The successful candidate will provide evidence of high-quality scholarly output that demonstrates potential for independent research leading to peer assessed publications and the securing of external research funding, as well as strong potential for outstanding teaching contributions at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Candidates are encouraged to share any career interruptions or personal circumstances that may have had an impact on their career goals in their letter of application. These will be carefully considered in the assessment process. The Department values diversity among its faculty and strongly encourages applications from women and members of underrepresented groups. Concordia University is an English-language institution of higher learning at which the primary language of instruction and research is English. Since this position supports academic functions of the university, proficiency in English is required. Working knowledge of French is an asset. How to apply All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and Permanent Residents will be given priority. To comply with the Government of Canada’s reporting requirements, the University is obliged to gather information about applicants’ status as either Permanent Residents of Canada or Canadian citizens. While applicants need not identify their country of origin or current citizenship, all applicants must include one of the following statements: Yes, I am a citizen or permanent resident of Canada or No, I am not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada Application packages should be addressed to Professor Elizabeth (Liz) Miller, Chair of the Department of Communication Studies, and must include the following items in the given order as a single .pdf document: a cover letter which identifies the job title and position code (21_T_COMS_O), outlines the candidate’s media profile (2 or 3 most important creative research contributions to date), describes relevant teaching experience, and includes the citizenship statement; a curriculum vitae which should also include software and technical competencies; evidence of teaching expertise that may include any of the following materials: sample assignments, teaching evaluations (if applicable), and/or syllabi of courses taught; a teaching statement that includes your approach, philosophy, and how this connects to past and future teaching experiences; a research statement that details future creative research plans; an Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) statement (see below); and the names of three referees (reference letters will only be solicited for short-listed candidates). Applications should be submitted electronically to Donna Stewart, Department Administrator, at donna.stewart(a)concordia.ca, with the subject heading *Tenure-Track Application in Media Production*, by November 30, 2023, but will continue to be reviewed until the position is filled. Only short-listed candidates will be notified. The appointment is expected to commence in August 2024. Concordia University is strongly committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community, and recognizes the importance of inclusion in achieving excellence in teaching and research. As part of this commitment to providing our students with the dynamic, innovative, and inclusive educational environment of a Next‐Generation University, we require all applicants to articulate in their EDI statement how their background, as well as lived and professional experiences and expertise have prepared them to teach in ways that are relevant for a diverse, multicultural contemporary Canadian society. Possible examples to demonstrate a diverse experience may include, but are not limited to: • teaching about underrepresented populations • mentoring students from underrepresented backgrounds • committee work • offering or organizing educational programming • participation in training and workshops All applicants will receive an email invitation to complete a short equity survey. Participation in the survey is voluntary and no identifying information about candidates will be shared with hiring committees. Candidates who wish to self-identify as a member of an underrepresented group to the hiring committee may do so in their cover letter or by writing directly to the contact person indicated in this posting. Adaptive measures Applicants who anticipate requiring adaptive measures throughout any stage of the recruitment process may contact, in confidence, Anna Barrafato, Accessibility Change Lead: anna.barrafato(a)concordia.ca or by phone at 514-848-2424 extension 3511. ------------------------------ Information about the Department Information about the Faculty of Arts and Science ------------------------------ ------------------------------ Information about Concordia ------------------------------ Information about Montreal ------------------------------ ------------------------------ Territorial Acknowledgement *Concordia University is located on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather today. Tiohtià:ke/Montreal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the Montreal community.* Employment Equity *Concordia University is strongly committed to employment equity within its community, and to recruiting a diverse faculty and staff. The University encourages applications from all qualified candidates, including women, members of visible minorities, Indigenous persons, members of sexual minorities, persons with disabilities, and others who may contribute to diversification; candidates are invited to self-identify in their applications.* Immigration Status *All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian and Permanent Residents will be given priority. To comply with the Government of Canada’s reporting requirements, the University is obliged to gather information about applicants’ status as either Permanent Residents of Canada or Canadian citizens. While applicants need not identify their country of origin or current citizenship, all applications must include one of the following statements: * *Yes, I am a citizen or permanent resident of Canada orNo, I am not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada.* ------------------------------ -- Mia Consalvo, Ph.D. (she/her) Professor and Canada Research Chair in Game Studies & Design Department of Communication Studies Concordia University 7141 Sherbrooke Street West CJ Bldg, 4.407 Montreal, Quebec Canada -- Mia Consalvo, Ph.D. (she/her) Professor and Canada Research Chair in Game Studies & Design Department of Communication Studies Concordia University 7141 Sherbrooke Street West CJ Bldg, 4.407 Montreal, Quebec Canada

