[Air-L] PhD workshop: Social activism and the digital

Anders Fagerjord anders.fagerjord at media.uio.no
Thu Aug 17 02:05:52 PDT 2017


Dear fellow internet researchers, 

The Centre for Research on Media Innovations and the Department of Media and Communication, University of Oslo are happy to invite you to a Ph.d. workshop: 

Title: Social activism and the digital
Coordinator: Stefania Milan, University of Amsterdam and University of Oslo
Time: 5-6 September, 2017
Place: University of Oslo

Stefania Milan’s research explores the interplay between technologies and  participation, and activism and social movements in particular, cyberspace governance, and data epistemologies. She is the founder of the Data J Lab (currently in transition to UvA, and largely inactive) and the Principal Investigator of the DATACTIVE project, funded through a Starting Grant of the European Research Council

Program:

Civil engagement, social movements and political participation have dramatically changed since the diffusion of the internet, and of social media in particular. The way people come together, mobilize and protest have progressively embedded various elements of the ‘digital’—often at the pace of technological innovation, and sometimes even anticipating it. If we fast-forwarding today’s digital environment, the so-called Internet of Things, with its sensors and “smart devices”, may multiply both possibilities and risks for citizens willing to engage in radical politics.

This PhD workshop will work with both theory and real-world case studies to explore activism and civic engagement in the digital age through the lens of technology and technology-enabled collective action. It will take media (e.g., social movement websites, citizen journalism, online campaigning…) and technology (e.g., social media platforms, mobile apps, sensors…) as starting point, to investigate social and organizational dynamics such as the individual/collective tension and tactical repertoires as they evolve in interaction with software and information. The workshop will also touch upon contemporary challenges to digital activism such as censorship, content filtering and online surveillance, and forms of resistance such as circumvention tools. Finally, methodological and ethical issues of studying activism and the digital today will be  addressed. 

Preparations and expectations:

Participants are expected to submit 3 days in advance (2nd September) a short outline of 1-2 pages detailing their research questions or work in progress, to help the teacher shape the workshop according to the student needs and interest.

A reading list will be distributed in advance; students are expected to spend about 12 hours to prepare for the workshop.

Deadline for signing up: 25th August.

Sign up: Email Elisabeth Quarre Eggen; e.q.eggen at media.uio.no

http://www.uio.no/for-ansatte/enhetssider/hf/imk/arrangementer/2017/phd-workshop-social-activism.html


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