[ecrea] CFP: Special Collection of SM+S on "The Platformization of Cultural Production"

We are pleased to announce a call for submissions to a special 
themed collection of /Social Media + Society 
<https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/social-media-society/journal202332#submission-guidelines>/on 
“The Platformization of Cultural Production.” The deadline for 750-word 
abstracts is _May 15, 2018_. As you will see below, authors of accepted 
abstracts are invited to attend a workshop at the University of Toronto 
<https://www.utoronto.ca>on October 8-9, 2018; Day 1 will feature a 
workshop hosted by the McLuhan Centre <http://www.chi.utoronto.ca/>.

The full call is pasted below or available online here 
<https://goo.gl/AmZcGn>. Please contact the editors with questions 
(atcfp /at/ platformization.net)


_____________


CALL FOR PAPERS

Special collection of Social Media + Society (Open Access Journal)


The Platformization of Cultural Production


Abstract submission deadline: May 15, 2018

Full paper submission deadline: September 15, 2018


Editors: Brooke Erin Duffy/(Cornell University), /David B. Nieborg 
/(University of Toronto), /Thomas Poell /(University of Amsterdam) /


This thematic issue explores the platformization of cultural production 
against the backdrop of wider transformations in the technologies, 
cultures, and political economies of digital media. Platformization 
describes the process by which major tech companies—GAFAM (Google, 
Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft) in the West, and the so-called 
“three kingdoms” of the Chinese internet (Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent) 
in Asia—are reconfiguring the production, distribution, and monetization 
of cultural products and services. The logic of platformization is 
impacting traditional cultural industries (e.g., music, news, museums, 
games, and fashion), as well as emergent digital sectors and communities 
of practice, such as livestreaming, podcasting, and “Instagramming.” 
Accordingly, new industrial formations and partnerships are constantly 
being wrought; for example, newspapers increasingly host their content 
on Facebook, and game developers offer their products in app stores 
operated by Apple and Google.


Given the acceleration and intensification of digital platforms in the 
cultural circuit, there is a pressing need to interrogate the stakes of 
platformization for content producers and for the cultural commodities 
they circulate among digitally networked audiences. We invite 
theoretical and/or empirical contributions addressing platform power and 
political economies vis-à-vis cultural production. Owing to the relative 
recency of research on platformization, this topic warrants an 
interdisciplinary focus including scholarship from such fields as media 
and communication studies, platform studies, software studies, political 
economy of communication, (media) production studies, and business 
studies. Platformization exacts widely variable costs across different 
spheres of life, and regional and sectoral boundaries. We therefore 
invite scholars to contribute papers which advance our understanding of 
how the platformization of particular sectors and practices takes shape 
within specific geo-national contexts, as well as how this involves new 
modes of content moderation and algorithmic curation, evolving forms of 
labour exploitation, and app-based systems of distribution and monetization.


We are especially interested in articles that shed new light across 
these themes:

  *

    Theoretical approaches to platformization and the social, cultural
    and technological contexts of platform-dependent modes of cultural
    production.

  *

    Intersectional approaches that are sensitive to the gendered,
    classed, and racial specificity of platform-dependent modes of
    cultural production.

  *

    Political economic approaches to platformization, including the
    implications for cultural producers and labor relations, as well as
    relationships among different institutional actors in platform
    ecosystems.

  *

    Regional approaches to platformization. For example, the impact of
    the platformization of cultural industries in particular countries,
    or regions, such as the European Union.

  *

    Sectoral studies of specific industry sectors and modes of cultural
    production and circulation such as journalism, game and music
    production, museums, or emerging ‘platform-native’ practices such
    streaming and vlogging.

  *

    Historical approaches to platformization. Contributions that
    investigate the transformation of specific production practices as
    they become integrated with, or dependent on digital platforms.

  *

    The policy implications of platformization on a local, national or
    regional level, or studies of policy interventions.

  *

    Formal and informal efforts to resist platformization, such as the
    development of platform independent subscription-based distribution
    and monetization models.

  *

    Infrastructural approaches that are sensitive to the material
    dimensions of platform-based modes of cultural production.

  *

    Methodological interventions, which reflect on the methodologies
    employed when researching cultural production in platform ecosystems.


Timeline


  * 750-word abstracts should be emailed to (cfp /at/ platformization.net) by
    *May 15, 2018*. The abstract should articulate: 1) the issue or
    research question to be discussed, 2) the methodological or critical
    framework used, and 3) indicate the expected findings or
    conclusions. Decisions will be communicated to the authors by *June
    1, 2017*.


  * Full papers of the selected abstracts should be submitted by
    *September 15, 2018* to be discussed at the workshop.


  * On October 8-9, 2018 (right before AoIR2018), the special collection
    editors will organise a 2-day event hosted by the University of
    Toronto. Day 1 will feature a workshop hosted by the McLuhan Centre
    <http://www.chi.utoronto.ca/>. Workshop participation is not a
    condition for being included in the special collection. The workshop
    provides all thematic issue contributors an opportunity for debate
    and an initial round of feedback on the papers. Accommodation and
    catering during the event will be covered for accepted
    contributors. There is limited travel support for junior scholars.

  * The deadline for submitting the revised paper for double blind
    peer-review is *December 1, 2018*.


  * The planned publication date of this special collection of Social
    Media + Society is in the *second half of 2019*.












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