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<p style="FONT-SIZE: 80%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana;"><span class="style1"><span style="color: #ffffff;">Having trouble reading this email?</span></span> <a style="COLOR: #006633; TEXT-DECORATION: underline;" href="http://www.brisc.info/NetDem/index.php?page=networking-democracy"><span class="style5"><span style="color: #009933;">View it on our website</span></span>.</a></p>
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<td><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px;" src="http://www.york.ac.uk/weboffice/tp-images/logo_small_yorkuni.gif" alt="The University of York" />
<h1 style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 130%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; COLOR: #006633; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; TEXT-ALIGN: right;"><a href="http://www.york.ac.uk/res/satsu/"><img src="cid:51e9361d91ff6dc78977d6ec667eae0c@soc.haifa.ac.il" border="0" alt="satsu" width="295" height="115" /></a></h1>
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<h2 style="FONT-SIZE: 130%; COLOR: #006633;">CALL FOR PAPERS</h2>
<h5 class="style2">Networking Democracy? New Media Innovations in Participatory Politics<br />3 day Symposium to be held at Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj, Romania</h5>
<h5 class="style2">25-27 June 2010</h5>
<p align="center"><a href="http://www.brisc.info/NetDem/index.php?page=networking-democracy">WEBSITE</a></p>
<p>Democratic politics worldwide are increasingly being conducted and re-configured through the domain of digital communications networks. The socio-technical developments, such as Web 2.0, facilitating these media-saturated public spheres are in little doubt. What is highly contested however is the interpretation of what these profound changes offer for democratic governance in the twenty-first century. At its heart is the recognition that these new media networks are themselves the crucial site for a historical confrontation between opposing political and/or business interests and discourses intent upon forging new forms of social relations.</p>
<p>We will address questions such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>What new forms and relations of power are produced in the digital network society? </li>
<li>Who are the key social actors shaping the new public sphere and what are their respective strategies, framing, and repertoires of action? </li>
<li>What is the democratic potential of Web 2.0 applications such as social networking, blogging and twittering? </li>
<li>What empirical evidence do we have to understand and assess these developments? </li>
<li>How is networked democracy influencing new democratic societies? </li>
<li>What are its consequences for human rights, social sorting, migration, e-government, community politics, surveillance, protest, participation, culture, identity, mobilization, representation, nationalism, security, citizen journalism, trust, regulation, both exogenous and self-regulation and much more? </li>
</ul>
<h2 class="style4">Speakers include;</h2>
<ul>
<li>
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<h5><a href="http://www.com.washington.edu/faculty/bennett.html">W. Lance Bennett,</a> University of Washington, USA</h5>
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</li>
<li>
<div class="style2">
<h5><a href="http://www.polsci.ucsb.edu/faculty/bimber/">Bruce Bimber</a>, University of California at Santa Barbara, USA</h5>
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</li>
<li>
<div class="style2">
<h5><a href="http://www.eui.eu/DepartmentsAndCentres/PoliticalAndSocialSciences/People/Professors/Profiles/todump/bioDellaporta.aspx">Donatella Della Porta</a>, European University Institute, Italy</h5>
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</li>
<li>
<div class="style2">
<h5><a href="http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/faculty.cfm?id=1">William H. Dutton</a>, Oxford Internet Institute, UK</h5>
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</li>
<li>
<div class="style2">
<h5><a href="http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/soci/about/s_load.htm">Brian Loader</a>, University of York, UK</h5>
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div class="style2">
<h5><strong><a href="http://www.plaxo.com/directory/profile/141734557021/4e737db5/Rodica/Mocan">Rodica Mocan</a>, Babeş-Bolyai University, Romania </strong></h5>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<p>We invite papers from all disciplines which have addressed these topics. The paper title, an abstract of up to 500 words, a short bio and contact details should be sent to Dan Mercea, Department of Sociology, University of York, Heslington, YO10 5DD,UK <a href="mailto:dmm505@york.ac.uk">dmm505@york.ac.uk</a> before 7 December 2009. Notifications of acceptance will be sent out by 15 January 2010. For more details visit <a href="http://www.brisc.info/NetDem/">http://www.brisc.info/NetDem/</a></p>
<p>The event is supported by the Center for Political Analysis and the <a href="http://www.euro.ubbcluj.ro/en/">European Studies Department</a> (Babeş-Bolyai University), the Science and Technology Studies Unit (<a href="http://www.york.ac.uk/res/satsu/">SATSU</a>) and the <a href="http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/soci/">Department of Sociology</a> (University of York)</p>
<p>Selected papers from the conference will be published in a special issue of the international journal <em><a href="http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/rics">iCS</a></em> (<em>Information, Communication & Society</em>)</p>
<p><strong>IMPORTANT DATES: </strong></p>
<p><strong>Submission deadline: 7 December 2009 </strong></p>
<p><strong>Notifications of acceptance: 15 January 2010 </strong></p>
<p><strong>Symposium: 25-27 June 2010 </strong></p>
<p align="center"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px 15px;" src="http://www.york.ac.uk/weboffice/illust/html_mail/lake.jpg" alt="The University lake" /></p>
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<p>SATSU, Department of Sociology, The University of York, York YO10 5DD. <br />Tel: +44 (0)1904 433050 | Fax: +44 (0)1904 433043 | Email:<a href="mailto:ssm500@york.ac.uk">ssm500@york.ac.uk</a></p>
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