CALL FOR CONFERENCE: DIGITAL PEOPLE, DIGITAL POLITICS *May 17, 2019* *Bush House ( North East) ground floor, King's College London, Strand* *Deadline: 2nd April, 2019* We are delighted to announce that Dr. Tobias Blanke will be opening the conference and Dr. Natalie Fenton will be presenting the keynote address. Social media platforms and the internet have become a battleground for ideas and political discussion. As the importance of these digital intermediaries has grown, many questions about how to navigate the world of digital politics in a meaningful and effective way have emerged. With the controversies surrounding the 2016 United States Presidential election, Brexit, the #MeToo movement, and other democratic conflicts across the globe, it is becoming increasingly evident that these media have come to play an essential role in structuring political discourse, social movements, and collective identity. When the internet emerged as a global commodity, it came with promises of nascent forms of political engagement. Digital platforms gave people new methods of voicing common grievances, starting social movements, and creating an impetus towards a more just society. However, in recent years there is evidence of increased polarisation and even hostility in online networks. With curated news feed, echo chambers, and fake news, users can shape their own isolated online politics. This conference will investigate how social media platforms and the digital are changing the nature of political discourse, online debate, and collective action. These platforms have shaped and altered many traditional forms of political involvement, such as campaign funding, candidate representation, and pertinent debates remain as to what extent digital media is enhancing or limiting democratic processes Digital technologies have impacted politics and social engagement in a myriad of ways, so we invite submissions that breach this theme from multifarious critical and methodological approaches and from diverse contexts. The academic implications or this broad topic are numerous, as we begin to understand more deeply how digital technologies are adapting to and transforming the political world. Topics for discussion may include (but are not limited to): • The role of digital media in elections across the globe • Collective action and social movements online • Online campaigns • Alt-Right and populist politics • Free speech and liberty online • Regulation and data misuse of online political spaces • Gender and online politics • Big data and politics Abstracts are to be submitted to digitalpeople.digitalpolitics@gmail.com by 2nd April, 2019. We are open to: • Individual papers (250 word abstract with a short academic bio, plus any specific requirements authors may have). • Panel proposals (250 word abstract with a short academic bio for each person, additional 250 word abstract for the panel as a whole, plus any specific requirements authors may have). • Workshops (1.5 hours – 250 word abstract with the aims and a description of the proposed workshop, short academic bios of workshop organisers plus any specific requirements organisers may have) • Posters/ multimedia presentations/ art (250 word abstract with a short academic bio, any relevant URLS, plus any specific requirements). All applicants will be notified as to whether or not they have been invited to present by 15th April, 2019. For updated information on the conference, please see the website: http://newperspectivesdh.com Contact us at Digitalpeople.digitalpolitics@gmail.com for questions and to send in your abstracts!