ICA Pre-Conference: The 16th Chinese Internet Research Conference in Leiden List members may be interested in the following call: The Leiden University Institute for Area Studies and Leiden Law School welcome scholars from the area studies, social sciences, law, humanities, computer sciences, and from multi-disciplinary backgrounds to the 16th annual Chinese Internet Research Conference (CIRC), to be held in Leiden, the Netherlands, on 22-23 May 2018. CIRC annually brings together leading experts in the field of China Studies and many disciplines concerned with ICT in China. The 2018 iterations of CIRC will explore the theme 'modes of connection', through three sub-themes: modes of community, modes of productivity, and modes of organization. The field of China internet research has fruitfully tracked communication patterns across the Chinese speaking world, generating lively discussion about different discourses, voices, and media types in Chinese society. This conference will augment these efforts by asking how media and communication are bolted to the world. The internet has rapidly become more than a venue for the exchange of information. It is closely intertwined with social interactions, economic exchanges, and the practice of governance. Simultaneously, concerns surrounding the internet are no longer merely confined to free expression and access to information, they have come to include the impact of the internet on the integrity of political systems, personal data protection, terrorist use of ICTs, and cybercrime. There is now much greater complexity in the nature of connectivity that ICTs permit, and therefore the social, economic, and political questions they generate, which CIRC 16 will aim to explore. Proposals for contributions to CIRC 16 should be written in English and should not exceed 400 words for individual papers, or 1000 words for panel proposals. Proposals should be submitted to the organizing committee by 1 February 2018, via: f.a.schneider@hum.leidenuniv.nl. The organising committee will inform applicants of its decision by the end of that month. Full versions of the accepted papers are to be submitted by 1 May 2018. Papers should not exceed 8,000 words, including notes and references, and should be sent to the organising committee via email. Please see the full call for papers for additional information<http://www.politicseastasia.com/research/cfp-circ16/> on the conference and its themes. CIRC 16 is an official pre-conference of the International Communication Association's annual meeting, which will be held in Prague from 24-28 May 2018. ________________________________ Dr. Florian Schneider University Lecturer in the Politics of Modern China Managing Editor of the academic journal Asiascape: Digital Asia Chinese Department, Leiden University Institute for Area Studies Arsenaalstraat 1, Room 009 P.O.Box 9515 2300 RA Leiden The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)71 - 527 2544 Fax: +31 (0)71 - 527 2526 Web: www.PoliticsEastAsia.com<https://webmail.campus.leidenuniv.nl/owa/redir.aspx?C=XxWGPCVp6EeeAuifBOjwEZslF8TymdAIfjqfc0qkUYEAPEu-0D_kOR_w9CWSCooLG0JSLNkXBUk.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.PoliticsEastAsia.com> Twitter: @schneiderfa77