ICA 2024 Preconference: Reimagining Digital Activism: Navigating Complexities and Forging New Perspectives

In collaboration with the ICA Global Communication and Social Change Division & the ICA Activism, Communication, and Social Justice Interest Group.

With the proliferation of digital technologies, activism has experienced exponential growth, garnering attention from public debates, journalism, and academia over the past decades. Yet, the landscape of research on digital activism presents both established and emerging hurdles that impacts its progress. For instance, the prevalent focus on single countries or single platforms in existing scholarship significantly constrains the potential for comparative analysis and theoretical innovation. Meanwhile, the scarcity of available (free) data, primarily controlled by a few Big Tech companies, poses challenges for academics to build up a meaningful, valid, and complete portrayal of digital activism. Furthermore, the initial empowerment of political activism by emerging technologies has equally led to digital repressions, as both democratic and authoritarian regimes leverage enhanced digital technologies to curb activism. At the same time, activists have adopted more sophisticated strategies for employing digital activism as part of their repertoires, though the scope and impact still need further exploration. These factors collectively necessitate a reflection and realignment of current research on digital activism across theoretical, methodological, and empirical dimensions.

In this pre-conference, we look for original, rigorous, and innovative contributions and reflections on the intersection of activism and digital technologies. 

Sponsors

• The Sapere Aude: DFF-Starting Grant “To Use or Not to Use? A Relational Approach to ICTs as Repertoire of Contention”.
• College of Communication, Boston University
• The Center on Digital Culture and Society at University of Pennsylvania