18.738 a non-dubious conference CFP: CATaC'06

               Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 18, No. 738.
       Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
                   www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/
                        www.princeton.edu/humanist/
                     Submit to: humanist_at_princeton.edu

         Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2005 07:21:15 +0100
         From: "Charles Ess" <cmess_at_drury.edu>
         Subject: a non-dubious conference CFP... CATaC'06

Dear Humanists,

Please distribute as appropriate, and with apologies for cross-posting...

CALL FOR PAPERS

International Conference on
CULTURAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION (CATaC'06)

28 June - 1 July 2006
University of Tartu, Estonia
<http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac>http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac

Conference theme:
Neither Global Village nor Homogenizing Commodification:
Diverse Cultural, Ethnic, Gender and Economic Environments

The biennial CATaC conference series continues to provide an 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 1990s' hopes for an "electronic global village" have largely been
shunted aside by the Internet's explosive diffusion. This diffusion was
well described by Marx - all that is solid melts into air - and was
predicted by postmodernists. The diffusion of CMC technologies quickly led
to many and diverse internets. A single "Internet", whose identity and
characteristics might be examined as a single unity, has not materialised.
An initially culturally and gender homogenous Internet came more and more
to resemble an urban metropolis. Along the way, in the commercialization of
the Internet and the Web, "cultural diversity" gets watered down and
exchanges strong diversity for a homogenous interchangeability. Such
diversity thereby becomes commodified and serves a global capitalism that
tends to foster cultural homogenization.

CATaC'06 continues our focus on the intersections of culture, technology,
and communication, beginning with an emphasis on continued critique of the
assumptions, categories, methodologies, and theories frequently used to
analyse these. At the same time, CATaC'06 takes up our characteristic focus
on ethics and justice in the design and deployment of CMC technologies. We
particularly focus on developing countries facilitated by "on the ground"
approaches in the work of NGOs, governmental agencies, etc., in ways that
preserve and foster cultural identity and diversity. By simultaneously
critiquing and perhaps complexifying our theories and assumptions, on the
one hand, and featuring "best practices" approaches to CMC in development
work, on the other hand, CATaC'06 aims towards a middle ground between a
putative "global village" and homogenizing commodification. Such middle
ground fosters cultural diversity, economic and social development, and
more successful cross-cultural communication online.

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 isn't 'culture' anymore
- The Internet isn't the 'Internet' anymore
- Gender, culture, empowerment and CMC
- CMC and cultural diversity
- Internet research ethics
- Ethics and justice
- Cultural diversity and e-learning

(For elaboration on these themes, please see the more complete CFP on the
conference website.)

Our conference themes provide a range of approaches to the questions raised.

SUBMISSIONS

All submissions will be peer reviewed by an international panel of scholars
and researchers and accepted papers will appear in the conference
proceedings. 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.

Full papers (10-20 formatted pages) - 13 February 2006
Short papers (3-5 formatted pages) - 20 February 2006
Workshop submissions - 20 February 2006
Notification of acceptance - mid March 2006
Final formatted papers - 29 March 2006

There will be the opportunity for selected papers from this 2006 conference
to appear in special issues of journals. 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). You may purchase the conference proceedings from the 2002 and 2004
conference from www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac.

CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS
    Charles Ess, Drury University, USA, catac_at_it.murdoch.edu.au
    Fay Sudweeks, Murdoch University, Australia, catac_at_it.murdoch.edu.au
PROGRAM CHAIR
    Herbert Hrachovec, University of Vienna, Austria
CONFERENCE CO-VICE-CHAIRS
    Pille Runnel, Tartu University, Estonia
    Pille Vengerfeldt, Tartu University, Estonia

==
Thanks! and cheers,

Charles Ess

Distinguished Research Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies
Drury University
900 N. Benton Ave.
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
          voice: (1) 417-873-7230
             fax: (1) 417-873-7435
homepage: www.drury.edu/ess/ess.html

"The world can provide for everyone's needs - but not for everyone's
greed." - Gandhi
Received on Mon Apr 25 2005 - 02:44:23 EDT