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PDC2004-CFP-Toronto, July 27-31
by Charlie Breindahl 11 Nov '03

11 Nov '03

Call For Participation - Please forward or post as appropriate PDC 2004 the eighth biennial Participatory Design Conference Artful Integration Interweaving Media, Materials and Practices http://cpsr.org/conferences/pdc2004/ July 27-31, 2004 University of Toronto Toronto, Canada Sponsored by Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) In cooperation with the ACM and IFIP (pending) Academic sponsors: Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI), University of Toronto Faculty of Information Studies (FIS), University of Toronto Participatory Design (PD) is a diverse collection of principles and practices aimed at making technologies and social institutions more responsive to human needs. A central tenet of PD is the direct involvement of people in the co-design of the systems they use. The Participatory Design Conferences, held every two years since 1990, have brought together a multidisciplinary and international group of software developers, researchers, social scientists, designers, activists, practitioners, users, citizens, cultural workers and managers who adopt distinctively participatory approaches in the development of information and communication artifacts, systems, services and technology. Participatory design approaches have been used in traditional application domains (such as computer systems for business, health care and governmental) and are also relevant in emerging areas such as web-portal design, e-government services, community networks, enterprise resource planning, public (and other) CSCW (computer supported cooperative work) systems, social administration & community development, university/community partnerships, tele-health, communities of practice and political deliberation / mobilization (e-democracy), digital arts and design, scholarship and teaching with mediated technologies (e-learning), the experience of a sense of place, cultural production and cultural institutions. We further welcome submissions that explore the relationship between PD approaches and the design of ICT (information and communication technology) infrastructures such as open source projects, standards, protocols, new media, policy, broadband and WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) networks and the like, and how in turn they may enable and constrain the possibilities for participation. Participatory designers of ICT-applications may learn from, and, hopefully contribute to, work in other fields, such as community and organizational development, architecture, urban planning, policy development, media, design and art, especially insofar as these fields increasingly use ICTs. Participatory design approaches can be applied in various social settings such as local communities, government agencies, civil society, NGOs, schools and universities, companies, trade unions, etc. each with its own distinctive stakeholder arenas and power relations. The overall theme of the 2004 conference, "Artful Integration: Interweaving Media, Materials and Practices" describes a central reality of participatory design. It recognizes that an essential ingredient in design practice is the working together of multiple, heterogeneous elements. Whereas conventional design approaches emphasize the role of the designer and the creation of singular "things," artful integration calls attention to the collective interweaving of people, artifacts and processes to achieve practical, aesthetic or emancipatory syntheses. The conference will include the inauguration of the "Artful Integrators Award" for exemplary work in participatory design. We invite contributions on all aspects of participatory design, especially those that address concerns discussed above. Share your artful integrations with the broader community! TYPES OF SESSIONS We invite submissions for the following types of sessions (described more fully below): + Research papers (maximum 10 pages) + Short papers (maximum 4 pages) research works in progress, field experiences / stories from reflective practitioners, tools and techniques reports) + Pre-Conference workshops (2 page proposals) + Conference workshops (2 page proposals) + Artifacts, posters, interactive demonstrations, art installations (2 page proposals) + Tutorials (2 page proposals) + Doctoral consortium Research Papers Deadline: January 9, 2004 We aim to publish the accepted research papers in book form through an academic publisher. High academic standards will be expected. Maximum length of research papers is 10 pages. Each submitted paper will be double blind reviewed by at least 3 reviewers. Authors are invited to suggest names and contact information of one or two possible reviewers to supplement reviews by Program Committee members. Such prospective reviewers should have demonstrable expertise in the relevant field and be at arms-length from the author(s) and the work presented. Accepted papers should be revised according to the review reports and the language should be checked by a native English speaker. Deadline for submitting the camera-ready manuscript is May 10, 2004. Short Papers (maximum 4 pages) (Chair: Joan Greenbaum) Deadline: May 1, 2004 Short papers cover a range of possible formats and audiences + Research works in progress: research which is not yet ready to be evaluated in a peer review. Short papers could cover research designs, fieldwork, and/or preliminary research results. + Stories about experiences by reflective practitioners: we are especially interested in short papers in which practitioners describe their practical experiences with the (non) participation of users. These reports may be derived from a variety of settings, but should as a general feature describe the various stakeholders in the design process, their mutual interactions, and how they were affected. + Tools and techniques reports: the description of tools and techniques, and of the application of these tools and techniques, showing their usability for participatory design. + Short papers are also welcome that fit the "pattern" format organized by problem, context, discussion, solution and references. Pre-Conference Workshops (Chair Judith Gregory) Deadline: