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Blues (and Its Alternatives)</p>
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<p
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Day Symposium at the University of Canberra, November 21, 2024</p>
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<p
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by Geert Lovink (Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam),
facilitated Denise Thwaites (UoC)</p>
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<p
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by the Centre for Creative and Cultural Research, The Centre for
Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance and the News and
Media Research Centre (all University of Canberra) and the
Institute of Network Cultures (Amsterdam). </p>
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<p
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us for a one-day event that maps the depression, boredom and
loneliness that feed (and are fed by) social media platforms.
Beyond fake news, our platform dependencies, miseries and
anxieties are all too real. Many feel sadness about our
collective inability to change - yet cannot imagine deleting
social media accounts out of fear of isolation. Platform Blues
are an area of interest for multiple and varied forms of
research, which intersect with our topic through critical
enquiry into techno-feudalism, memes, online dating, doom
scrolling, right-wing libertarian/conspiracy cultures and girl
theory. Alternative ways of community organizing also provide
glimpses of hope, as seen in protest and solidarity movements,
such as those addressing climate action, to <span
style="color: rgb(31, 107, 192);">#metoo</span>, to Gaza.
Platform blues in Australia exist, but neither strict regulation
nor the melancholic dream of going offline will solve it. How
can our phones become a tool of connection again? Resisting the
distractions of AI eye candy, let's address the reality of our
tech-induced mental poverty.</p>
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<p
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gathering of bodies and souls will coincide with the one-month
residency of Dutch media theorist and internet critic, Geert
Lovink, at the University of Canberra.</p>
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<p
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program will include talks, discussions and other opportunities
for creative encounter. If you would like to propose an
activity, we welcome experimental formats, such as performances,
screenings or other arts-based workshops, alongside
presentations. Please send your expression of interest to <span
style="color: rgb(31, 107, 192);"><a
href="mailto:geert@networkcultures.org"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">geert@networkcultures.org</a></span> .</p>
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<p
style="font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">More
on the work of Geert and the Institute of Network Cultures can
be found here: <span style="color: rgb(31, 107, 192);"><a
href="https://www.networkcultures.org/"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.networkcultures.org</a></span>.</p>
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<p
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is free. Registration at the link is required, as places
will be limited. </p>
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