[ecrea] Call for Chapter Proposals - Multiethnic Southeast Asia and Social Media: Identity, Ethnicity, Community and Migration

*Multiethnic Southeast Asia and Social Media: Identity, Ethnicity,
Community and Migration*



*Projected to be published by **Anthem Press*



*Introduction*


This edited collection aims to document ethnic, community and migrant
identities and anxieties in the face of the changing ethnographic landscape
of Southeast Asia in the age of social media. Digital ethnography with its
emphasis on social media is a burgeoning research field. Social media
(e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Blogs, Vlogs, Pin It, Tumblr, Weibo,
WeChat, QQ etc.) is arguably the most effective mode of network broadcast
communication today. It is a platform that allows users to document and
express their individual and collective identities while providing a sense
of belonging and agency.

Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore
are neither monoethnic nor monocultural due to conflict and change in their
histories (e.g. colonialism, war and economic growth). Instead they are
sites of ethnic minorities, some of which have hybridised cultural
ethnicities such as the Eurasians and the Peranakans. These ethnic
minorities often perform their cultural practices parallel to the dominant
ethnic culture in their home nation.

Meanwhile, migration due to the global movements of people for work, study
and lifestyle is part of everyday life with 3.2 per cent of the world’s
population (232 million people) made up of international migrants (United
Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2013). In Southeast
Asia the circulation of both skilled and unskilled labour together with a
growing number of students from within and outside the region has become
commonplace, particularly in the rapidly growing economies of Singapore,
Malaysia and Thailand. The presence of these migrants has been
acknowledged to have favourable economic effects such as contributing to
the growth of host nation industries and remittance to the home nation
while at the same time contributing to a diversity of ethnicities and
cultures never seen before. The presence of both permanent and temporary
migrants has created a heightened sense of anxiety among locals who
perceive migrants to be competitors for employment and as direct threats to
the social and cultural fabric of the nation.

By using social media as a tool of inquiry, this edited collection maps
the ways in which ethnic minorities articulate their identities and
examines the ways in which locals and migrants cope with each other so as
to uncover the methods by which migration affects individuals and
communities. It will feature essays dealing with but not limited to the
following themes: nationalism, belonging, integration, (online)
communities, multiculturalism, interculturalism, digital activism, anxiety
over migrants, xenophobia and new racisms.

*Production Details*

The proposed length of the book is 10 chapters of 6,000-8,000 words
authored by leading experts from diverse disciplines such as Digital
Ethnography, Media and Communication Studies, Migration Studies,
Anthropology, Sociology, Cultural Studies, Southeast Asian Studies and
Politics who will be able to provide critical in-depth discussion of the
emerging issues related to multi-ethnic identities and anxieties in the age
of social media and the global circulation of people


*Recommended Topics*
The focus of this book is to use social media as a tool to uncover new
forms of and networks of nationalism as a consequence of migration in
Southeast Asia while aiding contemporary discussions of racism and
xenophobia in this age of social media and mass migration, as well as
mapping the intersections of the relationships between migrants and locals.
Topics to be discussed in this publication include (but are not limited
to) the following:

· Social media as a platform for changing representations and
cultures of identity (e.g. digital activism, identity formation, modes of
representation and network media and communication)

· Community, multiculturalism, belonging and agency among ethnic
minorities

· Migrant anxieties, nationalism, xenophobia, new racisms

· Agency, empowerment, integration and belonging among migrant
communities

· The role played by local and foreign governments in creating a
sense of belonging for migrants to the host and home nations through social
media.


*Submission Procedure*
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit a chapter proposal by
14 February, 2014. The proposal should explain scope of the proposed
chapter and its alignment with the theme for the book. The proposal should
not be longer than 600 words. Chapter proposals should be accompanied by a
brief biography for each of the chapter authors.

Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by 30 March, 2014.
Full chapters are expected to be submitted by 30 July, 2014.
All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a blind peer-review basis.


*Potential Contributors*
Scholars and practitioners working on ethnicity, race, migration and
community with a focus on social media in Southeast Asia.



Please send all inquires and submissions by email (attached word document)
to:
Dr. Catherine Gomes
RMIT University
Email:(catherine.gomes /at/ rmit.edu.au)

--
Dr Catherine Gomes
Australian Research Council DECRA Research Fellow

School of Media and Communication
RMIT University
GPO Box 2476, Melbourne, VIC, 3001
Australia
Room: 9.4.26 (city campus)

tel: + 61 3 99255068
fax: + 61 3 99259730
email: (catherine.gomes /at/ rmit.edu.au)

Web:www.rmit.edu.au/mediacommunication

CRICOS Provider Code: 00122A


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