DIGITAL DIVIDE WORKING GROUP - CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2022

The Digital Divide Working Group of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites the submission of proposals for papers and panels for IAMCR 2022, which will be held online from 11 to 15 July 2022. The conference will also have a national hub at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The deadline for submission is 9 February 2022, at 23.59 UTC.

See the CfPs of all sections and working groups >

Conference Themes

IAMCR conferences have a main conference theme (with several sub-themes) that is explored from multiple perspectives throughout the conference in plenaries, in the programmes of our sections and working groups, and in the Flow34 virtual cinema and podcasts stream. They also have many themes defined by our 33 thematic sections and working groups. Proposals submitted to sections and working groups may be centered on an aspect of the main conference theme as it relates to the central concerns of the section or working group, or they may address the additional themes identified by the section or working group in their individual calls for proposals.

The main theme for IAMCR 2022, “Communication Research in the Era of Neo-Globalisation: Reorientations, Challenges and Changing Contexts,” is concerned with possibilities for rethinking communication research agendas in the post-pandemic world, which has seen dramatic shifts in the way we interact and understand our physical, social, cultural, political and material environments.

Eight sub-themes of this central theme have been identified: Reorienting Media and Communication Research in the Era of Neo-Globalisation; Artificial Intelligence in Global Communication Contexts; Cultural Identities and Dis-Identities in the Era of Neo-Globalisation; Communication for Sustainability: Climate Change, Environment, and Health; Media Ethics and Principles in the Digital Age; Media, Communication, and the Construction of Global Public Health; Data/Digital Science and Intercultural Communication; Digital Platforms and Public Service: Science, Technology and Sustainability. See the complete theme description and rationale here.

Within this context, the Digital Divide Working Group is particularly interested in exploring the role digital technologies, digital literacy, and digital capital play in securing social stability, inclusion, and diversity in society. It would be interesting to know how societies with different economic, social, political, and cultural backgrounds adapted to the new pandemic and post-pandemic contexts, specifically when the need for ICT access and digital skills became crucial for professional and personal lives. We will also tackle the problem of sustainability in a modern globalized world and discuss how countries with different levels of digital inequality differ in terms of their approaches to sustainable development of the environment in the changing world around us. On a broader scale, we encourage researchers to think about the role digital technologies and digital competencies play in the post-pandemic world and discuss how they can foster or hinder the further development of societies. Here we welcome a discussion about digital capital as a new intangible capital that became increasingly important when everything shifted to online. How can digital capital be analyzed, measured, and built in times of uncertainty, flux, and constant change? What role do ICT access and digital competencies play in the construction of the digital capital, and how is it related to other intangible capitals: social, cultural, political, and others?

Digital Divide Working Group welcomes new theoretical approaches and empirical findings resulting from the research of digital inequality as a multi-dimensional phenomenon influencing various aspects of social and political life all across the world. In this respect, we are also interested in stimulating fruitful discussions about the co-relation of such factors as age, gender, income, education, location, and technical skills to use ICTs, as well as the co-relation of media literacy and social inclusion in the modern social and political life.

For the 2022 annual IAMCR conference we invite paper proposals on any of the following key topics:

• Digital inequalities in the pandemic and post-pandemic time: representations, manifestations, effects
• Digital literacy as a theoretical and empirical concept
• Social inclusion and diversity as manifestations of sustainability
• Digital divide in the countries with different economic, social, political and cultural profiles
• Digital media and sustainability in the age of consumerism
• Digital skills in the modern era: how they are created, preserved, passed on, and archived
• The role of digital divide in communication across cultures, ethnicities and regions;
• Digital divide and exclusion from information environment: challenges and possible solutions
• Theorizing, operationalizing and constructing digital capital in times of uncertainty and change

Guidelines for abstracts

Abstracts are requested for the Online Conference Papers component. Abstracts submitted to the  Digital Divide Working Group should have between 300 and 500 words and must be submitted online at https://iamcr2022.exordo.com. Abstracts submitted by email will not be accepted.

The deadline to submit abstracts is 9 February 2022 at 23h59 UTC.

See important dates and deadlines to keep in mind

It is expected that authors will submit only one (1) abstract. However, under no circumstances should there be more than two (2) abstracts bearing the name of the same author, either individually or as first author. No more than one 1 abstract can be submitted by an author to the  Digital Divide Working Group. Please note also that the same abstract or another version with minor variations in title or content must not be submitted to more than one section or working group. Any such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be rejected.

Proposals are accepted for both single Papers and for Panels with several papers (in which you propose multiple papers that address a single theme). Please note that there are special procedures for submitting panel proposals. 

Languages

The Digital Divide Working Group accepts abstracts in English.

For further information about the conference contact beijing2022 [at] iamcr.org

For further information about the Digital Divide Working Group, its themes, submissions, and panels please contact the co-chairs of the working group:

Anna Gladkova, 
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia 
gladkova_a [at] list.ru (gladkova_a[at]list.ru)

Massimo Ragnedda,
Northumbria University, UK
massimo.ragnedda [at] northumbria.ac.uk (massimo.ragnedda[at]northumbria.ac.uk)

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