Drain invites submissions for its upcoming edition:

Ecology of Bad Ideas

“There is an ecology of bad ideas, just as there is an ecology of weeds, and its characteristic of the system that basic error propagates itself.” – Gregory Bateson, Pathologies of Epistemology, 1971

The ecology of bad ideas is the product of the propagation of epistemological error. Akin to the meme, as defined by Dawkins, the ecology of bad ideas is manifest in the transmission and integration of idea into environment and, subsequently, the rearrangement of ecological conditions in its aftermath. Contrasting the hubris of the Anthropocene—and its lingering tones of "Man’s" rational progress and dominance over "Nature" writ on a planetary scale—the ecology of bad ideas unfolds in the mess of the cumulative mental, social, and environmental assemblage of inherited ideas—oblivious, opportunist, oversimplified, corrupt, fraudulent, stubbornly inflexible, and pathologically upheld out of narrow and shortsighted self-interest. This issue of Drain seeks contributions from artists, researchers, critics, theorists, writers, and commentators that examine the dispersion, proliferation, mutation, and normalization of bad ideas and bad ecologies. How do artists, writers, and cultural producers analyze and participate in complex ecological entanglements, employ tactical media, and create counter-memes and assemblages within, beyond, and against the ecology of bad ideas? What forms of salvage or alterity might be employed within the kludge of bad ideas that contribute to our present ecological conditions and to what effect?

Deadline for submissions - June 1st, 2018

Please see our submission page for instructions: http://drainmag.com/submissions/

Drain is a refereed on-line journal published biannually. The journal seeks to promote lively and well-informed debate around theory and praxis. Each issue of Drain will have a specific concept that it explores. We are especially keen to publish pieces that connect the conceptual framework of each issue to themes such as globalization, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, capitalism and new technologies, as well as ethical and aesthetic concerns. As such, we welcome creative responses to contemporary culture, as well as written work by practitioners in the field of culture. Our primary mission is to provide an environment where a variety of creative activities can be explored with a combination of sensitivity and rigor.