Just a gentle reminder that abstracts for our conference next April will be due tomorrow (Oct 17). We've got quite some submissions but won't mind receiving more. :-) Cheers, jack On Wed, Oct 1, 2014 at 3:23 PM, Jack Qiu <jacklqiu@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear all,

Brian Loader and I are organizing this conference, to be held in Hong Kong. Abstracts are due on October 17 this month.

Don't ask me how this ongoing political movement in Hong Kong will look like next April. I have no idea. But my university and WUN (World Universities Network) have committed to making this a great conference. We've also got Lee Rainie, Hu Yong, and Saskia Sassen (she's almost confirmed) as keynote speakers. There's also a high chance to get a panel on digital activism and this "umbrella revolution" in Hong Kong.

So consider joining us, and please spread the word!

Cheers, jack qiu

===== *Call for Papers: WUN Understanding Global Digital Cultures Conference 2015. 25-26 April. Hong Kong. CFP deadline:17 October. *http:// bit.ly/1vvxy8e <http://t.co/YocgU0Yo4H> <http://t.co/YocgU0Yo4H>

Ever since the Internet developed into a World Wide Web there has been speculation about its potential to breakdown national cultural barriers. In the early years of largely western dominance proclamations about the emancipatory nature of cyberspace were only matched by charges of cultural colonisation by consumer brands. In more recent times however this suggestion of the emergence of a homogenous online digital culture has been significantly challenged. Today at least 40% of Internet users are Chinese and many more languages and cultures are now online. We have also witnessed a resurgence of national, ethnic and identity cultures flourishing on the Internet. Facilitated by social media platforms these new media technologies have given rise to a much more complex picture of cultural diversity and multiplicity. What is clear is that the new media ecology is likely to have a significant influence upon the maintenance, threats, opportunities and emergence of cultural forms. This two-day conference will seek to explore the emergence and development of global digital cultures through a number of themes including, but not limited to the following:

- influence upon indigenous cultures - governance of the Internet and how international negotiations might influence cultural identities - social media as cultural artefacts - global branding, resistance and culture jamming - participatory cultures, new cultural politics - internet generations - population mobility and social connectivity - surveillance and public cultures - cultural development through social media - digital archives, narratives and memory.

Keynote speakers

Lee Rainie <http://www.pewresearch.org/staff/lee-rainie/>, Director of the Pew Research Center's *Internet and American Life Project.*

Professor Saskia Sassen <http://www.saskiasassen.com/>, Sociology Department, Columbia University & The London School of Economics.

Professor Hu Yong <http://www.chinafile.com/contributors/hu-yong>, School of Journalism and Communication, Peking University. Call for papers

Papers are now invited that address the topics mentioned above. A selection of the best papers will be published in a special issue of the international journal *Information, Communication & Society*.

Please submit title, abstract and brief biography for consideration to Brian Loader <%20brian.loader@york.ac.uk> by *Friday 17 October 2014*. Notification of decision will be made by 27 October 2014. Registration

Conference registration is £120 (HKD$1511). A reduced registration of £60 (HKD$755) applies to students.

Delegates from WUN member institutions receive free registration.

Conference registration includes catering and symposium dinner.

Online registration will be available on this website in November 2014. Venue

Lecture Theatre 2

Yasumoto International Academic Park

The Chinese University of Hong Kong Accommodation

Rooms have been set aside at the Hyatt Sha Tin <http://www.hongkong.shatin.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html?src=phd_hr_ppc_google&mckv=sleIFclDT_dc%7Cpcrid%7C46473500189%7Cmtid%7C529t0l34073>, located a few minutes walk from the conference venue. A discounted delegate rate of HKD$1420 (incl. breakfast) has been arranged.

Online registration and hotel reservation portal will be available on this website in November 2014.

For more information on visiting Hong Kong, visit Discover Hong Kong <http://www.discoverhongkong.com/au/index.jsp>. Conference Convenors

Brian Loader <http://www.york.ac.uk/sociology/our-staff/academic/brian-loader/>, Department of Sociology, The University of York - brian.loader@york.ac.uk <%20brian.loader@york.ac.uk>

Jack Qiu <http://www.com.cuhk.edu.hk/en-GB/people/teaching-staff/qiu-jack-l-c>, School of Journalism & Communication, The Chinese University of Hong Kong - jacklqiu@gmail.com <%20jacklqiu@gmail.com> http://wun.ac.uk/wun/events/view/globaldigitalculturesconference2015

-- Jack Linchuan Qiu, Ph.D. Associate Professor School of Journalism and Communication, The Chinese University of Hong Kong http://jack.com.cuhk.edu.hk/