Visions of the Human in Cyberculture, Cyberspace and Science Fiction

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3rd Global Conference

Visions of the Human in Cyberculture, Cyberspace and Science Fiction
Tuesday 1st July - Thursday 3rd July 2008
Mansfield College, Oxford

Call for Papers

This inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary project aims to explore what it is to be human and the nature of human community in cyberculture, cyberspace and science fiction. In particular, the project will explore the possibilities offered by these contexts for creative thinking about persons and the challenges posed to the nature and future of national, international, and global communities.

Papers, short papers, and workshops are invited on issues related to any of the following themes:

  • the relationship between cyberculture, cyberspace, science fiction and the Machinima phenomenon;
  • science fiction and cyberpunk as a medium for exploring the nature of persons
  • humans and cyborgs; the synergy of humans and technology;
  • changing views of the body;
  • human and post-human politics;
  • cyborg citizenship and rights;
  • influence of political technologies;
  • bodies in cyberculture;
  • from apes to androids - electronic evolution;
  • biotechnical advances and the impact of life, death, and social existence;
  • the impact on individuality gender and cyberspace:
  • new feminisms, new masculinities
  • electronic persons, community and identity;
  • cyberspace, cybercommunities, virtual worlds, and home worlds;
  • nature, enhancing nature, and artificial intelligence;
  • artificial life, life and information systems, networked living
  • cyberpolitics, cyberdemocracy, cyberterror;
  • old conflicts, new spaces: elections, protest and war in cyberspace;
  • nationality and nationalism in cyberculture;
  • the state and cyberspace: repression vs. resistance
  • cyberpolitics, cybercultures and Serious Games (Documentary CGs)
  • cybercultures: the transnational and the local
  • boundaries, frontiers and taboos in cyberculture
  • cyberculture and orientalism
  • religion and spirituality in cyberculture, science fiction and cyberpunk
  • old messages, new medium: cyberspace and mass communication
  • cyberculture, cyberpunk and the near future: utopias vs. dystopias
  • technology vs. the natural? cyberculture and the green movement
  • the cultures of computer gaming
Papers will be considered on any related theme. 300 word abstracts should be submitted by Friday 15th February 2008.

If your paper is accepted for presentation at the conference, an 8 page draft paper should be submitted by Friday 6th June 2008.

300 word abstracts should be submitted to both Organising Chairs; abstracts may be in Word, WordPerfect, or RTF formats, following this order: author(s), affiliation, email address, title of abstract, body of abstract .

We acknowledge receipt and answer to all paper proposals submitted. If you do not receive a reply from us in a week you should assume we did not receive your proposal; it might be lost in cyberspace! We suggest, then, to look for an alternative electronic route or resend.

Joint Organising Chairs

Owen Kelly Arcada University, Helsinki, Finland E-mail:owen.kelly@arcada.fi

Dr Rob Fisher Inter-Disciplinary.Net Priory House, Wroslyn Road Freeland, Oxfordshire OX29 8HR E-mail: cyber3@inter-disciplinary.net

The conference is part of the ‘At the Interface’ series of research projects run by ID.Net. It aims to bring together people from different areas and interests to share ideas and explore various discussions which are innovative and challenging.

All papers accepted for and presented at this conference are eligible for publication in an ISBN eBook. Selected papers will be developed for publication in a themed hard copy volume.

For further details about the project please visit: http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/ati/Visions/vhccsf.htm

For further details about the conference please visit: http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/ati/Visions/V3/cfp.html

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