Photography, Civil Society and the Crisis of Democracy
A special issue of Arts (ISSN 2076-0752).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 November 2026 | Viewed by 19
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This special edition invites submissions that explore photography’s role in civil society during times of democratic crisis. Recent work on photography has analyzed the medium in relation to affect, doubt, and forensis. Building on that work, how do evolving photographic practices and interpretations shape public discourse and collective action when long-standing liberal democratic consensus is questioned? In what ways might photographic practice help form new kinds of publics, build solidarity in movements, and challenge (or reveal) the barriers of social media atomization? Is it possible for photography and related practices to contribute to conceptualizations of justice beyond the state and its corrupted institutions?
We especially encourage submissions that critically reflect on how engaged visual practices and socially committed inquiry is able to confront official narratives, unmask codes of oppression, and contribute to transformative expressions of justice. Papers might also explore how photographic practice can provide a civic refuge (including against the false claims of post-truth media), challenge forms of social control, or serve as evidence in the historical trial against injustice, particularly when confronting state impunity. Conversely, papers might analyze the way visual regimes are used to surveil and control or undermine and resist power (as in sousveillance, or surveilling power as mode of insurgency). Submissions may examine any geographic region or historical period, from the emergence of early instrumental realisms to contemporary algorithmic transformations.
Dr. Terri Weissman
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Arts is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- photography & democratic crisis
- photography & justice
- surveillance & sousveillance
- photography & evidence
- post-truth media
- photography & collective action
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