International Communication

Reflection on the 2024 ICA Preconference – “Reimagining Digital Activism: Navigating Complexities and Forging New Perspectives”

By ajk90January 16th, 2025in International Communications

By Chris 'Chao' Su, Ph.D

As one of the co-organizers of the 2024 ICA Preconference, “Reimagining Digital Activism: Navigating Complexities and Forging New Perspectives”, I had the privilege of working with a diverse and dynamic group of scholars, practitioners, and students. The event, held at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Center in Australia on June 20, 2024, brought together researchers from around the world to explore the intersection of activism, nationalism, and digital technologies. This preconference highlighted the transformative potential of digital activism while addressing the challenges and complexities that come with it.

The preconference featured an exciting range of panels, including discussions on emerging concepts in activism, algorithmic resistance, and the evolving activist repertoire. Among the notable moments was the keynote roundtable with leading scholars such as Jun Liu (University of Copenhagen), Guobin Yang (University of Pennsylvania), Joyce Nip (University of Sydney), Wenhong Chen (University of Texas at Austin), and myself who shared our experience and reflections on the current state and future of digital activism research. This set the tone for an engaging day, with presentations that bridged theoretical innovation and empirical exploration.

One standout session involved a group of graduate students from our own Emerging Media Studies at Boston University’s College of Communication. Their paper, “Agenda Setting in the Wizarding World: Examining Attribute Agenda and Network Agenda in the ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ Video Game Controversy on Twitter/X”, presented a fascinating analysis of digital activism in response to a video game controversy on social media. This paper is currently under review at a top SSCI journal, reflecting the quality and relevance of the research emerging from our institution. The students’ work was a testament to the caliber of research being conducted at the College of Communication, and it was exciting to see them present alongside established scholars.

The preconference also underscored the importance of methodological innovation in the study of digital activism. Discussions around data access, technological challenges, and the need for inclusive research methodologies resonated deeply with me, as they highlighted the barriers scholars face when studying activism in the digital age. Moreover, the focus on the ethical implications of digital technologies and the need for collaboration between scholars and activists was a recurring theme, one that I believe will continue to shape future research in this field.

Looking ahead to the 2025 preconference, I am excited to continue building on the conversations and collaborations initiated last year. I hope to further explore how digital activism can be studied across multiple platforms, addressing the synergies between social media spaces and how they shape movements globally.

Overall, the 2024 ICA Preconference was a remarkable success, and I look forward to seeing how the conversations we started will evolve in 2025 and the coming years.

ICA 2024 Pre-Conference – Reimagining Digital Activism: Navigating Complexities and Forging New Perspectives

By ajk90February 1st, 2024in International Communications

CRC fellow Dr. Chris Chao Su is co-organizing the ICA 2024 pre-conference this year and has written an outline of what to expect:

ICA 2024 pre-conference on "Reimagining Digital Activism: Navigating Complexities and Forging New Perspectives."
Link to ICA preconference page here.

The rapid proliferation of digital technologies has reshaped the landscape of activism, attracting attention from scholars, journalists, and the public. However, as this field continues to evolve, it faces a myriad of challenges, from limited comparative research and data accessibility issues to the adaptation of digital repression by various regimes. As activists develop more sophisticated strategies, the need for in-depth exploration of their impact grows.

This pre-conference seeks innovative contributions exploring the intersection of activism and digital technologies, encompassing theoretical and empirical studies at both micro and macro levels. Co-organized by a diverse group of scholars hailing from different disciplines and regions, including CRC fellow Dr. Chris Chao Su, our collaborative effort includes scholars from the United States, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, and Australia. We encourage critical examinations of lesser-studied movements, platforms, and issues, particularly those relevant to minority groups and the Global South.

Our sponsors, including Boston University’s College of Communication, the Sapere Aude: DFF-Starting Grant, and the Center on Digital Culture and Society at University of Pennsylvania, are excited to engage with insights and reflections on digital activism, which have the potential to reshape the future of digital activism research. Join us in Gold Coast, Australia, for this exciting exploration of the dynamic intersection between activism and the digital realm. For more information, please visit the event page.