16.605 Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication (CATaC'04)

From: Humanist Discussion Group (by way of Willard McCarty willard.mccarty@kcl.ac.uk)
Date: Tue Apr 08 2003 - 02:13:03 EDT

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                   Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 16, No. 605.
           Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
                       www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/
                         Submit to: humanist@princeton.edu

             Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2003 07:07:06 +0100
             From: catac@wirth.murdoch.edu.au
             Subject: Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication
    (CATaC'04)

    CALL FOR PAPERS

    Fourth International Conference on
    CULTURAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION
    (CATaC'04)
    27 June-1 July 2004
    Karlstad University, Sweden
    http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac/

    Conference theme:
    Off the shelf or from the ground up?
    ICTs and cultural marginalization, homogenization or hybridization

    The biennial CATaC conference series provides a continuously expanding
    international forum for the presentation and discussion of current research
    on how diverse cultural attitudes shape the implementation and use of
    information and communication technologies (ICTs). The conference series
    brings together scholars from around the globe who provide diverse
    perspectives, both in terms of the specific culture(s) they highlight in
    their presentations and discussions, and in terms of the discipline(s)
    through which they approach the conference theme. The first conference in
    the series was held in London in 1998, the second in Perth in 2000, and the
    third in Montreal in 2002.

    Beginning with our first conference in 1998, the CATaC conferences
    have highlighted theoretical and praxis-oriented scholarship and research
    from all parts of the globe, including Asia, Africa, and the Middle-East.
    The conferences focus especially on people and communities at the
    developing edges of ICT diffusion, including indigenous peoples and those
    outside the English-speaking world.

    Understanding the role of culture in how far minority and/or indigenous
    cultural groups may succeed - or fail - in taking up ICTs designed for a
    majority culture is obviously crucial to the moral and political imperative
    of designing ICTs in ways that will not simply reinforce such groups'
    marginalization. What is the role of culture in the development of ICTs
    "from the ground up" - beginning with the local culture and conditions -
    rather than assuming dominant "off the shelf" technologies are appropriate?
    Are the empowering potentials of ICTs successfully exploited among minority
    and indigenous groups, and/or do they rather engender cultural
    marginalization, cultural homogenization or cultural hybridization?

    Original full papers (especially those which connect theoretical frameworks
    with specific examples of cultural values, practices, etc.) and short
    papers (e.g. describing current research projects and preliminary results)
    are invited.

    Topics of particular interest include but are not limited to:
    - Culture: theory and praxis
    - Culture and economy
    - Alternative models for ICT diffusion
    - Role of governments and activists in culture, technology and communication
    - ICTs and cultural hybridity
    - ICTs and intercultural communication
    - Culture, communication and e-learning

    SUBMISSIONS

    All submissions will be peer reviewed by an international panel of scholars
    and researchers and accepted papers will appear in the conference
    proceedings. You may purchase the conference proceedings from the 2000 and
    2002 conferences from http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac.

    There will be the opportunity for selected papers from this 2004 conference
    to appear in special issues of journals and a book. Papers in previous
    conferences have appeared in journals (Journal of Computer Mediated
    Communication, Electronic Journal of Communication/La Revue Electronique de
    Communication, AI and Society, Javnost- The Public, and New Media and
    Society) and a book (Culture, Technology, Communication: towards an
    Intercultural Global Village, 2001, edited by Charles Ess with Fay
    Sudweeks, SUNY Press, New York).

    Initial submissions are to be emailed to catac@it.murdoch.edu.au as an
    attachment (Word, HTML, PDF). Submission of a paper implies that it has not
    been submitted or published elsewhere. At least one author of each accepted
    paper is expected to present the paper at the conference.

    IMPORTANT DATES

    Full papers (10-20 pages): 12 January 2004
    Short papers (3-5 pages): 26 January 2004
    Notification of acceptance: end February 2004
    Final formatted papers: 29 March 2004

    CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS
       Charles Ess, Drury University, USA, cmess@drury.edu
       Fay Sudweeks, Murdoch University, Australia, catac@it.murdoch.edu.au
    CONFERENCE VICE-CHAIR
       Malin Sveningsson, Karlstad University, Sweden, malin.sveningsson@kau.se



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