[acc-cca-l] Open Call for Digital Decay | Media Studies Graduate Conference 2020

Thu Mar 12 10:38:09 MDT 2020

OPEN CALL FOR DIGITAL DECAY | MEDIA STUDIES GRADUATE CONFERENCE 2020
Chaos seems to no longer be a symptom of the accelerating growth of information and communication technology (ICT) - but its living condition. Big tech companies require an exponential amount of energy to power and cool down their data centers, and are now creating partnerships with big oil companies to optimize their extractive practices. Not to mention the islands of digital rubbish (Gabbrys, 2011) that are forming in developing countries where pieces of rare metals are retrieved through the decaying junk: "the dump," as architect Rem Koolhaas suggests, "has potential; it attracts scavengers." (Gabbrys, 2011, p.143).
But can scavenging save us?

Social media has been able to forge solidarity amongst minoritized and marginalized communities like never before. Access to education and resources has exploded with increased internet availability. Not to mention major strides being made in terms of increasing information and media access to d/Deaf and disabled communities. Web archives are flourishing and families are able to connect over long distances easier than ever. But what does it mean that the infrastructures that support these mediatic links will eventually degrade and fade? What is left when the digital decays?

Concordia's 2020 Annual Media Studies Association Conference will be dedicated to the theme of "Digital Decay". We invite students, faculty members, artists and community organizers in all fields to consider how our works in the digital humanities are tied up in various ecological anxieties, fading intimacies, societal unrest, and communication failures. As this new decade emerges in a moment of extreme ecological, socio-political, economic, community, and personal crises, what are some ways in which digital media plays a role in fueling fires?

Presentations may take the form of:

  *   Short talks (5-8 minutes),
  *   Long talks (15-20 minutes),
  *   Project demonstrations (8-10 minutes),
  *   Workshops (60-90 minutes, with at least one facilitator; may be discussion- or technology-based),
  *   Posters (print or electronic; please be available for at least 45 minutes to present alongside your poster)
  *   Research-creation installations (to be displayed during one day of the conference), or
  *   Performances (time frame is flexible; please include details in your proposal).

Potential topics for papers, workshops, and performances may include but are not limited to:

  *   Digital humanities
  *   Digital research ethics
  *   Critical disability studies
  *   Public policy in Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
  *   Speculative narratives and science fiction
  *   Science and technology studies
  *   Posthumanism, cyberfeminism, cyborg studies
  *   Discard studies
  *   Media archeology

Submit your 250 word abstract to digitaldecay2020 at gmail.com<mailto:digitaldecay2020 at gmail.com> by March 23rd.

**Veuillez noter que l'association accepte également des propositions en français.

Please specify any materials you will need, which presentation format you will be taking and approximate duration.

Submissions should be in .doc or .docx format.

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The conference will be held on April 27 at Concordia University's Milieux Institute.

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ACCESS STATEMENT

The Media Studies Student Association is committed to making Digital Decay radically accessible for all. Our conference is open to the public and is completely free for all contributors and attendees, regardless of whether they're Concordia students.

The event will be held at the Milleux Institute for Arts, Culture, and Technology, located on the 11th floor of the EV Building (Visual Arts side). Both the building and the conference space are wheelchair accessible. The area in which the conference will take place is also modular, adaptable, and very spacious, and it includes an accessible, gender neutral bathroom.

The event will be catered (breakfast, lunch, and snacks) with vegan and gluten free options. We'll have breaks between each panel, workshop, or presentation in our programming so that participants can move around or partake in the free food and drinks.

If you have any access needs that are not covered above, please write to us at digitaldecay2020 at gmail.com<mailto:digitaldecay2020 at gmail.com>. We look forward to exploring the imaginary with you.

REFERENCES

Gabbrys, J. (2011). Digital Rubbish: A Natural History of Electronics. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Anne-Marie Trépanier (She/Her)
MA Student in Media Studies
Student Researcher, Archive/Counter Archive<https://counterarchive.ca/>
Concordia University

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