[SIGCIS-Members] Social Sudies of Inormation and the iConfernce

[Ian S. King]

Hi all,

As a PhD student in an iSchool, I thought I'd add a bit to what Tom's said
about who we are and what we do.

I often hear the description of the iSchool as 'what the Library school
turned into', but that's only partly true.  As in many places, our iSchool
did subsume the original school of Library Science, but we didn't just
replace books with computers.  Rather, the scope of scholarship expanded to
include the use of computers in information.  The iSchool speaks about how
information is created, maintained and preserved, how it moves through
society, and how it shapes and is shaped by society.  It's a big-tent
multidisciplinary school, with our closest connections to computer science,
social science and philosophy. I'd say that at our iSchool, we have the
traditional library folks, the education folks, the knowledge organization
and classification theory folks, the design folks, and the 'outliers' like
me.  :-)

I'll agree with Tom that there hasn't been a lot of connection to history
in general or the history of technology in particular in the iSchool
movement, but as he also notes there are people who are cross-over scholars
- including me. I originally came to this program hoping to talk about the
emergence of computers as information devices (as distinguished from data
processing devices, calculational devices, industrial automation devices
and so forth) largely as a descriptive history.  What I've come to see is
the possibility of using tools from the information world (in particular,
design methodology) to speak more clearly about the history of computer
technology in society.

There is a fair amount of interest in my work here at my iSchool, as well
as among colleagues with whom I've discussed it at other iSchools.  In
particular, it seems to resonate with people looking at digital curation
and preservation, but folks from most of the 'camps' have expressed
interest in the methods I'm discussing.  I'm anticipating that when I'm
done, this won't be a case of 'you did an STS degree in an iSchool' but
rather that the iSchool movement can gain an historical perspective and
commitment.

I'd love to be at the Berlin iConference but, alas, funding does not seem
to have appeared.  :-)  But several other people from my iSchool will be
there, and if anyone here would like an email introduction prior to the
conference I'd be glad to accommodate you.  Cheers -- Ian


On Tue, Nov 26, 2013 at 10:03 PM, Thomas Haigh <thaigh at computer.org> wrote:

> Hello SIGCIS people,
>
>
>
> This message will be of interest to a subset of you, but I think it’s
> worth sending anyway. It’s about a chance to participate in a new community
> and an upcoming conference workshop.
>
>
>
> Some background. These is such a thing as an “iSchool.” The “I” is for
> “information.” Most of them used to be library schools, but now they do
> things to do with computers as well/instead of things to do with libraries.
> The schools vary widely, but they have an organization and a conference.
> It’s called the “iConfernce.”
>
>
>
> Quite a few SIGCIS people, including Bill Aspray, Nathan Ensmenger, Eden
> Medina, Paul Edwards, Greg Downey, Dave Stearns, and me find ourselves
> employed in iSchools. History itself is marginal, at best, in most of these
> schools but STS is somewhat better established and easier to position on
> the curriculum. Given the job market, people with STS training have also
> been going to work in iSchools. However, STS-like perspectives are spread
> over many different sub communities with names like “social informatics,”
> “values in design,” “information policy,” “internet studies” whose currency
> varies from school to school.
>
>
>
> My experience with SIGCIS has made me realize the value that simple tools,
> such as a listserv and syllabus repository, can have for a scattered
> community. I’d also seen people looking to send messages to the iSchool STS
> community making their own long lists of email names, because there is no
> established list that reaches this group.
>
>
>
> Thus was born www.socialstudiesof.info, which (as I can admit here among
> friends) is basically trying to repeat some of the things that more or less
> worked with SIGCIS over the past eight years to bring together the
> metacommunity of people with STS interest in iSchools. If you find this
> project interesting I encourage you to sign up, submit your syllabi, spread
> the word, etc.
>
>
>
> More specifically, and as explained in the message below, the iConference
> is in Berlin next March. Early registration runs out on Dec 15. I’m the
> lead organizer of a full day workshop there on “Exploring the Social
> Studies of Information.” It’s going to be informal and participatory, but
> if you’re interested or need this for travel money I can probably find a
> spot for you on a roundtable or discussion group somewhere on the program.
>
>
>
> I’d love to see a strong showing at the workshop from this community, and
> a renewed attempt (in this niche at least) of finding ways to integrate
> history of computing with STS and with the broader iSchool concept of
> “information history.”
>
>
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Tom
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Thomas Haigh [mailto:thaigh at computer.org]
> *Sent:* Tuesday, November 26, 2013 11:35 PM
> *To:* 'ssi_discussion at googlegroups.com'
> *Subject:* iConference: please help us in "Exploring the Social Studies
> of Information"
>
>
>
> Hello SSI colleagues,
>
>
>
> You may recall that some time ago we posted a call for those interested in
> contributing to a workshop proposal for the upcoming iConference in Berlin
> (March 4-7). Happily our proposal for a full day event “Exploring the
> Social Studies of Information” was accepted, is featured on the iConference
> registration form, and will indeed be taking place.  Our current
> description is at www.socialstudiesof.info/workshop14.
>
>
>
> We have a little more than three months before the workshop, and will be
> tweaking the exact format and lineup for much of that period based on the
> number of people registering and the lineup of people we can persuade to
> take part. However early registration for the iConference closes on
> December 15 so we’d like to get as many people as possible on board by
> then. http://ischools.org/the-iconference/registration/
>
>
>
> All of you would be most welcome at the workshop. Anything you could do to
> spread the word without your own communities would also be much
> appreciated. So
>
>
>
> ·         If you are already going to the iConference, please do register
> for this workshop and include it in your plans.
>
> ·         If you are NOT already going to the iConference, but would like
> to, we would love to put you on our program.
>
> ·         In either case, if you would be willing to participate in a
> roundtable discussion or help to lead a breakout discussion on the
> relationship of a specific research community/tradition to SSI then please
> let me know and we will try to find a suitable spot for you on the program.
> This is compatible with any plans you might have in regular sessions. (All
> workshops are held at the same time, on Tuesday, 4 March. This means that
> you can combine participation in the workshop with whatever session you may
> be scheduled in on the main conference which runs Wednesday to Friday).
>
> ·         If you aren’t going to the iConference and don’t want to, umm,
> no action is necessary.
>
>
>
> The workshop will be quite informal, with no traditional research
> presentations and few formal talks of any kind. The program is being
> structured around roundtable “plenaries” and smaller breakout discussions
> on specific topics. Everyone who comes will have a chance to introduce
> themselves and their interests. It’s a community, or metacommunity,
> building opportunity. We do not intend SSI to be a competitor or
> alternative to established identities such as “social informatics” or
> “information history” which will have their own sessions at the conference,
> and in fact are seeking participants from as many different research
> traditions within the iSchool world as possible. The event will be, in
> large part, a chance to get to know people with complementary interests
> from different research traditions.
>
>
>
> Best wishes,
>
>
>
> Tom Haigh
>
> www.tomandmaria.com/tom
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Ian S. King, MSCS ('06, Washington)
Ph.D. Student
The Information School
University of Washington

"Be yourself, everyone else is already taken."  - Oscar Wilde
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