[Air-l] revised deadline CFP - Contextual Technologies [for Cultural Studies Association (US)]

[radhika gajjala]

Go to http://www.csaus.pitt.edu for information on CSA (US) conference .

This call is for a section of the Technology division. The deadline 
has now been extended to October 21st, 2006.  Email me  - 
radhika at cyberdiva.org - if you have ideas but not fully formed 
abstracts yet as well.


Title: Contextual technologies: Spaces of Disruption

At what point in time-space do researchers examine the use of 
technology. How does this shape the definition of what a technology 
is and how it is implemented. "Technologies" are most often examined 
in relation to binaries such as urban/rural, modern/primitive, 
male/female, mainstream/alternative, elite/mass thus giving rise to 
frames for the study of such environments. As a result researchers 
(even cultural and critical researchers) are unable to engage 
immersively and contextually with the assumptions embedded within 
these technological environments.  What approaches, methodologies and 
practices of research and technology use might disrupt these 
binaries. In other words, what's at stake in maintaining these 
binaries and who truly benefits. For instance studies that examine 
empowerment of rural third-world women through technologies such as 
computers, pdas and cell-phones reproduce binaries of modern and 
primitive. While there is no doubt that in such instances the 
individual woman is often empowered, the ways in which this 
empowerment disciplines her into being a productive member of an 
overall status quo that in actuality might be disempowering to her, 
need to be examined.  Therefore this call is not asking for 
submissions that claim to examine practices of dissent, represented 
by positioning primitive vs modern or female vs male, but is seeking 
submissions that examine specific ways in which these binaries might 
be disrupted. Cultural studies frameworks offer possible ways in 
which to examine such contextual practices. This call for papers is 
seeking historical and contextual examinations of technology (defined 
in the broadest of senses) and its use with specific attention to 
practices of use and proliferation. These battles are currently 
visible in relation to various technologies situated within contexts 
of agriculture, new media, energy and ecology among others. Therefore 
this call encourages submitters to engage these topics.

Send abstracts to Radhika Gajjala <radhika at cyberdiva.org>

April 19 - 21, 2007

The Annual Meeting of the CSA provides a forum for scholars, 
students, and other persons interested in Cultural Studies in all its 
diverse manifestations to exchange their work and ideas across 
disciplinary lines and institutional locations.

This year's conference will be held in downtown Portland, Oregon at 
University Place, a conference site managed by Portland State 
University.

--

Radhika Gajjala
Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator
School of Communication Studies
302 West Hall
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43402
http://personal.bgsu.edu/~radhik/index2.html


For queries about 
BGSU's School of Communication Studies
Grad program, email comsgrad at bgsu.edu


For info on the Theory Research cluster at SCS - see
http://scs.bgsu.edu/Research/ResearchClusters/theory.php