From: Charles Ess <ch...@itu.dk>
Call for Papers "Off the shelf or from the ground up? ICTs and cultural marginalization, homogenization or hybridization" Fourth International Conference on Cultural Attitudes Towards Technology and Communication (CATaC'04) Karlstad University, Sweden 27 June - 1 July 2004 Conference Website: http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac/ 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 Our conference themes provide a range of approaches to the questions raised. In addition, CATaC'04 will feature two particular foci, each chaired by a distinguished colleague who will oversee paper review and development of the final panels. PANEL 1: The Multilingual Internet Panel Chairs: Susan Herring and Brenda Danet Expanding on their collective work, including a special issue of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (Vol. 9 (1), November, 2003 - see http://www.ascusc.org/jcmc/), this thread invites papers with a specific focus on how the Internet impacts language choice and linguistic practices in traditionally non-English speaking cultural contexts. Of particular interest are situations that respond in various ways to the tension between global English dominance and local linguistic diversity, e.g., through use of English as an online lingua franca, the "localization" of global or regional linguistic influences, translation or code-switching between different languages, and strategic uses of the Internet to maintain and invigorate minority languages. Susan Herring is Professor of Information Science and Linguistics, Indiana University Bloomington Brenda Danet is Professor Emerita of Sociology and Communication at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem PANEL 2: Utopian Dreams vs. Real-World Conditions: Under what conditions can ICTs really help worse off communities? Panel Chair: Michel Minou. CATaC'04 will likely feature some examples of "best practices" in using ICTs to aid culturally-appropriate development, especially as pursued through governmental or NGOs' projects, community informatics endeavours, etc. At the same time, however, real-world politics and realities - e.g., violent oppression, political corruption, gender and ethnic discrimination, abuse of dominant economic position, structural disasters, worst practices of all kinds and origins, etc. - can shatter the best-laid plans for using ICTs to supposedly help especially the poorest of the poor. How far can ICTs succeed in supporting culturally-appropriate development - and what appropriate answers to real-world conditions are required in order for our best efforts to realize the liberatory potentials of these technologies not be broken down? Michel Menou, has worked on the development of national information policies and systems in many countries of the Southern hemisphere since 1966. Since 1992 his work focused on the impact of information and ICT in development. He is a member of the Community Informatics Research Network and of the network of Telecentres of Latin America and Caribbean. PAPER SUBMISSIONS All submissions will be peer reviewed by an international panel of scholars and researchers and accepted papers will appear in the conference proceedings. Initial submissions are to be uploaded to the CATaC website according to the paper guidelines (available at the conference website). 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. 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). You may purchase the conference proceedings from the 2002 conference from www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac. 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, cm...@drury.edu Fay Sudweeks, Murdoch University, Australia, sudwe...@murdoch.edu.au CONFERENCE CO-VICE-CHAIRS Malin Sveningsson, Karlstad University, Sweden, malin.svenings...@kau.se Ylva Hard af Segerstad, Karlstad University and Goteborg University, Sweden, ylva.h...@kau.se -- InterPhil List Administration: http://www.polylog.org/interphil/ Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://www.polylog.org/agd/cal/
