CFP: Humanities and Technology Association 40th Annual Conference

Submission deadline: September 1, 2018

Conference date(s):
November 1, 2018 - November 3, 2018

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Conference Venue:

Salve Regina University
Newport, United States

Topic areas

Details

We are happy to announce the call for papers for the 40th annual Humanities and Technology Association Conference. The main theme for this year’s conference is Technology and Crisis.

Thomas Kuhn famously argued for the central role of crises in the history of scientific thought. More broadly, we might well say that periods of crisis define much of human history, our ability – or at times inability – to handle a given crisis largely determining our societal progress. More often than not, technology is at the heart of such crises, be it in the form of initiator, mediator, or a combination of the two. 

For this year’s conference, we especially encourage papers that consider the various ways in which technology and crisis interrelate. The technology might lie at the origins of the crisis, as seen in the information crisis brought about by Gutenberg’s printing press or, centuries later, in the aptly named Cuban Missile Crisis enabled by the creation of intercontinental ballistic missiles. On the other hand, technology might play a prominent role in mitigating a crisis, for example, in the way that television brought attention and demanded a response to the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s or, more recently, how the #MeToo movement on social media has made real headway in relatively short order with regard to sexual harassment and assault. Then again, the crisis might lie within the development of the technology itself, as evident in the Facebook – Cambridge Analytica data breach scandal in which an online share space doubled as a means of political manipulation. Papers that explore any number of these aspects of the relationship between technology and crisis are welcome.

Beyond the main conference theme, however, and to allow for as broad of a range of scholars as possible at the conference, papers and panel suggestions are also accepted that examine other vital issue areas at the juncture of technology and society, such as politics and social life, representations of technology, artificial intelligence, and technology and education.  The Humanities and Technology Association is an interdisciplinary scholarly society that explores the impact of technology on human life from a broad range of perspectives. We welcome papers that investigate the cultural interaction of the humanities, science, engineering, and technology.

Special Call for Undergraduate Research

The HTA also invites paper and panel proposals on relevant topics from undergraduate students.  To encourage student research on issues at the intersection of the humanities and technology, the conference will feature a session dedicated to outstanding undergraduate scholarship.  In addition to submitting a 500 word abstract, we ask that students indicate their undergraduate status and the name of a faculty sponsor who has overseen and approved their research.  Panels of two or three students are especially encouraged.

Submission Information:

Please submit an abstract (of approximately 500 words) by September 1, 2018 to the conference website (below). You will be asked to include basic biographical information such as your affiliated institution, your position at this institution, and your contact information. Graduate and undergraduate student submissions are welcome.  Undergraduates are asked to list their faculty sponsor (as indicated above).  Panel proposals of two or three presenters are also welcome.  When submitting your abstract, panelists are asked to indicate the theme of their panel and their fellow panelist(s).  Two person sessions will run 60 minutes and three person sessions will run 90 minutes.  Presenters should therefore aim for 20 minute presentations that allow time for discussion afterwards.

See the Conference website for additional details:

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#technology, humanities, crisis, interdisciplinary