A book edited by Emmanuel K. Ngwainmbi, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

Proposal Submission Deadline: October 31, 2019

Identity is tied to modus operandi and space, meaning that our thought process, the things we do, those we associate with, and where all these take place to define us. Identity has value; it fosters a sense of belonging. Each individual is associated with an ethnic group, nation, race, religion, or a particular belief. The locus for such association is that society treats us based on how we manage our understanding of, and relationship with others within our ethnic group, race, or country, or how well or poorly we deal with our beliefs. 

Our social, economic, cultural, political, and educational experiences also define our ethnic identity. From a socio-cultural perspective, ethnicity and nationality are mutually exclusive in that ethnicity describes the heritage and ancestry while citizenship is the legal identity, conferred to an individual born in a country. Both terms share a collective ‘identity’—defined space. Whether individuals accept or reject their nationality or take up a different legal identity, they still belong to an ethnic group; they have a heritage and ancestry. Similarly, people identify themselves using (1) ethnolinguistic connotations such as French, Irish, American, German, Italian, Arab, Bantu, Turkish, etc.; (2) geopolitical features such as Middle Easterners, Westerners; (3) geo-politico-diplomatic semantics such as the Global North which represents economically developed societies of Europe, North America, Australia, Israel, South Africa, amongst others or the Global South represents, often wrongly, the economically backward countries of Africa, India, Brazil, Mexico amongst others#. In that sense, the Global North is considered too strong and the Global South too weak; people located in the global north operate in an environment that is more economically viable than those in the global South. The inhabitant in the Global North-- the industrialized, technologically equipped region--considered more productive and more useful to the human society than the Global southerner. Hence, the modern concept of ethnicity and nationality culls from the recognition, however obscure or limited, of the capability to control economies and financial markets.  Social media and its networked communities have literarily compromised individual and ethnic group identities; that they play a significant role in creating a new identity for the individual through the process of acculturation and data sharing. In some societies, social media have been instrumental, sometimes dangerously, in binding together different tribespeople into an almost impervious ethnic grouping. However, the free flow of information on social media networks and the ease with which fabricated news and information spread has not helped most users distinguish credible data from junk data. Those conditions raise questions about how we define one’s true identity. It is a dangerous deviation from the social order, a growing crisis with seemingly no lasting solution for future occupants of this world. 

The objective of the Book

This book will provide relevant theoretical frameworks and the latest empirical research findings in the area. It will include analyses of social media experiences in indigenous and urban communities around the world. It will be written for scholars and researchers who want to improve their understanding of how ethnic and national identities have been compromised through social media networking and by network groups. The book will focus on social media participation in agrarian and urban communities across the seven continents. 

Target Audience

The target audience of this book will be composed of professionals and researchers working in the field of public communication for development, ICT and knowledge management in various disciplines, e.g. Libraries, BBA and MBA students, undergraduate studies in media and communication, social media company managers, international diplomacy,  education, adult education, sociology, and information technology. The book will also provide insights for media, company executives involved in the training and management of social media product marketing and service delivery teams, social network directors, strategic knowledge management and marketing teams, and target message design departments in different types of business communities and environments. 

Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Ethnicity model
• Rural sociology and social media
• Media, sexuality and sexual identities
• Exploring media and gender identity
• Advocacy for gender non-conforming identities
• Human rights and the portrayal of gender identities
• Issue attention dynamics and the promotion of non-conforming sexual orientation
• Digital activism and LGBTI self advocacy
• Ethnic identity vs. global networking
• Leveraging trust in the new economy
• Digital media as community/public/issue agenda setters
• Social media in governance, bottom-up oversight, and social accountability
• Ethnicity and value creation in a networked economy
• Ethnic identity as the capital
• Improving market performance through trust
• Ethnic group experiences with social media (e.g., Latino, African-American, Asian, Caucasian)
• National and ethnic identity as an economic asset
• Ethnic identity in public administration
• Ethnicity in human capital development
• Culture-centric vs. knowledge sharing
• Inter-group communication
• Knowledge-centric best practices on social media
• Nationality/national identity and  the security of indigenous culture
• Social media networking and knowledge creation
• Organizing cultural learning
• Social media impact on immigrants’ worldviews 
• Social media impact on indigenous groups’ worldviews 
• Customs, values, and emergence of social media
• Local customs and social media: Debate
• Trust in organizational leadership
• Social media and local, national, global economic development

Submission Procedures

Researchers, scholars, and practitioners are invited to submit a chapter proposal of 500-1000 words clearly explaining the background of the proposed chapter and a short bio on or before October 31, 2019. The abstract should include a proposed title, rationale, and investigative method. The bios should consist of affiliation, professional title, and any significant publications. Authors will be notified by January 31, 2020, about the status of their proposals, and selected authors will receive guidelines to prepare their chapters. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by June 30, 2020. 

All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be asked to serve as reviewers for this project. 

Note: There are no submission or acceptance fees for manuscripts submitted to this book, Compromised Identities: The Role of Social Media in dismantling ethnic and national borders. All papers are accepted based on a double-blind peer review editorial process.

All submissions should be sent to engwainmbi@gmail.com with a copy to engwainm@uncc.edu Subject: ‘Social Media Book.’

Publisher

The complete prospectus for the book will be submitted to the Editor, Communication, Routledge world's leading academic publisher in the Humanities and Social Sciences. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit https://www.routledge.com /. This publication is anticipated to be released in spring, 2021. 

Important Dates

• October 31, 2019: Proposal Submission Deadline
• January 31, 2020: Notification of Acceptance
• June 30, 2020: Full Chapter Submission
• August 31, 2020: Review Results Returned
• October 31, 2020: Final Acceptance Notification
• December 30, 2020, Final Chapter Submission
• Inquiries can be forwarded to

Prof. Dr. Emmanuel K. Ngwainmbi

Department of Communication Studies

University of North Carolina, Charlotte

Email: engwainm@uncc.edu or engwainmbi@gmail.com