Colloquium Announcement -- Rogers Communication Centre November 15, 1-3pm, Rogers Communication Centre (room 229) Ryerson University, 80 Gould St., Toronto Mapping Info-Politics: Parsing the Commands and Codes of the Web The colloquium will highlight a number of ongoing projects that forward innovative new media research methods and info-tools (software programs). All three presentations offer distinct yet complimentary projects that map the de-centered and distributed politics of the web. The workshop will be of particular interest to students, scholars, and practitioners of cyber politics and culture, network infrastructure and architecture, hypertext studies, and social and political networking. Putting Networks back into the Net: Mapping the Enron Scandal Dr. Greg Elmer, Bell Globemedia Research Chair, Ryerson University Dr. Elmer will offer a functionalist, Peircean version of semiotics to ground his articulation of a networked form of media studies. Dr. Elmer will discuss the Govcomorg Foundation’s ‘Issuecrawler’ (www.govcom.org) and his own ‘robot sniffer’ program as examples of info-tools that visualize network dynamics largely obfuscated by the major web knowledge aggregators (Google, Yahoo, etc.). Networks of Evil? The North Korean Issue-Space Zachary Devereaux, Graduate student, Department of Political Science, University of Alberta New media mapping techniques have been applied to a host of issues related to North Korea over the last year, including the “Axis of Evil” rhetoric, human rights, and WMD. This presentation will explain the methodology that has lead to mapping the North Korean new media news space and expert community. Major events in the peninsular crisis will be reviewed, and maps produced with ReseauLu (www.aguidel.com) and IssueCrawler (www.govcom.org) software will be explored. The OpenNet Initiative Dr. Ron Deibert, Citizen Lab, University of Toronto Professor Deibert will be describing the research methodology and some of the findings of the Citizen Lab's technical interrogation work as part of the OpenNet Initiative. The OpenNet Initiative’s aim is to excavate, expose and analyze filtering and surveillance practices in a credible and non-partisan fashion. To achieve these aims, the ONI employs a unique multi-disciplinary approach that includes: Advanced Technical Means -- using a suite of sophisticated network interrogation tools and metrics; and Local Knowledge Expertise -- through a global network of regionally based researchers and experts. Professor Deibert will highlight some of the more notable findings of the ONI, including filtering practices in Iran, China, Uzbekistan, and Saudi Arabia. Date: November 15, 2004 Time: 1pm-3pm Location: Rogers Communication Centre, room 229, Ryerson University, 80 Gould St. Toronto Contact: Greg Elmer, gelmer@ryerson.ca Greg Elmer, PhD Bell Globemedia Research Chair Rogers Communications Centre/School of Radio-TV Arts Ryerson University 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5B 2K3 _______________________________________________ Co-Editor, Space and Culture: An International Journal of Social Spaces http://www.carleton.ca/space/