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ACM UMAP 2024 - Preliminary Call for Full and Short Papers
by Wanling Cai 07 Nov '23

07 Nov '23

* We apologize if you receive multiple copies of this CfP * * For the online version of this Call, visit: https://www.um.org/umap2024/call-for-full-and-short-papers/ =============== ACM UMAP 2024: The 32nd ACM Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy July 1-4, 2024 ACM UMAP is the premier international conference for researchers and practitioners working on systems that adapt to individual users or groups of users, and that collect, represent, and model user information. ACM UMAP is sponsored by ACM SIGCHI<https://sigchi.org/> and SIGWEB<https://www.sigweb.org/>. User Modeling Inc.<https://um.org/>, as the core Steering Committee, oversees the conference organization. The proceedings, published by ACM, will be part of the ACM Digital Library<https://dl.acm.org/>. The theme of UMAP 2024 is “Collaboration and Cooperation for the Greater Good“. Specifically, we welcome submissions that highlight the impact that working together and synergy (such as between academia, industry, influential policy making bodies, committees and communities) can have on solving the world’s biggest problems; the focus is on investigations that capture how user modeling, personalization, and adaptation of (intelligent) systems may influence user behavior, trustful processes and whether new models are required, for building sustainable and inclusive services and solutions that can address critical challenges of our world. While we encourage submissions related to this theme, the scope of the conference is not limited to the theme only. As always, contributions from academia, industry, and other organizations discussing open challenges or novel research approaches are expected to be supported by rigorous evidence appropriate to claims (e.g., user study, system evaluation, computational analysis). Important Dates - Paper Abstract Submission: January 22, 2024 (mandatory) - Paper Submission: January 29, 2024 - Notification: March 28, 2024 - Camera-ready Submission: May 9, 2024 - Conference: July 1 – 4, 2024 The submissions deadlines are at 11:59 pm AoE time (Anywhere on Earth). Conference Topics We welcome submissions related to user modeling, personalization, and adaptation of (intelligent) systems targeting a broad range of users and domains. Detailed descriptions and the suggested topics for each track will be available shortly in the extended version of the CFP on this page. ** Personalized Recommender Systems ** This track invites works from researchers and practitioners on recommender systems. In addition to mature research works addressing technical aspects of recommendations, we welcome research contributions that address questions related to user perception, decision-making, and the business value of recommender systems. ** Knowledge Graphs, Semantics, Social and Adaptive Web ** This track welcomes works focused on the use of knowledge representations (i.e., novel knowledge bases), graph algorithms (i.e., graph embedding techniques), and social network analysis at the service of addressing all aspects of personalization, user model building, and personal experience in online social systems. Moreover, this track invites works in adaptive hypermedia, as well as semantic and social web. ** Intelligent User Interfaces ** This track invites works exploring how to make the interaction between computers and people smarter and more productive, leveraging solutions from human-computer interaction, data mining, natural language processing, information visualization, and knowledge representation and reasoning. ** Personalizing Learning Experiences through User Modeling ** This track invites researchers, developers, and practitioners from various disciplines to submit their innovative learning solutions, share acquired experiences, and discuss their modeling challenges for personalized adaptive learning. ** Fairness, Transparency, Accountability, and Privacy ** Researchers, developers, and practitioners have a social responsibility to account for the impact that technologies have on individuals (users, providers, and other stakeholders) and society. This track invites works related to the science of building, maintaining, evaluating, and studying adaptive systems that are fair, transparent, respectful of users’ privacy, beneficial to society, and accountable for their impacts. ** Personalization for Persuasive and Behavior Change Systems ** This track invites submissions focused on personalization and tailoring for persuasive technologies, including but not limited to personalization models, user models, computational personalization, design, and evaluation methods. It also welcomes work that brings attention to the user experience and designing personalized and adaptive behavior change technologies. ** Virtual Assistants, Conversational Interactions, and Personalized Human-Robot Interaction ** This track invites works investigating new models and techniques for adapting synthetic companions (e.g., virtual assistants, chatbots, social robots) to individual users. With the conversational modality so in vogue across disciplines, this track welcomes work highlighting the model and deployment of synthetic companions driven by conversational search and recommendation paradigms. ** Research Methods and Reproducibility** This track invites submissions on methodologies to evaluate personalized systems, benchmarks, and measurement scales, with particular attention to the reproducibility of results and techniques. Furthermore, the track looks for submissions that report new insights from reproducing existing works. ** Submission and Review Process** For UMAP 2024 we encourage two kinds of submissions (reviewers will comment on whether the size is appropriate for each contribution), in the ACM new single-column format<https://www.acm.org/publications/proceedings-template>: * Long papers should report on substantial contributions of lasting value. The maximum length is 14 pages (excluding references, which do not count towards the limit). Each accepted long paper will be included in the conference proceedings and presented in a plenary session as part of the main conference program. * Short papers typically discuss exciting new work that is not yet mature enough for a long paper. In particular, novel but significant proposals will be considered for acceptance to this category despite not having gone through sufficient experimental validation or lacking strong theoretical foundation. The maximum length is 7 pages (excluding references, which do not count towards the limit). Each accepted short paper will be included in the conference proceedings and presented either as an oral presentation or at the poster session. UMAP uses a double-blind review process. Authors must omit their names and affiliations from their submissions; they should also avoid obvious identifying statements. For instance, citations to the authors’ prior work should be in the third person. Submissions not abiding by anonymity requirements will be desk rejected. In addition, UMAP 2024 will introduce a new “Raise Your Voice” stage during evaluation, offering a small window to authors to optionally discuss the initial decision of their submission, enhancing the transparency and quality of the reviewing process. Additional review criteria and submission link will be available shortly on the conference website: https://www.um.org/umap2024. UMAP has a no dual submission policy, which is why full and short paper submissions should not be currently under review at another publication venue. Further, UMAP operates under the ACM Conference Code of Conduc<https://www.acm.org/about-acm/policy-against-harassment>t. Program Chairs * Panagiotis Germanakos, SAP SE, Germany * Elvira Popescu, University of Craiova, Romania Contact information: umap2024-program(a)um.org<mailto:umap2024-program@um.org>

