Final Call For Papers: MEA 2014, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada The Fifteenth Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association Confronting Technopoly: Creativity & the Creative Industries in Global Perspective Submission deadline: January 15, 2014 Thursday 19th - Sunday June 22, 2014 - Ryerson University - Toronto, Canada Convention Coordinator: Phil Rose (dr.philrose@gmail.com ) To submit go to: https://www.easychair.org/account/signin.cgi?conf=mea2014 For submission enquiries contact: Sheena Hyndman (sheena.hyndman@gmail.com ) Keynote Speaker: Ronald J. Deibert, University of Toronto Confirmed Participants: Eric McLuhan, Paul Heyer, William Buxton, Ellen Rose, Lance Strate, Rick Salutin, Eric Peterson, Elena Lamberti, Robert K. Logan, David Cayley, Janine Marchessault, William Vanderburg, Paolo Granata, Corey Anton, Nadia Delicata The 'Toronto School of Communication' represents one of the main developmental pillars of the media ecology perspective. And, in 2014, Ryerson University will host the Media Ecology Association's 15th Annual Convention - the first to be held in the city of Toronto. The relationship between Marshall McLuhan and the former 'Ryerson Institute of Technology' began in the early 1950s, and the latter was later to provide the venue where McLuhan accomplished much of the work for his "Project in Understanding New Media" (1960). Completed for the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, this work later formed the basis for his internationally renowned book Understanding Media (1964). A text in which McLuhan articulates his sense of the socio-cultural role that creativity and 'integral awareness' must play for future human survival, the 50th anniversary of its first publication coincides with our convention, which invites papers, panels, creative projects, and other proposals presenting research and/or exploring topics and ideas related to the convention theme. Neil Postman's neologism 'Technopoly' - roughly what Jacques Ellul calls 'La Technique' and what McLuhan refers to as 'technological trauma' - is a rich concept. Denoting the digital age cultural conditions characterised by elements such as scientific management, scientism, information overload, and other forms of socio-technical conflict, it also includes the contemporary moral crisis associated with 'autonomous technology', corporatism, Pentagon capitalism, totalitarian technocracy, and American global hegemony. "Nature and history seem to have agreed to designate us in Canada for a corporate, artistic role," McLuhan wrote in the late 1970s. "As the U.S.A. becomes a world environment through its resources, technology, and enterprises, Canada takes on the function of making that world environment perceptible to those who occupy it". In the Canadian spirit, then, let us collectively probe the phenomenon of Technopoly in relation to any topics, but with particular interest in how creativity and the cultural or creative industries might evolve in relation to it, and possibly serve to neutralise its toxic effects. Though priority will be given to submissions that touch upon or reflect the conference theme, all abstracts for papers, panel proposal submissions, etc. that address media ecological topics are welcome. No more than two submissions per author will be accepted, and authors who wish to be considered for the Top Paper or Top Student Paper awards should submit complete manuscripts and indicate the award for which they are applying. The convention site - located in the heart of Toronto's downtown core - is easily accessed by both ground and air transportation, and proximate to most of the city's major attractions. Those visiting Toronto from afar may also appreciate visiting nearby Niagara Falls at the Canada/U.S. border - an environment inscribed by some as one of the 'seven wonders of the world'. Guidelines for Submission For Manuscripts: for MEA award submissions 1. Manuscripts should be 4,000-6,000 words (approximately 15 to 25 double-spaced pages) 2. Include a cover page (or e-submission page) with your academic or professional affiliation and other contact information. 3. Include a 150 words abstract, with the title. Use APA, MLA or Chicago style. For Paper and Panel Proposals: 1. Include title, 250 words abstract, and contact information with your proposal. 2. Outline, as relevant, how your paper or panel will fit with the convention theme. For more on the Media Ecology Association, visit www.media-ecology.org http://mcluhangalaxy.wordpress.com/