[Commlist] cfp: Drones in Society: New Visual Aesthetics

CALL FOR PAPERS [deadline extended]

Drones in Society: New Visual Aesthetics

8th and 9th September 2022, Halifax Hall, Sheffield, UK

You can join this conference in person or online

Drones are an increasingly important social phenomenon. Their use has 
the potential to change the way people see the world in the same way 
other technologies have, like smartphones and the internet. Generating 
questions that go beyond safety and security issues, their widespread 
use opens a debate to rethinking the relationship between media and 
mobility (Hildebrand, 2021), material practice (Howley, 2017), and 
vertical power (Kaplan, 2018) (just to mention a few). Drones are now 
the latest technological advancement to have a significant impact in the 
world we live in offering opportunities for new forms of visual 
communication, culture and practices.

Confirmed keynote speaker: *Julia M. Hildebrand*, Assistant Professor of 
Communication at Eckerd College, author of */AerialPlay: Drone Medium, 
Mobility, Communication, and Culture - Geographies of Media. /*

We invite the submission of proposals for the interdisciplinary 
conference ‘Drones in Society: New Visual Aesthetics’, which will be 
held on 8thand 9thSeptember at Halifax Hall  in Sheffield, UK.  This 
2-day conference will be hosted by the Department of Sociological 
Studies at the University of Sheffield. The updated deadline for 
submission is *9th of May 2022*.

The conference is concerned with the role of drones in society and the 
way they are contributing to new visual aesthetics. The theme invites 
interdisciplinary research, reflection and critique on topics including 
(but not limited to) the following:

- People’s perspectives on drones (and their data): surveillance, ethics 
and privacy issues in domestic and commercial uses
- New visual perspectives: the creation of new visual content (drone art 
and amateur uses)
- Drone regulations: potentialgaps in regulating domestic and commercial 
drones, future perspectives
- Current uses and future applications: the implementation of drones in 
society in their various uses
- Drones and vertical power: the uses of drones in war zones, activism 
and humanitarian activities.

Proposed formats:
- Individually submitted papers (organised into panels by the DiS committee)
- Panels (3-4 individual papers)
- Roundtable discussions (led by one of the presenters)
- Visual posters

Abstracts between 300-500 words in Word format must be submitted to 
(e.serafinelli /at/ sheffield.ac.uk) <mailto:(e.serafinelli /at/ sheffield.ac.uk)>. 
You will be notified of the decision by 13th of June 2022.

Conference proceedings and selected papers will be published in a 
section of the forthcoming book Vision and Verticality (Palgrave), 
edited by Gary Bratchford  and Dennis Zuev. Conference attendees will 
also have the opportunity to visit a drone visuals exhibition held on 
the evening of 8thSeptemberand participate in a workshop with two drone 
artists on 9thSeptember.Conference organised by Elisa Serafinelli and 
Lauren Alex O’Hagan, Department of Sociological Studies, University of 
Sheffield. For more information, contact (e.serafinelli /at/ sheffield.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(e.serafinelli /at/ sheffield.ac.uk)>or visit www.visualsociety.net 
<http://www.visualsociety.net/>


Register here: 
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/drones-in-society-tickets-318517513457 
<https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/drones-in-society-tickets-318517513457>

List of References

Hildebrand J. (2021): Aerial Play: Drone Medium, Mobility, 
Communication, and Culture.Singapore: Palgrave McMillan

Howley K. (2017): Drones: Media Discourse and the Public Imagination.New 
York: Peter Lang.

Kaplan C. (2018): Aerial Aftermaths: Wartime From Above.Durham: Duke 
University Press.

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