📢 Exciting News! 🎉 My colleague Prof. Dr. Diego Compagna (Hochschule München) and I are thrilled to announce that our Open Panel Proposal for the EASST-4S 2024 Conference in Amsterdam has been accepted!
Our panel is themed “Transformed Social Differentiation Through Digital Transformation,” and we’re now inviting abstract submissions to make this discussion as diverse and insightful as possible.
If you’re researching the dynamic relationship between digital technologies and social differentiation at the intersection of social science, neuroscience, haptics, and/or computer science as well as AI research, we want to hear from you! Submit your abstracts and join us in shaping a dynamic and engaging panel.
Save the date for the conference: 16 – 19 July 2024
Location: Athena Institute at VU Amsterdam
Conference Theme: Making and doing transformations
To submit your abstract or for more details, feel free to reach out to us or visit the conference website: https://www.easst4s2024.net/
Last day for submission: 12th February 2024
Panel title: Transformed Social Differentiation Through Digital Transformation
Convenors:
Diego Compagna (University of Applied Sciences – Munich)
Melike Şahinol (Orient-Institute Istanbul)
Short abstract:
Exploring the multi-layered characteristics of digital technologies and social differentiation: What is the role of mediated social identities and touch for proximity at distance, for social inclusion and societal participation in the increasing digitalization and diversification of societies?
Long abstract:
In the age of digital transformation, the intersection between technology and society has led to changes in the way we understand and experience social or socio-technical differentiation that are beyond imagination. This panel addresses the complexity of these changes, with a particular focus on the representation and impact of mediatized entities, such as those found in games (in the form of avatars), as well as on platforms such as Instagram (in the form of body images), or in the form of personal data (e.g. e-identity, etc.), extending to the realm of mediated (sensory) perceptions as well as new and increasing encounters of (perceived or literal) mediated social touch.
Our panel aligns with the broader discourse in STS, addressing the transformative potential of scholarship in response to pressing societal challenges. As STS scholars, we explore the multi-layered characteristics of this dynamic relationship between digital technologies and social differentiation. This field should be addressed interdisciplinary at the intersection of social science, neuroscience, haptics, and computer science as well as AI research. To gain an understanding of the status quo and the possible outcomes regarding different forms of mediated identities and social touch in a digitalized world. What is and can be the (future) role of mediated social identities and touch for “proximity at distance”, for social inclusion and societal participation in the context of the increasing digitalization and diversification of societies?
Discussions will cover a range of topics, from the ethical implications of using mediatized entities to the impact of digital platforms on the self and the social. We seek contributions that analyze how these digital transformations challenge existing norms, values and hierarchies and thus reconfigure social structures. In addition, we will consider the extent to which these changes align with or challenge STS sensibilities by contributing to broader social change.