I am Co-chairing a conference next spring, Empire: Migrations, Diasporas, Networks, running March 13-15. This is an interdisciplinary conference and this year there is a sub-theme around technology–which covers quite a lot of ground. I’m hoping people will propose papers about technological empires, or resisting them. Or using the internet to enforce or resist national empires. Or maybe about how networks function in, around, against some kind of empire…

Anyway, the full call is here. Submissions are due by Dec. 1, and may be made through our nifty online submission page. I’d be happy to get proposals for full panels too, or creative works that could be performed/exhibited at the conference.

Email for more info!

I did not get nominated. 😛

I’m hoping that I end up thinking this is a good thing because the NEH doesn’t allow people to apply both for the summer stipends and for some of the other research grants…

Other suggestions of a silver lining are welcome.

Also, I’m still applying for two more external grants and two internal ones, so it’s not the end of the road, by a long way. Still feeling pretty cranky about it though…

Traditional award categories
Originally uploaded by cuuixsilver

One challenge to developing programs or projects in digital media is determining whether there are any prospective students, or any interest from local communities. This really struck me when I went to the county fair. Though CSU Stanislaus is an “urban campus” and the population of Turlock is about 70,000 (and growing rapidly) still, local identity seems to still really be based on agriculture, as is obvious in this picture.

Of course this element will be highlighted at the fair, but what really got my attention is the way it’s highlighted in spite of, for example, the 4H club having programs in science and engineering, communications, and metal-work. There wee no exhibits of that work, just the agricultural group’s petting zoo of farm animals.

I think there’s a lot of nostalgia shaping local identity, and a real reluctance to connect with the “other” California of Silicon Valley and the high tech industry. Lately several residents who have been here a long time have commented to me on how closed a city this is. I’m starting to wonder if ICT’s much vaunted ability to connect people has been completely misunderstood. When I think of the regions I know that are very connected online, they are also very connected with public transit, while those that are not well-connected online also don’t have much public transit.

Has anyone ever studied a possible connection? Something else to track down…

Ok Terminal E, the international terminal, was under construction forever and now it’s done. Sadly, I’m not impressed. It’s ok looking, but the design is just stupid, and makes jam ups inevitable whenever more than 50 people are trying to check in at any one airline, or more than 100 are trying to get through security. Which is pretty much always. Considering Boston’s pretensions as an international hub of trade, I’m amazed they thought this was biig enough even when they started (10 years ago?).

And wifi is $7.95 for a day pass, but since most people are only here for about 3 hours (barring some awful delay) it’s pretty steep, esp. since many airports have it for free. I think internet access should be free, period.

But enough of that. In addition to the conferences I’m attending, I’m interviewing people at several institutions connected with the study of new/digital media. So far these include The Waag Society, V2_, Worm, and the Piet Zwart Institute Media Design Program, and maybe other places too. So it will be quite a visit! I’m hoping to learn something about how the different ways these places are organized shaped the relationships they have with theiir local and national communities, and with each other. Also I want to learn all I can about what has worked for them and what hasn’t, so hopefully it will help me and my colleagues at CSU Stan. as we work on our new center.

I should be boarding in 20 minutes, so I’ll post this and get myself organized. I’ve read that the food on IcelandAir sucks, and I don’t even know how much they would feed us on the overnight flight, so I think I’ll grab something. Tot zien!