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WEBCAST NOV 7 – ‘Connecting Maine – An “All In” Approach for Funding Sources, Community Engagement and Sustainability’
by Joly MacFie 07 Nov '23

07 Nov '23

Just started. REAL TIME TEXT https://bit.ly/40pUmLx [image: ISOC LIVE] <https://isoc.live/>On *Tuesday November 7, 2023* at *12:00-13:00 EST* (17:00-18:00 UTC) the *Marconi Society <https://marconisociety.org/> *will host a webinar '*Connecting Maine - An “All In” Approach for Funding Sources, Community Engagement and Sustainability <https://marconisociety.org/events/connecting-maine/>*'. Maine faces a perfect storm of challenges in achieving digital equity. Maine’s remote and rugged terrain makes the state one of the most complex and expensive to reach with digital infrastructure. As the state with the oldest population, many in Maine are not digital natives. Maine’s median household and per capita income lag far behind most other states. A majority of Mainers live in small, rural communities with limited resources. These forces combine to shape the challenging contours of the digital divide in Maine. With the passage of the *IIJA <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrastructure_Investment_and_Jobs_Act>*, the State created the *Maine Connectivity Authority <https://www.maineconnectivity.org/>* as a quasi-governmental entity to drive a proactive and nimble approach to achieve universal connectivity. The Maine Connectivity Authority will share our unique approach, focused on Projects, Places, and People and now layering in the values of urgency, universality, and digital equity. This webinar is part of a series of Marconi Society State case study virtual workshops. *PANEL* *Nick Battista*, Chief Policy Officer, Island Institute *Maggie Drummond-Bahl*, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Maine Connectivity Authority *Kerem Durdag*, President and Chief Operating Officer, Great Works Internet *Jeff Letourneau*, Executive Director, Networkmaine *Marijke Visser*, Director, Library Development, Maine State Library *MODERATOR* *Tanya Emery*, Maine Connectivity Authority *LIVESTREAM https://livestream.com/internetsociety/connecting-maine <https://livestream.com/internetsociety/connecting-maine>* *PARTICIPATE VIA ZOOM https://marconisociety.org/events/connecting-maine/ <https://marconisociety.org/events/connecting-maine/>* *REAL TIME TEXT* (see *ISOC.LIVE <https://isoc.live/17018>*) *TWITTER #ConnectingMaine <https://bit.ly/3FKzCEw> @MarconiSociety @TweetTheQuilt @Networkmaine @islandinstitute @gwimaine @MaineStLibrary @MEConnectivity #Maine #DigitalEquity* *MASTODON #DigitalEquity <https://mastodon.social/tags/DigitalEquity>* *SIMULCASTS* *https://twitter.com/ISOC_Live <https://twitter.com/ISOC_Live>* *https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive <https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive>* *https://www.facebook.com/liveisoc/ <https://www.facebook.com/liveisoc/>* (AI Captions) *ARCHIVEhttps://archive.org/details/connecting-maine <https://archive.org/details/connecting-maine>* Permalink https://isoc.live/17018 -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- - -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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CfA: post doc position on Digital Sovereignty in Padova
by Mauro SANTANIELLO 07 Nov '23

