WEB4LIB - Call for Papers

[skelsey at lsu.edu]

(You may also contact Sam or myself of you would like to be on the review
board.)

CALL FOR PAPERS

Electronic Communication and Culture Area
Popular Culture Association National Convention
April 19-22, 2000
New Orleans Marriott Hotel

The Electronic Communication and Culture Area of the Popular Culture
Association invites individual or panel submissions for its 2000
conference, to be held April 19-22 in New Orleans. While no theme has been
designated this year, recent work by ECC scholars has encouraged deeper
exploration of the following areas:

* the political economy of technology and culture - Discussions at last
year's meetings illuminated the degree to which policy and funding issues
affect seemingly every area of electronic culture, defining, limiting, and
even excluding participation by information have-nots. The utopian dreams
of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 are apparently not being realized by
all, and panelists are encouraged to explore the causes of the problem and
suggest possible solutions.

* technology, race, gender, class - last year's conference saw several
illustrations of how electronic technologies are employed differently
across lines of race, gender, and class.  Perhaps most importantly, these
scholars demonstrated how the basic assumptions of technology and use can
differ among minority groups.  As demographic research continues to show
increasing penetration of new media technologies into non-dominant social
groups, we should begin to examine in greater detail the emerging
character of the "second wave" of Internet culture, as technological
diffusion gives rise to a broader diversity of practices.

* technology and education - after last year's panels it seems clear that
new media are shaping education in several distinct ways: the virtual
classroom, the traditional class with an online component, and the "course
in a box" seem to be the most common applications of electronic tech to
education at this time.  Serious concerns have also been raised about
school systems that rush to purchase this technology before first
considering the pedagogical (and cultural) needs of their students; the
evolution of ed/tech outside North America; the diverse experiences of
on-site and remote students in "mixed" classes; and the potential, if not
probable, negative impact on teaching jobs as universities discover that
technological alternatives can be cheaper than compensating professors in
traditional fashion.  Each of these areas begs for more study, and it also
seems likely that many more implications for schools in the new millennium
have not yet been raised.

* technology, research, and the archive function - libraries, museums,
galleries and publishing houses face hard choices in the coming of
electronic archival technologies, and what happens to traditional
understandings of peer review in research institutions as scholars realize
that they can publish their papers to the Net and probably reach a larger
audience than they could through more established means?  When this
happens, how can we police the correspondingly enlarged threats to
academic integrity issues? Can we develop productive mechanisms to
preserve traditional values in a new age of informational ubiquity?
Regarding the exponentially increased ease with which rogue individuals
can disseminate unedited messages and create an air of
authority/credibility, what is being done/can be done to prevent abuse of
this power?

* electronics and religion - the 1999 and 1997 meetings demonstrated that
the implications of technology for religious practice, philosophy, and
scholarship are virtually endless, and the papers presented in these
sessions have been among the most thought-provoking the organization has
seen.  Submissions in this area are strongly encouraged.

* emerging media and the humanities - last year's conference saw the
continuation of our discussion of the "Posthumanities," a project that is
equally devoted to the preservation of traditional artistic aesthetics and
open to the growth and evolution of new art media. The posthumanities are
depicted as a triangle, with humanity on one point, the pursuit of the
sublime on the second, and technology on the third. The field of study
between the resulting legs - the humanities, cybernetics, and machine
actualization - comprises a fertile ground for ECC study. The 1999
meetings hosted a roundtable on the concept, and for the 2000 meetings the
group invites papers that begin to develop and elaborate on the idea.

* technology and the arts - The question "what is art?" has always been
fodder for lively conversation, and the emergence of digital technology
has energized the debate by spawning entirely new media for artistic,
cultural, and political expression.  Digital art has also emerged as a
vital incubator for the development of social theory and it has helped
fuel various post-structuralist and postmodern critiques of language,
form, structure, and content.  The ECC welcomes papers addressing these
and other relevant areas of theoretical concern, and is also open to the
submission of digital art projects which embody these critiques.

* 21 insights into the 21st Century - Business Week is now in the business
of futurism, and their new "21 doors to the future"
(http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_35/b3644001.htm) provide ample ground
for a scholar looking to speculate or debunk.

Individual papers and pre-constructed panels are welcomed.  Submissions
should be between 500-1000 words in length (or, if digital art, please
contact the chair to make arrangements for a comparable submission), and
should be sent to Sam Smith at smithsr at colorado.edu.  The deadline for
submission is September 15, 1999.  Since we're running behind on our
schedule this year, the chair would greatly appreciate it if papers could
be received as soon as possible.

All submissions will be blind evaluated by two reviewers, and notification
will be made within two weeks if possible.

Finally, submitters are encouraged to subscribe to ECC-L, our online
discussion list.  All information about the group and the conference will
be posted there first.  Subscription information follows.

I look forward to seeing everybody in New Orleans.

Sam Smith, Chair
Electronic Communications & Culture Area
Popular Culture Association
Center for Mass Media Research
University of Colorado

============================

ECC-L (Electronic Communication and Culture) is for the discussion of the
ways in which emerging electronic technologies are affecting the social,
economic, and political dimensions of Western culture. ECC-L is affiliated
with the Electronic Communication and Culture area of the Popular Culture
Association.

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In the event that you have questions or problems with the subscription
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