Please distribute. If interested, please contact Dr. Kavoori listed below. CALL FOR PAPERS FOR THREE EDITED BOOKS (Edited by Andy Kavoori, Grady College, University of Georgia, Athens, GA) Book 1: Gaming: An International Communication Perspective This edited book will address Gaming (video, on-line, single/multiple player) by examining its sociological relevance from a global perspective (most current books have an American focus). Papers should examine one or more of the following topics: (a) History: Growth of gaming as a global industry, discourse and media product (b) Representation: How gaming environments construct the world (this could be for example, a textual/content analysis of games that are international in content) (c) Politics: The political universe of Games. Of special interest to the editor are case studies of Gaming and War/Terrorism (especially games like America's Army and Islamogames) (d) Theory: Stand-alone theoretical essays that frame the field of Gaming using international communication theory (for example, political economy, cultural studies, post- colonial studies, globalization theory). Please send abstracts by March 30th to akavoori@yahoo.com and put in the subject line "abstract for international gaming book." Book 2: The Digital Culture Reader This edited book will examine the discursive content of on-line mass mediated digital culture. Essays are invited for four sections of the book which will be focused on (a) Stand alone theoretical essays on the subject of "digital culture" defined within the fields of digital cultural studies, technology studies, sociology/anthropology, and media studies. Essays examining institutional development, historical context, and international import are especially welcome. (b) Essays on the "texts" of You Tube (b) Essays on the "texts" of My Space and Facebook and (c) Essays on the "texts" of Second Life. The methodological approach may include content, textual, rhetorical, discursive, ethnographic and other methods commonly used in digital cultural studies. Some specific questions that the textual analysis essays might address include: (1) What happens to questions of identity politics (race, class, gender and sexuality) in the constructs of Youtube, Facebook/MySpace and Second Life? Does digital culture move the debate about identity politics beyond the big four (race, gender, etc) and construct new hybrid/virtual/idiosyncratic vocabularies for the presentation of identity politics? (2) Does the digital imagination (the process of creating consumer generated content) reconfigure questions of democracy, citizenship, entertainment and representation? (3) What are the ranges of discursive constructs across cultural / national and global contexts? Studies that examine non-western digital content on the above websites are especially welcome. Please send an abstract by March 30th to akavoori@gmail.com and put in the subject line "abstract for digital culture book." Book 3: Journalism/Gaming: Mapping the Intersection This edited book seeks to bring together two of the most important contemporary industry trends—the rapidly changing nature of digital journalism and the world of Gaming, both centered on youth culture, practices and politics. The two industries have historically been seen as separate —with traditional mass media journalism, positioned as a place where the serious work of citizenship takes place and Gaming seen as a vehicle for consumption—and for its critics, a discursive dead end focused on violence and pleasure. Both industries have a very specific orientation youth culture—Gaming is at the heart of youth culture; traditional journalism appears to have little resonance with young people. This book takes as its goal the articulation of a theoretical, empirical and political vision that argues that Journalism and Gaming need to be engaged – that new genres, modes of participatory culture, political action and ideas about citizenship need to be strategized in order to make such a connection possible. To that end, the collection seeks essays that (a) articulate the terms, conditions and theoretical frameworks that may be usefully applied in "mapping the intersection" between Journalism and Gaming. The editor is especially interested in essays that apply theories of one field onto the other, i.e. theorists of Journalism writing essays about Gaming and theorists of Gaming examining Journalism. (b) Case studies of Games (video, on-line, single, multiplayer) where "Journalism" broadly defined is taking place—this may include studies of the use games that build on contemporary news events or use of games such as "Palestine" (c) cross-cultural and global trends in the use of Journalism/Gaming, especially as they relate to issues of media and war/Terrorism. (d) Media education projects that emphasize the connections between these two industries. Please send an abstract by March 30th to akavoori@hotmail.com and put in the subject line "abstract for journalism/gaming book". TIME LINE: Once abstracts have been collected, a formal proposal will be submitted to leading scholarly publishers (the editor has long-standing relations with a number of publishers and has initiated negotiations). Full papers will be sought from selected contributors once contracts have been signed (approximately, mid fall, 2008). EDITOR BIO: Anandam (Andy) Kavoori is an Associate Professor in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. His co-edited books include The Cell Phone Reader (Peter Lang), Media, Terrorism, Theory (Rowman and Littlefield), The Global Dynamics of News (Ablex) and Global Bollywood (New York University Press). He is the author of Thinking Television (Peter Lang). Andy Kavoori, Ph.D Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication The University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602 akavoori@uga.edu Andy Kavoori, Ph.D Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication The University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602 akavoori@uga.edu