[Air-L] CFP, Web_site Histories: Theories, Methods, Analysis
Brügger Niels
nb at imv.au.dk
Mon Jan 28 07:55:32 PST 2008
*Please distribute widely. Apologies for cross-posting*
Call for Papers
Conference title: Web_site Histories: Theories, Methods, Analysis
One-day conference, October 14th 2008. The main purpose of Web_site
Histories is to place the new and emerging field of Web History on
the research agenda and to map the field of historical website studies.
Organizer: The Centre for Internet Research, University of Aarhus,
Denmark.
The conference is associated the AoIR 9.0 conference "Rethinking
Communities, Rethinking Place" in Copenhagen (http://
conferences.aoir.org)
Confirmed keynote speakers:
Kirsten Foot, Associate Professor, University of Washington
Steven Schneider, Professor, State University of New York
Title: Object-Oriented Web Historiography.
Abstract: Foot & Schneider will present a keynote address that
focuses on their proposal of an “object-oriented” approach to
researching and writing Web history. They will consider the various
meanings of object entailed within the notion of object-oriented Web
historiography in order to advance both the theoretical foundation
and methodological rigor of developmental analyses of Web artifacts
in their hyperlinked contexts. Developmental analyses of any aspect
of the Web, whether engaged in contemporaneously or retrospectively,
entail dynamics within and between the (co)producers of Web
artifacts, production practices and techniques, and Web artifacts
themselves. These dynamics make it difficult but very important for
scholars to identify and situate their object(s) of analysis
historically and theoretically. See extended description at http://
www.cfi.au.dk/en/events/conferences/wsh08/keynote.
Kirsten Foot and Steven Schneider are the authors of Web Campaigning
(MIT Press 2006) as well as a number of articles about Web Sphere
Analysis.
A panel will round off the conference by discussing the future
directions of studies of Web History. Besides Kirsten Foot and Steven
Schneider panel participant will be Niels Brügger, Associate
Professor, the Centre for Internet Research, University of Aarhus.
The main purpose of Web_site Histories is to place the new and
emerging field of Web History on the research agenda and to map the
field of historical website studies. The focus on the Web can be seen
as a specialization within the larger field of Internet History, but
with another subset of questions and challenges. The underscore in
the title reflects the uncertainty and variability of the object of
study – are we talking about the Web in general, Web Spheres,
individual websites, or web pages? The conference welcomes papers on
any of these approaches or any other theme, topic or idea connected
to the theories, methods or analysis of Web History. Theoretical
approaches could be discussions of the object of study or reflections
on doing historical research on this particular subject.
Methodological approaches may include abstract or more specific
considerations of the range of applicable methods, both old and new,
to Web History. Finally, the analytical approach welcomes
contributions exploring the practical hazards and possibilities of
this special kind of empirical material, as well as papers on
concrete empirical studies.
Papers are also welcome on a wide array of historically-grounded
themes. The topics below are examples of the kinds of issues paper
presenters are invited to address — but are not intended to limit
topics suitable for paper submissions:
· General as well as more specific histories of the development
of the Web, focusing on, for instance, technology, graphic design,
culture etc.
· The history of the Web as a subset of the history of the
Internet, with emphasis on, for instance, the development of
hardware, software and protocols
· The organizational architecture of the Web in a global,
national, transnational or local perspective
· Defining moments and events on the Web, either in terms of how
the Web was conceived and built, or in terms of how it is or was
perceived and used
· Demographical, social, cultural, or other factors influencing
Web use and uptake
· Political, economic, institutional or personal histories of
the Web
· The growing popularity of social networking sites in a
historical perspective
· Interactivity, genre and media discussions in relation to the Web
· The histories of expectations in pre-web time meeting the
reality of the Web
· Source availability and validity – the archiving of the Web
· The history of the Web in the larger framework of media history
Please send abstracts of no more than 300 words by April 15th 2008
(further instructions at http://www.cfi.au.dk/en/wsh08). After a
process of double-blind peer review, authors will be notified of
accepted papers by May 15th. Full papers will be due by August 31st
2008. Please note that there is a maximum of 30 participants, and
priority will be given to paper presenters. Paper presentations will
consist of short presentations with opponents/discussants and
roundtable-style discussions. Presenters are therefore also expected
to act as opponents/discussants.
Participation in the conference is free, and coffee and lunch is
included (yes, there is such a thing as a free lunch). Following the
conference, papers will be considered for inclusion in an edited
volume on Web Histories.
The conference takes place at the University of Aarhus, two days
before the start of the AoIR 9.0 conference in Copenhagen (http://
conferences.aoir.org). Aarhus is situated west of Copenhagen and is
the second largest city in Denmark with a population of approximately
300,000. It is accessible by train or by air via the Aarhus or
Billund airports. Read more about Aarhus and the university: http://
www.au.dk/en/why and http://www.au.dk/en/aarhus.htm.
The Centre for Internet Research is located at the Institute of
Information and Media Studies, and was established in September 2000
in order to promote research into the social and cultural
implications and functions of the internet. Read more about the
Centre: http://www.cfi.au.dk/en/about/profile
Conference website: http://www.cfi.au.dk/en/wsh08.
The conference is sponsored by:
· 'The Knowledge Society', a joint research priority area at the
Faculty of Humanities, University of Aarhus,
· the Institute of Information and Media Studies, University of
Aarhus
· the Centre for Internet Research, University of Aarhus.
About the organisers:
Niels Brügger (PhD, MA) is Associate Professor at the Institute of
Information and Media Studies, University of Aarhus, and co-founder
of the Centre for Internet Research. His primary research interests
are website history, web archiving, and the internet and media
theory, and he recently started the research project "The history of
www.dr.dk, 1996-2006" (read more at http://imv.au.dk/~nb).
Vidar Falkenberg (MSc) is a PhD fellow at the Institute of
Information and Media Studies, University of Aarhus, and a member of
the Centre for Internet Research. His research is on the development
of online newspapers in Denmark (read more at http://
www.internetaviser.dk).
------------------------------------------------------------
NIELS BRÜGGER, Associate Professor, PhD
Institute of Information and Media Studies
University of Aarhus
Helsingforsgade 14
8200 Aarhus N
Denmark
Phone (switchboard) +45 8942 1111
Phone (direct) +45 8942 9226
Telefax + 45 8942 5950
E-mail nb at imv.au.dk
Webpage http://imv.au.dk/~nb
Profile at LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nielsbrugger
Profile at Kommunikationsforum [in Danish]:
www.kommunikationsforum.dk/Niels-Brugger
The research project "The history of dr.dk, 1996-2006" http://
drdk.dk
The Centre for Internet
Research http://cfi.imv.au.dk
Theories of Media and Communication
http://www.medieteori.dk
Internet Archive in
Denmark http://
www.netarkivet.dk
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