07 Nov '23

Dear colleagues, The Department of Political Science, Law and International Studies of the University of Padova is hiring 1 research assistant (assegno di ricerca, 12 months) in the context of the PRIN 2022 project "Digital Sovereignty in Comparative Perspective: State Authority, Corporate Power and Fundamental Rights in Cyberspace". The selected candidate will collaborate with our research focused on how digital sovereignty is conceptualized and institutionalized in different political and economic contexts with a global outlook, by analyzing related discursive practices and policy initiatives from a comparative perspective. This grant is activated to respond to the goals of WP 1: Theoretical Framework and Research Design. The grantee is expected to carry out an in-depth review of the current literature on digital sovereignty discourses, strategies and initiatives, within the wider processes of on-going hegemonic transition and related geopolitical tensions. Requirement: PhD in International Relations (critical geopolitics, global governance, digital politics) and at least one year post-doc professional-scientific experience. Proficient level of English is required. For more detailed information and to apply, visit: https://www.spgi.unipd.it/bando-di-selezione-n-spgi23a13-13-padovani-il-con… Deadline: 20/11/2023 - 13:00pm (Rome time, CET). Contact person: Prof. Claudia Padovani (claudia.padovani(a)unipd.it) Mauro Santaniello (PhD) *Senior Researcher (tenure track) qualified Associate ProfessorProfessor of Internet Governance, Digital Policy, Local Public PolicyDirector, Internet & Communication Policy Centre (ICPC)* *Scientific Coordinator, Salerno Winter School on Internet Governance (SWING)* *Associate Research Fellow, The United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS)**Principal Investigator, PRIN 2022 **Digital Sovereignty in Comparative Perspective: State Authority, Corporate Power and Fundamental Rights in Cyberspace* *Department of Business, Management and Information Systems (DISA-MIS)* *Università degli Studi di Salerno * *Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132 84084 Fisciano (SA) - Italy * *W. http://docenti.unisa.it/mauro.santaniello <http://docenti.unisa.it/mauro.santaniello>*

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36th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering (CAiSE 2024): First Call for Tutorial Proposals
by Announce 07 Nov '23

