We invite submissions to the conference “What Is Labor in the Digital Age”: International Conference on Digital Labor (ICDL). The conference, organized by the School of Communication of East China Normal University (ECNU) in conjunction with the Chinese Association for History of Journalism and Mass Communication (CAHJMC), will take place on October 25, 26, and 27 at ECNU in Shanghai, China.

Scholars have noted that oftentimes digital labor goes unrecognized and unrewarded, but what is digital labor anyway? The coming of the digital age has dramatically changed capitalist modes of production and the way how labor works. Does digital labor indicate that the demarcated and fixed lines between work and paly, and between production and consumption are blurred, collapsed, and overlapped? In the news industry, what is the impact of digital technologies on the labor force? What can be learned about digital labor from China's experience? While the conference is hosted by the communication school, we would like to invite scholars from varied disciplines including but not limited to communication, economy, sociology, politics, history, anthropology, philosophy and practitioners from media and IT industries. Submissions should contribute to ongoing conversations about digital labor in empirical, theoretical or methodological ways. Aspects of digital labor to be addressed may be related to the following, among others: ● Definition ● Social media ● News industry ● history ●Platform-based activities ● Digital and platform economies ● Imperialism, neocolonialism and postcolonialism ● Regulation and public policies ● Political economy of communication● Postmodernism ●Fans ● Gender, race, ethnicity, and identity. We look forward to seeing you in Shanghai in October.

GUIDELINES

To make a submission: send an abstract of the article, with a maximum length of 300 words (excluding title and references). The document should also include the contact information and brief (no more than 80 words) biography of each author. Abstracts should be sent without exception as an attached file, in word format (.doc, .docx). The deadline for submission is August 15, 2019. Abstracts should be sent by email to icdl2019@aliyun.com

We only accept papers (no panels, posters). Accepted papers must be presented by at least one author. Presenters will have approximately 15 minutes for their presentation, followed by a 10-minute Q & A session. A selection committee will evaluate the abstracts and the results will be notified to the authors on September 1, 2019.

STUDENTS
Students are encouraged to present papers at the conference. ICDL will provide $300 international travel stipend for three (3) participating students who travel from outside mainland China. If you would like to apply for this stipend, please indicate in your email and notify the program with (1) the name of your institution and (2) degree being pursued.

CONTACT INFORMATION
For questions about submissions contact Chunfeng Lin: icdl2019@aliyun.com