Call for Papers: Special issue of tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique: Interrogating Internships
Edited by Nicole S. Cohen (University of Toronto Mississauga), Greig de Peuter (Wilfrid Laurier University), Enda Brophy (Simon Fraser University)
Download complete call for papers in pdf format
tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique is a non-profit open access journal focusing on the study of media, digital media, information and communication in contemporary capitalist societies. For this task, articles should employ critical theories and/or empirical research inspired by critical theories and/or philosophy and ethics guided by critical thinking as well as relate the analysis to power structures and inequalities of capitalism, especially forms of stratification such as class, racist and other ideologies and capitalist patriarchy. The journal is especially interested in how analyses relate to normative, political and critical dimensions and how they help illuminating conditions that foster or hinder the advancement of an inclusive, just and participatory information society. It publishes both theoretical and empirical contributions as well as reflections and book reviews.
From the call for papers:
When publisher Condé Nast cancelled its internship program in October 2013, the response was mixed: many cheered the end of a program that asked debt-laden youth to labour for free, while others lamented the closure of one of the only routes into media work. When depicted in the mainstream media, internships are surrounded by an aura of glamour: rapper Kanye West did a stint at luxury designer Fendi, Lady Gaga arranged one at designer Philip Treacy, and Hollywood portrayed the phenomenon in the movie The Internship. The gloss is fading, however: digital electronics manufacturer Foxconn was caught employing student interns on dubious terms on its assembly lines; former interns launched a successful class-action suit against Fox Searchlight Pictures; and Ross Perlin’s Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy (Verso, 2011) was vital in pushing internships into a critical spotlight internationally. Within just a few years, internships have become a high-profile subject, garnering media attention, catalyzing activism, provoking government action, and sparking lawsuits against massive corporations.
Although internships are prevalent in communication, cultural, media, and entertainment industries, scholarly literature on internships from communication and cultural studies remains limited. This special issue of tripleC seeks to situate internships within the labour turn in research in communication studies and beyond. The issue will interrogate some of the multiple articulations between and among internships, capitalism, communication, and culture.
Length:
- Peer-reviewed academic articles: 5,000-8,000 words not including references
- Interviews, reports from organizations, non-academic articles: 1,000-2,500 words not including references
- Key concept entries: 1,000-2,000 words not including references
Publishing Schedule:
- Jan. 15, 2014: deadline for proposals (300-500 word abstract)
- Feb. 1, 2014: notification of acceptance (scholarly articles still subject to peer review)
- June 1, 2014: deadline for first drafts
- Aug. 1, 2014: editorial feedback provided
- Oct. 1, 2014: final drafts submitted
- Nov. 1, 2014: publication of special issue
Me now: it would be so great if someone would submit a paper regarding interns as volunteers at nonprofit organizations!
also see: It’s real: the unpaid internships & volunteers controversy.