[ecrea] cfp: Critique, Democracy, and Philosophy in 21st Century information Society.

Call for Contributions/Abstracts

Critique, Democracy, and Philosophy in 21st Century information Society. =

Towards Critical Theories of Social Media.
The Fourth ICTs and Society-Conference

Uppsala University. May 2nd-4th, 2012.

http://www.icts-and-society.net/events/uppsala2012/
http://fuchs.uti.at/wp-content/CfA.pdf

A unique event for networking, presentation of critical ideas, critical=20
engagement, and featuring leading critical scholars in the area of=20
Critical Internet Studies and Critical Studies of Media&  Society.

Confirmed Keynote Speakers

* Andrew Feenberg (Simon Fraser University, Canada): Great Refusal and=20
Long March: How to Use Critical Theory to Think About the Internet.
* Charles Ess (Aarhus University, Denmark): Digital Media Ethics and=20
Philosophy in 21st Century Information Society
* Christian Christensen (Uppsala University, Sweden): WikiLeaks:=20
Mainstreaming Transparency?
* Christian Fuchs (Uppsala University, Sweden): Critique of the=20
Political Economy of Social Media and Informational Capitalism
* Graham Murdock (Loughborough University, UK): The Peculiarities of=20
Media Commodities: Consumer Labour, Ideology, and Exploitation Today
* Gunilla Bradley (KTH, Sweden): Social Informatics and Ethics: Towards=20
a Good Information Society
* Mark Andrejevic (University of Queensland, Australia): Social Media:=20
Surveillance and Exploitation 2.0
* Nick Dyer-Witheford (University of Western Ontario, Canada):=20
Cybermarxism Today: Cycles and Circuits of Struggle in 21st Century=20
Capitalism
* Peter Dahlgren (Lund University, Sweden): Social Media and the Civic=20
Sphere: Perspectives for the Future of Democracy
* Tobias Olsson (J=C3=B6nk=C3=B6ping University, Sweden): Social Media=20
Participation and the Organized Production of Net Culture
* Trebor Scholz (New School, USA): The Internet as Playground and Factory=

* Ursula Huws (University of Hertfordshire, UK): Virtual Work and the=20
Cybertariat in Contemporary Capitalism
* Vincent Mosco (Queen=E2=80=99s University, Canada): Marx is Back, but W=
ill=20
Knowledge Workers of the World Unite? On the Critical Study of Labour,=20
Media, and Communication Today
* Wolfgang Hofkirchner (Vienna University of Technology, Austria):=20
Potentials and Risks for Creating a Global Sustainable Information Societ=
y

Conference Topic

This conference provides a forum for the discussion of how to critically =

study social media and their relevance for critique, democracy, politics =

and philosophy in 21st century information society.

We are living in times of global capitalist crisis. In this situation,=20
we are witnessing a return of critique in the form of a surging interest =

in critical theories (such as the critical political economy of Karl=20
Marx, critical theory, etc) and revolutions, rebellions, and political=20
movements against neoliberalism that are reactions to the=20
commodification and instrumentalization of everything. On the one hand=20
there are overdrawn claims that social media (Twitter, Facebook,=20
YouTube, mobile Internet, etc) have caused rebellions and uproars in=20
countries like Tunisia and Egypt, which brings up the question to which=20
extent these are claims are ideological or not. On the other hand, the=20
question arises what actual role social media play in contemporary=20
capitalism, power structures, crisis, rebellions, uproar, revolutions,=20
the strengthening of the commons, and the potential creation of=20
participatory democracy. The commodification of everything has resulted=20
also in a commodification of the communication commons, including=20
Internet communication that is today largely commercial in character.=20
The question is how to make sense of a world in crisis, how a different=20
future can look like, and how we can create Internet commons and a=20
commons-based participatory democracy.

