Dear Colleagues, We are pleased announce a special issue on "Conspiracy" in M/C Journal. If there's something you're working on that you'd like to submit a tight 3K article on, we'll be keen to receive your 100-250w abstract and author bio. If you can submit your abstract to us by 30th September, we'll be inviting authors whose work aligns with the CFP to an online workshop to build engagement with these works and develop a research network around this topic. The full CFP is below. 'conspiracy' Conspiracies have assumed broad cultural and political resonance over the last century (Butter and Knight). While often framed as an American problem (Melley), social media has contributed to their global reach (Gerts et al.). Bruns, Harrington, and Hurcombe have traced the contemporary movement of conspiracy theories into the cultural mainstream. They identify the networked and cross-platform nature of conspiracy theory movement from fringe conspiracist groups on social media platforms such as Facebook through their greater uptake in more diverse communities and to substantial amplification by celebrities, sports stars, and media outlets. Consequently, conspiracy theories that were once the product of subcultural groups, have increasingly mixed into popular and authoritative media (Marwick and Lewis) and entertainment (Hyzen and Van den Bulck; Van den Bulck and Hyzen). The illusion of neat segmentation between the sites of conspiracy theorising and the mainstream media has vanished. As conspiracy theories push into the mainstream, they generate material engagement with government and social institutions as demonstrated in the 6 January 2021 storming of the US Capitol (Moskalenko and McCauley) and the COVID-19 pandemic (Baker, Wade, and Walsh). While conspiracies flourish online, this issue also aims to highlight the affective and aesthetic dimensions of conspiracy theories; including how the sensory and affective capacities of the body work alongside seemingly ‘rational’ informational practices and platform logics. This issue welcomes submissions on four broad themes: - Theorising conspiracy in digital contexts - Methodological approaches to conspiracy research in digital contexts - Contemporary conspiracies that span the body and digital environments - The consequences of digital conspiracies Prospective contributors should email an abstract of 100-250 words and a brief biography to the issue editors. Abstracts should include the article title and should describe your research question, approach, and argument. Biographies should be about three sentences (maximum 75 words) and should include your institutional affiliation and research interests. Articles should be 3000 words (plus bibliography). All articles will be double-blind refereed and must adhere to MLA style (6th edition). *Details* - Article deadline: 7 Jan. 2022 - Release date: 9 Mar. 2022 - Editors: Alexia Maddox, Stephanie Baker, Naomi Smith, and Clare Southerton Please submit articles through the M/C Journal website ( https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/information/authors... ) Send any enquiries to conspiracy@journal.media-culture.org.au. Naomi Smith (with Alexia, Clare and Stephanie) Lecturer in Sociology | School of Arts Federation University Australia Office 221| Building 1E | Gippsland Campus PO Box 3191 Gippsland VIC 3841