From: m.k.soby@ped.uio.no (Morten Sxby) Subject: CONF: 6CYBERCONF Date: Wed, 22 Jan 1997 17:07:49 +0200 Message-ID: Organization: University of Oslo Please distribute the following information among people who might be interested. Sorry if you receive more than one call :> Call for Papers: 6CYBERCONF Sixth International Conference on Cyberspace June 5th to 8th, 1997. University of Oslo Website: http://televr.fou.telenor.no/cyberconf We already live part-time in cyberspace, and that time is increasing as fast as the quality of the experience is radically changing. The Sixth International Conference on Cyberspace addresses the social, political and cultural implications of cyberspace from a critical standpoint as well as practical standpoint. In the nets, there is a growing society that ranges from researchers to Silicon Valley sophisticates to neocyberpunks. 6CYBERCONF offers the opportunity for exchange within and between these confluent and diverse interests and encourages discussion between theoreticians and practitioners. Hosted for the second time in Europe, this sixth edition of CYBERCONF considers: cyborgs looking for a home, the future body, interface/interaction breakthroughs, and the importance of collaboration in virtual environments. CONFERENCE FORMAT The official opening of 6CYBERCONF is scheduled for Thursday afternoon, June 5th. The conference will take place over three and a half days. There will be 6 keynote speakers, 15 plenary sessions, electronic art installations, special events, a pre- conference workshop on immersive environment design, and a banquet dinner on Saturday June 7th. All sessions are designed to foster discussion. Presentations will be in English. The themes are: CYBERSPACE METAPHOR? The cyberspace metaphor is a means of effecting instantaneous fusion of two separate realms of experience (man/machine, good/bad, self/world) into one illuminating, iconic, encapsulating image. Is the metaphor still a way to proceed from the known to the unknown in cyberspace? Is the metaphor a critical synthesis of complex communications technologies, bio-sociality or techno-sociality? Is cyberspace a new metanarrative of progress, or a story of paradise lost? Which language for the virtual age? VIRTUAL SUBJECTS ON THE ROAD A cyborg is a double articulation in which we find both the end of the subject and a new dispersed and refracted subjectivity constructed in cyberspace. The fabric of cyberspace dresses us in the cloth of possibilities -the virtual subject as a switchboard of souls? Can we really construct and reconstruct any identities and personalities? Will not the "real" subject implode in its multiplicity? Or is it a question of mastering ones avatar puppets on a global playground? Do we need psychiatrists for avatars? Logged off, where does the will of the cyberpersonality go? HACKING THE FUTURE BODY McLuhan argued that electronic media reintegrated the senses. How are bodies represented through information technology? How can cyberspace give priority to the lower senses? How is desire constructed through virtual worlds? Are there darker domains of e-motional interference beyond the emoticons? Is there a "violence of connectivity"? What about cybersex? Are we masturbating our way into the year 2000? Will sexuality become a post- biological phenomenon? Is the future body a recombinant structure of flesh or schizoid realities? ZONES / INTER-ACTION i) INTER-FACE is the sensitive boundary zone of negotiation between human and machine, allowing seamless crossings between the worlds: Facilitating the disappearance of the difference between them - emerging new set of human/machine relations - interweaving calculation, simulation and post-modern culture. How can we design for tacit knowledge and bricolage? How can we account for differing incentive structures between designers and users? Which concealed design codes promote or dissemble functionality? How to extend the interface into social/material space, transforming it into an environmental power? Away from the daily prayer at the desktop, when technology becomes transparent and disappears, where will it take us? ii) The rapid development of Internet and WWW have limited the definition of INTER-ACTION as the click of the mouse. How can interaction become a mutual and simultaneous activity on the part of the participants (man-machine-man interaction) in art and education? If the computer adds an interference to communication, how can it be used creatively? What is interaction beyond the Web? LABORATORIES FOR COLLABORATION Many of us are today involved in group interaction through telecommunication networks. In the future the 2D interface of the web will shift to 3D interactive interfaces. How will this affect the way we perceive our collaborators and our usage of information? Will it be a preferred medium to social interaction - opening up new possibilities within a group, organisation or community? INCLUSION - EXCLUSION What about the politics