CfP IAMCR Pre-conference : Approaches to digital platforms from Latin America and other margins Social mediation, market structures, labour relations and sovereign alternatives
The general theme – digital platforms as new structures of social mediation – refers to an epochal transition in the structure of social mediation from the Culture Industry of the second half of the 20th Century, based on broadcasting and other cultural sectors, such as cinema or the music industry, to the new cultural global system based on the Internet. Digital platforms constitute the present configuration of this new global system, a consequence of the processes of concentration and centralization of capital after the 2000’ dot-com crisis.
Technological mediation is understood as a dialectical process of regulation of social relations in the sectors where these agents are inserted (Valente, 2021). Compared to the previous structure, it is more comprehensive, affecting the various areas of social life. As platform studies have shown, these agents, essentially American, constitute various forms of power (Khan, 2017), combining technological, economic, political, and cultural, in a scenario of precarious regulation and reinforcing their dominance in the sectors where they operate, deepening inequality between people and countries, in a scenario of capitalist crisis.
The pre-conference will discuss the impacts of the development of digital platforms, considering the ensemble of these changes and the centrality of the new global system of culture in economic, political and cultural terms. For our purposes, three themes that constitute the basic methodological model of the Brazilian Political Economy of Communications (PEC) analysis will be discussed: (1) in the core level, the problem of labour, which is related to the forms of value production involved in them, the work in the production of the platforms and the labour mediated by the platforms; (2) in the microeconomic level, the relations between market structures and the strategies of relevant actors in different countries; (3) in the macro-social level, the problem of sovereign responses, considering regulation, governance, the development of public policies and community alternatives. Each theme will be discussed in one working shift, from the critical perspective of the PEC.
The question will be addressed by Latin American researchers who are members of the Political Economy of Information, Communication and Culture (PEICC) group of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) and the project "The economic governance of digital networks: towards an analysis of Internet markets and competition and their impact on users' rights". Latin America has a long tradition of analyses on the relationship between technology, development, and domination (Dussel, 1984). On the other hand, there are also struggles around sovereignty, which have been updated to confront the current scenario of the platforms. This pre-conference is related to the theme of decolonization proposed by IAMCR 2024. This problem will range from diagnosing the current situation to proposing measures and updating the perspective of praxis that characterizes the PEC. It will enable the debates to be shared with dozens of other group and researchers. The methodology will allow the audience to contribute, diversifying the views.
Date and time: 29-30 June 2024
Location: University of Canterbury, in Christchurch.
Registration, participation and submission of abstracts
The pre-conference will consist of three sections. Each one will discuss one of the main themes and will have three main panelists. The pre-conference will be open to academics and civil society.
Our purpose is to seek an inter-regional dialogue or exchange. If you are interested in participating in this event in person, please submit a 200-300 word abstract indicating the themes and the panel in which you intend to participate (1 - The problem of labour; 2 - Market structures and the strategies; 3 - Sovereign responses).
Abstracts must include a title, author/s name, affiliation, and contact details. To take part, simply fill in the form available at: https://forms.gle/9tsdnGCZsbsw9yo99
Submission deadline: March 31, 2024.
Partners
Project "The economic governance of digital networks: towards an analysis of Internet markets and competition and their impact on users' rights" and the Political Economy of Information, Communication and Culture (PEICC) group of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO).
More information: https://iamcr.org/christchurch2024/digital_platforms / https://obscomplataformas.com.br/