CALL FOR PAPERS American Sociological Association Meeting 2009 Section on Communication and Information Technologies San Francisco, Aug 8-11 DEADLINE: January 14, 2008 Only completed papers, not abstracts or letters of intent, may be considered by session organizers. Session #1: Cultural Divergences and Convergences: Mediated Communication, Community, and Social Networks Organizer: Laura Robinson, Santa Clara University Through social networking, commerce, or political activism, many internet users engage in a host of mediated communities and social networks. To date, little attention has been paid to how cultural context shapes differentiated use of IT both within and beyond national borders. This session takes on this challenge by examining how new media practices diverge or converge in different cultural settings both in the United States and internationally. Papers will explore differences and similarities between how different cultural groups use mediated communication to initiate, sustain, or strengthen different forms of community and/or social networks. Session #2: Sociology of Communications and IT Organizer: Keith N. Hampton, University of Pennsylvania Open session on any topic related to the study of the sociology of communications, media, or information and communication technologies. Quantitative, qualitative, conceptual, critical, and theory contributions are welcome. Topics may include: health, politics, work, relationships, virtual environments, social networks, media, teaching, software, hardware, the Internet, cell phones, mobile computing, etc. Session #3: Roundtables Organizer: Steven G. Hoffman, SUNY Buffalo HOW TO SUBMIT: All submissions for the 2009 program must be made via the online system which will open on the ASA website in early December. Details on the submission process and participation policies can be found at: http://www.asanet.org/cs/root/leftnav/meetings/2009_participation_polici es IMPORTANT REMINDER: In past years, the Section has received many more paper submissions than can be accepted in the regular section sessions. If you select a Section session as your 1st or 2nd preference (as part of the online submission process), session organizers will do their best to forward your paper to additional session organizers for consideration. However, you are also strongly urged to select the box to have your paper forwarded to a Roundtable Session. Keith Hampton CITASA, Chair http://citasa.org/