[ecrea] Cfp - New Media, Global Activism and Politics

Convergence

The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies



Call for Papers





Special issue on: New Media, Global Activism and Politics

Vol. 20, no. 3 (August 2014)



Guest editors: Carolyn Guertin (University of North Texas at Dallas) and 
Angi Buettner (Victoria University of Wellington)



Deadline for refereed research articles: 30 August 2013



Indignados. Arab Spring. #Occupy. The 99%. Idle No More. #Upsettler. 
GlobalNoise. Strike Debt. These are just some of the new terms to emerge 
from the global mass protests of the last two years. They are part of a 
sea change as political engagement, citizen journalism and tactical 
media evolve as tools of protest and communication. These terms mark 
only one small part of a much larger shift in media production and 
distribution that is the rise of user-generated content or social media. 
Within digital culture, the creative act has become a form of activism 
carried out through the repurposing of pre-existing materials and media 
for political change—and it is a practice that has swayed policy, 
overturned governments and politicized subcultures and peoples on a 
global scale.



In the 19th century, the crowd emerged as a new social force. It was a 
force, it was argued, that shook the foundations of society and led 
individuals to commit irrational acts. In the 21st century, we have seen 
the power of crowds re-emerge as an ostensibly smarter and more nimble 
cultural force empowered by mobile technologies, crowdsourcing 
methodologies and networked systems. How has activism changed as a 
result of new technologies? How are new media enlisted to assist in the 
planning and enactment of socio-political change? How are governments 
and political candidates using social media? How has social media 
altered policies, elections and the democratic process?



Topics might include:



- Hacktivism

- Wikileaks

- Arab Spring

- #occupy

- Indignados

- Idle No More

- #upsettlers

- Global Noise

- Crowdsourcing

- Lobbying

- Flashmobs, smart mobs or network armies

- Riot simulation or protest modeling

- Microblogging as a form of protest

- Protest apps, including geolocative ones

- Eco-activism

- Activism in education

- Gaming and new media activism

- New media and the environment

- Politics and new media

- Activist or protest art

- Appropriation, subvertising, culture jamming or memes

- Slacktivism

- Clicktivism

- Cyberfeminism

- DIY culture

- Global protest networks

- Participatory culture

- eDemocracy

- Government sponsored social media

- Public media initiatives

- Elections and social media



Queries may be directed to the guest editors, Carolyn Guertin at 
(carolyn.guertin /at/ gmail.com) or Angi Buettner at (Angi.Buettner /at/ vuw.ac.nz).



Convergence is published by Sage and all contributors must consult the 
guide to manuscript submission at: 
http://www.uk.sagepub.com/journalsProdDesc.nav?prodId=Journal201774#tabview=manuscriptSubmission 
for details of house style.





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