Facebook & Philosophy

Call for Abstracts
>
> Facebook & Philosophy
>
> Dylan Wittkower (ed.)
> d.e.wittkower@gmail.com
>
> Abstracts are sought for a new title in the Wiley-Blackwell
> series
> Philosophy for Everyone, under the general editorship of
> Fritz Allhoff.
> Never before has a single social forum played so central a
> role in so many
> people's lives. Facebook is quickly taking on roles
> previously served by
> telephones, town squares, televisions, student commons,
> board games, and
> much more besides. How does Facebook change our social
> existence, community
> activities, and self-identity? How does it add meaning to
> our lives?
> Transform us? And, for the better, or for the worse?
>
> Facebook is already an important part of our lives – but,
> even more
> significantly, it represents a kind of social media that
> will have an
> incredible impact on how we live. Facebook & Philosophy
> is an effort by
> philosophers, academics, and technology experts to make
> sense of what
> Facebook means for us; and to do so in an engaging and
> exciting way,
> reaching a broad audience.
>
> We solicit abstracts on the implications of Facebook from
> any philosophical
> perspective (analytic, continental, pragmatist,
> non-Western), or from
> theoretically-oriented interdisciplinary perspectives
> (especially but not
> only from Communications, Media Studies, STS, Sociology,
> Psychology, and
> Political Science). While any topic is welcome, we expect
> that primary
> topics of interest may be:
>
> Identity
> including authenticity online; race/ethnicity/gender
> issues; religious
> diversity and identity; relationship status;
> self-portraiture and profile
> pictures; and autobiography via mini-feed and
> microblogging.
>
> Friendship v. "Friending"
> including virtual/real splits, overlaps, and transitions;
> the effect of
> communications media on relationships; permanently online
> friends and the
> debatable importance of "actually" meeting
> people; the ethics of friending
> and unfriending; and the role of boredom and play in
> friendship.
>
> Community Formation
> including group identity; political affiliation; political
> debate; political
> organizing; causes and fundraising; the rise and meaning of
> a "notification
> society;" Facebook and the public sphere; and global
> friendship and
> cosmopolitanism.
>
>
> Facebook in Organizational Contexts
> including Facebook in education; Facebook as a resource for
> business;
> Facebook, employers, and privacy; Facebook as a business
> and free
> content/free access as a business model.
>
> Other elements of Facebook use that might be of interest
> include various
> applications (e.g. Scrabulous, PackRat, Pirates/Zombies,
> icanhascheezeburger); integration with mobile computing
> (inc. cellphones,
> twitter, iPhones, etc.); the effects of Facebook on our
> civil and moral
> rights (e.g. rights to privacy, property, speech,
> opportunity); and the role
> of Facebook in political campaigns, especially the 2008
> election.
>
>
> Guidelines:
> The book is intended for a general readership. This does
> not mean that you
> can't say something serious or complicated; it does
> mean that you must be
> interesting, engaging, and lively. This is a great
> opportunity to contribute
> to an understanding of a new and emerging form of
> sociality, and the
> importance of this understanding goes far beyond academia.
>
> Please send abstracts (250-350 words) by Feb. 1, 2009.
> Notice of acceptance by March 23rd, 2009.
> Full chapters (4000-5000 words) due July 13th, 2009.
>
> Submit abstracts to facebook.and.philosophy@gmail.com
> To keep in touch with the volume, and for information about
> the book as it
> develops, join its Facebook fan page, here:
> http://www.facebook.com/pages/Facebook-and-Philosophy/40232732873
>
> For more information about Wiley-Blackwell's Philosophy
> for Everyone Series,
> or to propose a volume for the series, contact series
> editor Fritz Allhoff
> at fritz.allhoff@wmich.edu.