Vigilant Audiences: An International Symposium on Scrutiny, Denunciation, and Shaming in Digital Media Use

This two-day symposium considers online forms of shaming and denunciations and features research from scholars looking at a global range of cases.

Today’s media landscape allows for scrutiny and intervention in the lives of others. Both police and the press are aided and even supplanted by digital media users, who can report and comment on events through any number of mobile applications and other web-based platforms. They may denounce high profile crimes, such as terrorism, sexual exploitation, or participation in riots. They may also target comparatively benign transgressions such as petty theft, bad parking, or disorderly conduct. In some cases, ordinary citizens may play a primary role in breaking a story, for example, by publishing footage of a criminal event. In other cases, they may respond to a story that broke through a broadcaster, and go on to shape the visibility and public perception of that story through vitriolic comments, crowdsourced information about the perpetrator, and even physical interventions.

Presenters will share their ongoing research in the areas of policing, entertainment and citizenship, followed by questions and discussion. Faculty and students from all disciplines, as well as members of the public, are welcome to attend.

Agenda and registration