January 23, 2004 Full- or half-day invitational workshops will be held Wednesday, July 28, 2004. The proposal should contain a title, goals, technique, relevance to PD and a schedule. Intended participants and how they will be recruited should also be described. Workshop topics can include methods, practices, or other areas of interest. Note that fees may be charged to cover workshop expenses (such as lunch, materials, or equipment set up) but workshop organizers are not paid. Conference Workshops (Chairs Peter Mambrey & Patricia Sachs) Deadline: May 1, 2004 Conference workshops will be convened on July 30 from 2-5 PM. Attendees will sign up for these workshops at the conference itself. Please submit a two page proposal which includes title, goals, objectives, and methods for making the workshop interactive with the participants. Please indicate as the relevant background of the leaders, intended participants, the maximum number of participants and whether you would need special equipment. Feel encouraged to apply with others as a group. Artifacts, interactive demonstrations, posters, art installations (Chairs Yvonne Dittrich & Leah Lievrouw) Deadline: May 1, 2004. + Artifacts. Proposals should be no longer than 2 pages and must be submitted electronically. The artifact proposal should contain a title, goals, technique, relevance to PD and a sketch or design, as appropriate. Please describe your plan for audience participation. + Interactive Demonstrations. Proposals should be no longer than 2 pages and must be submitted electronically. The artifact proposal should contain a title, goals, technique, relevance to PD and a sketch, layout or design, as appropriate. Please describe your plan for audience participation. + Posters. Proposals (1 page) should describe the topic, its relevance, the approach, and the results. During the conference posters will be displayed in several places. Please describe your plan for audience participation. Power, internet connections, small table and vertical mounting surface will be provided if requested and available. Please describe any other special requirements. Tutorials (pre-conference) (Chair TBA) Deadline: January 23, 2004 Full-day (6 hour) and half-day (3 hour) tutorials will be held Tuesday July 27, 2004. The proposal should contain a title, goals, technique, relevance to PD and a tutorial schedule. Please describe any handouts that you intend to make available in the proposal. Please include a budget for tutorial expenses (lunch, materials, equipment set up, for example) in your proposal. Fees will be charged, with tutorial organizers receiving surplus over tutorial expenses. Doctoral consortium (Chairs: Jeanette Blomberg & Finn Kensing) A full day, invitational doctoral consortium will be held Tuesday, July 27, 2004. Doctoral candidates are invited to contact the one of the session co-chairs for further details. <blomberg(a)almaden.ibm.com> <kensing(a)itu.dk>. General submission information: + Submissions should be formatted according to the requirements specific to each type of submission as listed on the conference website and sent electronically to the chairs using the upload facility to be found there. + Each submission will include a cover sheet with title, submission type, submitter name(s) and affiliation(s), address(es) and email address(es). + Receipt notification will follow over email. + All accepted contributions will be posted on appropriate web sites and published in book form provided to conference participants as part of the conference fee. + Volume I of the Proceedings will consist of the research papers and be published by an academic publisher. Additional details including formatting instructions will be available soon on the PDC 2004 web site (<http://cpsr.org/conferences/pdc2004/>;). + Volume II of the Proceedings will include all the other accepted contributions in the traditional PDC-format. More details can be found on the conference website or by contacting the Program co-Chairs or the Chair of the appropriate session. IMPORTANT DATES 2004 + January 9 Due date for research paper submissions + January 23 Due date for pre-conference workshops and tutorials + February 7 Acceptance notification for workshops and tutorials March + 15 Acceptance notification to authors of research papers May 10 Due + date for Final Proceedings Vol1 versions of research papers + May 1 Due date for short papers/posters/artifacts/demos/conference workshop submissions + May 15 Acceptance notification short papers/posters/artifacts/demos/ conference workshop presenters + May 22 Early registration date + June 1 Due date for final Proceedings Vol2 versions of pre-conference and conference workshops and other submissions + July 27-31 PDC 2004 ALSO OF INTEREST The ACM SIGCHI conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS2004) takes place August 1-4, immediately following PDC2004 in Cambridge, MA, 1 1/2 hrs by air from Toronto. More information is available at: <http://sigchi.org/dis2004/>; CONFERENCE COMMITTEES Conference Co-Chairs: Andrew Clement, University of Toronto, Canada Peter van den Besselaar, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Netherlands Program Co-chairs: Fiorella de Cindio, University of Milano, Italy Doug Schuler, The Evergreen State College, USA PROGRAM COMMITTEE Liam Bannon (Ireland), Thomas Binder (Sweden), Jeanette Blomberg (US), Tone Bratteteig (Norway), Jacob Buur (Denmark), Debra Cash (US), Todd Cherkasky (US), Andrew Clement (Canada), Peter Day (UK), Fiorella De Cindio (Italy), Yvonne Dittrich (Sweden), Frank Emspak (US), Joan Greenbaum (US), Davydd Greenwood (US), Judith Gregory (Norway), Robert Guerra (Canada), Michael Gurstein (Canada), Bo Helgeson (Sweden), Vidar Hepsø (Norway), Finn Kensing (Denmark), Sarah Kuhn (US), Leah Lievrow (US), Peter Mambrey (Germany), Preben Holst Mogensen (Denmark), Gale Moore (Canada), Michael Muller (US) Julian Orr (US), Norberto Patrignani (Italy), Volkmar Pipek (Germany), Rob Procter (UK), Toni Robertson (Australia), Patricia Sacks (US), Partha Sarker (invited-Bangladesh), Doug Schuler (US), Steve Scrivener (UK), Lucy Suchman (UK), Randy Trigg (US), Peter van den Besselaar (Netherlands), Ina Wagner (Austria), and Volker Wulf (Germany). ---------- End Forwarded Message ----------

