August 2013 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

BHC annual meeting CFP, deadline September 15th
by Thomas Haigh 04 Sep '13

04 Sep '13

Hello everyone, Does anyone want to participate in a history of IT panel for the business history conference? This is the rare occasion when it takes place in Europe specifically in Frankfurt. Ive been away from business history for a few years as activity has grown so much within SHOT, but my thoughts have recently been returning to the area. Particularly as I prepared my keynote address for this years Association of Business Historians meeting. We organized a few SIGCIS sessions for earlier meetings, but nothing since 2008 or so. There might be some scope to tie in with the conference theme, in exploring ways in which IT has contributed to perceptions of business as being good/bad. But most sessions at BHC dont have much to do with the theme, so that is optional. As always, all grad students whose work could plausibly be stretched into being a contribution to business history are encouraged to apply to the Oxford Journals Doctoral Colloquium in Business History. Its a great opportunity, and the people involved have been willing to consider a broad range of social/cultural/labor history topics with a clear relation to business. So dont think that you have to be a business school person to apply. Best wishes, Tom From: Carol Lockman [mailto:clockman@Hagley.org] Sent: Friday, August 09, 2013 1:22 PM To: Carol Lockman Subject: Reminder: BHC annual meeting abstract deadline/September 15th Hi all: Just a reminder! The deadline this year for abstracts for the BHC annual meeting is September 15th..Best for the few weeks left of summer! C. Carol Ressler Lockman Business History Conference Hagley Center The Virtues and Vices of Business a Historical Perspective Business History Conference Annual Meeting Frankfurt am Main, Germany March 13-15, 2014 The organizers invite papers and session proposals that address both the micro and macro levels of the virtues and vices of business in historical perspective. In keeping with longstanding BHC policy submissions need not be directly related to the conference theme. The 2014 Program Committee consists of: Ed Balleisen, Duke University (chair); Chris McKenna, University of Oxford; Andrea Schneider, Society for Business History (Germany); Per Hansen, Copenhagen Business School (BHC President), and Jan-Otmar Hesse, University of Bielefeld. Is business good or bad, or both? Does business serve private or public interests, or both? A variety of theories from the social sciences furnish different answers to these questions and, by implication, different ideas about the role of the state in creating the good society. The 2014 BHC annual meeting aims to address these issues from a historical and empirical perspective by exploring the virtues and vices of business across societies from the early modern period to the present. Business firms large corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs have been decisive in securing economic growth and development through the First, Second and Third Industrial Revolutions. By constantly innovating, imitating and competing, business has changed the lives of billions of people all over the world. Firms have brought forward new products and services that enrich and improve our lives. The wider business community, including not just companies but also trade associations and informal networks, have fashioned solutions to numerous pressing social problems, whether concerning the environment, health and safety, discrimination, social isolation, or other aspects of modern life. One can similarly point to examples of business as a progressive force enabling minorities and poor people to shape better lives. Yet, four hundred years of business history are also replete with examples of abusive and dehumanizing business practices, against other firms, individuals, and entire peoples. In some cases, as with plantation slavery and imperial expansion, the offending enterprises worked closely with state authorities. In others, the actions of business entities prompted calls for aggressive state intervention to minimize or end the negative effects of business. The occurrence of business scandals amid extreme cases of financial crisis offers especially well known historical instances of this type. But history offers an abundance of examples where business enterprises have generated serious externalities, yet nonetheless privatized profits while socializing risks borne by other stakeholders and sometimes by shareholders as well. Around the industrialized world, business interests have also regularly interfered with politics, sometimes supporting non-democratic regimes, lobbying against the public interest and fighting organized labor. Should we view such episodes of corruption and abuses of economic power as regrettable costs that society must pay for increases in income and wealth? Do these unseemly aspects of capitalism merely represent the unavoidable process of Schumpeterian creative destruction? Or should we rather understand them as the result of specific, and contingent, institutional frameworks, business networks, and systems of corporate governance that increase the likelihood and occurrence of business scandals and crisis? Another set of questions involve the evolution of societal understandings