*** apologies for cross-posting ***

Dear colleagues,

We warmly invite proposals to our Special Issue “Boundaries, boundary concepts, and datafication” in Digital Culture & Society.

This special issue brings together articles that examine the relationship between boundaries and datafication practices through the use, critical evaluation, and reconfiguration of boundary concepts. It aims to advance systematic exploration of boundaries and boundary concepts in the context of datafication. It investigates the potentials and limitations of analytical concepts such as boundary objects, boundary work, boundary infrastructures, boundary organisations, and related terms as well as boundaries more broadly. The special issue will include empirical analyses, conceptual/theoretical reflections, and methodological explorations on the interplay between datafication and boundary dynamics.

Schedule and Submission

• Abstracts (max. 300 words) and short biographical note (max. 75 words) with specification of section: 31st May 2026
• Notification of authors/invitation to submit full/short paper: 15th June 2026
• Submission of full papers: 15th September 2026
• Publication of special issue: Spring 2027 

Please send your abstract and short biographical note by 31st May 2026 to boundaryconcepts@gmail.com. Based on the abstracts, the editors will pre-select authors that will be invited to submit a full paper. All full papers will be double-blind peer reviewed.

For more details, please see the full call for papers: https://www.sowi.uni-stuttgart.de/abteilungen/tu/aktuelles/CfP_Boundaryconcepts.pdf

All the best,

Yana Boeva, Louis Ravn, and Sarah R. Davies (guest editors)