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James Carey lecture at NCA
by Mark D. Johns 10 Nov '03

10 Nov '03

Steve Jones Internet Research Lecture Series to Feature James Carey James Carey (Columbia University) will deliver the inaugural lecture in the Steve Jones Internet Research Lecture Series during the 2003 Annual Convention of National Communication Association (NCA), on Saturday, November 22, from 8:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., in Suite 654, 6th Floor, Fontainebleau Hilton in Miami Beach, Florida. The Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research (CCCSIR, http://www.cccsir.org) established the Steve Jones Internet Research Lecture Series to bring leading Internet researchers to annual NCA conventions to promote the development and interest of Internet research. With the interdisciplinary nature of Internet research, the lecture series would like to bring researchers from various disciplines as well as industry leaders to establish dialogues with communication researchers about topics and issues of Internet research. The theme of Steve Jones Lecture Series is "The Internet as Culture." James Carey is the CBS Professor of International Journalism at Columbia University. His lecture will be titled "The Internet Through History." This event is organized by the Carl Couch Center. For questions and comments about this event, please contact Mark D. Johns, johnsmar at luther.edu, or, Shing-Ling Chen, chen at cccsir.org. ----- Mark D. Johns, Ph.D. Asst. Prof. of Communication/Linguistics Luther College, Decorah, Iowa USA http://faculty.luther.edu/~johnsmar/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Get the facts first. You can distort them later." -- Mark Twain

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Fwd: APA Infotech: Tools for Community Design and Decision Making
by Steve Jones 10 Nov '03

10 Nov '03

> > >The American Planning Association's Information Technology Division >is pleased to co-sponsor: >Tools for Community Design and Decision Making Working Session V: >Information Technology in Action >December 11-13, 2003 , San Francisco Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel, San >Francisco, CA > >November 10, 2003 is the last day to register: ><http://www.tcddm.org>http://www.tcddm.org > >Explore how new approaches and tools for planning can improve local >decisions about growth and development.Attendees can choose to >participate in one of two separate, but integrated, interactive >programs.The TCDDM Forum features plenary sessions including an >electronic town hall exercise with keypad voting and groupware, and >afternoon workshops and panels. > >Explore how new approaches and tools for planning can improve local >decisions about growth and development. Some of the exciting Forum >topics include: > >Tools and Decision Making Techniques for Land Use Planning >Planning for Sustainable Development >Integrated Land Use and Transportation Planning >Planning with Visualization Tools >Strengthening Connections Between Transportation, Community and >System Preservation >Building Regional Repositories of Data and Integrated Decision Support >Empower Citizens and Communities with Interactive Web-Based Tools >Tools and Techniques for Public Participation >The Federal Role in Decision-Making Tools >The Hands-on Digital Charrette will allow tool designers and >attendees to work together in a real-time setting on a specific >planning situation. Attendees will apply new technologies to >realistic problems and opportunities in regional and neighborhood >planning. Six break-out groups will help to decide the fate of a >fictitious community called Edge City . Each group will work with a >different tool provider to answer a critical planning question. > >Go to <http://www.tcddm.org/>http://www.tcddm.org to register and >for more information about the conference. > >Sponsors include the American Planning Association's (APA) >Information Technology Division , the American Society of Landscape >Architects (ALSA) , the Center for Neighborhood Technology , >Criterion Planners/Engineers , ESRI , HP , the International >City/County Management Association (ICMA) , Parsons Brinckhoff , >Smart Growth America , the US Department of Transportation Federal >Highway Administration (FHWA) , and Federal Geographic Data >Committee (FGDC). >

