[Commlist] CFP: Digital Intimacies 12

*Digital Intimacies 12: Intimately Disconnected*
**
*4-5 December 2026 (Friday and Saturday), The University of Sydney*
*Submission Deadline: *28 August 2026
**
In 2017, our conference explored the theme of connection and 
disconnection. Since then, our society has experienced a distinct 
“disconnection turn” (Fast, 2021). Concepts such as “non-use,” 
“withdrawal,” and “resistance” have been increasingly applied to various 
forms of mobile and digital media. Disconnection has been theorised as 
an identity practice (Agai, 2022) and as a manifestation of class 
dynamics (Fast et al., 2021). It can take many forms—voluntary, 
involuntary, or reluctantly voluntary (Cassidy, 2018). More recently, we 
are witnessing the emergence of newer forms and discourses of 
disconnection: social media and dating app fatigue, social media bans, a 
Gen Z exodus from the internet, digital detoxes, trends in unsubscribing 
from film streaming platforms, return to in-person events after COVID, 
and more.
For Digital Intimacies 12, we ask key questions that challenge our 
/raison d’être/: What remains of digital intimacies when we are 
digitally disconnected? How do we develop and maintain intimacies 
/while/ we are digitally disconnected? Do we develop new forms of 
intimacies /because/ we are digitally disconnected?  We invite 
submissions across disciplines to engage with, question, and appreciate 
the many manifestations of disconnection related to intimate practices. 
Potential topics include (but are not limited to):

  * The cultural politics of digital disconnection
  * Unsubscribing from _________
  * Social media and dating app fatigue
  * Exploration of various forms of disconnections
  * Remote work
  * Post-digital intimacies, late-digital intimacies
  * Enshittification and platform death trajectory
  * The return to celluloid filmmaking and other analogue cultural 
practices
  * Consequences of social media bans in Australia and beyond
  * Broader practices and phenomena related to digital intimacies

For our keynote speaker, conference format, submission guidelines, and 
timeline, please visit our website: 
https://digitalintimacies12.wordpress.com
**
*Enquiries: *(digitalintimacies.sydneyu /at/ gmail.com)
**
*Organisers*: Sam Chan (USyd/MECO), Pao-chen Tang (USyd/Film Studies), 
Vivien Nara (USyd/Cultural Studies), Julie Zhang (USyd/Film Studies), 
and Tisha Dejmanee (UTS/Digital and Social Media)

---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely. The commlist has no responsibility for any damage caused by its postings. Subscription to the list automatically implies agreement with this rule.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ commlist.org)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------