TRANSFORMING SPACES: THE TOPOLOGICAL TURN IN TECHNOLOGY STUDIES- an international conference to be held in Darmstadt, Germany, March 22-24, 2002Conference AnnouncementThis conference will problematize the spatial character of the relationship between technology and human beings. It addresses two interrelated questions: To what extent do machines and media organize society three-dimensionally - thus ordering the spaces in which modern life takes place? And, conversely, to what extent do material and communicative structures open up new mental and physical spaces - thus transforming the boundaries of daily life? To denote our explicit concern with spatiality we propose the mathematical term "topology." The days are gone, when "technology" meant only the material means used by rational human seeking goals in accordance with principles of maximum efficiency and economic return. Today, scholars in the interdisciplinary field of "technology studies" emphasize the symbolic and discursive character of our artifact-saturated universe, as well as the machine's subtle perpetuation of social inequalities and political conditions. These scholars have begun to discuss technology as a medium, as a human-created "ambience" that infiltrates interpersonal relations and permeates society. Focusing on the spatial dimension of materials and media, this conference intends to shape developments in the field. Technology has become a kind of second nature in modern life. For instance, cell telephones, computers, and the internet enable us to become more independent of physical location. The death of distance has been declared. Simultaneously, however, they have influenced mobility and cognitive patterns, as well as re-drawn the boundaries between the private and public spheres. By bringing out the spatial character of modern technology, the conference takes seriously its "topological" nature - both on a physical and discursive level. And, by focusing on urban structures, simulation techniques, and visualizing media in daily life, it intends to investigate the spatial character of technology in various settings and from various theoretical points of view. Technologies, we argue, are far more than passive physical presences. They mediate between human beings, they bridge physical distance, and they contribute to the transformation of individual identities. They allow people to interact at new places, they open up new mental spaces, and they help us to visualize new arenas for action. The spatial character of the human-made world is not limited to computers and other information technologies. Machines and media also impose on the world a certain multi-dimensional "order of things." In urban settings especially, buildings, streets, and lighting systems make up a set of material "dispositives" that strongly define what "degrees of freedom" citizens may enjoy. The conference will be divided into four sections, each consisting of one 45-minute plenary speech and two parallel paper sessions, each of which will include four presentations. There will be 20 minutes scheduled for the oral presentation of each paper, followed by 15 minutes discussion. To guarantee insightful introductions to the various topics, four internationally outstanding plenary speakers have already accepted the invitation; cf. program below. Before Nov. 1, 2001, one-page abstracts for papers, accompanied by a one-page CV, may be sent to:
PROGRAM:
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