[SIGCIS-Members] 24th International Congress, Rio, July 2017

[James Sumner]

Dear SIGCIS members

I'm writing -- inevitably, far too close to the deadline -- to gauge 
whether there is interest in offering a symposium submission to the 25th 
International Congress of History of Science and Technology in Rio de 
Janeiro, Brazil, 23-29 July 2017, <http://www.ichst2017.sbhc.org.br/>.

This is the successor to the 24th Congress held in Manchester in 2013, 
for which I co-chaired the Local Organising Committee and which was the 
single largest conference in the field to date, with over 1750 
participants. The 2013 programme was strong on computing and related 
themes -- see 
<http://www.ichstm2013.co.uk/programme/guide/m/discipline.html#a3> -- 
and included
a mathematical, algorithmic and machine-focused symposium, organised by 
Maarten Bullynck, Liesbeth De Mol and Marie-José Durand-Richard; a 
symposium on COMECON technology, put together by Helena Durnova and 
Slawomir Lotysz for ICOHTEC (whose annual meeting occurred as a 
satellite to the Congress, as will again happen in Rio); and a symposium 
on computing applications in various contexts which I organised along 
with Miguel Garcia-Sancho.

The Congress has a more global reach than most forums in the history of 
science and technology, and tends to be inclusive in its programming 
selection. There will be a separate call for stand-alone papers, but the 
call for symposia closes relatively soon, on Saturday 30 April. A 
"symposium" in Congress parlance is a 90-minute thematic session, or 
group of linked sessions (the largest symposia run for four sessions a 
day over several days!) consisting of papers and, optionally, commentaries.

The symposium call does not require individual paper titles/abstracts, 
or a definite list of contributors, but does require an indicative 
contributor list and a short general abstract. One inviolate rule is 
that the organisation of the symposium must be a collaborative effort 
between at least two contributors representing different countries.

If anyone is interested in contributing or collaborating, I'd be 
grateful if you would let me know directly. (I'd also be interested to 
hear news of any proposals for Rio which have already been settled, 
whether for the Congress or ICOHTEC call.)

All best
James