[Air-L] Call for Papers and Collaborators: #OccupyThought

[Dylan Wittkower]

To be clear: I'm sending this to Air-L because I think the #OWS is a really
significant moment in the development of internet activism. This project
has a wider scope, but certainly includes internet research. It's what I'll
be writing about!


—Dylan Wittkower


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Call for Papers and Collaborators: #OccupyThought



#OccupyThought is a theoretical action taken as a part of
#OccupyWallStreet—intended to be a political act of theorization rather
than a theorization of political action. We welcome scholars and activists
to contribute any theoretical writing concerned with the #OWS movement. All
submissions will be published online in an open access format, and subject
to open peer review from both scholars and activists. Selections will be
chosen for one or more edited volumes, to be published in both print and
open-access ebook formats.



Submissions of any kind of theoretically-based writing are welcome,
including informational writing, interpretive writing, critical and
interventionist writing, as well as persuasive writing that attempts to
imagine outcomes and next steps, and to appeal to #occupiers to follow one
vision or plan rather than another. We hope to see a great diversity of
perspectives and assessments, and there is no political litmus test—only a
requirement that the intent of the writing be constructive communication
both with scholars and with activists. Word count is expected to vary
widely, in accordance with the kind of writing submitted, but should be
more than 1500 words and less than 8000. Writing from any disciplinary or
interdisciplinary perspective is welcome.



Those who have made provisional commitments to take part in the project
include Linda Martín Alcoff (Philosophy, Hunter College/CUNY Graduate
Center), Wendy Brown (Political Science, UC Berkeley), Jason Eastman
(Sociology, Coastal Carolina University), Jairus Grove (Political Science,
University of Hawai’i at Manoa), Alexander Halavais (Communications,
Quinnipiac University), Dustin Howes (Political Science, LSU), Leigh
Johnson (Philosophy, Rhodes College), Nathan Jun (Midwestern State
University), Paul M. Livingston (Philosophy, UNM), Nicholas Mirzoeff
(Media, Culture, and Communication, NYU), Joel Olson (Politics &
International Affairs, Northern Arizona University), Andrew Ross (Social
and Cultural Analysis, NYU), Louis-Georges Schwartz (Film Studies, Ohio
University), Robert Talisse (Philosophy, Vanderbilt), D.E. Wittkower
(Philosophy, Old Dominion University), and Keith Woodward (Geography,
University of Wisconson–Madison).



Due to the open-access nature of the project, we will accept concurrent
submissions with other projects that also accept concurrent submissions. *
Tidal* (occupytheory.org) and *Occupy Philosophy* (occupyphil.org) are two
notable examples of similar projects that we are glad to share submissions
with. If your work is more quantitative than theoretical, you may be more
interested in working with *Occupy Research* (occupyresearch.wikispaces.com).
Historians may also wish to work with *Occupy History* (occupyhistory.us).



For online open peer-review, reviewers will be sought from both academics
and #occupiers, based on the belief that this project should be responsive
and responsible to standards of both theory and practice. Submissions
should be written with both audiences in mind. Submissions are welcome from
scholars or from #occupiers, but we are especially interested in
submissions from scholars who have been personally involved in
#occupations, and from #occupiers with academic backgrounds.



In addition to submissions, we also welcome collaborators who wish to help
with peer-review, with communications and publicity, or with any other
related project. While immediate needs will concern getting the activists
and scholars informed of and involved in the project, expansions of the
project are welcome, and may include organizing teach-ins,
Kickstarter-funding the purchase of books for #occupations and public
libraries, or other related activities of your choosing. We encourage you
to get involved and bring your own goals and ideas. We hope that working
groups on Direct Action, Education, and Outreach will emerge.



If you’d like to be involved in any way, please sign up to the Google group
for the project:

http://groups.google.com/group/occupy-thought

The group will be the primary location of discussion and planning, and will
send out announcements of newly uploaded submissions.



Please also consider “liking” the project on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Thought/279914098727293

The Facebook page will send out relevant news stories and postings, and
will also post newly uploaded submissions.



Submissions will be uploaded to The New Everyday for open access and open
peer-review:

http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/tne/

To submit your writing, create an account with Media Commons and send your
exact username to d.e.wittkower at gmail.com with the subject line
“#OccupyThought Contributor”. You will be sent further instructions at that
time. Formatting details are available on the New Everyday website linked
above.



Contributions will be accepted until Feb. 20th.



We hope you will consider submitting, and that you will consider
collaborating. If the topic or process sounds interesting or valuable to
you, but you will not be able to contribute, please join our Google group
and like our Facebook page so that you can stay updated and perhaps help
review contributions.





D.E. Wittkower

Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies

Old Dominion University