This conference deals with the question of what kind of society and what =

kind of Internet are desirable, what steps need to be taken for=20
advancing a good Internet in a sustainable information society, how=20
capitalism, power structures and social media are connected, what the=20
main problems, risks, opportunities and challenges are for the current=20
and future development of Internet and society, how struggles are=20
connected to social media, what the role, problems and opportunities of=20
social media, web 2.0, the mobile Internet and the ubiquitous Internet=20
are today and in the future, what current developments of the Internet=20
and society tell us about potential futures, how an alternative Internet =

can look like, and how a participatory, commons-based Internet and a=20
co-operative, participatory, sustainable information society can be=20
achieved.

Questions to be addressed include, but are not limited to:

* What does it mean to study the Internet, social media and society in a =

critical way? What are Critical Internet Studies and Critical Theories=20
of Social Media? What does it mean to study the media and communication=20
critically?
* What is the role of the Internet and social media in contemporary=20
capitalism?
* How do power structures, exploitation, domination, class, digital=20
labour, commodification of the communication commons, ideology, and=20
audience/user commodification, and surveillance shape the Internet and=20
social media?
* How do these phenomena shape concrete platforms such as Google,=20
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc?
* How does contemporary capitalism look like? What is the role of the=20
Internet and social media in contemporary capitalism?
* In what society do we live? What is the actual role of information,=20
ICTs, and knowledge in contemporary society? Are concepts like network=20
society, information society, informational capitalism, etc adequate=20
characterizations of contemporary society or overdrawn claims? What are=20
the fundamental characteristics of contemporary society and which=20
concept(s) should be used for describing this society?
* What is digital labour and how do exploitation and surplus value=20
generation work on the Internet? Which forms of exploitation and class=20
structuration do we find on the Internet, how do they work, what are=20
their commonalities and differences? How does the relation between toil=20
and play change in a digital world? How do classes and class struggles=20
look like in 21st century informational capitalism?
* What are ideologies of the Internet, web 2.0, and social media? How=20
can they be deconstructed and criticized? How does ideology critique=20
work as an empirical method and theory that is applied to the Internet=20
and social media?

* Which philosophies, ethics and which philosophers are needed today in=20
order to understand the Internet, democracy and society and to achieve a =

global sustainable information society and a participatory Internet?=20
What are perspectives for political philosophy and social theory in 21st =

century information society?
* What contradictions, conflicts, ambiguities, and dialectics shape 21st =

century information society and social media?
* What theories are needed for studying the Internet, social media, web=20
2.0, or certain platforms or applications in a critical way?
* What is the role of counter-power, resistance, struggles, social=20
movements, civil society, rebellions, uproars, riots, revolutions, and=20
political transformations in 21st century information society and how=20
(if at all) are they connected to social media?
* What is the actual role of social media and social networking sites in =

political revolutions, uproars, and rebellions (like the recent=20
Maghrebian revolutions, contemporary protests in Europe and the world,=20
the Occupy movement, etc)?
* How can an alternative Internet look like and what are the conditions=20
for creating such an Internet? What are the opportunities and challenges =

posed by projects like Wikipedia, WikiLeaks, Diaspora, IndyMedia,=20
Democracy Now! and other alternative media? What is a commons-based=20
Internet and how can it be created?
* What is the role of ethics, politics, and activism for Critical=20
Internet Studies?
* What is the role of critical theories in studying the information=20
society, social media, and the Internet?
* What is a critical methodology in Critical Internet Studies? Which=20
research methods are needed on how need existing research methods be=20
adapted for studying the Internet and society in a critical way?
* What are ethical problems, opportunities, and challenges of social=20
media? How are they framed by the complex contradictions of contemporary =

capitalism?
* Who and what and where are we in 21st century capitalist information=20
society? How have different identities changed in the global world, what =

conflicts relate to it, and what is the role of class and class identity =

in informational capitalism?
* What is democracy? What is the future of democracy in the global=20
information society? And what is or should democracy be today? What is=20
the relation of democracy and social media? How do the public sphere and =

the colonization of the public sphere look like today? What is the role=20
of social media in the public sphere and its colonization?

The conference is the fourth in the ICTs and Society-Conference Series=20
(http://www.icts-and-society.net). The ICTs and Society-Network is an=20
international forum that networks scholars in the interdisciplinary=20
areas of Critical Internet Studies, digital media studies, Internet&=20
society studies and information society studies. The ICTs and Society=20
Conference series was in previous years organized at the University of=20
Salzburg (Austria, June 2008), the University of Trento (Italy, June=20
2009) and the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (Spain, July 2010).


