[NOTE: Visit the website for this event for archives from previous symposia in the series. –Matthew] Call for Papers: Retrofuturism 4.0: MaterialityOnline SymposiumAugust 27-28, 2026https://musicalretrofuturism.wordpress.com/ Deadline for submission of abstracts: July 20, 2026 Since 2022, we have held a series of online symposia addressing ‘retrofuturism’, a term we use to denote the ways in which internet aesthetics invoke visions of utopia and nostalgia. From vaporwave and hauntology to chiptune and frutiger aero, music, sound and audiovisual media have been central to these present-day entanglements of past and future possibility. Our past symposia have looked at microgenres, nostalgia, and anemoia.…

Call for Manuscripts: Play, Games, and SocialityFor the journal Studies in Symbolic InteractionJournal: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/book-series/studies-symbolic-interactionPosted on the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) e-list on June 25, 2026 Deadline for submission of abstracts: September 1, 2026 G.H. Mead discussed his well-known versions of play and the game in the context of development, as necessary activities regarding the pragmatic and empathic orientations of the self to others. However, his notion of sociality, which delves into the temporal connection between past, present, and future, is connected to the importance of emergence and novelty. Implicitly, Mead’s notion of sociality accentuates the importance of play and…

Call for Papers: The International Conference on Digital Transformation and Intelligent SOciety (DTISO 2026)November 17-20, 2026Barcelona, Spainhttps://dtis-conference.org/2026/ Deadlines for submissions: Full papers: July 21, 2026 Special Tracks and Workshops: August 21, 2026 Digital transformation and intelligent society refer to the profound integration of advanced digital technologies—such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things—into every aspect of modern life. This transformation is reshaping how individuals communicate, how organizations operate, and how governments deliver services. By leveraging data-driven insights and intelligent systems, digital transformation enhances efficiency, enables automation, and supports more informed and timely decision-making across…

Call for Papers: Multisensory XR: From ‘Tech for Good’ to Ethical Immersive ExperienceAn international interdisciplinary conferenceJanuary 6-7, 2027Centre for the Ecologies of Attention and PerceptionKing’s College LondonLondon, UKhttps://multisensoryxr.sites.er.kcl.ac.uk/2026/06/36/ Deadline for submissions: September 1, 2026 KEYNOTES Sarah Ticho: Multidisciplinary artist and maker operating at the intersection of health, wellbeing and embodied storytelling, using immersive technologies Alan Warburton: Media theorist working across synthetic imaging techniques, known for his groundbreaking video essays Plenary panel on Open XR: Beyond Platform Economies — AI now dominates public and scholarly attention, overshadowing many other areas of technology. Yet there have been some prominent recent developments around…

Call for Papers: Algorithms, AI, and Computational Communication: Frontiers in Agent-Based ResearchSpecial issue of the journal Communication and Changehttps://link.springer.com/journal/44382/updates/27853888 Deadline for submission of abstracts: September 1, 2026 Editors:Jinhui Li, Professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Jinan University, ChinaWen Shi, Associate Professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Jinan University, ChinaMario Haim, Professor and Chair of Communication Studies at the Department of Media and Communication at LMU Munich, Germany THEME: As communication environments have become increasingly algorithmically mediated, personalized, and opaque, traditional research approaches face growing challenges in capturing the dynamics of contemporary media systems.…

Call for Papers: SIMUTools 202617th International Conference on Simulation Tools and TechniquesA European Alliance for Innovation (EAI) ConferenceNovember 19-20, 2026London, UKhttps://simutools.eai-conferences.org/2026/call-for-papers/ Deadline for submission of full papers: July 1, 2026 SCOPE EAI SIMUTools 2026 is the 17th edition of the annual International Conference on Simulation Tools and Techniques. The conference focuses on a broad range of research challenges in the field of simulation, modeling and analysis, addressing current and future trends in simulation techniques, methods, models, practices and software and tools. The conference is dedicated to fostering interdisciplinary collaborative research in these areas and across a wide spectrum of application…