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Job Announcement at Georgia Tech
by Hans Klein 10 Nov '03

10 Nov '03

Professor of Public Policy Professor of Public Policy. Rank open, tenure track position, to start August 2004. The School of Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology seeks applications and nominations for a professor to contribute to graduate teaching in economics or quantitative methods. We encourage applicants with research interests in environmental politics or policy, information and telecommunication policy, or urban and regional economic development policy, and whose interests align generally with the School's focus on policy issues characterized by their scientific and technological content. The Georgia Tech School of Public Policy offers BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in public policy. The School also offers certificates and minors in Pre-law and Legal studies, and in Philosophy, Science and Technology. The School's faculty hold degrees in a wide variety of disciplines and interdisciplinary areas, including economics, engineering, sociology, law, philosophy, political science, public policy analysis and public administration. See www.spp.gatech.edu for additional information about the School. The Search Committee will begin screening candidates immediately; applications are encouraged by December 1, and will continue to be reviewed until an appropriate candidate is found. Salary competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience. Ph.D. required. Applications from women and minority candidates are especially welcome. The availability of the position is contingent on funding. Applicants at the Assistant Professor level should include three letters of recommendation in their dossier. Senior applicants should provide names and addresses of at least three references. Send application materials to Carmen Williams, Search Secretary, School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0345, USA. Applications by email are encouraged, to carmen.williams(a)pubpolicy.gatech.edu, with hard copy following by regular mail. Georgia Institute of Technology is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.

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Second CFP: The Life of Mobile Data
by Sean Smith 10 Nov '03

10 Nov '03

[apologies for crosspostings] We are pleased to be able to announce the extension of the abstract submission deadline to 30th November. We are also pleased to be able to the following keynote speakers: David Lyon, Queens University, Ontario Charles Raab, University of Edinburgh Simon Davies, LSE and Privacy International. The Life of Mobile Data: Technology, Mobility and Data Subjectivity April 15 16, 2004 University of Surrey, England Revised Deadline for Submission of abstracts: 30th November 2003 Keynote Speakers include: David Lyon, Queens University, Ontario Charles Raab, University of Edinburgh Simon Davies, LSE and Privacy International The rapid adoption and diffusion of mobile devices over the past decade has transformed the way information is generated, organized and communicated about individuals and their lives. The construction of new mobile data profiles and of mobile, informatic selves, hold the potential to transform what is organizationally and interpersonally meant by privacy, individuality, community, risk, trust, and reciprocity in a mobilizing, and globalizing world. In order to examine these transformations, the RIS:OME project at the University of Surrey is hosting an international, interdisciplinary conference to address emerging social and cultural relations of mobility, privacy, identity, information and communication. This conference will bring together academic, industry and policy researchers and practitioners to critically address how mobile information and communications technologies structure relations of privacy, security, trust, power, identity and difference. There are a number of questions that inform the themes of the conference. In what ways, for example, do mobiles reconfigure the relations of trust, risk, privacy and reciprocity embedded in organizational and interpersonal data sharing? In what ways do mobiles contribute to the construction of identity and of the 'information self'? What is the relationship between mobile data and the individual? Who owns and controls the emerging, individualized mobile data image? What roles do consumption and consumerism play in the social relations of privacy, trust and security? Is the development of mobile technologies associated with emerging relations of risk, uncertainty and privatisation? What social, cultural and regulatory factors have influenced the generation of mobile data in different countries? How do these factors influence culturally specific understandings and practices of globalized and transnational privacy, risk and trust? Are regimes of information sharing and data protection patterned along axes of development and underdevelopment? What roles do national differences and political economies play in the construction of emerging mobile data relations? How are politics reconfigured within and between countries via mobile data technologies and changing mobilities? What critical approaches can be brought to bear on our understanding of diversity, difference and resistance in the generation of mobile data? How can we account for the rapid uptake of mobile devices, and the development of mobile data sharing, both now and in the future? We seek to bring critical perspectives to bear on the development and widespread uptake of mobile technologies and developments in information sharing and data profiling over the last decade. The conference organizers thus invite papers presenting empirically grounded and theoretically informed analyses of the social changes that mobile technologies and their data relations have brought about. Suggested themes could include, but are by no means limited to: risk, trust and power in mobile information ownership, control, access and management culturally specific patterns of informational trust and privacy organizational structuring of mobile information paradigms data subjectivity and the construction of identity through mobile technologies mobile communications and emerging regulatory environments privacy enhancing technologies, their problems, paradoxes and possibilities privacy advocacy in the mobile environment organizational and interpersonal information sharing the lifecycle of mobile personal data: its generation, integration, profiling and mining mobile surveillance, security and globalization mobile data protection, data subjectivity and knowledge information gathering and social memory Papers and panels are invited that address the conference themes. Submission of Abstracts: 500 700 words, 30th Nov 2003 Notification of acceptance of papers: 15th Dec 2003 Registration Deadline: 30th Jan 2004 For further information, please contact the conference organizers: Dr Nicola Green n.green(a)surrey.ac.uk, Sean Smith s.a.smith(a)surrey.ac.uk. Conference Secretary: Sue Venn, s.venn(a)surrey.ac.uk. With the support of Intel Corporation, and the Department of Sociology at the University of Surrey. Paper length: 20 minutes. Panel presentations encouraged.

