Digital technologies have, over the last two decades, profoundly changed our cultural landscape. In turn, cultural texts have not just documented these changes but have also been pre-occupied with weaving myriad imaginaries of a digitally-mediated world. These range from gloom and doom scenarios, explorations of the unchecked power of digital monopolies like Facebook, risks and trade-offs associated with constant and unyielding connectivity, fears about the radical surveillance enabled by the digital, and anxieties about what human belonging means in this digitally-mediated world.
At Bot Populi, we are accepting pitches for essays and blogs that explore current developments in digital cultures, their social and political implications as well as the entanglements of cyberspace and digital technologies, by using popular culture as a point of departure. Through films, television series and literature (fiction and otherwise), we want to examine topics like risks connected to datafication and surveillance, dangers of authoritarian uses of the internet, and the psychological perils of pervasive connection. These reflections will be part of a new series that we are calling ‘Our Wired World’. Contributions could be in the form of blogs (up to 800 words), essays (up to 1,500 words), as well as book/film/TV series reviews (between 800-1,000 words).
About Bot Populi:
Founded by seven global organizations, we are an alternate online media space, dedicated to looking at all things digital from a social justice and global south perspective. We cover and report on the ways in which the digital world affects different aspects of our lives – in obvious and unexpected ways. We wish to make a dent in public consciousness about the digitization of our world.
How to pitch:
To submit a pitch, email us at botpopuli19@gmail.com, including the word “Pitch” in the subject line. If the pitch is time-sensitive, please note this in the subject line as well, with the words “Time Sensitive”. We aim to respond to pitches within two weeks.
Your pitch should be 2-4 paragraphs in length. Be as clear and specific as possible. Thorough/compelling pitches let us know that the final product will likely be the same.
Please include where applicable:
• A thesis
• A brief description and cultural context of the film/TV series/book you’re looking to write about
• Why this cultural text is important
• Any existing research you’re looking to draw on in your blog or essay
• Any other relevant information or news hook
• A short bio about yourself (about 100 words)
You’re also welcome to submit full-length, previously unpublished articles. When submitting full-length pieces, please include information on the piece in the body of the email. We are open to publishing previously published works.
Our readers are international and we gladly accept pitches from writers around the world!
This is an ongoing series and there is no deadline for sending pitches. We will accept submissions on a rolling basis.
