Dear colleagues,

We warmly invite you to share our CfP for the PhD conference with potentially interested networks.

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The Junior Research Group “Digitalization and Social Transformation” at the Institute for Advanced Studies Vienna, invites doctoral scholars to submit their abstracts to the international PhD conference “Platformization of Society: Power, Participation and Social Transformation” taking place September 17–18, 2026 in Vienna, Austria. We welcome submissions across disciplines examining the interplay between platform governance, evolving norms and expectations, identities, labor relations, and their impact on inequalities. Topics include, but are not limited to:

•              Platform governance and regulation

•              Relationships between states and global platform companies

•              Platforms as infrastructures (cloud, data, AI, app stores, payment services)

•              Labor relations in the gig economy

•              Platformized political communication and election campaigns

•              Disinformation, platform power, and democratic erosion

•              Digital futures and forms of online participation

•              Digital activism and resistance within platformized environments

•              Queer feminist and decolonial perspectives on digital platforms

•              Algorithmic systems, interface logics and platform affordances

•              Platformization of the arts, creative and cultural industries

•              Community and identity formation on digital platforms

•              Dating platforms and digital intimacy practices

•              Influencer culture and the creator economy

•              Social media and mental health

The due date is April 8, 2026.

Keynote Speakers include Prof. Dr. Taina Bucher (University of Oslo), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Anne Helmond (Utrecht University), and Asst. Prof. Dr. Fernando van der Vlist (University of Amsterdam).

For further information, please see the flyer enclosed or visit the conference website: https://www.ihs.ac.at/current/events/detail/phd-conference-on-platformization/

We would appreciate if you could circulate this call to interested colleagues, students, or relevant networks. Many thanks!

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Thank you very much for your support!

With kind regards,

DigiTrans Junior Research Group

Laura Wiesböck, Nuoyi Wang, Pauline Reitzer, Irina Bănoiu

PhD Conference “Platformization of Society”

Submission link | Conference website

Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) 

Josefstädter Straße 39, 1080 Vienna