07 Nov '23

*** First Call for Tutorial Proposals *** 36th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering (CAiSE'24) June 3-7, 2024, 5* St. Raphael Resort and Marina, Limassol, Cyprus https://cyprusconferences.org/caise2024/ (*** Submission Deadline: February 28, 2024 AoE ***) CAiSE'24 invites proposals for tutorials on advanced topics in the field of Information Systems Engineering. Tutorials should aim at offering new insights, knowledge, and skills to professionals, educators, researchers, and students seeking to gain a better understanding either about methods of broad interest in the field, or emergent paradigms that are ripe for practical adoption or that require further research to reach maturity. Proposals emphasizing the special theme of the CAISE'24 conference “Information Systems in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” are encouraged, but proposals on other new or long-standing topics in information systems engineering are also welcome. Tutorials should be focused on principles, concepts, and methods. Commercial or sales-oriented presentations are not allowed and will not be accepted. Tutorials are intended to provide a pedagogic introduction to or overview of a topic of relevance. Potential presenters should keep in mind that there may be a heterogeneous audience, including novice graduate students, experienced practitioners, and specialized researchers. Tutorial speakers should be prepared to cope with this diversity in the audience. Tutorials will be 90 minutes long and organized in parallel with the technical sessions of the main conference and participants of the conference will have free access to all of them. Potential proposers are free to contact the tutorial chairs via e-mail to validate their idea prior to the submission. SELECTION CRITERIA The tutorial chairs will review each proposal and select a subset of them based on the following criteria: 1. relevance to the field of IS engineering; 2. anticipated appeal to the conference audience; 3. timeliness and importance for the conference audience; 4. past experience and qualifications of the instructor(s). The tutorial chairs will also consider the complementarity of the proposal w.r.t. the conference program and other tutorial proposals. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Tutorial proposals should be submitted to Easy Chair using the conference submission site (https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=caise2024) and then selecting the “CAiSE 2024 Tutorials” track. The proposal (length up to 1500 words) should cover the following points: • Title • Presenters and affiliation • Goal: The overall goal of the tutorial. • Scope: Intended audience, level (basic or advanced), and prerequisites. • Topic relevance and novelty: Specifically indicate the relevance to the scope of CAiSE, the relevance to practice, the novel aspects that would make this tutorial beneficiary and appealing to CAiSE participants. • Structure of contents: Here you should provide a structured overview of your planned tutorial, organized into numbered sections and subsections. For each subsection, you should sketch its contents in a few sentences or bullet points. • References: Provide references to papers, books, etc. that your tutorial builds on. Please specify previous venues at which similar tutorials have been presented by you and indicate the difference between the proposed tutorial and previous ones. CAiSE usually does not accept tutorials that have been presented in other venues. • Sample Slides: Include at least 5 sample slides of the presentation you plan to give if your tutorial is accepted. Select slides that are typical of your presentation style. These slides have to be submitted in a separate PDF file. Services provided to tutorialists • A 2-page tutorial abstract will be published in the CAiSE LNCS proceedings • Tutorials will benefit from the local organizational infrastructure (registration, badges, refreshments, beamers, screens, etc.). • Advertisement of the tutorial on CAISE 2024 homepage and mailings. • The conference fee will be waived for tutorial presenters (one fee per tutorial). IMPORTANT DATES • Submission of Tutorial Proposals: 28th February 2024 (AoE) • Notification of Acceptance: 15th March 2024 • Camera-ready Abstracts: 5th April 2024 TUTORIAL CHAIRS • Adela del Rio Ortega, University of Seville, Spain (adeladelrio(a)us.es) • Tiago Prince Sales, University of Twente, The Netherlands (t.princesales(a)utwente.nl) Other Committee Members https://cyprusconferences.org/caise2024/committees/

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Happy birthday, AoIR!
by Jones, Steve 06 Nov '23

06 Nov '23

25 years ago, on November 6, 1998, toward the end of a conference at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, USA, the idea for AoIR was born. That conference, the WorldWideWeb and Contemporary Theory, organized by Andrew Herman and Thom Swiss, brought together a number of people who have continued to be part of the AoIR community, including Andrew of course, Greg Elmer, Stefan Wray and Terri Senft. Less than a year later, in 1999, AoIR was (in)formally launched in San Francisco at the International Communication Association meeting. And, a year after that, Nancy Baym hosted the first AoIR conference, IR 1.0, at the University of Kansas, and AoIR as we know it came to life. As we reach these milestones I am continually amazed and endlessly grateful to all who have put in the effort to shape and maintain AoIR as an open and special scholarly community. All who have served over the years on the executive committee deserve special acknowledgment, but everyone who has participated in some way, whether via air-l, attending conferences, hosting conferences, however you have chosen to be involved, to you I want to say: Thank you. When AoIR was first discussed in 1998 one of the goals was for it to be unlike the existing disciplinary associations to which most of us belong, to be an inclusive, welcoming and supportive community. I shall hope we can keep it that way for the next 25 years; we have plenty of long-running traditional disciplinary conferences, let’s make AoIR better. I thank you all for being part of the AoIR community during the past 25 years. I’m looking forward to the next 25. Happy birthday, AoIR! Steve Jones

