Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 38, No. 347.
Department of Digital Humanities, University of Cologne
Hosted by DH-Cologne
www.dhhumanist.org
Submit to: humanist@dhhumanist.org
[1] From: Nagy, V. (Veronika) <V.Nagy@uu.nl>
Subject: cfp The rise of Tech Occultism - Narratives of AI, Imaginaries, and Digital Cultures in Mobility Control (91)
[2] From: Mapes, Kristen <kmapes@msu.edu>
Subject: Reminder: Global Digital Humanities Symposium - Registration Open | Global de Humanidades Digitales - Registro abierto (107)
[3] From: Laura Estill <lestill@stfx.ca>
Subject: Registration now open: DHSI-East (Nova Scotia): Digital Archives / Databases! (52)
--[1]------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2025-01-31 14:37:57+00:00
From: Nagy, V. (Veronika) <V.Nagy@uu.nl>
Subject: cfp The rise of Tech Occultism - Narratives of AI, Imaginaries, and Digital Cultures in Mobility Control
Call for Papers: Pre-Organized Panel
The rise of Tech Occultism - Narratives of AI, Imaginaries, and Digital
Cultures in Mobility Control
International Conference on Culture, Crime, and Global Challenges
16-17 April, 2025, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
<https://www.uu.nl/en/events/international-conference-on-culture-crime-and-global-challenges>
We invite submissions for a pre-organized panel at the International
Conference on Culture, Crime, and Global Challenges that critically
explores the narratives and imaginaries surrounding Artificial
Intelligence (AI) in mobility control, forced migration, and law
enforcement in the European context. This panel focuses on the
contextual assumptions and cultural frameworks that shape the use and
perception of AI technologies within the growing conservative political
climate, particularly in relation to migration and policing practices.
The selection of papers seeks to unpack how digital cultures,
underpinned by a "culture of fear" and the "cult of AI," are constructed
and challenged through both policy and public discourse.
The panel, titled "Tech Occultism", critically explores the growing
mystification and fear surrounding AI in the contexts of migration
control, forced migration, and law enforcement. We investigate how AI
technologies are framed within a culture of fear, where its
technological powers are perceived as unpredictable and omnipotent,
often seen as part of a cult of AI that promises solutions while also
amplifying anxieties. Drawing on key theoretical concepts such as
Technopanic, Cybernetic Totalism, and threat inflation, we examine how
AI is increasingly portrayed as a powerful, almost mystical force that
shapes governance in unseen and uncontrollable ways. This 'sacred'
framing is connected to Pasquale's "unlawfulness by default", which
advocates for proactive regulation of algorithmic systems to mitigate
the risks associated with their hidden and potentially harmful
influence. The panel will unpack how these narratives -emerging from a
culture of fear and the cult-like reverence of t [hiatus in the text]
echnology-reinforce and challenge digital governance frameworks in the
surveillance and policing of migrants, particularly in an era of rising
political conservatism.
Key themes for this panel include:
* The narratives around AI and migration control: How are AI
technologies framed in political and public discourse, and what
imaginaries do they produce regarding migration, security, and border
enforcement?
* The role of AI in reinforcing cultural assumptions about
migration, security, and societal risk
* The "culture of fear" in digital governance: How does fear of
technological overreach, datafication, and surveillance intersect with
political and social anxieties, particularly concerning forced migrants?
* The "cult of AI" in law enforcement cultures: How are AI
technologies framed as solutions to complex societal problems, and how
do these narratives shape institutional practices in policing and
migration management?
* The impact of AI-driven digital cultures on human rights,
privacy, and exclusion, particularly within marginalized migrant communities
* Imaginaries of surveillance and control: How do digital tools
like predictive policing, facial recognition, and biometric tracking
shape the experiences of migrants and the public's understanding of
state authority?
* Resistance to AI in governance: How do activists, policymakers,
and communities challenge the deployment of AI in migration and
policing, and how do these contestations interact with broader cultural
and political narratives?
We welcome interdisciplinary contributions from digital criminology,
Science and Technology Studies (STS), social anthropology, political
science, and cultural studies. Submissions should critically engage with
the cultural, political, and ethical dimensions of AI technologies,
offering insights into the imaginaries, assumptions, and contested
narratives surrounding digital governance.
