Hi again all, and thanks to Beth for this input which picks up on some of the issues that I was trying to raise, but expands them and puts them much more eloquently. And to pick up on Wil's comments, yes lots of universities do have this technology, but where are they? I work with colleagues at universities in places such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia (and these are not even the poorest of countries in the 'developing' world) and facilities for successful video-conferencing etc are either (i) not always available or (ii) not always reliable.
L ----- Original Message ----- From: Beth DeSombre <[email protected]> Date: Saturday, March 13, 2010 2:00 am Subject: [gep-ed] Conference greening and the role of conferences To: [email protected] <!-- body{margin-left:10px;margin-right:10px;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;} --> ----------------------------------------------------------- | > I appreciate Mike's effort to keep the list clear of extraneous traffic and > relevant to those who are on it, but I actually think that this discussion is > precisely the sort of thing that it's useful to have a collective discussion > about rather than individual messages to the people on the "greening" > committee. And, heck, if we can't do that in the best electronic forum that > currently exists for talking about global environmental politics issues, then > the idea of substituting electronic communication for some aspects of > conferences is definitely a non-starter! > > I think it's worth discussing here because I think it's about broader issues > than Mike and I are going to be looking at, and in that broadness is > relevant to the question of what it is that conferences *do*. And in that > sense, if anyone on the list attends, or considers attending, any > conferences, it's relevant more broadly than to the ISA conference. > > I am second to none in my appreciation for and use of electronic > communication opportunities, and I think they have indeed enriched our > academic community and discourse. > > But I also think that there is a way in which they operate differently than > as opportunities to make your latest research available and to get feedback > on it. It's the same reason that I think that teaching a class > collectively, with people present at the same time in the same room, is a > fundamentally different activity than teaching an online class. When I > teach I go in with a plan about the information I want to convey. And the > act of presenting it to a room full of people changes what I say -- I make > connections I didn't imagine I would make in the act of presenting, and > present it differently. And that's even before there is discussion -- and, > ideally (and often) that discussion, questions that build off each other in > real time, leads the conversation to a place that it would never have > otherwise gone, and leads me to think about what I'm saying in completely > different ways. It happens because we're in the same place at the same > time. > > That's just the presentation/discussion aspect of a conference. Sure, you > could find ways to replicate that -- imperfectly (and I honestly think that > it would be imperfect) -- but that's also only part of what is valuable > about being physically present together at conferences. Part of the reason > I think gep-ed works so well is that some of us know others of us -- there's > a core of common experience at its base. And that experience expands > outwards. But having the hallway discussions, the dinners out, the > fortuitous connections that happen at a conference when you run into someone > whose electronic site you wouldn't have thought to go visit if we were just > talking about an electronic conference, the grad student you happen to be > able to hook up for coffee with the person whose work she should know when > you see them both in the book room, is what makes conferences worthwhile for > me. > > I agree that as environmentalists we need to think seriously about how to > live more sustainably in our world. And conferences are a part of that, and > air travel is problematic. But they're one small aspect of what we do in our > daily lives, and if you haven't taken steps that are just as drastic to > shift the fundamental way we interact with the world (do you take the kids > to visit their grandparents? Wouldn't skype be just as good?) I'm not > convinced that doing away with conference travel is necessarily the first > place I'd start. > > Beth (who might now be impeached from the conference greening committee!) > > Elizabeth R. DeSombre > Wellesley College | ----------------------------------------------------------- Associate Professor Lorraine Elliott Senior Fellow in International Relations Department of International Relations School of International, Political and Strategic Studies College of Asia and the Pacific The Australian National University Canberra, ACT 0200 AUSTRALIA e: [email protected] t: +61 2 61250589 f: +61 2 61258010
