[Air-L] CFP: post-ICA Chinese Internet Research Conference 27-28 May 2020 at RMIT

[Haiqing Yu]

Sorry for the typo in the CFP that I sent a few minutes ago. The deadline
for submitting paper and panel proposals is *10 January 2020*, not 2019.
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A/Professor Haiqing Yu
Vice-Chancellor's Principal Research Fellow
School of Media and Communication
RMIT University

On Tue, Oct 8, 2019 at 3:11 PM Haiqing Yu <hqyu2011 at gmail.com> wrote:

> ICA 2020 Gold Coast Post-Conference: Call for Papers
>
>
>
> *The 18th Chinese Internet Research Conference (18th CIRC)*
>
>
>
> *The Internationalisation of China’s Digital and Communication Industries*
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>
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> 27-28 May 2020
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> RMIT University
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> 124 La Trobe St
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> Melbourne VIC 3004 Australia
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>
>
> Conference website:
> https://www.rmit.edu.au/events/all-events/conferences/2020/may/chinese-internet-research-conference
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>
>
> *Free Registration: *
>
>
> https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-18th-chinese-internet-research-conference-18th-circ-tickets-68656097235
>
>
>
> *Preamble*
>
>
>
> Organised by RMIT and QUT universities with sponsorship from Curtin and Deakin
> Universities, the 18th CIRC focuses on the prospects for, and critiques
> of, the internationalization of China’s digital and communication
> industries. The two-day conference will be held at RMIT in Melbourne, 27-28
> May 2020.
>
>
>
> The post-ICA 2020 conference brings CIRC to the southern hemisphere for
> the first time in its history since its inception in 2003. It will be
> jointly hosted by media and/or communication studies programs and schools
> in some of Australia’s most innovative universities. The conference will
> continue the proud tradition of CIRC in stimulating international research
> into the Internet and China within the broader field of media and
> communication studies. It aims to create dialogues between conceptual and
> empirical researchers; between academia, civil society, and industry. It
> focuses on understanding the transformation of Chinese digital media,
> communication and technologies and seeks to identify key new directions for
> research, debate, policy and application, in the current global environment
> of contestations and uncertainties. A particular goal of the conference is
> to encourage collegial interaction between higher-degree students, early
> career researchers and leading thinkers in this field. We will foreground
> innovation in digital methods of research, transformative programs of
> critical and creative inquiry, and the importance of dialogue between
> government, industry and the academia.
>
>
>
> The CFP invites papers and panels that examine the internationalization
> mission and geopolitical implication of China’s global digital strategies,
> their successes and challenges that are centered on and beyond the
> Internet. It also welcomes papers that examine new dynamics and emerging
> trends related to Chinese Internet and digital culture/economy/politics
> from a comparative perspective—both historically and horizontally (with
> other countries).
>
>
>
> *Keynote speakers:*
>
>
>
> Yu Hong, Professor of media and communication, Zhejiang University, China
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>
>
> Michael Keane, Professor of Chinese media, Curtin University, Australia
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>
>
>
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> *The Conference Theme*
>
>
>
> *“The Internationalisation of China’s Digital and Communication
> Industries”*
>
> In anticipation of an Asian century (Khanna, 2019), Chinese technology has
> become increasingly more assertive (Lee, 2018), approximating a tech cold
> war. China’s internationalization strategies of their digital and
> communication industries are systematic and comprehensive as evidenced by
> their artificial intelligence ambitions and the “Digital Silk Road
> Initiative” (Shen, 2018: Fung et al, 2018; Keane & Yu, 2019; Shi, 2018).
