[ecrea] Media and networks from below: amateurs, users, and marginal groups

CfP:  Media and networks from below: amateurs, users, and marginal 
groups - Padova 06/18




Call for papers

MEDIA AND NETWORKS FROM BELOW: AMATEURS, USERS, AND MARGINAL GROUPS

Deadline: 10.02.2018



Track of the 7th STS Italia Conference to be hosted at the University of 
Padova, Italy, June 14 - 16, 2018, by the Italian Society of Science and 
Technology Studies, in collaboration with the FISPPA Department and the 
University of Padova.



Networks play an essential role in media development. To counter the 
semantic and theoretical dominance of the histories of particular 
technologies and include them in a broader social context, the historian 
Andrew Russell has recently raised the need for a deeper understanding 
of the plural histories of networking. Notably, the term network, far 
from being just confined to digital media, refers to a variety of media 
and communication technologies in their convergence and 
interdependencies, such as telegraphy, wireless, radio, telephony, 
broadcasting, and ITs.

Besides the leading role of private companies and national monopolies, 
various local, national and transnational networks from below 
participated and are still contributing to the development and the 
cultural representation of media and communication technologies. 
Amateurs, activists, hackers, hobbyists are just some examples of how a 
variety of networks from below have played a key role in shaping the 
past and present of media. These networks developed in different forms, 
from ones around particular political institutions to the local clubs in 
the garages. Different motivations drove them: to share the knowledge 
and joy of using the technology, to serve the nation by spreading the 
information, to suggest an alternative way of media governance, etc. 
Besides technical networks, different forms of social networks 
contributed to the development, the appropriation and the dissemination 
of media and communication technologies over time.

This track session aims at gathering and putting into dialogue scholars 
and specialists coming from different experiences and case studies 
dealing with networks from below. Relevant topics for the track may 
include, but are in no way limited to:



 - Networks of amateurs and the emergence of radio, television, and 
digital media

 - Countercultural networks: hacker movements, TV, and pirate radio 
stations

 - Hobbyists’ networks, politics, and propaganda

 - Whistleblowing, programmers, and journalistic networks

 - Case studies on civic networks and advocacy networks

 - Gaming communities and technological innovations

 - The geography of networks from below on local, national, and 
transnational scale



Abstracts (written in English, or in Italian in case of tracks in double 
language, no more than 300 words all included) should be submitted by 
February, 10 to the conference email address 
((7thstsitaliaconf /at/ gmail.com)) and to the emails of convenors' selected track.



Convenors:

Paolo, Bory, USI – Università della Svizzera italiana, 
(paolo.bory /at/ usi.ch)<mailto:(paolo.bory /at/ usi.ch)>

Maria, Rikitianskaia, USI – Università della Svizzera italiana, 
(maria.rikitianskaia /at/ usi.ch)<mailto:(maria.rikitianskaia /at/ usi.ch)>



The call: 
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/8486e6_c25e53e71476441c9a906f535073b7e8.pdf

The full call of the conference 
https://www.frombelow-stsitaliaconf.org/call-for-abstracts

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