About Uppsala, Uppsala University and the Department of Informatics and=20
Media:

Uppsala University (http://www.uu.se) was founded in 1477 and is the=20
oldest university in the Nordic countries. Every year 45 000=20
undergraduate and graduate students enroll for classes. Uppsala is an=20
academic and students-oriented city with old academic tradition. The=20
Department of Informatics and Media (http://www.im.uu.se) is a newly=20
established institution at Uppsala University. Its research focuses on=20
understanding and designing digital media in the information society.=20
Among its educational programmes is a new master=E2=80=99s programme in D=
igital=20
Media&  Society that will start in August 2012.

Early May is a particularly nice time to come and visit Uppsala. It is=20
the time of spring festivities and the awakening of nature and the city. =

The end of April has since medieval times been a time of celebrating the =

spring, especially in Eastern Sweden. Uppsala and especially Uppsala=E2=80=
=99s=20
students have participated in this tradition, especially on the last of=20
April (=E2=80=9Csista april=E2=80=9D, Valborg, http://www.valborgiuppsala=
=2Ese/en) that=20
features various celebrations and special activities all over the town.


Time Plan:

February 29th, 2012, 17:00, Central European Time (CET): Abstract=20
Submission Deadline
Until March 11th, 2012: information about acceptance or rejection of=20
presentations
March 30th, 2012, 17:00, CET: registration deadline
May 2nd-4th, 2012: Conference, Ekonomikum, University of Uppsala,=20
Kyrkog=C3=A5rdsgatan 10, Uppsala


Abstract Submission:

a) For submission, please first register your profile on the ICTs and=20
Society platform:
http://www.icts-and-society.net/register/
b) Please download the abstract submission form:
http://fuchs.uti.at/wp-content/uploads/ASF.doc ,
insert your presentation title, contact data, and an abstract of 200-500 =

words. The abstract should clearly set out goals, questions, the way=20
taken for answering the questions, main results, the importance of the=20
topic for critically studying the information society and/or social=20
media and for the conference.
Please submit your abstract until February 29th, 2012, per e-mail to=20
Marisol Sandoval: (marisol.sandoval /at/ uti.at)


Organizer:

Uppsala University, Department of Informatics and Media, Kyrkog=C3=A5rdsg=
atan=20
10, Box 513, 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden http://www.im.uu.se
Contact for academic questions in respect to the conference:
Prof. Christian Fuchs, (christian.fuchs /at/ im.uu.se) , Tel +46 18 471 1019
Contact for questions concerning conference organization and administrati=
on:
Marisol Sandoval, (marisol.sandoval /at/ uti.at)


Co-organizers:

* ICTs and Society Network
* European Sociological Association =E2=80=93 Research Network 18: Sociol=
ogy of=20
Communications and Media Research
* tripleC =E2=80=93 Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Informat=
ion Society
* Unified Theory of Information Research Group (UTI), Austria
* Department of Information and Media Studies, Aarhus University, Denmark=

* Institute for Design&  Assessment of Technology, Vienna University of=20
Technology, Austria
* J=C3=B6nk=C3=B6ping University, School of Education and Communication, =
Sweden


Conference Board and Organization Committee:

Charles Ess, Aarhus University
Christian Christensen, Uppsala University
Christian Fuchs, Uppsala University + UTI Research Group
G=C3=B6ran Svensson, Uppsala University
Marisol Sandoval, Unified Theory of Information Research Group
Sebastian Sevignani, Unified Theory of Information Research Group
Sylvain Firer-Blaess, Uppsala University
Thomas Allmer, Unified Theory of Information (UTI) Research Group
Tobias Olsson, J=C3=B6nk=C3=B6ping University
Verena Kreilinger, Unified Theory of Information Research Group
Wolfgang Hofkirchner, Vienna University of Technology + UTI Research Grou=
p


Welcome to Uppsala in Spring 2012!







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