What do we mean when we say we live in a world of “ubiquitous media”? The term has been deployed to characterize platforms such as television, social media, and mobile media; systems such as algorithms, apps, and augmented reality; concepts such as commerce and surveillance, and issues such as privacy, politics, and neocolonialism. Phrases like IoE (the “Internet of Everything”) are increasingly mentioned in academic and the popular press and framed as an inevitability. Universities have laboratories dedicated to the study of ubiquitous media, and marketing companies aggressively tout their ability to target consumers through a ubiquitous media presence (including one company simply called “Ubiquitous Media” which “specializes in targeting consumers throughout their daily routine”).

We welcome the submissions of chapter proposals for the edited volume From Here to Ubiquity: Critical and International Perspectives on Mobile and Ubiquitous Media. The purpose of this edited collection is to try to develop a clearer definition of, and theoretical grounding for, ubiquitous media by assembling a collection of chapters by established experts and emerging scholars from around the world. Chapters should critically and creatively interrogate “ubiquitous media” in the hopes of developing an overarching understanding of the meaning, processes, and ramifications of the term.

A portion of this volume will be dedicated to a specific exploration of mobile technologies as a key precursor – if not central element – of a ubiquitous media environment. This could include past and current mobile technologies, from pagers to PDAs, and cell phones to modern smartphones and wearables, provided they contribute to an understanding of ubiquitous media as both a technical and discursive reality for individuals around the world. Representing global perspectives is also central objective of this volume. An international perspective is important to the development of a comprehensive understanding of what “ubiquitous media” means and the prospectively heterogeneous implications of this development.

Abstracts of 300-350 words (for chapters of approximately 8,000 words) should be emailed to co-editors Dr. Michael S. Daubs atmichael.daubs@vuw.ac.nz and Dr. Vince Manzerolle at vmanzero@uwindsor.ca by 1 April 2016. Chapters selected for publication will be notified by 30 April 2016, with full chapter drafts due by 30 August 2016.