[Air-L] M/C Journal CFP 'Conspiracy'

[Naomi Smith]

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased announce a special issue on "Conspiracy" in M/C Journal. If
there's something you're working on that you'd like to submit a tight 3K
article on, we'll be keen to receive your 100-250w abstract and author bio.
If you can submit your abstract to us by 30th September, we'll be inviting
authors whose work aligns with the CFP to an online workshop to build
engagement with these works and develop a research network around this
topic. The full CFP is below.



'conspiracy'

Conspiracies have assumed broad cultural and political resonance over the
last century (Butter and Knight). While often framed as an American problem
(Melley), social media has contributed to their global reach (Gerts et
al.). Bruns, Harrington, and Hurcombe have traced the contemporary movement
of conspiracy theories into the cultural mainstream. They identify the
networked and cross-platform nature of conspiracy theory movement from
fringe conspiracist groups on social media platforms such as Facebook
through their greater uptake in more diverse communities and to substantial
amplification by celebrities, sports stars, and media outlets.
Consequently, conspiracy theories that were once the product of subcultural
groups, have increasingly mixed into popular and authoritative media
(Marwick and Lewis) and entertainment (Hyzen and Van den Bulck; Van den
Bulck and Hyzen).

The illusion of neat segmentation between the sites of conspiracy
theorising and the mainstream media has vanished. As conspiracy theories
push into the mainstream, they generate material engagement with government
and social institutions as demonstrated in the 6 January 2021 storming of
the US Capitol (Moskalenko and McCauley) and the COVID-19 pandemic (Baker,
Wade, and Walsh). While conspiracies flourish online, this issue also aims
to highlight the affective and aesthetic dimensions of conspiracy theories;
including how the sensory and affective capacities of the body work
alongside seemingly ‘rational’ informational practices and platform logics.

This issue welcomes submissions on four broad themes:

   - Theorising conspiracy in digital contexts
   - Methodological approaches to conspiracy research in digital contexts
   - Contemporary conspiracies that span the body and digital environments
   - The consequences of digital conspiracies

Prospective contributors should email an abstract of 100-250 words and a
brief biography to the issue editors. Abstracts should include the article
title and should describe your research question, approach, and argument.
Biographies should be about three sentences (maximum 75 words) and should
include your institutional affiliation and research interests. Articles
should be 3000 words (plus bibliography). All articles will be double-blind
refereed and must adhere to MLA style (6th edition).

*Details*

   - Article deadline: 7 Jan. 2022
   - Release date: 9 Mar. 2022
   - Editors: Alexia Maddox, Stephanie Baker, Naomi Smith, and Clare
   Southerton

Please submit articles through the M/C Journal website (
https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/information/authors#conspiracy
)

Send any enquiries to conspiracy at journal.media-culture.org.au.



Naomi Smith (with Alexia, Clare and Stephanie)

Lecturer in Sociology | School of Arts



Federation University Australia

Office 221| Building 1E | Gippsland Campus

PO Box 3191 Gippsland VIC 3841