Please send an abstract (max. 300 words) and a brief biography to
Veronika Nagy at v.nagy@uu.nl<mailto:v.nagy@uu.nl> by February 25, 2025.
We look forward to your contributions and to engaging in a dynamic
discussion on these critical issues at the conference!
See the Conference website here: International Conference on Culture,
Crime, and Global Challenges - News & Events - Utrecht
University
Kinds regards,
Veronika Nagy
Dr. Veronika Nagy | Assistant Professor | Utrecht University | Willem
Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology | Facutly of Law,
Economics and Governance | RENFORCE Researcher | Johanna Hudiggebouw.
Achter Sint Pieter 200, 3512 HT Utrecht | room D3.12 | +31641035072 |
v.nagy@uu.nl<mailto:v.nagy@uu.nl> | https://www.uu.nl/staff/vnagy|
--[2]------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2025-01-31 19:42:46+00:00
From: Mapes, Kristen <kmapes@msu.edu>
Subject: Reminder: Global Digital Humanities Symposium - Registration Open | Global de Humanidades Digitales - Registro abierto
Dear colleagues,
As a reminder, the Global Digital Humanities Symposium program is available and
free registration is open for the 10th annual Symposium, which will take place
as a virtual event, April 2-4, 2025 and an in-person event at Michigan State
University, April 7-8, 2025.
The registration deadline is Wednesday, March 19.
Register at: https://register.oxfordabstracts.com/event/73423
The full program, including presentation abstracts, and a link to registration
are available at msuglobaldh.org
During the Virtual Symposium, we will support live interpretation of
presentations from English into Spanish and from Spanish into English.
We are delighted to feature virtual keynote presentations from Miriam Peña
Pimentel and Ernesto Priani Saisó from RedHD on Wednesday, Menno Van Zaanen from
DHASA on Thursday, with a discussion among all three presenters on Friday.
We are thrilled to have centerNet sponsor 2021 keynote Gimena del Rio Riande to
give the opening keynote address of the in-person Symposium. The 2025 Symposium
will conclude with a keynote panel entitled “The State of Global DH,” featuring
previous Symposium keynotes Schuyler Esprit (2018), Radhika Gajjala (2016), and
Sylvia Fernández Quintanilla (2019).
The times of the Symposium are listed below:
Virtual Symposium
*Wednesday, April 2 - 3:00-7:00pm EDT / 8:00pm-12:00am April 2 Nigeria/Central
European / 3:00-7:00am April 3 Beijing
*Thursday, April 3 - 12:00-4:00pm EDT / 5:00-9:00pm Nigeria/Central European /
12:00-4:00am April 4 Beijing
*Friday April, 4 - 9:00am-1:00pm EDT / 2:00-6:00pm Nigeria/Central European /
9:00pm-1:00am April 4-5 Beijing
In-Person Symposium
*Monday, April 7 - 8:30 am – 7:30 pm EDT (Livestream begins at 9:00 am and ends
at 4:30 pm EDT)
*Tuesday, April 8 - 8:30am - 5:00pm EDT (Livestream begins at 9:00 am and ends at
2:00 pm EDT)
We hope you will be able to join us!
Sincerely,
Kristen Mapes, on behalf of the Global DH Symposium Planning Committee
--
Estimados colegas:
El Global Digital Humanities Symposium Planning Committee se complace en
anunciar el programa y abrir la inscripción gratuita para el décimo simposio
anual, que tendrá lugar como un evento virtual, 2-4 de abril 2025 y un evento en
persona en la Universidad Estatal de Michigan, 7-8 de abril de 2025.
La fecha límite para inscribirse es el miércoles 19 de marzo.
Regístrate en:https://register.oxfordabstracts.com/event/73423
El programa completo, incluidos los resúmenes de las presentaciones y un enlace
para la inscripción están disponibles en msuglobaldh.org
Durante el Simposio Virtual, apoyaremos la interpretación en vivo de las
presentaciones del inglés al español y del español al inglés.
