***Second Call*** Critical Cyberculture Studies: Mapping an Evolving Discipline April 26 27, 2002 University of Maryland With its annual conference, the Cyberculture Working Group (CWG) seeks scholars from across the disciplines to examine and discuss the future of Cyberculture studies. The conference will feature an opening address from JOAN KORENMAN, Director of the Center for Women and Information Technology at University of Maryland Baltimore County, and keynote speaker, DONNA HARAWAY, professor in the program of History of Consciousness at the University of California at Santa Cruz. At last years conference, "Constructing Cyberculture(s): Performance, Pedagogy, and Politics in Online Spaces," David Silvers opening address reviewed the development of Cyberculture Studies, discussing the role Cultural Studies scholars need to play in imagining, brainstorming, and working toward a "Critical Cyberculture Studies." With this years conference, CWG is interested in both the conceptualization and formation of "Critical Cyberculture Studies" and its position within the possible emergence of Cyberculture as an object of inquiry, field of study, or even as a new discipline. Is it desirable for scholars working within Cyberculture for this field to emerge as a discipline, and if so, how should the discipline be conceptualized? Within this discussion, many points of inquiry surface: How are discourses of race, class, gender, ethnicity, and difference recontextualized in cyberspace? What are the relationships between online communities, virtual identities, online political advocacy, and "real subjects" in a globally mediated society? Additional questions of interest might include: How do we understand the visual nature of the Internet, especially in relationship to art and artists using new media technologies? What are the spatial effects and relations of cyberspace? And, how is knowledge "grounded" in cultures that heavily rely on the use of electronic communication? Proposals for individual papers (15-20 minutes) and full panels (2-3 papers plus a commentator and chair) should include a one-page abstract and a concise, one-page C.V. for each presenter. The deadline for submissions is December 3, 2001. Please send three copies of the proposal to: Donald Snyder 2107b Holzapfel Hall Department of American Studies University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 USA Or email proposal to dsnyder@otal.umd.edu Co-sponsored by the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Colleges/ARHU/Depts/CRGE/ http://www.otal.umd.edu/amst/cwg