10,953 Media Ecology, Convergence, Call for Papers

*Convergence*

The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies

Call for Papers

Special issue on: New Media, Global Activism and Politics

Vol. 20, no. 3 (August 2014)

Guest editors: Carolyn Guertin (University of North Texas at Dallas) and
Angi Buettner (Victoria University of Wellington)

*Deadline for refereed research articles: *30 August 2013

Indignados. Arab Spring. #Occupy. The 99%. Idle No More. #Upsettler.
GlobalNoise. Strike Debt. These are just some of the new terms to emerge
from the global mass protests of the last two years. They are part of a sea
change as political engagement, citizen journalism and tactical media
evolve as tools of protest and communication. These terms mark only one
small part of a much larger shift in media production and distribution that
is the rise of user-generated content or social media. Within digital
culture, the creative act has become a form of activism carried out through
the repurposing of pre-existing materials and media for political
change—and it is a practice that has swayed policy, overturned governments
and politicized subcultures and peoples on a global scale.

In the 19th century, the crowd emerged as a new social force. It was a
force, it was argued, that shook the foundations of society and led
individuals to commit irrational acts. In the 21st century, we have seen
the power of crowds re-emerge as an ostensibly smarter and more nimble
cultural force empowered by mobile technologies, crowdsourcing
methodologies and networked systems. How has activism changed as a result of new technologies? How are new media enlisted to assist in the planning and enactment of socio-political change? How are governments and political candidates using social media? How has social media altered policies,
elections and the democratic process?

Topics might include:

– Hacktivism

– Wikileaks

– Arab Spring

– #occupy

– Indignados

– Idle No More

– #upsettlers

– Global Noise

Strike Debt

– Crowdsourcing

– Lobbying

– Flashmobs, smart mobs or network armies

– Riot simulation or protest modeling

– Microblogging as a form of protest

– Protest apps, including geolocative ones

– Eco-activism

– Activism in education

– Gaming and new media activism

– New media and the environment

– Politics and new media

– Activist or protest art

– Appropriation, subvertising, culture jamming or memes

– Slacktivism

– Clicktivism

– Cyberfeminism

– DIY culture

– Prototyping

– Global protest networks

– Participatory culture

– eDemocracy

– Government sponsored social media

– Public media initiatives

– Elections and social media

*Queries may be directed to the guest editors, Carolyn Guertin at *
carolyn.guertin@gmail.com* or *Angi Buettner at Angi.Buettner@vuw.ac.nz

*Convergence* is published by Sage and all contributors must consult
the*guide to manuscript submission at:
*
http://www.uk.sagepub.com/journalsProdDesc.nav?prodId=Journal201774#tabview=manuscriptSubmission
* for details of house style.*
—
Carolyn Guertin, PhD
Languages and Communications, University of North Texas
author of *Digital Prohibition: Piracy and Authorship in New Media Art
*(Continuum,
2012)

Website: http://carolynguertin.com/
Email: carolyn.guertin@gmail.com
Skype: carolyn_guertin
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