Estamos encantados de presentar las presentaciones virtuales de Miriam Peña
Pimentel y Ernesto Priani Saisó de RedHD el miércoles, Menno Van Zaanen de DHASA
el jueves, con una discusión entre los tres presentadores el viernes.
Estamos encantados de tener al patrocinador principal de centerNet 2021, Gimena
del Rio Riande, para dar el discurso de apertura del simposio en persona. El
simposio de 2025 concluirá con un panel titulado "El estado del DH global", con
las ponencias previas del simposio Schuyler Esprit (2018), Radhika Gajjala
(2016) y Sylvia Fernández Quintanilla (2019).
Los horarios del Simposio se encuentra a continuación:
Simposio virtual
*Miércoles, 2 de abril - 3pm-7pm EDT / 8:00pm-12:00am 2 de abril Nigeria/Central
Europe / 3:00-7:00 3 de abril Beijing
*Jueves, 3 de abril - 12:00-4:00 EDT / 5:00-21:00 Nigeria/Central European /
12:00-4:00 4 de abril Beijing
*Viernes 4 de abril - 9:00-13:00 EDT / 2:00-18:00 Nigeria/Central European /
9:00pm-1:00am 4-5 de abril Beijing
Simposio en persona
*Lunes, 7 de abril - 8:30 am - 7:30 pm EDT (Livestream comienza a las 9:00 am y
termina a las 4:30 pm EDT)
*Martes, 8 de abril - 8:30am - 5:00pm EDT (Livestream comienza a las 9:00 am y
termina a las 2:00 pm EDT)
Esperamos que puedas unirte a nosotros!
Sinceramente,
Kristen Mapes, El Comité de Planificación del Simposio Global de Humanidades
Digitales
Kristen Mapes
Associate Director of Digital Humanities, College of Arts & Letters
Michigan State University
East Lansing MI
kmapes@msu.edu
she/her
--[3]------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2025-01-31 19:42:34+00:00
From: Laura Estill <lestill@stfx.ca>
Subject: Registration now open: DHSI-East (Nova Scotia): Digital Archives / Databases!
Dear all,
We are pleased to announce that the registration is now open for
DHSI-East 2025, which will take place at St Francis Xavier University in
Antigonish, Nova Scotia, from Monday 5 May-Thursday 8 May, with an
aligned event on 9-10 May. Faculty, staff, students, and all interested
welcome.
We have two concurrent workshops this year: *"Digital Sustainability and
Preservation in Digital Archives Projects,” *led by Dr. Constance
Crompton (Canada Research Chair in Digital Humanities, University of
Ottawa) and Meghan Landry (ACENET); and *"Introduction to Databases for
Humanist Data,” *led by Dr. Jon Bath (Associate Professor of Art and Art
History, University of Saskatchewan).
Dr. Stacey Allison-Cassin (Dalhousie University), will offer the keynote
talk: “Reflections on Ethics and Justice in Metadata in the Age of AI.”
We also invite you to join for our aligned event, “Explore the World of
Gaelic Song and Digital Archives!”, organized by Dr. Heather Sparling
(Cape Breton University), which will take place on 9-10 May.
For details, including workshop descriptions and information on how to
register, see: https://www.stfx.ca/research/digital-humanities/dhsi-east
<https://www.stfx.ca/research/digital-humanities/dhsi-east>
Travel grants are available to subsidize the cost of attendance at
DHSI-East for student participants (undergraduate and graduate); BIPOC
(Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) participants; and under-employed
participants (those in precarious positions and/or underwaged positions).
DHSI-East workshops are eligible to count towards the *Canadian
Certificate in Digital Humanities/Certificat canadien en Humanités
Numériques (cc:DH/HN)*. For more information, see https://ccdhhn.ca/
<https://ccdhhn.ca/>.
DHSI-East 2025 is made possible in part by SSHRC (the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of Canada).
If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at
digitalhumanities@stfx.ca <mailto:digitalhumanities@stfx.ca>.
Looking forward to seeing you in Antigonish!
Laura Estill, Margaret Vail, and Abby Ives
DHSI-East 2025 organizers
digitalhumanities@stfx.ca <mailto:digitalhumanities@stfx.ca>
Dr. Laura Estill
Professor of English
St. Francis Xavier University
Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Digital Humanities
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