{"id":1123,"date":"2025-07-29T15:24:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T09:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/?p=1123"},"modified":"2025-07-27T13:13:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T07:43:32","slug":"call-for-conference-data-capitalism-and-media-participation-iulm-university-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/index.php\/call-for-conference-data-capitalism-and-media-participation-iulm-university-italy\/conferences\/","title":{"rendered":"Call for Conference: Data Capitalism and Media Participation, IULM University, Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The international conference <em>\u201cBeyond the Audience: Rethinking Participation and Power in the Age of Data Capitalism\u201d<\/em> invites scholars, media researchers, and critical theorists to rethink the figure of the audience in a digitized, datafied, and platform-controlled world. Keynote speaker <strong>Tiziana Terranova<\/strong> from the University of Naples \u2018L\u2019Orientale\u2019 will be leading the discussion, with additional speakers to be announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rethinking the \u201cAudience\u201d in the Digital Era<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Traditional concepts of the audience often describe a broad, indistinct group united by media consumption. However, in the age of algorithmic curation and participatory media, these boundaries blur. Users are no longer passive consumers but active content creators\u2014yet this apparent empowerment often conceals a deeper commodification and exploitation of labor, creativity, and data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Duality of Perspectives: Political Economy vs. Active Agency<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The conference grapples with the tension between two schools of thought:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>political economy perspective<\/strong>, which critiques how media exploits attention, labor, and data for profit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>cultural studies perspective<\/strong>, which champions audiences&#8217; creative agency and everyday media practices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>By juxtaposing these views, the conference aims to question romanticized labels like &#8220;user&#8221; or &#8220;creator&#8221; and examine their material realities within surveillance and platform capitalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Discussion Areas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The event will explore how traditional top-down models are being replaced\u2014or distorted\u2014by platforms and personalization algorithms. It will also interrogate whether new forms of audience engagement truly democratize media or simply mask exploitative power dynamics under the guise of interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Indicative Themes for Submission<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers are encouraged to submit theoretical or case-driven papers related to, but not limited to, the following topics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The audience commodity and its contemporary applications<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The audience as worker in the digital age<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Questioning the term \u2018audience\u2019<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Content creators, bloggers and influencers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Algorithmic audiences<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Datafied audiences<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Generative AI and audience replacement<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clickification of news and information<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The effectiveness of media literacy in the context of data societies<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Activism, hashtags and platforms<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Audience exploitation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mobile audiences<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Media lifeworlds and everydayness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Film and music audiences<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Data journalism and news audiences<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Social listening and feedback<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cybernetic audiences<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Audience polarization<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fans in data-driven contexts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Streaming audiences<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Audiences in Video on Demand (VOD), Streaming Video on Demand (SVOD) and Over the Top (OTT) Platforms<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Audiences and piracy<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Audiences as publics and communities<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Deepfakes and Gen-Z<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Submission Guidelines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Interested participants should submit an abstract (max <strong>500 words<\/strong>) and a short bio by <strong>September 30, 2025<\/strong> to:<br>\ud83d\udce7 <strong><a>conference@medemap.eu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Accepted papers will explore the intersections of media participation, audience identity, commodification, algorithmic systems, and cultural resistance in the digital age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conference Details:<\/strong><br>\ud83d\udccd <em>IULM University, Rome<\/em><br>\ud83d\udcc5 <em>January 15\u201316, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em>(The information shared here is sourced from official websites and has been reviewed by Media Research for relevance and authenticity. However, we advise caution, as there may still be potential risks. Please avoid sharing any sensitive personal information when applying. The Image is AI generated)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Media Research offers comprehensive research consultation tailored to your needs. Book your appointment now using the <a href=\"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/index.php\/consultation\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"145\">form<\/a> or email at <a class=\"\">contact@mediaresearch.co.in<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-send-a-message\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-whatsapp-button is-color-dark\"><a class=\"whatsapp-block__button\" href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?phone=96878277497&amp;text=I%20want%20to%20know%20more%20about%20Media%20Research's%20services.\" style=\"background-color:#25D366;color:#fff\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chat on WhatsApp<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Explore how concepts of audience, participation, and power are being redefined in the age of data capitalism. The upcoming Rome 2026 conference invites scholars to critically engage with digital media, commodification, and agency in an algorithm-driven world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Call for Conference: Data Capitalism and Media Participation, IULM University, Italy\n\n#DataCapitalism #MediaStudies #DigitalAudiences #CriticalMedia #CFP #SurveillanceCapitalism #AlgorithmicCulture #MediaResearch #AIandSociety #ParticipatoryMedia #RomeConference2026\n\n\n2\/2\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAsk ChatGPT\n","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[101,48,23,50],"class_list":["post-1123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conferences","tag-conference-and-special-issue","tag-italy","tag-media-studies","tag-phd-in-communication"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Media-Conference-AI-3.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1123"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1124,"href":"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1123\/revisions\/1124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaresearch.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}