CfA: Emerging Research on Datafied Living

Conference call for abstracts

We welcome contributions to the Emerging Research on Datafied Living conference organized by the Datafied Living Project and hosted by the Center for Tracking & Society, University of Copenhagen, on 27-28 August 2025. Datafied Living addresses how digital tracking, carried out by oneself or other actors across personal, work, and institutional contexts, might contribute to human flourishing.

Aligned with the goals of the organizing project, the conference will explore the complex intersections of datafication, technology, and everyday life. It aims to examine how data permeates and structures human activity, from work and leisure to health and intimacy. It facilitates conversations between established and emerging methodologies for studying experiences of and infrastructures for datafication.

The first day of the conference aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and bring together emerging and established scholars. The program will include interactive sessions, network-building opportunities, mentoring, and panel discussions. Confirmed discussants include Sun Sun Lim (Singapore Management University), Juliane Jarke (University of Graz), Anne Kaun (Södertorn University), Thomas Poell (University of Amsterdam), Minna Ruckenstein (University of Helsinki), and Taina Bucher (University of Oslo).

We particularly encourage and prioritize applications from early-career scholars, postdoctoral researchers, and PhD candidates. You are not required to submit a full paper for this conference.

Key dates

  • Submission Deadline: 1 April 2025
  • Notification of Acceptance: 30 April 2025
  • Conference Dates: 27-28 August 2025

Themes

Concerning the objectives, we express a particular interest – but not limited to – in submissions that provide fresh insights into one or more of the subsequent themes:

  • Uses and experiences of data in everyday life and datafied intimacy
  • Infrastructural dependence and power
  • The interplay between public and private actors in datafied welfare states
  • Methodological challenges and innovation in studying datafied societies.
  • Datafication and AI about social, cultural ethical, and political consequences
  • Futures and visions of datafied living
  • The implications of data-full living.

Submission guidelines

Proposals for abstracts should be 400 words maximum. Please also include a short bio and a brief explanation of your motivation to participate (150 words total).

Your submission should clearly articulate:

  • The issue or research question that guides your work.
  • The critical and methodological framework used.
  • Any findings or preliminary conclusions.
  • Indication of what motivates your participation in the conference.

Submitting a full paper is not necessary for this conference.

Submission and contact

Submit your proposal

Deadline for abstract submission: 1 April 2025.

For further information or questions, please contact Victoria Andelsman Alvarez.

Practicalities

Participation is free, and meals and coffee breaks will be catered. Financial assistance may be available for accepted participants who have limited economic resources.