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CALL FOR PAPERS for a topical issue of “Open Cultural Studies” CRITICAL PLANT THEORIES AND CULTURES: EXPLORING HUMAN AND MORE-THAN-HUMAN WORLD ENTANGLEMENTS
by Nikoleta Zampaki 06 Nov '23

06 Nov '23

Dear colleagues, hello, I hope that you are well and sorry for cross-posting. Please see a call for papers below: CALL FOR PAPERS for a topical issue of “Open Cultural Studies” CRITICAL PLANT THEORIES AND CULTURES: EXPLORING HUMAN AND MORE-THAN-HUMAN WORLD ENTANGLEMENTS Open Cultural Studies (www.degruyter.com/CULTURE) invites submissions for a topical issue “Critical Plant Theories and Cultures: Exploring Human and More-than-human World Entanglements”, edited by Dr. Peggy Karpouzou and Dr. Nikoleta Zampaki (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece). Plant Humanities is a very recent branch of critical inquiry in literary and cultural studies, which, although discussed since the 1970s, entered public discourse only in 2013 with Michael Pollan’s article “The Intelligent Plant” in The New Yorker. Plants are involved in various cultural aspects of our life and are studied in a wide range of research fields, e.g. literature, philosophy, biology, medicine, politics, etc. The jargon used for the study of plants in the Humanities is flourishing rapidly, for instance, “plant criticism,” which describes the plants’ representations through metaphors, symbols, etc., in literary texts or “botanical imaginary,” which addresses the author’s relationship with the plant world, marking at the same time the impact of the plants on textual writing and creativity. Accordingly, a text or artwork is both medium and space for exploring new kinds of relationships between the human and non-human life-forms. A pivotal point in this discussion is to learn how new types of practices can emerge in the symbiosis of life-forms (Karpouzou and Zampaki, Symbiotic Posthumanist Ecologies in Western Literature, Philosophy and Art. Towards Theory and Practice, 2023). A post-anthropocentric approach on studying the plants marks the so-called “vegetal turn” under which it is argued that plants are agents of senses, intelligence, and consciousness, communicate with each other by being multi-voiced agents, remember, make choices and move. They possess agency and psychology that has been studied in various literary and cultural texts highlighting that plants also raise ethical concerns, such as the cultural repercussions of genetically modified organisms and moral implications of “plant sentience.” Considering “plant sentience” and eventually granting rights to the more-than-human world can be seen as a manifestation of a post-anthropocentric way to promote solidarity and “[…] negotiation of appropriate human-plant relationships.” (Hall, “Plant Autonomy and Human-Plant Ethics,” 2009: 180). This approach to the study of plants is also articulated in terms of a ‘return’ to the indigenous and religious practices of the past but also encourages present and future thinking about digital plant ecologies, bio-informatics or smart bio-cities that incorporate plants in dwelling, architecture, etc. Moreover, fields like digital plant ecologies provide a common starting point for interdisciplinary and multi-/inter-/trans-cultural collaboration in cultural heritage, area/regional and education studies. Finally, exploring plants in terms of ‘‘who’’ are and not ‘‘what’’ involves a bio-centric ethics of care and the activity of imagining and creating new worlds and more sustainable futures. In this special issue, we will discuss critically the necessity to rethink plant life, its presence, role, and impact on various aspects of our human and non-human world by initiating an interdisciplinary dialogue, whereby different terrains of Humanities would learn from each other to think about, imagine and describe vegetal life with critical awareness. Potential topics could be but not limited to: ● Critical plant theories and cultures ● Plants in Environmental Humanities and Posthumanities ● Plants in gender studies ● Plants in popular culture and folk studies ● Plants in narratology and storytelling ● Plants in global literature (poetry and prose) ● Plants in world philosophy and ethics ● Plants in bioethics and genetic engineering ● Plants in biopolitics and Medical Humanities ● Plants in Energy Humanities and petrocultures ● Plants and environmental justice ● Digital plant ecologies / plants in Digital Humanities, code studies, programming languages, Bio-informatics ● Plants in visual studies and film studies ● Plants in music studies and dance studies ● Plants in media and communication studies ● Plants in aesthetics and art(s), e.g. bio-/eco-art, AI art, cyborg art, etc. ● Plants, biomimicry, architecture and design studies ● Plants in spatial, regional and area studies ● Plants in urban studies, smart cities and citizenship ● Plants in religious studies ● Plants in postcolonial and indigenous studies ● Plants in memory studies ● Plants in linguistic studies ● Plants in food studies ● Plants in cultural heritage and cultural policy ● Plants in education studies ● The future of Plant Humanities HOW TO SUBMIT Submissions will be collected by April 30, 2024 via the on-line submission system at https://www.editorialmanager.com/culture/ As the article type, choose: "Critical Plant Theories and Cultures". Before submission authors should carefully read the Instructions for Authors, available at https://www.degruyter.com/.../CULTURE_Instruction%20for... All contributions will undergo critical peer-review before being accepted for publication. As a general rule, publication costs should be covered by Article Publishing Charges (APC); that is, be defrayed by the authors, their affiliated institutions, funders or sponsors. Authors without access to publishing funds are encouraged to discuss potential discounts or waivers with the Managing Editor of the journal Katarzyna Tempczyk (katarzyna.tempczyk(a)degruyter.com) before submitting their manuscript. Further questions about this thematic issue can be sent to Dr. Peggy Karpouzou (pkarpouzou(a)phil.uoa.gr) and Dr. Nikoleta Zampaki (nikzamp(a)phil.uoa.gr) In case of technical problems with submission, please write to AssistantManagingEditor(a)degruyter.com Best regards, on behalf of the Editors Nikoleta -- Dr. Nikoleta Zampaki Post-doc Researcher Faculty of Philology National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece E-mail: nikzamp(a)phil.uoa.gr Academia.edu: https://en-uoa-gr.academia.edu/NikoletaZampaki Associate and Managing Editor at the Journal of Ecohumanism: https://ecohumanism.co.uk/joe/ecohumanism/index Series co-Editor of "Posthumanities and Citizenship Futures" at Rowman & Littlefield: https://rowman.com/Action/Series/_/LEXPCF Series co-Editor of “Environmental Humanities Book Series” at TPLondon: https://www.tplondon.com/ecohumanism/ Assistant and Managing Editor of “Brill Research Perspectives in Critical Theory” https://brill.com/display/serial/RPCTS?contents=about

