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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">The Digital Public Sphere in Question: From Counter- to Crypto-Publics.</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">Fengersfors (Gothenburg area), Sweden, 3-5 mars 2017.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">Democracy presupposes a public sphere where citizens can debate their differences and reach mutually binding agreements. The emergence of the public sphere
has often been linked to the surge of<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">books and newspapers. Today, however, printed media is in crisis. The advertising revenues of publishing houses are siphoned off by Google and Facebook, while
the habit of reading printed media is in steady decline. As a consequence, the journalistic profession is withering away too. It is much disputed whether this counts as a threat to free speech and public debate, or, on the contrary, is a promise to set them
free. In different words, can digital media shoulder the same civic responsibilities as conventional media is said to have done in the past? Many are alarmed by a rise in uncivility in public debates, often linked to the anonymity of the computer screen. The graphic
interface is said to invite trolling. A related concern is that the search engines are programmed to reinforce pre-existing search patterns. Algorithms create "filter bubbles" that undermine the possibility of developing an informed opinion. Others stress
the upside. From the lukewarm promises about e-governance in the 1990s to the pie-in-the-sky visions of liquid democracy today, proposals are not lacking for how citizenship could be reinvigorated thanks to digital media. Other examples are of a more confrontational
nature, such as the possibility of anonymous leaks and the surge of crypto-publics in the darknet. The ambiguity of the role of new media reflects a deeper ambiguity in the word ”people” itself. Since 1789, the p-word has interchangeably stood for, on the
one hand, equality and democracy, and, on the other, for passion, violence and irrationality.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">We invite both theoretical papers, empirical case studies, and hands-on presentations. Proposals for workshops are also welcome. We aim to have a mix of scholars
and practitioners. Relevant topics for this session may include but are not limited to:
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">Algorithmic intervention in shaping opinions and political agendas<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">Publics and counter-publics emerging in relation to the digital public sphere<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">The tension between the public and anonymity/cryptography<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">The possibilities and limits of leaking as a political strategy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">Development of digital tools for use in the public sphere<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">How to develop an informed opinion inside a filter bubble<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">The amateurisation of journalism as a threat and a promise to free speech and public debate<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">The winter session will be held in Fengersfors, Sweden 3–5 mars. The participation fee is 600 kr (60 euro), which includes housing and full pension. For students
and unemployed, the fee is 300 kr (30 euro). The airport closest to Fengerfors is "Landvetter", next to G�teborg. We will meet at G�teborg train station on Friday and go together to Fengersfors.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">If you wish to present at the winter symposium, submit a short abstract (400 words) and a few lines about yourself to the coordinators. The deadline to submit
proposals is November 15, 2017. The preliminary program will be announced on December 15, 2017 at <</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><a href="http://www.nordic.university/" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US">http://www.nordic.university</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">>.
There you will also find more information about NSU, and you may sign up for the NSU newsletter.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">Coordinators:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">Gustav Eek: gustav [dot] eek [at] fripost [dot] org
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:#676767">Johan S�derberg: johan [dot] soderberg [at] sts [dot] gu [dot] se</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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