[Commlist] Rethinking DIgital Myths Conference cfp

Rethinking Digital Myths. Mediation, Narratives and Mythopoiesis in the 
Digital Age


USI Università Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Switzerland - January 
30th-31st 2020



The term “myth” resonates widely in the foundations of European cultural 
and media studies, particularly in the intellectual legacy of French 
semiotician Roland Barthes, who described “modern mythologies” as the 
dominant ideologies of our time (Barthes 1957). More recently, Vincent 
Mosco emphasised how, in the last decades, the myth of the digital 
revolution still animates individuals and societies by providing new 
paths “that lift people out of the banality of everyday life” (Mosco 
2004, 3). Little attention, however, has been given to the question of 
what makes myths of the digital age different to mythologies of the 
past, and also how and to which extent these myths permeate contemporary 
societies. This is an important gap if one considers that myths have 
characterised the most diverse cultures across thousands of years, from 
ancient Greece with its narratives of gods and metamorphosis, to 
contemporary Silicon Valley in which the myth of singularity envisions 
transcendence and immortality as the result of the development of 
digital technologies.


As recently suggested by Ortoleva (2019), one way to look at this 
question is to consider how digital technologies have become both the 
subject of new forms of myths and the medium through which contemporary 
mythologies are shaped and disseminated. The aim of this conference is 
to critically scrutinize the topic of “digital myths” from this twofold 
perspective: on the one hand, retracing the narratives by which digital 
media are and have been told, from the enthusiasms about the ‘digital 
revolution’ to the recent panics about the Dark Web, online surveillance 
and fake news; on the other, looking at how new forms of mythologies 
emerge, co-evolve and are fostered by and within the contemporary media 
landscape, informed by the peculiar dynamics of digital communication.


The conference invites empirical and theoretical contributions that 
critically assess “digital myths” from one or both these angles. 
Potential topics may include but are not limited to:


- Predictions and vision about digital futures

- The time and temporalities of digital myths

- The spaces and geographies of digital myths

- The myth of a globally connected society in the digital age

- Digital networks and democracy: threat and promises

- The myth of the “digital revolution”

- The role of digital media and social media in the construction of the 
social imaginary

- Urban legends and popular beliefs in the digital age.

- Community, participation, interactivity as myths of the “digital society”

- Platformization and the logic of digital media platforms

- Digital media and moral panic

- Media and myths from a media archaeology perspective

- “Low intensity myths” in the contemporary media system

- Media representations of digital technologies

- Myths on the analogue/digital transition



_Confirmed keynote speakers_:Peppino Ortoleva (University of Turin)


_Organisational board_: Gabriele Balbi (USI, Switzerland), Luca Barra 
(University of Bologna, Italy), Paolo Bory (USI, Switzerland), Simone 
Dotto (University of Udine, Italy), Giuliana Galvagno (University of 
Turin, Italy), Simone Natale (Loughborough University, UK)


Submissions should include an abstract (approximately 500 words), a 
short biographical note of the author/authors (100 words for each 
speaker) and should be sent to (rethinkingdigitalmyths /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(rethinkingdigitalmyths /at/ gmail.com)> by _September 23, 2019_.


Notifications of acceptance will be sent to authors _by October 7, 2019._

A 200 Chf (approx. 200 USD - 180 euros) registration fee will be applied 
(lunches and coffee breaks included).


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