Call for Participation: Where do chatbots live? Analog meme-making workshopJuly 6, 2026 at 13:00 – 16.00hThe Hmm, NDSM-plein 125 (NDSM Wharf)Amsterdam, The Netherlandshttps://tinyurl.com/4tdmnrjj Deadline for registration: July 4, 2026 Dear colleagues, I am sharing an invitation to an upcoming workshop in Amsterdam that I am organizing with Inte Gloerich (as part of Slow AI Material Playgrounds). Feel free to share the workshop invitation with other folks who might be interested, and, if some of you are in Amsterdam on July 6th, maybe see you there? —- Slow AI and Natalia Stanusch invite you to this material playground in which we…

Call for Papers: Games, Value, and MeaningAn issue of the Well Played Journalhttps://playstorypress.org/2026/06/15/well-played-journal-cfp-games-value-and-meaning/ Deadline for submissions: September 30, 2026 This is an open call for essays that explore the playing experience of games—digital, tabletop, mixed reality, larp, playable theatre, interactive narratives, etc. All submissions for this issue of the Well Played Journal are due on 30 September, 2026. All submissions and questions should be sent to:wellplayed (at) playstorypress (dot) org The Well Played Journal is a forum for in-depth close readings of games that parse out the various meanings to be found in the experience of playing a game.…

[NOTE: Sorry about the very short deadline; this was posted on the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) e-list on June 15, 2026 with apologies for “this very last minute announcement.” –Matthew] Call for Papers: “Maps in/as Media – On the Mediated Production of Geographical Knowledge”Special Issue of GI_Forum Journalhttps://www.austriaca.at/0xc1aa5572_0x00418933 Deadline for submission of abstracts: June 17, 2026 (extended) The Special Issue “Maps in/as Media – On the Mediated Production of Geographical Knowledge” takes maps as a central element of media ecologies and asks how geographic visualizations participate in the production, circulation and contestation of spatial knowledge. Maps are not only…

Call for Papers: Obscura. International Conference on Horror and Contemporary Media CultureOctober 28-30, 2026University of SevilleSeville, SpainOrganized by the LIGAINCOM Research Group (SEJ694)https://eventos.us.es/go/obscura2026https://eventos.us.es/154666/detail/obscura-congreso-internacional-sobre-terror-y-cultura-mediatica-contemporanea.html Deadline for submissions: July 10, 2026 Horror has established itself as one of the defining modes of contemporary storytelling, extending its influence across a wide range of media, including film, television, and video games. Its enduring relevance has fostered growing academic interest, revealing the genre’s rich cultural significance and the multiple interpretative possibilities its narratives offer from social, political, and ideological perspectives. While horror is often defined primarily by the emotional effects it elicits in audiences (Carroll,…

Call for Participation: AeroVisions. Aerial Aesthetics and the View from AboveSeptember 1–3, 2026Cuneo, Italyhttps://aerialspatialrevolution.ch/aerospaces Deadline for submission of expressions of interest and short CVs: June 20, 2026 The view from above is a mediated perspective in multiple ways. Technologies of the air have become increasingly complex and diverse: airplanes and drones, but also satellites and spacecraft make climate-monitoring devices and observational tools extend our gaze far beyond the limits of our atmosphere. These technologies are not only part of but also fundamentally condition the aesthetics of contemporary aerial visions. The so-called Aerial Spatial Revolution has undeniably had pivotal political, economic,…

Call for Presentations: Authentic Interactions: Interactive Digital Narratives, AI, and the Question of AuthenticityZIP-Scene Conference on Immersive Storytelling vol. 8.November 12–14, 2026DOX: Centre For Contemporary Art, Poupětova 1, 170 00 Praha 7-HolešovicePrague, Czech Republichttps://conf.zip-scene.com/ Deadline for submission of abstracts, bio statements and headshot pictures: July 1, 2026 What does it mean to be authentic in an age when our expressions can be generated, our emotions simulated, and our stories co-authored by machines? Authenticity, as research on social media platforms shows, is a negotiated tension between the desire for raw, unfiltered expression and the need to present oneself in ways that…