of networks? Which impact will commerce have on the the internet community? How will the powerstructures of the internet affect the behaviour of netizens? What about the diversity of cyberspace cultures? What is "freedom of speech" in a global context? CALL FOR PAPER ABSTRACTS To submit an abstract for the potential inclusion of your paper in the 6CYBERCONF programme, please follow these format guidelines: Title of the paper Author(s) Institutional affiliation (if any) Chosen 6CYBERCONF theme (from the list above) Abstract, 500 words maximum Brief biography, 100 words maximum Audio-visual equipment requirements Contact information (email preferred) There are two ways to submit abstracts: 1) Email with the subject topic to abstracts@televr.fou.telenor.no or 2) mail both a printed copy and a PC or MAC diskette to: 6CYBERCONF/ Morten Soby, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1092, Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norway. The selection will be done by an international and a local committee made up of academics, theorists, artists and technicians in the field. Submission of an abstract indicates the submitter's intention and capability to write and present the corresponding, full length paper, if chosen. Papers will be allotted a half hour for presentation in English. Please be advised that the selection committees will not consider abstracts that are not formatted as stated above nor papers that have been previously published. All abstracts and papers will be published in the proceedings (paper and Web-edition). DEADLINES Deadline for reception of abstracts: March 15, 1996 Notification of selection for presentation: April 15, 1996 Deadline for registration: May 1, 1996 FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE The registration fee will be waived for those presenting a paper in 6CYBERCONF. In addition, a limited number of grants are available to those presenters who demonstrate financial need. These grants may cover the costs of travel and accommodation. FEES & REGISTRATION The registration fee for attending 6CYBERCONF is US$ 250 (US$ 50 for students). For detailed information on how to register and information on travel and accommodation, check our Website or mailto:info@televr.fou.telenor.no LOCATION 6CYBERCONF will take place in an auditorium of the Helga Engs Building, University of Oslo. CONFIRMED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Arthur Kroker (Canada) Marilouise Kroker (Canada) Pierre Levy (France) Allucquere Rosanne Stone (USA) Florian Roetzer (Germany) SPECIAL EVENTS Immersive Environment Workshop: The pre-conference workshop will give a limited number of participants a unique opportunity to get hands on experience on how to design and develop and use a variety of immersive systems. Both technical and social science related topics will be covered. The workshop will be tutored by scientist researchers from Telenor R&D. e~on exhibition - will focus on electronic art made in Norway, but will include international participation as far the budget allows Public panel debate (with key note speakers and special guest) "Cyberdesign -97" presentation: the award winner of Telenor Research VR design competition. The list of keynote speakers and special events is preliminary; more to be added. Please visit our Website for more information and updates on 6CYBERCONF. ORGANIZERS Cyberconf Director: Allucquere Rosanne Stone, Professor and Director of the Interactive, Multimedia Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/~sandy Conference Coordinator: Morten Søby, Research Fellow, Institute for Educational Research, University of Oslo Email: m.k.soby@ped.uio.no http://www.uio.no/~mortenso/ Phone: + 47 22855383 Fax: + 47 22854250 Conference Coordinator: Ola Ødegård, Researcher, Manager of The Televirtuality Research Group at Telenor Research and Development. Phone: + 47 63848885 Fax: + 47 63810076 Email: ola.odegard@kjeller.fou.telenor.no http://televr.fou.telenor.no/~olao/olao.html Coordinator Interactive Installations: Stale Stenslie, Artist and Reseacher, Telenor R&D, Cologne/Oslo. Phone: + 47 90562963 Fax: +47 63810076 Email: stahl@rosa.nta.no http://televr.fou.telenor.no/~stahl/stahl.html FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Send e-mail to: info@televr.fou.telenor.no See the Web site for continuous updates: http://televr.fou.telenor.no/cyberconf - or contact directly Registration, Hotel booking, Flights: Project secretary 6Cyberconf: May Krosby Phone: + 47 638 48 341 Fax. + 47 63 81 98 10 Email: may.krosby@kjeller.fou.telenor.no http://televr.fou.telenor.no/cyberconf/ Abstracts, Papers, Information: Conference Editor: Vibeke Kløvstad Phone: + 47 22426980 / 22426892#126 Email: vibeke.klovstad@kulturkanalen.no -- Hjemmeside:http://www.media.uio.no/prosjekt/medieped/morten.soby.3.html Research Fellow Morten Soby University of Oslo, The Faculty of Social Science, Institute for Educational Research P.O. Box 1092, Blindern, 0317 N-Oslo