GDC Research Seminar Series
By and for junior and senior researchers at the UvA
9 March 2023
These sessions feature research on global digital cultures from a wide variety of scholarly disciplines, theoretical perspectives, and methodological approaches. During each of these events, we will discuss two draft texts, seeking to include a mix of senior and junior scholars.
For our upcoming GDC Seminar on March 24, from 15:00 - 17:00 we will discuss works in progress by Anunaya Rajhans and Peter Safronov. Abstracts of the texts will be available shortly.
"Affordances of care. How affective collectivities emerge online?"
What makes us care? Persons can now publicly share their most intimate feelings to an unprecedentedly large audience, often without being aware of the potential risks and consequences. This has also increased the availability of therapeutic tools, which may influence how people communicate about themselves online and how they respond to others' experiences. In the face of global pandemics and ongoing conflicts, online communication is molding the future of collectivities through the sharing of individual sentiments rather than ideologies or attitudes. It has also motivated people all around the world to adapt their care practices to the online venues and techniques for delivering support and/or solidarity that are now available. My research has been influenced by the need for a more thorough approach to digital wellbeing that incorporates computational research and and Russian political philosophy. My work is empirically based on exploratory research of English speaking Twitter users, as well as a variety of Telegram groups and channels. In this presentation, I would like to talk about how the emotive valence associated with social media usage, as expressed through certain communication styles, affects online connection ties. My key question is what sorts of affordances does social media affective provide for the construction of collectivities, and what implications does this have for identity formation?
"Meme Culture and Hate in Indian Public Discourse: Examining the B emoji meme"
Abstract to follow soon
Anunaya Rajhans is a PhD candidate at the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA), UvA and also works as a Project Assistant for the Global Digital Cultures RPA. His research looks into meme culture in India to understand its impact on online public discourse. Has has worked as a research coordinator for Media Action Against Rape, a project funded by UNESCO to study how sexual violence is reported in India. He teaches critical pedagogy at the Vedica Scholars Programme and runs a lit-pop magazine called Pendora.
If you would like to attend the seminar series, you can RSVP using the link above.
Following your registration, you will receive information about the event location and participating scholars. You will also receive an e-mail with a link to download the texts.
We would like to ask you to read these texts in advance to ensure a smooth and rich discussion and to kindly refrain from sharing them publicly, as they include work in progress.
The discussion will be followed by drinks!
If you have any questions, drop us an e-mail at gdc@uva.nl.