[Air-L] Call for Papers: Capitalism, Social Science and the Platform University

[Mark Carrigan]

*Capitalism, Social Science and the Platform University**December
13th-14th, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge*

In recent discussions of capitalism, the notion of the ‘platform’ has come
to play a prominent role in conceptualising our present circumstances and
imagining our potential futures. There are criticisms which can be raised
of the platform-as-metaphor, however we believe it provides a useful hook
through which to make sense of how socio-technical innovations may be
leading to a new phase of capitalist accumulation. To talk of ‘platform
capitalism’ in this sense does not exclude consideration of parallel
notions such as digital capitalism, data capitalism and surveillance
capitalism but rather seeks to frame these considerations through a focus
upon the platform as a novel assemblage.

While research into social media and the sharing economy is relatively
advanced, the increasing centrality of platforms to the operation of the
university remains understudied and undertheorised. Our conference seeks to
rectify this, raising the possibility of the ‘platform university’ as a
provocation to stimulate discussion concerning platforms, the commercial
and academic science they depend upon and contribute to reshaping, as well
as their implications for the future of the university. We see the
university as a case study for inquiry into platforms, but also as a
horizon of change within which the social sciences seek to address these
processes.

We invite papers which address the full range of questions posed by these
considerations, including topics such as:

   - *The ontology of platforms*
   - *The epistemology of platforms*
   - *Methodological challenges in studying platforms*
   - *The transformation of the social sciences*
   - *The politics and political economy of platforms*
   - *Platforms as evaluative infrastructures*
   - *Platform education and the platform university *

There will be a keynote by Ben Williamson
<https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/18084> on *The expanding data infrastructure
of higher education: public-private policy networks and platform plug-ins*.

We welcome abstracts of 500 words or less by July 31st 2018, sent to
mac228 at cam.ac.uk. Please include a brief biographical note, as well as
three key words to categorise your submission. We also plan to publish a
select set of papers as a special issue or edited book and are in
conversation with journal editors and publishers. We hope to have limited
travel and accommodation funding available for unfunded PhD students and
post-docs but cannot confirm this at present.