Scholars of all kinds are invited to submit a position abstract for an ICA 2019 postconference discussion on technology and marginalization.
WHERE: All Souls Unitarian Church [Google Map] - this is about 15 minutes on a bus from the main conference hotel; 33 minutes on the metro to Washington National (Reagan) airport, 1.5 hours on public transport to Washington Dulles airport, and 1.5 hours on public transport to BWI (Baltimore airport).
WHEN: Wednesday, May 29, 9am-12noon
WHAT: Discussion of theorizing around marginality and technology/social media, with a goal to build a reading list and create networking opportunities for scholars working on similar topics.
REGISTRATION PROCESS:
Interested participants should complete the form below before February 1, 2019. In the case of limited space, participants will receive confirmation and, if applicable, their registration fee waiver, in early March 2019. Participants will need to register on the ICA site and pay a $50 registration fee to cover costs (unless they have recieved a waiver). We ask that participants RSVP by April 1 in order to have an accurate participant count.
Sage Publications has generously sponsored this postconference, allowing us to waive the registration fee for students, residents of Tier B and C countries, as well as anyone else lacking resources to attend.
ORGANIZERS: Amy Gonzales, Carmen Gonzalez, Brooke Foucault Welles, and Katy Pearce
Description: From studies of marginalized groups, to algorithmic bias exacerbating marginalization, to the ethics of observing marginalized people online, a growing body of scholarship focuses on issues of marginalization and social media. Yet, we lack a common set of literature from which to draw definitions, theories, and frameworks to guide research on social media and marginalization. This postconference asks scholars to consider the following questions: What inspires your research on social media and marginalization? What do you think is essential reading for scholars in this area? Is the work within the field or outside of the field? How do these ideas inform the practices of academia or your life? To build a canon of extant research in this area, we invite interested scholars to present on a theory or piece of scholarship, from any discipline including communication, that is essential to their work on social media and marginalization. Participants will give short presentations on a theory/text that inspires them, elaborate briefly on its strengths and weaknesses, and explain why those interested in social media and marginalization would benefit from exposure to the piece. We will also discuss actionable everyday activities that can be gleaned from this scholarship.
Objective: We will create a reading list of essential scholarship on social media/technology and marginalization. The reading list will be shared with participants, and made freely available online following the postconference. We will also explore the option of publishing a reader using the list and short response pieces from the participants involved in the postconference.
In an idealized civil society, democratic access to the production and distribution of public forms of communication would be granted to all people. Yet, in Rethinking the Public Sphere, Fraser argues that this ideal has never been realized. Access to public discourse, and in turn politics itself, has always been severely limited for those with less power and privilege. Instead, marginalized people, including women, people of color, and/or poor people, among others, form counterpublics that center their experiences and attempt to infiltrate and influence mainstream public debates. In our book, #HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice (Jackson, Bailey, Foucault Welles, forthcoming) we extend counterpublic sphere theory to include networked counterpublics, or groups of marginalized people who come together online to organize and advocate for social change, often under the organizing marker of the hashtag. From #BlackLivesMatter to #MeToo, we show how ordinary Americans from marginalized groups, including African Americans, women, transgender people and others aligned with racial justice and feminist causes have have used social media to make identity-based cultural and political demands. Harnessing the power of networked communication, these groups have successfully captured mainstream attention and forever changed national conversations about race, gender, and sexuality in the U.S.