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[ecrea] Call for Chapters, Social Media Go to War­Civil Unrest, Rebellion and Revolution in the Age of Twitter

Tue Feb 01 21:09:32 GMT 2011



From: Ralph Berenger <(ralph.berenger /at/ yahoo.com)>

Dear Colleague,

The events of January 2011 in Cairo and throughout the Middle East appears to have been sparked by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media. This is a little known phenomenon that our book, Social Media Go to War: Unrest, rebellion and revolution in the Age of Twitter, hopes to examine. If you are developing research on social media in conflict areas and are seeking an outlet, this might be your venue. Please see the attached call for chapters. Free free to share it with your contacts who might be interested.
Call for Chapters

Working Title: Social Media Go to War­Civil Unrest, Rebellion and Revolution in the Age of Twitter
Edited by Ralph D. Berenger
The world?s attention was riveted on political developments in the Middle East at the end of January 2011, but while traditional media reported street violence in Tunisia, Egypt , Jordan and Yemen, the stage belonged to a new, potent­and little understood­form of mass communication: social media.

Facebook, Twitter, and text messaging­aided and abetted by Weblogs and e-mail­have been credited with mobilizing large numbers of street protestors. Middle East governments were forced to play ?digital whack-a-mole? with social networkers. As soon as regimes shut down one upload link, another would spring up and the word would get out over ubiquitous mobile phones. Cell phone videos spread across the world via YouTube and other Internet sites


Non-traditional media has played a significant role in informing global publics about the causes of the street riots in large cities and small towns throughout the Middle East and helped set the agenda for international news organizations. Social Media Go to War is the third in a series by Marquette Books that examine media behavior in times of conflict. Other books in the series are: Global Media Go to War: Role of News and Entertainment Media During the 2003 Iraq War (2004); and Cybermedia Go to War: Role of converging media during and after the 2003 Iraq War (2006).

This book will be a study overview of how social media affected behaviors by citizens and governments in various parts of the world, not only in the troubled North Africa-Middle East in 2011. We are seeking 25-30 chapters between 3,500 and 5,000 words that examine and explain how individuals form networks and how those networks form mass movements; but it will also look at the reactions of controlling authorities.

Successful chapters will be written for a college audience and will be based on various, acceptable methodologies, communications theory or practice. Case studies are particularly encouraged. Topics could include, but are not limited to: * What role did social media (Facebook, Twitter, SMS, e-mail, YouTube, etc.) play in recent uprisings, rebellions and revolutions around the world in recent years? * How effective were social media during this time in mobilizing demonstrations against controlling authorities? * Who were the initiators of civil protest and what were their objectives? How did they organize themselves and communicate internally and externally?
   * What new technologies and software were utilized?
* What lessons were learned about the use of social media to effect political and social change that might be applicable to non-authoritarian regimes? * How did traditional media extend the reach of social media? What new techniques have the traditional media used to monitor social networking? * What theoretical models could be developed to explain the phenomenon the world witnessed in 2011 regarding use of social media? * What should college students be taught about the nexus of social media and social change? * How influential were images from Web cams and cell phones in effecting regime change demands by external political forces? * How did governmental reaction to protests (blocking Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, and mobile phones) contribute to the anger and intensity of protestors? * Are there grounds for hope that increased new media use will result in behavioralchanges of hard-line regimes in other parts of the world?

The book will be edited by Ralph D. Berenger, associate professor of mass communication at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, where he teaches courses in international communication, public opinion and propaganda, ethics and theory in addition to reporting, writing and editing skills. Dr. Berenger edited Global Media Go to War, and Cybermedia Go to War, and was co-author with John and Charles Merrill of Media Musings: Interviews with Great Thinkers (published by Marquette Books 2004, 2006 and 2004). His most recent book was Framing U.S. Political Behavior (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller, 2009). He has nearly 40 years experience with U.S. news media and with communications operations in Bolivia, St. Lucia, Kenya, Zambia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Editorial guidelines will be sent to those who provide a 75-word biographical sketch, abstract or outline of your proposed chapter before April 15, 2011 to:

Dr. Ralph D. Berenger
(rberenger /at/ aus.edu)

Final chapters due July 15, 2011, for publication in January 2012. Authors
are responsible for securing permission to reprint Web pages, artwork, photographs and cartoons, according to international copyright conventions. Permission must accompany
press-ready reproductions of the work.





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Nico Carpentier (Phd)
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