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FW: future of war conference website
by Gina Neff 08 Nov '03

08 Nov '03

Of interest given the recent discussion here. Proceedings are online. http://www.lmcc.net/futureofwar/index.html The Future of War: Aesthetics, Politics, Technologies Presented at The New School by Thundergulch -the new media initiative of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council- in association with the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, the World Policy Institute, and the Computer Instruction Center at the New School. What do the Department of Defense and the computer gaming industry have in common? What kinds of strategic alliances is the Pentagon making with Hollywood? How is the American Institute of Architects connecting with the military's designs for a "new security environment?" Are artists collaborating with, exposing, or resisting the military by deploying technologies of simulation, data surveillance, tracking, and computer vision in their work? A group of internationally renowned panelists explored these and other questions in The Future of War: Aesthetics, Politics, Technologies, a two-day conference that examined the increasingly complex exchanges between the military, the entertainment industry, the computer industry, the media, and the arts. What impact do these exchanges have on war, technology and related visual cultures in the American public sphere? How is war -as concept, technique, and practice-reorganizing our everyday life and sense of future? The conference looked at war not simply as a utilitarian means to an end, or within the more familiar political and strategic accounts of it, but as a cultural process involving particular ways of seeing, narrating, and imagining: from the physical and virtual spaces of war, to the cinematic language of Hollywood combat films; from online gaming and military simulations, to the computer and installation work of artists. The Future of War was organized by Wayne Ashley, LMCC's curator of New Media and public programs.

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CfP Designing for Civil Society: A Special Issue of Interacting w ith Computers
by Dearden, Andrew M 07 Nov '03

07 Nov '03

(Apologies for cross postings) Call for Papers DESIGNING FOR CIVIL SOCIETY A special issue of Interacting with Computers ================================================================================= BACKGROUND We invite contributions to a special issue of the journal Interacting with Computers examining the challenges of designing systems to support democractic participation in civil society. Democratic participation is not merely an issue of electronic voting, but also of campaigning, organising and participation in policy formation through a wide variety of groups. Such organisations may be formally constituted, e.g. trade-unions, political parties, voluntary groups or campaigning 'non-governmental organisations' (NGOs), or may be informal collections of individuals and organisations conducting conversations and sharing electronic material e.g. email petitions, weblogs and satirical emails such as those circulated opposing the war in Iraq. This special issue of Interacting with Computers will explore how existing knowledge of human computer interaction (HCI) and of the use of information & communication technologies (ICT) can be applied by such groups, and what questions such groups pose for our emerging understanding of HCI and information systems. ========================================================================== IMPORTANT DATES * Full paper submission: 20th Feb 2004 * Response to authors 16th April 2004 * Final revisions due 21st May 2004 * Planned publication: November 2004 ====================================================== FURTHER DETAILS Papers should be submitted by email to the editors (s.walker(a)lmu.ac.uk / a.m.dearden(a)shu.ac.uk ) Full details of the call and instructions for authors are available from: http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/cms/teaching/amd/CivilSociety <http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/cms/teaching/amd/CivilSociety> For more information contact: Andy Dearden (a.m.dearden(a)shu.ac.uk) or Steve Walker (s.walker(a)lmu.ac.uk) Andy Dearden School of Computing and Management Sciences Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield S1 1WB UK Tel: +44 (0)114 225 2916 Fax: +44 (0)114 225 3161 Web: http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/cms/teaching/amd <http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/cms/teaching/amd>

