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<p>A good decision, thank you for sharing.</p>
<p>In 2020, "The only winning move is not to play."</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 4/22/20 10:27 AM, Laine Nooney
wrote:<br>
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<div dir="ltr">To our fabulous SIGCIS community,<br>
<br>
It is with great regret that I write to announce the
cancellation of the SIGCIS 2020 fall conference. The organizing
team was incredibly excited to share the conference call and
keynote selection for our annually co-located event with SHOT,
scheduled for this year in New Orleans. Yet as the time for
launching the CFP approached, we felt it was essential to take
an unvarnished view of current events.<br>
<br>
Travel and large gatherings seem likely to remain restricted in
the fall and will certainly remain high risk for many members of
our community. Furthermore, many of us are experiencing greater
institutional and economic precarity than ever before, as we
watch hiring lines pulled, offers withdrawn, and research funds
frozen. The full impact of COVID-19 is going to run a long
course through our community.<br>
<br>
This decision is not a message about the likelihood of SHOT
happening. Rather, as a small set of volunteers with no economic
liabilities/contracts in play, we made the decision that we did
not want to go through the labor of pulling together a
conference if there was a probability that it would need to be
canceled or it would be challenging for members of our community
to attend.
<div><br>
</div>
<div>We considered keeping our call and holding the conference
virtually, but virtual events have their own logistical
challenges, in addition to all the standard labor of
conference organization. In short, we did not think it was
prudent for the mental health of any of us to take on a set of
new and unfamiliar burdens in the middle of a pandemic that is
rapidly changing our research, teaching, and service.
Furthermore, we all shared an unease about putting out a call
for scholarship during these obviously turbulent times; moving
forward as if business was usual did not sit well with any of
us.<br>
<br>
We do intend to organize some kind of connecting event,
probably virtually, during the weekend that SIGCIS would
usually occur. However, we want to be able to be responsive to
where people are, professionally and emotionally, in several
months. Therefore, we are not making commitments to format
just yet.<br>
<br>
This decision was made with a grim certainty that this was the
right course of action; that doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard to
make. For all of us on the organizing committee—myself,
Stephanie, Morgan, Andy, and Kera—SIGCIS is a key intellectual
and interpersonal community, a space of not just colleagues,
but friends. Personally speaking, SIGCIS has become one of the
highlights of my academic year, and I have tremendous
gratitude for how enthusiastically so many of you have
supported the work this team does, as we work to build a
history that imagines a better future.<br>
<br>
Stay safe--until we meet again,</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>SIGCIS Conference Committee<br>
Laine Nooney, Vice-Chair of Meetings<br>
Stephanie Dick<br>
Morgan Ames<br>
Andy Russell, SIGCIS Chair<br>
Kera Allen</div>
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data-smartmail="gmail_signature">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height:normal"><br>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height:normal"><a
href="http://www.lainenooney.com/"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">Laine
Nooney</a></div>
<div dir="ltr"
style="font-size:13px;line-height:normal">
<div
style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><font
size="2"><a
href="http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/mcc/"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">MCC</a> @ </font><span
style="font-size:12.8px"><a
href="http://www.nyu.edu/" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true">NYU</a><br>
</span><span style="font-size:12.8px">Assistant
Professor</span></div>
<div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span
style="font-size:12.8px"><br>
</span></div>
<div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">-Need to
make an appt? Click, don't email: <a
href="https://bit.ly/2GIHuK0" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://bit.ly/2GIHuK0</a></div>
<div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">-Probably
typed by voice recognition, so please cherish
typos</div>
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<br>
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<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">_______________________________________________
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