Dear AIR colleagues, I'm circulating the call for papers for our upcoming one-day conference again as there seems to still be some confusion about the deadline for abstracts (likely because of a typo in my first post about it -- many apologies!). The abstract deadline is not until the 21st of this month. Sincerely, Christian Sandvig ------------------------ Christian Sandvig christian.sandvig@csls.oxford.ac.uk http://www.niftyc.org/ *************************************************************************** Ethnographies of the Internet: Grounding Regulation in Lived Experience CALL FOR PAPERS Oxford University - Friday, 8 March 2002 Researchers studying Internet use are invited to submit work with policy implications for a one-day research conference to be held at Oxford University. This conference will bring together grounded research that produces deep ethnographic accounts of the way that the Internet is formed or negotiated by particular actors in a specific context, and open a discussion about the lessons social science holds for law and policy debates affecting the Internet. These debates include: freedom of expression, protection of minors, privacy, consumer protection, social exclusion/the "digital divide", intellectual property protection, globalisation, industrial and economic development, political participation, access to public services, and others. RATIONALE Governments and content developers for on-line media are now acting to influence the development of the Internet on a number of fronts. At the same time, scholars from many disciplines have applied social scientific methods to the study of those who use and create the Internet. This conference seeks to deepen our understanding of the confluence of use, policy, and content production by confronting the interventions of private and public actors with the scholarship on Internet use. Specifically, we hope to open a dialogue between policymakers, leaders in the on-line media, and specialists in law and policy - and those who are developing rich and detailed knowledge about the use of the Internet in everyday situations through empirical research. RESEARCH TOPICS For the purposes of this conference, terms such as Internet "policy" and "regulation" are meant to be as inclusive as possible. Internet policy might include other policy initiatives not mentioned above, and regulation might involve public agencies, private groups, and NGOs; regulation might consist of state action, but also industry codes of conduct that preempt state action, or even informal agreements between actors. Suggested topics include: * Ideal policies and products. What are the implications of current empirical research for public policy and Internet industries? How can deep qualitative accounts which celebrate the particular provide lessons for public policies and media products that by necessity must apply to the general? * Macro initiatives/micro contexts. How do macro policy initiatives translate to the micro contexts of daily experience? How do users respond to, challenge, promote or subvert regulatory action? But also, how do producers, carriers, and media industries respond to, challenge, promote, or subvert regulatory action? On the Internet, to what extent is the distinction between users and producers useful? * The Internet as disjunct. In what ways is the Internet different from and similar to other communication media? Are there sound rationales for differential regulation? Are there ways to leverage the existing knowledge about media and policy into Internet policy? Most relevant will be broadly qualitative, rich methodologies in the tradition of cultural anthropology, but now found in anthropology, sociology, psychology, communication, socio-legal studies, media studies, geography, cultural studies, and other fields. This meeting will be the 4th CSLS conference on the theme of law and anthropology (relevant papers are solicited from any discipline, however). TO PARTICIPATE To present research that addresses the topic: "Ethnographies of the Internet: Grounding Regulation in Lived Experience," please submit an abstract via e-mail to Dr. Christian Sandvig (christian.sandvig@csls.ox.ac.uk). Abstracts should be under 1500 words and are due no later than January 21, 2002. Abstracts should be in a common format (plain text, RTF, MS Word, PDF). The key dates for the conference are: Jan 21 - Deadline for abstracts Feb 4 - Notification of acceptance Mar 1 - Completed papers due via e-mail Mar 8 - Conference held at Oxford University As it may not be possible to accommodate all papers within the constraints of a brief conference, selection may be necessary. Accepted papers will be considered for publication in a special issue of a peer-reviewed academic journal and/or an edited book. In order to provide lunch and refreshments at the workshop, a small fee may be charged. Additional information is available on the PCMLP Web site (see: http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk/conf08022002.htm). -- Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy (PCMLP) Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS) Wolfson College, University of Oxford Oxford OX2 6UD, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1865 284220 Fax: +44 (0)1865 284253 http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk/