[Air-L] Workshop on Radical Approaches to Platform Governance

[Eugenia Siapera]

Call for Participation: Workshop on Radical Approaches to Platform
Governance (Dublin, Nov. 1 )

*See full CfP for background context + more detail [*
https://digitalpolicy.ie/ucd-centre-for-digital-policy-is-co-organising-a-workshop-on-radical-approaches-to-platform-governance/
]

This workshop seeks to bring together researchers interested in critically
interrogating various aspects of the contemporary political economy of
platforms, with a special emphasis on theoretical and conceptual approaches
that provide a potentially radical challenge to understanding, or
re-imagining, the current academic discourse and policy status quo.

In particular, we are looking to highlight (a) critically oriented
perspectives to understanding the platform economy as it is (‘how we got
here’); as well as (b) forward looking, radical, utopian visions of
alternative platform governance futures might look like.

We’re especially interested in bringing together scholars with an interest,
or background, in applying some of the following perspectives on digital
platforms:

   - Critical political economy, including but not limited to Marxist
   approaches
   - Critical race theory, critical theories of race; Black Studies; the
   black radical tradition
   - Indigenous political philosophy and political economy
   - Post-colonial and de-colonial theories; dependency theory;
   world-systems thinking
   - Critical gender and sexuality studies; trans studies; radical and
   intersectional feminism
   - Disability studies
   - Abolitionism, transformative justice, restorative justice
   - Other radical intellectual traditions

*Where & When*: The workshop will be held as an all-day satellite workshop
on November 1, before the kick-off of the Association of Internet
Researchers conference in Dublin, Ireland. We are very grateful to
University College Dublin, which has given us access to a fantastic venue:
the Museum of Literature Ireland. We are currently planning + hoping to
hold this as an in-person event; we may explore hybrid or online components
if there is enough interest.

*Workshop Submissions & Participation: *We welcome 500-word abstracts from
interested participants in the workshop. Two types of submission are
possible: presentations (which will be clustered together in panels with
15-20 minute talks), or papers (which will be given their own session and
assigned a discussant for closer feedback and workshopping). Work at all
stages of development is welcome for either format, although we ask that
paper presenters commit to having a draft paper that they can circulate
before the workshop. We are additionally exploring options for potential
special-issue outputs for accepted papers.

Individuals interested in attending and contributing to the discussions,
but not necessarily in presenting their work, may submit a short statement
of interest in lieu of an abstract. Please use this opportunity to briefly
describe your experience & interest in the workshop topic, and what you
would hope to bring to the discussion.

Abstract submissions and statements of interest in participation can be
submitted here. *The deadline for abstract submissions is July 20*

Organizers (alphabetically):
Robert Gorwa, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
Tomiwa Ilori, University of Pretoria
Eugenia Siapera, University College Dublin
Paloma Viejo-Otero, Dublin City University

The workshop is sponsored by the School of Information and Communication
Studies and the Centre for Digital Policy, University College Dublin.  It
is co-organized by the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and the Centre for
Human Rights at the University of Pretoria.