CFP: The Politics of Big Data

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Claremont Graduate University
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Culture Critique is a peer-reviewed publication sponsored by Claremont Graduate University's Cultural Studies program. The interdisciplinary journal is devoted to providing a space for graduate student work in the humanities, arts, and human sciences that critically interrogates the intersections between cultural theory, practices, and politics. We are particularly interested in provocative work that questions the nature of structural systems of knowledge, power, capital, and the political potential of culture in everyday life.

We are now accepting provocative submissions for a special issue of Culture Critique. The issue will examine the political and cultural ramifications of the "big data" movement. We aim to discuss the implications, consequences, and challenges facing the humanities and humans as we wade through the wake of big data. The dawn of big data raises a number of questions for humanities scholars: What problems arise when we accept data as objective? How will large quantities of data transform human communication and culture? What are the ideological outcomes of the big data movement? How will large quantities of data transform human communication and culture?

We invite contributors from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to submit essays that address the theme of "The Politics of Big Data" through a variety of possible angles.

Topics may include but are not limited to:

• Ecocritical approaches to big data
• Big data and the public sphere/private sphere
• Implications of big data on concepts of rationality
• Implications of big data for the digital humanities
• Big data and the death of the Real
• Implications of wildlife record keeping
• Reconstructing the sovereign through big data
• Big history and the anthropocene
• Big data and gene technology
• Postcolonialism through the eyes of big data
• Close readings of big data or big data and literary studies?
• Consequences of big data on surveillance

Please send 350 word abstracts and resumes to: ned.weidner@cgu.edu
Submission deadline: May 15, 2015