Megan L. Zahay
Digital Cultures and Community
Platformization | Gender | Political Economy
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RE/VALUING THE
CREATOR ECONOMY
NOLA 2024
Preconference Program
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
All times are listed in the local New Orleans time zone.
8:40 am - 9:00 am
Plenary
Ambivalence, Authenticity, Activism, and Affordances
With Jessica Maddox (U. of Alabama), Megan Zahay (SUNY Purchase), Kai Prins (U. of Wisconsin), and Jessica Rauchberg (Seton Hall U.)
9:00 am - 10:00 am
Panel 1
Mediating Domesticities: Gender and Family Creators
Beauty Capital and Ideal Influencers
Zari Taylor (NYU)
Understanding Young Adults' Childhood Experiences in Influencer Families
Leah Cates (Rutgers U.)
Performing Domesticity: Kinship, Space, and Humor
Madiha Noman (Cambridge U.)*
A Digital Postwork Imaginary: "Homesteading" and "Off Grid Living" as Anti-Capitalist Sentiment Circulating in a Capitalist Social Media Network
Kelsey Taylor Alexander (Indiana U.)
10:00 am - 10:15 am
Break
10:15 am - 11:15am
Panel 2
Health Amid Burnout
The Enigmatic TikTok Algorithm: Exploring Challenges Faced by Mental Health Practitioners in the Digital Economy
Krysten Stein (UC Blue Ash)*
Constructing and Communicating the Professional Self: The Interplay of Expertise and Self-Presentation among Medical Experts on TikTok
Ignacio Cruz (Northwestern U.)
Storiographies of #HealingJourney Content Creators and the Digital Rhetorics of Care
Chandler Mordecai (U. of Florida)
"Something I believe in": Health Influencers, Identity, and Performance
Shaheen Kanthawala (U. of Alabama)
11:15 am - 11:30 am
Break
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Panel 3
Infrastructure & Ideologies
Unraveling Algorithmic Bias: A Journey Through the World of Politicized Alternative Creators
Nora Suren (U. of Massachusetts)*
TikTok Policy: Not Eligible For You (?)
Jamie Cooley (Northwestern U.)
Support through Tips, Gifts, and Patronage: When Cosplayers Platform Fans' Feelings of Specialness for Profit
Fiona Haborak (UT Dallas)*
Deus ex Platforma: Towards a Research Agenda for Platformized Digital Religion
Allegra Kuney (Rutgers U.)
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
Included in your preconference registration! Choose from three sandwich options including a vegetarian muffaletta, Southern style chicken sandwich, and turkey and brie po-boy. Each lunch comes with chips, a cookie, pasta salad, and bottled water.
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Panel 4
Food & Fandom
The Radical/Regressive Politics of Platforming Cocktails
Anjali Vats (U. Pittsburgh) and Ashtin Berry
Shaping Digital Identities: The Role of Lip-Syncing Dance Routines in Defining the Online Personas of Indian Women from Rural Areas
Poulami Seal (Georgia State U.)
"Bese7a w Ra7a": An Exploration of Nation-Branding, Cultural, and Gender Self-Representation in Moroccan Digital Foodscapes
Nahla Bendefaa (U. of Oregon)*
Fansite or Stalker?: Practices and Expectations in K-pop "Fancam" Influencer Culture
Samantha James (Auburn U.)
2:30 pm - 2:45 pm
Break
2:45 pm - 3:45 pm
Panel 5
Politics & Representations
"Yallah we need you": A Critical Cultural Study of Digital Collective Action by Creators for Gaza
Julie Feng (U. of Washington)
"Not the representation we need": Navigating Platform Race through Asian American Content Creators
Jennifer Zheng (U. of Washington)
Instagram Platform as a Fire Object, A Combustible Reality in Nairobi
Wangari Njathi (Pepperdine U.)*
Don't Crash the Party: Analyzing Altchans, Shitposts, and Hate Raids
Brandon Harris (U. of Alabama), Andrew Wilson (U. of Oregon), and Danielle Flonk (U. of Tokyo)
3:45 pm - 4:00 pm
Break
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
Breakout Sessions
Facilitated by Jessica Maddox (U. of Alabama), Megan Zahay (SUNY Purchase), Kai Prins (U. of Wisconsin), Jessica Rauchberg (Seton Hall U.)
4:45 pm - 5:00 pm
Closing Remarks
Thank You From the Organizers
Welcome to the Re/valuing the Creator Economy Preconference! We are thrilled you've decided to join us. This preconference originally began as two separate calls for panelists on the creator economy for the 2024 NCA meeting in New Orleans, LA. However, the enthusiastic response to these calls made clear that our community needed a larger, dedicated venue for advancing scholarship on the creator economy and creator studies at NCA.
Communication scholars are especially well-suited to study this emerging phenomenon. The creator economy touches multiple areas of our field and benefits from our varied perspectives and expertise. This preconference aims to foster collaboration and bring together communication scholars, advancing the conversation on this important topic.
We are grateful to everyone who submitted such exceptional and creative projects. We are looking forward to all of the insights, discussions, and connections that will emerge in our shared space. Thank you for contributing to what we hope will be an engaging day!
Sincerely,
Jess Rauchberg, Kai Prins, Jess Maddox, and Megan Zahay
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Thank you to the generous sponsors and affiliated orgs who made this precon possible!