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2 days reminder: "Latin American Cultures on TikTok" online satellite roundtable event (Nov 8)
by Tom Divon 06 Nov '23

06 Nov '23

Dear community friends! *This is a quick reminder*: In 2 days (November 8), our "Latin American Cultures on TikTok" online satellite roundtable event - is finally happening; Registration is required here <https://uzh.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jYncUMrhQ2WFjdQi90PhbQ>. TikTok Cultures Research Network (TCRN) is excited to announce our second online satellite roundtable event, "Latin American Cultures on TikTok" or "Culturas Latinoamericanas en TikTok," featuring bilingual availability in Spanish and English through live translation. While extensive research has explored the experiences of creators and related industries on this popular platform from the perspective of Western countries and dominant regions, the field of TikTok research in other parts of the world is emerging, promising novel perspectives for comprehending the platform. Therefore, this event is centered around TikTok and Latin America and brings together the perspectives of academics, creators, and industry professionals in and from the region, exploring the experience of the Latin American diaspora, indigenous communities, and mainstream creators. Join us for this discussion as we unpack the complexities of platforms, cultures, and content creation! Time: 🇨🇱🇦🇷1200 – 1430 CLST – Santiago/Buenos Aires 🇬🇶🇵🇪1000 – 1230 ECT – Quito/Lima 🇲🇽0900 – 1130 CST – Mexico City 🇺🇸0700 – 0939 PST – Los Angeles 🇪🇸🇨🇭1600 – 1830 CET – Madrid/Zurich 🇮🇱1700 – 1930 IST – Tel Aviv 🇬🇧1500 – 1730 GMT – London 🇦🇺2200 – 0030 AWST – Perth This 2.5-hour event will feature two roundtables: Roundtable 1 will focus on Latin American indigenous cultures and environmental activism on TikTok. Speaker bios here <https://tiktokcultures.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/tcrn_latin_american_roun…> . Roundtable 2 will focus on the (in)visibility of Latin American diasporas and cultures on TikTok. Speaker bios here <https://tiktokcultures.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/tcrn_latin_american_roun…> . This event is organised by Daniela Jaramillo-Dent <https://www.danielajaramillodent.com/>, Tom Divon <https://tomdivon.com/>, and Natalia Orrego <https://nataliaorregotapia.wordpress.com/> and hosted in collaboration with the Media Change and Innovation Division at the University of Zurich, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. The full programme is available here <https://tiktokcultures.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/tcrn_latin_american_prog…> . The poster is available here <https://tiktokcultures.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/tcrn_latin_american_post…> . For inquiries, please contact: tiktok.latinamerica.event(a)gmail.com -- *Tom Divon* Media & Culture R*esearcher* Dept. of Communication & Journalism, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Sammy Ofer School of Communications, IDC, Herzliya Tel: +972-547-532681 [image: Twitter] <https://twitter.com/TomDivon>[image: Instagram] <https://www.instagram.com/divon.tom/>[image: Facebook] <https://www.facebook.com/tom.divon> *Publications*: Playful Activism: Memetic Performances of Palestinian Resistance in TikTok #Challenges <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20563051231157607>. Playful Publics on TikTok: The Memetic Israeli-Palestinian War of #CHALLENGE <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366530633_Playful_Publics_on_TikTo…> . #JewishTikTok: The JewToks' Fight against Antisemitism <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359548581_JewishTikTok>. Serious TikTok: Can You Learn About the Holocaust in 60 seconds? <https://reframe.sussex.ac.uk/digitalholocaustmemory/2022/03/24/can-you-lear…> PERFORMING DEATH AND TRAUMA? PARTICIPATORY MEM(E)ORY AND THE HOLOCAUST IN TIKTOK# POVCHALLENGES <https://spir.aoir.org/ojs/index.php/spir/article/view/12995> visit my web! https://tomdivon.com/

