[ecrea] Everyday Politics and Social Media – Ethnographic Approaches. Workshop, Department of Anthropology UCL, 21 April 2016

*Everyday Politics and Social Media – Ethnographic Approaches*

Workshop, Department of Anthropology UCL, 21 April 2016



Debates about the impact of social media on politics are now well
established. It is acknowledged that social media is involved in different
levels of political participation, from local campaigns and engagement with
regional elections, up to more visible national uprisings, transnational
protests and forms of solidarity. But almost all this work derives from
studies where the academic focus is political action, or what can be called
‘formal politics’.

This workshop interrogates different forms of everyday politics on social
media, and their social and political consequences. It starts from the
results of the *Why We Post* project (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/why-we-post)
whose broad based ethnographic studies suggest that in small communities,
political participation on social media is influenced by local norms,
social relations, and media usage patterns. For example, in some regions,
social media are seen as places for entertainment and friendship, and
political thoughts are mainly expressed in the form of humour.

Starting from these ethnographic observations, the workshop will explore
the role of social media in shaping political engagement in everyday life,
and in transforming local political practices and meanings. We invite
scholars from different disciplines, including anthropology, sociology,
political science, and media and communication studies.

The workshop will be chaired by Prof Daniel Miller, UCL, Anthropology.

Please confirm your contributions by sending an abstract of approximately
300 words to the workshop convenors by Sunday 14 February 2016. A short
outline or description of your research project is more than welcomed.



Thank you,



Dr Elisabetta Costa

email: *(e.costa /at/ ucl.ac.uk)* <(e.costa /at/ ucl.ac.uk)>

Dr Razvan Nicolescu

email: *(r.nicolescu /at/ ucl.ac.uk)* <(r.nicolescu /at/ ucl.ac.uk)>



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