Standards, Disruptions and Values in Digital Culture and Communication
We have extended the date for submitting abstracts for our upcoming workshop in November 2015 to May 25. Please find a shortened call for papers below. The workshop is organized in cooperation with and hosted by the ICT&S Center at the University of Salzburg, who have already prepared a marvelous conference website.
We are also very pleased to announce the following keynote speakers:
Prof Charles Ess (University of Oslo)
Prof Helen Kennedy (University of Sheffield)
Call for Papers
In digital culture and communication, with the pervasiveness that characterizes online media, standards and values are contested, whereas well-established paths in the production and circulation of information have been newly arranged or abandoned altogether. Technical and social standards are consistent, formal and informal norms, values or conventions of doing, operating, producing, and/or performing. As the basis of technical transmission, standards in media allow transferability and interoperability, reduce complexity, and facilitate communication across formats, platforms and boundaries. As a consequence of transformations and re-orientations that continuously happen in almost all fields of the media, new technological standards, ethical codes, narrative and visual tropes are being produced.
It is therefore crucial to critically evaluate the relationship between standards and values in their social, political, technological and creative dimensions. Who has the power to define, develop and implement standards? Which values are attached to standardization processes in creative industries and how are they related to copyright and patents in technological development? Are peer-production, open-access publishing and free-culture movements different kinds of markets or disruptions to existing models of markets? What is the relationship between technological standardization and cultural diversity?
This workshop aims to address such questions. We welcome papers on the following issues and topics:
- Technical and social standards in digital media: How do technical standards evolve in the media industry and how are they implemented? What kind of values shape this process? What modes of interventions exist (e.g. between players like platform operators and users?)
- Visual and narrative standards and disruptions in digital culture: How are visual standards and codes built and how do they influence the comprehension of data? How do visual media and narratives introduce new canons in forms such such as remix, memes or selfies?
- Professional and ethical standards in digital contexts: Who is responsible of implementing professional ethical standards? Are there emerging frameworks? How do ethical codes inform digital culture research? How do big data contribute or condition these developments?
Please send your abstracts (max. 400 words) by May 25, 2015 to ecreadigitalculture@gmail.com.
We are looking forward to your submissions.
The DCC Management Team
Gemma San Cornelio, Aristea Fotopoulou, Christoph Raetzsch
Digital Culture and Communication 