[Commlist] Call for Submissions // 4S Annual Meeting 2025 in Seattle // Media Narratives in War & Humor as Digital Activism

We are excited to invite abstract contributions to our two open panels 
for the *4S Annual Meeting 2025*, taking place in *Seattle, Washington, 
USA, on September 3-6, 2025*.

Our panels are:

#240. “The Role of Media Narratives in War and Conflict: Language, 
Ethics, and Power”

&

#241. "Memes and Humor as Digital Activism: Subversive Narratives in the 
Social Media Age”

If you would like to participate in our sessions, please submit an 
abstract of approximately 250 words and follow the submission guidelines 
here: 4S Call for Submissions 
<https://www.4sonline.org/call_for_submissions_seattle.php>.
Deadline for submission is *January 31, 2025*.

*Panel Summaries*

*240. “The Role of Media Narratives in War and Conflict: Language, 
Ethics, and Power”*
Media narratives of war are shaped by complex socio-technical systems 
where journalistic practices, platform algorithms, and state actors 
converge to mediate global discourses of conflict. Taking an 
interdisciplinary approach, this panel explores the co-constitution of 
language, media ethics, and digital technologies in shaping perceptions 
of war and violence. Through an STS lens, we critically examine the 
interplay of human and non-human actors-journalists, algorithms, users, 
and platforms-in the construction and dissemination of conflict 
narratives. We aim to provide new insights into the ways in which media 
both reflect and shape the socio-political realities of armed conflict.

We invite papers that explore

  * The role of algorithmic curation in amplifying or marginalizing
    particular war narratives.
  * How media technologies influence the terminology (e.g., "invasion,"
    "military operation") used to describe conflict and its impact on
    public understanding.
  * The ethical challenges of reporting in algorithmically-driven spaces
    where sensationalism competes with integrity.
  * The ways in which disinformation and propaganda are circulated and
    moderated by socio-technical systems during conflict.
  * The consequences of these dynamics for information literacy and
    public engagement with discourses of war.

By focusing on the mediation of conflict through sociotechnical 
assemblages, this panel contributes to STS by interrogating the 
material, ethical, and political dimensions of media technologies in 
contemporary warfare. We aim to foster critical insights into how these 
systems shape not only public opinion, but also geopolitical power. We 
invite scholars from all areas to submit their work.

*241. "Memes and Humor as Digital Activism: Subversive Narratives in the 
Social Media Age”*
Memes and satire occupy a unique space in the socio-technical landscape 
of digital activism, serving as both cultural expressions and tools of 
resistance. This panel explores the dual role of digital satire: as a 
mode of critique that enables activists to subvert dominant power 
structures, mobilize collective action, and sustain movements, and as 
content that is shaped, regulated, and commodified by the very platforms 
it seeks to critique. By positioning memes and satire as socio-technical 
artifacts, the panel examines how their creation and circulation are 
influenced by platform algorithms, participatory cultures, and digital 
communication infrastructures. Through this analysis, we aim to uncover 
the potential of digital satire to reshape socio-political discourse in 
an era of heightened surveillance and algorithmic governance.

Topics to be explored include

  * The material politics of memes: How do platform infrastructures
    shape the production, circulation, and reception of digital humor in
    activism.
  * Memes as socio-technical imaginaries: How do they reconfigure
    notions of resistance, identity, and solidarity in digital spaces?
  * The role of algorithms in amplifying or suppressing meme-driven
    activism.
  * The ethical and political challenges of using humor in activism,
    especially in the context of commodification and cultural 
appropriation.
  * How digital satire amplifies marginalized voices, promotes
    counter-narratives, and adapts to geopolitical and cultural contexts
    while confronting the limitations imposed by platform governance.
  * How humor and satire navigate platform-specific affordances and
    constraints, such as algorithmic bias, content moderation, and
    surveillance, raises critical questions about their capacity to
    foster meaningful socio-political change.
  * Case studies of meme-driven movements, focusing on their
    socio-technical contexts and global/local dynamics.

By approaching memes and digital satire through an STS framework, this 
panel highlights the co-production of culture, technology, and 
resistance in digital activism. It seeks to uncover the hidden 
infrastructures and power dynamics that shape the subversive potential 
of humor, offering insights into the broader socio-technical assemblages 
of online political engagement.

*Additional Information*

More details about the conference can be found here: 4S Annual Meeting 
2025 <https://4sonline.org/about_the_conference_seattle.php>.
For questions, feel free to contact us:

  * Yarden Skop ((yarden.skop /at/ uni-siegen.de)
    <https://mailto:(yarden.skop /at/ uni-siegen.de)>)
  * Sarah Rüller ((sarah.rueller /at/ uni-siegen.de)
    <https://mailto:(sarah.rueller /at/ uni-siegen.de)>)
  * Konstantin Aal ((konstantin.aal /at/ uni-siegen.de)
    <https://mailto:(konstantin.aal /at/ uni-siegen.de)>)
  * Norah Abokhodair ((norah.abukhodair /at/ gmail.com)
    <https://mailto:(norah.abukhodair /at/ gmail.com)>)
  * Houda Elmimouni ((houda.elmimouni /at/ umanitoba.ca)
    <https://mailto:(houda.elmimouni /at/ umanitoba.ca)>)


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