Constructing Cyberculture(s):
Performance, Pedagogy, and Politics in Online Spaces
Call for Papers
April 6-7, 2001
University of Maryland
Co-Sponsored by The Cyberculture Working Group,
The Chesapeake Chapter of the American Studies Association
and The Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity
The Cyberculture Working Group is a collection of University of
Maryland and neighboring graduate students and faculty members from across
the disciplines interested in exploring the intersections between the
Internet, culture, and society. At our 1999 Conference, "Cultural
Diversity in/and Cyberspace," an international and interdisciplinary group
of scholars addressed such issues as what it means to play online
"identity games," how scholars of the humanities and public policy can
work together to affect the construction and maintenance of cyberspaces,
and how we can use online technologies to teach and learn about cultural
diversity.
This year's conference seeks to continue these and other
discussions by focusing on how different groups and communities construct
and use the virtual world. We are seeking scholars from around the world
and across the disciplines to discuss the ways that complex, multi-layered
identities are being created and performed in online spaces, present case
studies of virtual communities, and examine how digital environments shape
and are shaped by "real" and "virtual" political and cultural
dynamics. We hope to discuss possible connections between the humanities,
social sciences, and the emerging, contested field of "cyberculture
studies." We also welcome papers that address the uses of online
technologies in classrooms and communities.
*Keynote Speakers will include Lisa Nakamura, author of "Race In/For
Cyberspace: Identity Tourism and Racial Passing on the Internet," and
co-editor of Race in Cyberspace and David Silver, founder of the Resource
Center for Cyberculture Studies.
Proposals for individual papers (15-20 minutes) and full panels
(2-3 papers plus a moderator/chair) should include a one page abstract and
a concise, one page C.V. for each presenter. The deadline for submissions
is December 10, 2000.
Contact Information:
Cyberculture Working Group
c/o Ed Martini
Department of American Studies
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
(301) 405-7621
or by e-mail at emartini@wam.umd.edu