[ecrea] CfP The Internet, Social Networks and Civic Engagement in Chinese Societies

*The Internet, Social Networks and Civic Engagement in Chinese Societies*
A Special Issue for/Information, Communication&  Society (iCS)/
Guest editor: Wenhong Chen

 _Deadline for abstract: May 15, 2012_

*Aim and Scope*
The Internet and digital media have become conduits and locales where
millions of Chinese share information and engage in creative expression and
social participation. The Arab Spring and the relative lack of response in
China highlight the importance of understanding the Internet implications in
specific social context. Yet, compared to their growing prevalence and
significance, research on the contingent, non-linear, and sometimes
paradoxical impacts of digital media and technologies in Chinese societies
remains theoretically underdeveloped and empirically understudied.

Taking an eclectic approach, this special issue aims to advance a balanced
and context-rich understanding of how digital media and technologies afford
the construction of social networks and participation in civic engagement in
Chinese societies including mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore,
and the global Chinese Diaspora. It aims to reveal both the transformative
power and the limitations of the Internet and other new communication
technologies. It welcomes work with diverse theoretical and empirical
approaches. Contributors are encouraged to examine the implications of the
Internet and other new communication technologies for social networks and
civic engagement, including but not limited to:

- How do digital technologies and media allow actors to form and
maintain social networks on- and offline?
- What are the patterns and structure of Chinese social networks
straddling boundaries of geography, identities, and issues in the Internet
age?
- How do access to and memberships in such networks vary by class,
gender, generation, urban-rural gaps as well as differential digital media
skills and literacy?
- How does digital mediated communication contribute to an informed,
connected, and engaged public in Chinese societies?
- To what extent do digital media and technologies facilitate
transparency and enhance the visibility of oppressed groups, in particular
in comparison with print and broadcast media under tighter government
control?
- To what extent do glocalized, transnational networks affect access
and mobilization of resources for social development and change?

*Logistics and Timeline*

A 300-500 word abstract should be sent via email to the special
issue editor by*May 15, 2012.*

Initial screening decisions will be made by May 30, 2012.

Authors of accepted abstracts should submit a full paper to
http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rics  by August 15, 2012.

Authors must specify that the submission is for the special issue on
The Internet, Social Networks and Civic Engagement in Chinese Societies.
All submission will be subject to the journal's standard peer review
process. Authors should follow the Information for Contributors of
Manuscripts as published in iCS website. Information about the journal can
be found atwww.informaworld.com/ics

The special issue will be published in September 2013.
For inquiries or submission of full papers, please contact

Wenhong Chen
Assistant Professor
Department of Radio-TV-Film, College of Communication
University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station A0800
Austin, TX 78712
T: 512-471-4952
F: 512-471-4077
(wenhong_chen /at/ mail.utexas.edu)



Cheers,
Wenhong


Wenhong Chen
Assistant Professor
Department of Radio-TV-Film, College of Communication
1 University Station A0800, CMA 6.136
University of Texas at Austin
2504 WHITIS AVE STOP A0800
AUSTIN, TX ?78712-1067
T: 512-471-4952
F: 512-471-4077
(wenhong_chen /at/ mail.utexas.edu)