Digital Backlash is a growing movement against constant digital connectivity and technological embeddedness of nearly all human activities. The ongoing negotiations of digital technologies in for example education show the need for empirical knowledge and theoretically informed debates that move beyond binary positions of ‘pro’ or ‘anti’ technology. The postdigital perspective offers such a nuanced approach, recognizing both the deep entrenchment of digital infrastructures and the importance of critical reflection and futures thinking.
Inspired by the symposium The Digital Backlash in Education, recently held at Södertörn University, Stockholm, and on the growing series of futures-oriented work in and around Postdigital Science and Education (recent and forthcoming examples here, here, here and here) Postdigital Backlash: Past, Present, Future conference examines the complex dynamics between acceptance and resistance of digital technology using the lens of postdigital theory.
Keynote speakers
- Mark Coeckelbergh (University of Vienna)
- Teresa Cerratto-Pargman (Stockholm University, Sweden)
- Jeremy Knox (Oxford University)
The conference will also have a panel on policy futures led by Boris Jokić (Institute for Social Research in Zagreb) including Jannie Jeppesen (Swedish Edtech Industry/European Edtech Alliance) and other influential actors from educational policy and technology.
Call for Papers
We welcome contributions that explore empirical cases, theoretical insights, and methodological innovations connected to the postdigital backlash.
Selected contributions will be invited for publication in an edited volume of the Postdigital Science and Education book series (Scopus indexed) with the working title Postdigital Backlash: Past, Present, Future (Eds. Forsler, Čarapina & Jandrić).
Topics of papers may include, but are not limited to:
- Histories an genealogies of digital resistance
- Mediations of digital critique and resistance
- Regional perspectives on the digital backlash
- Educational transformations in a postdigital age
- Postdigital futures
- Digitalization and de-digitalization politics policy and governance
- Agency and activism in postdigital societies
- Methods for studying the postdigital backlash
Submissions
Abstracts for paper presentations (up to 300 words) should include title, author(s), affiliation, and contact information. Please also provide 3–5 keywords.
- Deadline for abstract submission: Jan 15, 2026
- Notification of acceptance: Feb 15, 2026
Please submit you abstract to postdigitalbacklash@sh.se
Registration
Registrations open in February 2026.
The conference fee is €100 for regular attendees and €50 for PhD students.
Conference Organizers
The conference is organized in collaboration between Södertörn University, Zagreb University of Applied Science, and Institute for Social Research in Zagreb. The organizing committee consists of Ingrid Forsler (Södertörn University), Petar Jandrić, and Mia Čarapina (Zagreb University of Applied Sciences).
For questions, please contact the organizing committee via postdigitalbacklash@sh.se
The conference is generously supported by the The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies.