On July 12 Professor Ariadne Vromen of the University of Sydney will present her ideas on the impact of social media and digital politics on the way in which advocacy organisations mobilise and organise citizens for political action.
Summary
The emergence of social media and digital politics has changed the way advocacy organisations mobilise and organise citizens into political participation. The changes are due not only to technological advancement, but are also underpinned by hybrid media systems, new political narratives, and a new networked generation of political actors. One leading example, GetUp in Australia, has attracted 1 million members, and changed the Australian advocacy sector irrevocably to now focus on storytelling-driven campaigning with the everyday use of social media and digital tools. The talk will critically engage with these effects by highlighting the problematic mainstreaming of new norms such as entrepreneurialism and issue-driven politics.
Ariadne Vromen is Professor of Political Sociology in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Sydney. Biographical details. Her research interests include: political participation, social movements, advocacy organisations, digital politics, and young people and politics. Ariadne has completed extensive research on young people’s political engagement, including a comparative project on social media use in Australia, the UK and USA; and co-authoring a policy report for the Australian National Youth Affairs Research Scheme. She is currently completing a book on digital citizenship and new advocacy organisations. In 2016 she starts a new project Crowdsourcing Political Engagement that looks at the growth of online petitioning and donations sites. She has also co-authored several texts on Australian politics, including Powerscape: Contemporary Australian Politics. Ariadne is a founding member of the Worldwide Universities Network group, Networking Young Citizens; and co-directs the Australian Political Studies Association Research Group, Political Organisations and Participation, see the blog: https://poppoliticsaus.wordpress.com
Time: 2.00pm - 3.30pm
Room: FW101, Founders Building