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[ecrea] Mapping the Arab Spring
Mon Aug 26 21:55:22 GMT 2013
Mapping the “Arab Spring”: Social and Political Influence of New Media
in the Arab World
Call for Chapters
Editor: Aziz
Douai Editor:
Mohamed Ben Moussa
Faculty of Social Science and Humanities Art School
and Humanities
University of Ontario Institute of Technology Canadian
University of Dubai
Email: (aziz.douai /at/ uoit.ca)
Email: (m.benmoussa /at/ cud.ac.ae)
Abstract Submission Deadline: October 15, 2013
Notification to Authors: October 30, 2013
Final Paper Submission deadline: February 30, 2014
Introduction
The popular uprisings in in Arab countries took the world by surprise.
Described as the beginning of “the Arab democratic spring”, and likened
to the fall of the Arab “Berlin” wall, the wave of protests has
galvanized the attention of the world not only because of its
transformative political implications for the region, but also because
of the alleged central role of the Internet, specifically social media
platforms in bringing about the first “Facebook” and “Twitter”
revolutions (Wan, 2011), and in empowering “generation 2.0” (Hererra,
2011) to rise against tyranny and defy fear and repression. However,
after more than two years since the beginning of the uprisings, and the
deposition of several dictators, democratic transition in the region is
facing formidable challenges, chief among them political and economic
instability, deep polarizations between Islamist and secular/liberal
movements, multiple forms of sectarian, ethnic and religious cleavages,
in addition to endemic corruption and inefficient governance. These
challenges have already shifted into full-blown civil war in Syria and
are threatening other countries, such as Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia.
Against this background, one key question that needs to be addressed is
whether ICTs in general can play a role in promoting civil society,
civic culture and trust, bridging political elites to disenchanted young
people and the general population, and enhancing governance. In
conjunction with this question, there is an urgent need to examine how
identity politics is informing and shaping how the notions of civil
society, citizenship, and pluralism are imagined and enacted online and
the implications thereof for democratic transition in the region. While
the outcome of these regional upheavals is still difficult to predict,
we believe the time is ripe for a rigorous debate and research into the
intersections of the cultural, political and technological issues that
led to the “Arab Spring.”
Objectives of the Book
Editors seek innovative contributions that analyze the role of ICTs,
particularly the Internet and other new media, in the ongoing upheavals
in Arab societies. We are interested in chapters that interrogate the
implications of these technologies for cultural expression, and identity
building at the individual and collective levels in these societies.
Given how new cultural forms of self-expression from rap music to
blogging have become intertwined in the Tunisian and the Egyptian
revolutions, for instance, we seek contributions on the various linkages
between self-expression, self-reflexivity, political dissent and new
media discourses in the region. Underscoring the linkages between
identity politics, collective action repertoire, political culture, and
new communication technologies, this book seeks to examine the Arab new
media environment leading to the Arab Spring and its aftermath.
Sample Topics
We encourage multidisciplinary approaches that employ social movement
theory, cultural studies, radical democracy theory, or network theory,
among others, to study and interpret dissent, resistance, collective
action, and democratic transition in Arab societies. Other theoretical,
empirical and methodology approaches are also welcome. Themes and
questions to be considered could include but are not limited to
1) Research that theorizes/applies social movement theory to analyze
the “Arab Spring;”
2) Cases studies addressing new cultural forms and Arab/Muslim
identities (e.g. hip hop music, digital art, and photography);
3) Critical assessment of youth movement, youth culture, and
political consciousness;
4) Case studies addressing ICTs, new media audiences, ethnic
minorities and identities;
5) New empirical analyses of ICTs and political Islam/other social
movements in the Arab world;
6) Theoretical and empirical assessments of the intersection between
new media and gender in the region (e.g. feminist movements, women
identities and self-expression);
7) Comparative analyses of new journalism forms in the Arab world
(e.g. citizen journalism);
8) Conceptually- and theoretically-informed evaluation of the
intersections between new media and democracy in the region;
9) Other approaches that fit with the above themes and contribute to
theory building are welcome.
Submission Requirements
Interested authors should send an abstract of no more than 600 words and
a short bio to the Editors’ email addresses byOctober 15, 2013. Authors
of accepted abstracts will be notified by October 30, 2013 and asked to
submit a full chapter of no more than 8,000 words by February 30, 2014.
Chapter proposals must be original work that has not been published.
Authors should follow the American Psychological Association (APA) style
manual and submit abstracts and chapters in MS Word. All submissions
should be sent as email attachments to BOTH editors at
(aziz.douai /at/ uoit.ca) and (m.benmoussa /at/ cud.ac.ae). All manuscripts will be
peer-reviewed by an international editorial board.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aziz Douai, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Social Science and Humanities
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
55 Bond Street East
Oshawa, ON L1G 0A5, Canada
Tel: 905.721.8668, ext. 3790
Fax: 905.721.3372
E-mail: (aziz.douai /at/ uoit.ca)
Web:http://socialscienceandhumanities.uoit.ca/research/researcher-profiles/dr.-aziz-douai.php
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