Another CFP! Call for Chapters for “Algorithmic Mediations: Resistance, Control, and Synthetic Presence in Digital Culture”

If things go well, our doctoral program at Bilgi University will become a center of intellectual attention. I have recently shared with you a call about the data politics volume. This is another book concept that emerged from my doctoral course, “Theories of New Media.” Most of the book’s content is already ready, thanks to the contributions of our postgraduate students. We now open the call to a broader academic circle, allowing us to gather a more diverse range of perspectives and empirical cases. You are free to share this, and we welcome your contributions. We are in touch with a few reputable publishers and they are expecting us to send the complete list of chapter information.

Call for Chapters

Algorithmic Mediations: Resistance, Control, and Synthetic Presence in Digital Culture

Edited Volume

We invite contributions to an edited volume that critically examines how algorithmic systems fundamentally reconfigure human experience, agency, and cultural production in contemporary digital societies. This interdisciplinary collection seeks to map the dual nature of algorithmic mediation—as both a mechanism of control and a site of potential resistance—while exploring the emergence of synthetic presence in our digitally saturated world.

Book Concept

As algorithmic systems increasingly mediate every aspect of human life—from social movements to intimate relationships, from artistic creation to knowledge production—we urgently need sophisticated frameworks to understand both their mechanisms of control and the possibilities for human agency within these systems. This volume addresses this critical gap by bringing together empirical studies, theoretical interventions, and critical analyses that illuminate the complex negotiations between human and algorithmic actors.

Thematic Areas

We seek contributions that engage with, but are not limited to, the following themes:

1. Digital Activism and Algorithmic Resistance

• Platform-based social movements and their tactical innovations
• Algorithmic sovereignty and Indigenous data practices
• Environmental activism in digital spaces
• Labor organizing under algorithmic management
• Transnational solidarity networks and digital infrastructures
• Counter-surveillance practices and privacy activism

2. AI, Memory, and Synthetic Relationality

• Critical perspectives on AI consciousness and sentience debates
• Digital afterlife industries and posthuman futures
• Care robots and the automation of emotional labor
• Algorithmic grief and digital memorialization
• AI companionship and the transformation of intimacy
• Machine learning and cultural memory archives

3. Algorithmic Governance and Social Control

• Predictive policing and algorithmic justice
• Bordering technologies and migration management
• Social credit systems and behavioral modification
• Healthcare algorithms and biomedical surveillance
• Educational technologies and the quantified student
• Welfare algorithms and poverty management

4. Platform Aesthetics and Cultural Production

• Algorithmic curation in museums and galleries
• Computational creativity and artistic authorship
• Influencer economies and aesthetic labor
• Gaming cultures and procedural rhetoric
• Music recommendation systems and taste formation
• Algorithmic literature and narrative generation

5. Embodiment, Access, and Digital Refusal

• Disability justice in algorithmic design
• Queer and trans negotiations with classificatory systems
• Digital sabbath and temporal sovereignty
• Haptic technologies and sensory mediation
• Algorithmic bias in health and fitness tracking
• Community networks and alternative infrastructures

Methodological Approaches

We welcome diverse methodological approaches including, but not limited to:

• Ethnographic studies of algorithmic encounters
• Critical discourse analysis of platform policies
• Participatory design research with affected communities
• Computational analysis combined with qualitative inquiry
• Artistic research and practice-based methodologies
• Decolonial approaches to digital studies

Submission Guidelines

We invite abstracts of 300-500 words for chapters of approximately 6,000-8,000 words. Abstracts should clearly indicate:

• The chapter’s central argument or research question
• Theoretical framework and methodology
• Empirical focus or case study (if applicable)
• Contribution to the volume’s themes
• Keywords (5-7)

We particularly encourage submissions from:

• Scholars from the Global South
• Early career researchers
• Practitioners and artist-researchers
• Members of communities directly impacted by algorithmic systems
• Interdisciplinary collaborations

Important Dates

Timeline:

• Abstract submission deadline: October 15, 2025
• Notification of acceptance: November 1, 2025
• Full chapter submission (6,000-8,000 words): February 31, 2026
• Anticipated publication: December 2026

Submission Process

Please submit abstracts to [email] with the subject line “Algorithmic Mediations Abstract: [Your Last Name]”

Include a brief bio (100 words) indicating your institutional affiliation, research interests, and relevant publications.

Editorial Vision

This volume aims to advance critical conversations about algorithmic mediation by centering diverse voices, experiences, and epistemologies. We seek contributions that not only analyze algorithmic power but also document practices of resistance, creativity, and alternative imagination. Our goal is to produce a text that serves scholars, students, practitioners, and activists working at the intersections of technology, culture, and social justice.

Contact

For inquiries about the volume or submission process, please contact: Erkan Saka (erkan.saka@bilgi.edu.tr)