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What is Tactical Cyberfeminism? Book release event for DOMAIN ERRORS!
by jeremy hunsinger 07 Nov '03

07 Nov '03

> > > What is Tactical Cyberfeminism? Book release event for DOMAIN ERRORS! > > CYBERFEMINIST PRACTICES by subRosa > > Faith Wilding, political artist, subRosa member, and co-editor of the > new > Autonomedia book DOMAIN ERRORS! CYBERFEMINIST PRACTICES, will give a > presentation outlining the various areas of investigation of the book, > discussing the work of subRosa, and showing videos of some of subRosa's > interventions. Part performative intervention, part radical polemic and > activist manual, DOMAIN ERRORS! introduces a diverse international > group of > feminist writers, artists, theorists, and activists engaged in > formulating a > contestational politics for tactical cyberfeminism. The book highlights > intersections of feminist and postcolonial discourses through critical > analyses of the embodied politics of digital culture. Opening areas > repressed in previous cyberfeminist discourses, the authors map > contemporary > social relations between women as they are mediated and transformed by > digital and bio-technologies. > > Bluestockings Bookstore, > 172 Allen Street, Manhattan, NY > 212-777-6028 > Sunday, November 9th, 2003, 7-9 PM > More information on the book is at > http://www.autonomedia.org/domainerrors > > *********************************************************************** > ************* > Distributed through Cyber-Society-Live [CSL]: CSL is a moderated > discussion > list made up of people who are interested in the interdisciplinary > academic > study of Cyber Society in all its manifestations.To join the list > please visit: > http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/cyber-society-live.html > *********************************************************************** > ************** > > jeremy hunsinger jhuns(a)vt.edu on the ibook www.cddc.vt.edu www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy/blog () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments

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RE: [Air-l] recent cyberpunk/Internet culture fiction
by Kendall, Lori 06 Nov '03

06 Nov '03

Michele, Thanks so much for that list, and thanks to others for their suggestions as well. I've had a similar problem in my classes. Although I get a few fellow nerds (meant affectionately and as an "in-group" term), most of my students are completely unfamiliar with science fiction writing and find it off-putting. So I'm looking for ways to get them past that and into contemplation of the meanings of how computers are depicted. Lori

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recent cyberpunk/Internet culture fiction
by Michele White 06 Nov '03

06 Nov '03

I appreciate the suggestions for cyberpunk and Internet culture fiction. These considerations are a vital part of the ways that the Internet has been conceptualized and help students to understand the political issues through other kinds of writings. However, I should note that some of my students find the unfamiliar terminology and narrative difficult to initially grasp. I have used a variety of short stories in my class as well as longer works. My ongoing concern is to include more diversity in the authors and representations we deploy. I am suggesting a few additions and would appreciate hearing more suggestions. All my best, Michele Butler, Octavia. Bloodchild and Other Stories. New York: Davis Publications, 1995. Cadigan, Pat. "Rock On" and "Pretty Boy Crossover," Patterns. New York: Tor Books, 1989: 57-65 and 129-138. Cadigan, Pat, "Icy You . . . Juicy Me," The Register (2001) http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/17497.html Delany, Samuel R. Dhalgren. New York: Vintage Books, 2001. The dystopian technoculture, breakdown of text, and shifting narrative relate this novel to cyberpunk even if the computer is not a featured technology. Gomez-Pena, Guillermo. Friendly Cannibals. San Francisco: Artspace Books, 1996. Hopkinson, Nalo, "A Habit of Waste," Women of Other Worlds: Excursions through Science Fiction and Feminism. Hellen Merrick and Tess Williams, eds. Nedlands: University of Western Australia Press, 1999: 261-276. Her "Ganger (Ball Lightning)," might be more in the "cyberculture" category since it considers VR suits, gender bending, and sexuality. Hopkinson, Nalo. "Ganger (Ball Lightning)," Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora, Sheree R. Thomas, ed. New York: Warner Books, 2000. Mixon, Laura. Glass Houses. New York: Tor Books, 1992. Scott, Melissa. Trouble and Her Friends. New York: Tor Books, 1994.

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