> These policy interventions have helped advance Chinese tech, media, and
> digital platforms “over the wall”, if more often through parallel platform
> strategies, whether social media platforms (WeChat, Kuaishou,
> Douyin/TikTok), E-commerce models and online payment (Alipay, AliExpress,
> ‘Taobao Village’), digital and mobile technology (Xiaomi, Huawei), or its
> big data industry.
>
> Yet, while promising a ‘fairer’ Internet and a ‘cyber community of shared
> destiny’ (to use Chinese President Xi’s words), these policies promote the
> interests of Chinese cyber sovereignty and an alternative cyber order
> advanced by the Chinese Internet (Yang, 2003, 2012).  China’s expansion of
> its digital footprint, advance in digital capacity and AI technology, and
> soft power ambition have caused unease among international competitors and
> are regarded as ‘threat’ by the US-led ‘Western’ alliance, as witnessed in
> the Huawei 5G ban in the U.S and Australia, forced sale of the gay dating
> app Grindr in the US, and accusation of TikTok violations of cultural norms
> and regulatory policies in India, Malaysia, and the U.S.  Even as China’s
> media content has flourished domestically and among the Chinese diasporas,
> efforts to enter Western mainstream geo-cultural markets have proven
> challenging if not impossible (Sun 2015), even with more genre-driven fare (*The
> Wandering Earth*) or the delayed “soft launch” of video portals (Lotz
> 2019) like IQiyi into southeast Asian markets.
>
> To this end, CIRC 2020 proposes to interrogate questions around, but *not
> limited to*, the following categories:
>
> ·      China’s digital strategy and expansion in the Asia Pacific and
> along the BRI, including its cybersecurity and legal frameworks;
>
> ·      The role of the Internet and digital technologies (artificial
> intelligence, blockchain, big data, quantum, etc) in shaping and promoting
> the Chinese version of a new cyber order and governance, both within and
> outside China; and its national and global impact;
>
> ·      Chinese digital platforms, digital economy, and digital diplomacy
> in the great power contest;
>
> ·      Chinese digital media and diasporic Chinese communities
>
> ·      Comparative studies between China and other nations on digital
> economies, politics, policies, governance, platforms, activism and cultures
>
>
>
> We also welcome proposals and abstracts that are not directly related to
> the above-mentioned themes, such as:
>
> ·      Chinese digital lifestyles and youth sub-cultures
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> ·      New forms of Internet communities or activism
>
> ·      Political economy of Chinese digital and communication industries
>
>
>
> *Deadlines:*
>
>
>
> Please send panel proposals, paper abstracts and enquiries to:
> circ2020au at gmail.com
>
>
>
> Panel proposals (max. 1500 words): Panels should consist of 4 abstracts. A
> maximum of two sessions on the same topic (ie. 8 abstracts), submitted as
> separate panels of 4 abstracts each, are permitted. The deadline for
> submissions is *6pm, 10 January 2019* (Australian Eastern Time).
>
>
>
> Individual paper abstracts (max. 300 words and a short bio of 100 words): *6pm,
> 10 January 2019* (Australian Eastern Time).
>
>
>
> Full paper submission for participants in the Best Student Paper Award
> (max. 8,000 words, including notes and references): *9am, Monday 30 March
> 2020* (Australian Eastern Time).
>
>
>
> Full paper submission is NOT required except for Higher Degree Research
> students who wish to be considered for the Best Student Paper Award.
>
>
>
> *Key dates:*
>
>
>
> ·      10 January 2020: Paper and panel proposals due
>
> ·      14 February 2020: Notifications of acceptance
>
> ·      21 February 2020: Confirmation of attendance
>
> ·      21-25 May 2020: ICA (Gold Coast)
>
> ·      27-28 May 2020: CIRC (Melbourne)
>
>
> Organising committee:
>
> Haiqing Yu                 haiqing.yu at rmit.edu.au
>
> Larissa Hjorth            larissa.hjorth at rmit.edu.au
>
> Stuart Cunningham    s.cunningham at qut.edu.au
>
> David Craig                davidcra at usc.edu
>
> Michael Keane            m.keane at curtin.edu.au
>
> Jian Xu                        j.xu at deakin.edu.au
>
> Mathew Allen             matthew.allen at deakin.edu.au
>