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PhD opportunities at the iSchool (University of Texas at Austin)
by Edgar Gómez Cruz 06 Nov '23

06 Nov '23

The University of Texas at Austin's School of Information (iSchool) is seeking talented and committed students to join our Ph.D. Program in Fall 2024! We seek passionate and driven applicants who are excited to undertake cutting-edge research to benefit the world and its people. December 1st is our deadline to apply for fall 2024 admissions <https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/programs/phd-admissions>. Late applications may be submitted but are not guaranteed equal consideration. For additional information, please refer to our admissions website <https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/programs/phd-admissions> and recorded information session <https://youtu.be/_9OJ-uGo-Cg>. We will host a live information session online on Wednesday, November 15th (12pm-1pm US CDT). Event link: https://utexas.zoom.us/j/94848553117. Our iSchool is a top-ranked PhD program committed to making a difference in the world through high-impact research <https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/research>. Our work seeks to enhance human lives and communities by understanding the impact and potential of information, in all its forms. We work to harness the massive scale and value of information, discover the principles and processes to manage it, and design solutions that are novel, creative, accessible, useful, usable, and sustainable. To increase understanding of the role and impact of information in all human endeavors, we study problems and develop solutions and critique for better information design, management, organization, access, preservation, and retrieval. The study of information can encompass and often extends beyond any existing field. Our world-class, interdisciplinary faculty <https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/people/ischool-faculty-staff-students> spans a wide range of expertise: anthropology, communications, computer science, industrial engineering, library and information science, psychology, science & technology studies, and more. Our school has a strong tradition of fully financially supporting our doctoral students through a combination of Fellowships, Research Assistantships, and Teaching Assistantships. Our support packages are competitive, including tuition, health insurance, and a stipend sufficient to live comfortably in Austin. Beyond our top-ranked international graduate program, UT Austin is one of the world's premier research universities and is located in one of the USA's sunniest and most vibrant cities in which to live and work: - http://www.utexas.edu/about/overview - http://www.utexas.edu/campus-life/life-in-austin - https://www.austintexas.org/things-to-do/ Our university’s motto is not only that "What Starts Here Changes the World" <https://www.utexas.edu/> and we invite our community to "Make it Y/OUR Texas." Everyone who joins the iSchool community helps contribute to and amplifies our shared sense of belonging and purpose. We hope that you will embrace the opportunity and challenge that our PhD program offers and join us in conducting high-impact research that truly changes the world. We look forward to your application! For any questions about admissions to our doctoral program, please contact us at graduateadmit(a)ischool.utexas.edu.

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