[Air-L] MECCSA: “Theorizing Digital Divides

[Massimo Ragnedda]

Dear Colleagues,

Glenn W. Muschert and I are proposing a panel on “Theorizing Digital
Divides” for the Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association
(MECCSA) conference that will be hold at Northumbria University (Newcastle
upon Tyne, UK), in January 2015. If you are not familiar with this
association or conference, there is more information here:
http://www.meccsa.org.uk/conference/.

We plan to propose one or more panel session(s) at MECCSA on the topic of
“Theorizing Digital Divides,” which we intend to use as point(s) of
departure for an edited volume on the same topic. The intention is to
create panels as an opportunity for colleagues to present their papers, and
of course to have the opportunity to meet in person. We intend the panel(s)
not merely as sets of talks with limited interaction among panelists, but
rather as interactive opportunities for us to examine our common theme. The
aim is to promote lively dialogue among experts, and to offer a venue for
fruitful and satisfying discussion of how we theorize digital divides. Each
session is 90 minutes, and in order to increase the interaction with the
audience, we will make every attempt to limit the number of participants
for each session. The final number of sessions will depend on the number of
participant, and we will try to avoid parallel session in order to increase
the interactivity and the discussion. As we mention, we also plan an edited
volume on the topic of Theorizing Digital Divides, and we anticipate the
conference sessions on this theme as a point of departure for that project.

The deadline for us to propose a panel at the conference is the 1 September
2014. Therefore, if you would like to participate in the MECCSA  this
conference, we request that you please send us the details of the
authors/participants and a brief abstract of 150-200 words. We would need
to receive proposals to contribute to the MCCSA by 10 August 2014 at the
latest (emailed to Massimo Ragnedda – ragnedda at gmail.com and Glenn Muschert
– muschegw at MiamiOH.edu).

One point that might be obvious, however which perhaps bears clarification,
is that participation in the MCCSA conference panel does not imply, nor is
it contingent upon, final acceptance of a manuscript for the proposed
volume on theorizing digital divides. While the MECCSA panels and the
planned volume may complement one another, they are nonetheless separate
projects. In particular, acceptance for publication in the edited volume
will require successful peer and editorial review prior to publication. We
mention this simply to be clear, and to avoid any potential confusion.

In organizing a number of session at the same conference, it is ultimately
our intention to provide venues for those interested in digital divide
studies. In all, we hope to have a number of sessions which will be of
interest to you and other scholars, and we will be happy to bring together
numerous innovative and dynamic scholars.

For now, please feel welcome to be in contact if you have any questions or
concerns.



With best regards,

Massimo Ragnedda (Northumbria University, UK) ragnedda at gmail.com
Glenn Muschert (Miami University, USA) muschegw at MiamiOH.eduo

_______________________________
Massimo Ragnedda
Senior Lecturer in Mass Communication
Northumbria University (Newcastle, UK)
mragnedda.wordpress.com
http://notizie.tiscali.it/opinioni/Ragnedda/184/
skype: massimo.ragnedda

http://northumbria.academia.edu/MassimoRagnedda
Twitter: @massimoragnedda