about the good and virtuous, or the bad and the vicious, that we use to praise or condemn particular markets, firms, or business practices. To what extent should we attribute the more abject failings of business, as judged from any particular social vantage point, to the decline of old and the rise of new social regimes that entail changes in discourse, narratives, cultural values, and norms? How have societies tried to set moral boundaries to the domain of business either by prohibiting some businesses and markets outright, or by proscribing commercial practices as beyond the ethical pale? And how and why have those moral constraints on business activity changed over time? Must we endure the vices of business so that society may enjoy its virtues? Do they result from state intervention that disturbs the delicate balancing act of markets, or from too little regulation that allows private business actors to pursue their own interests regardless of the costs to society? Or should we abandon the dichotomy of state and market altogether and replace it with a more historically based view of markets as embedded in social and cultural relations? Even if one accepts the embeddedness of market relations, we continue to face complicated questions about how to strike the best balance between private and public interests. How have societies attempted to strike this complex balance? What business networks, systems of corporate governance, and cultural, political and social values have historically contributed to achieving this balance most constructively? The committee will consider both individual papers and entire panels. Individual paper proposals should include a one-page (300 word) abstract and one-page curriculum vitae (CV). Panel proposals should include a cover letter stating the rationale for the panel and the name of its contact person; one-page (300 word) abstract and authors CV for each paper; and a list of preferred panel chairs and commentators with contact information. Graduate students and recent PhDs (within 3 years of receipt of degree) whose papers are accepted for the meeting may apply for funds to partially defray their travel costs; information will be sent out once the program has been set. Everyone appearing on the program must register for the meeting. The BHC annual meeting has been organized locally by the Gesellschaft für Unternehmensgeschichte (GUG, Society for Business History) and the GUG participates in the program committee. GUG members are encouraged to propose papers for this meeting. The language of the conference will be English. All sessions will take place at Goethe University in Frankfurt, and lodging will be in a number of area hotels. The BHC awards the <http://www.thebhc.org/awards/krooswin.html> Herman E. Krooss Prize for the best dissertation in business history by a recent Ph.D. in history, economics, business administration, the history of science and technology, sociology, law, communications, and related fields. To be eligible, dissertations must be completed in the three calendar years immediately prior to the 2014 annual meeting, and may only be submitted once for the Krooss prize. If you wish to apply for this prize, please send a letter to the Krooss Prize Committee expressing your interest along with a one-page CV and one-page (300 word) dissertation abstract. After the Krooss committee has reviewed the proposals, it will ask semi-finalists to submit copies of their dissertations. Finalists will present summaries of their dissertations at a plenary session of the 2014 BHC annual meeting in Frankfurt and will receive a partial subsidy of their travel costs to the meeting. The <http://www.thebhc.org/awards/kerr.html> K. Austin Kerr Prize is awarded for the best first paper delivered by a new scholar at the annual meeting of the BHC. A new scholar is defined as a doctoral candidate or a Ph. D. whose degree is less than three years old. If you wish to participate in this competition, please notify the BHC program committee in your proposal. Proposals accepted for the Krooss Prize are not eligible for the Kerr Prize. The <http://www.thebhc.org/awards/halloran.html> CEBC-Halloran Prize in the History of Corporate Responsibility is awarded for a paper presented at the annual meeting of the BHC that makes a significant contribution to the history of corporate responsibility. Corporate responsibility is understood to embrace the many ways in which the firm relates to the political realm and the wider society. The deadline for receipt of all proposals (papers, panels, and Krooss Prize competition) is 15 September 2013. Please send them to <mailto:BHC2014@Hagley.org> BHC2014(a)Hagley.org. Acceptance letters will be sent by 1 December 2013. Presenters are expected to submit abstracts of their papers for posting on the BHC website. In addition, presenters are encouraged to post electronic versions of their papers prior to the meeting. The Oxford Journals Doctoral Colloquium in Business History will be held in conjunction with the BHC annual meeting. This prestigious workshop, sponsored by BHC and funded by the Journals Division of Oxford University Press, will take place in Frankfurt Wednesday March 12 and Thursday March 13. The colloquium is limited to ten students. Participants work intensively with a distinguished group of BHC-affiliated scholars that includes at least two BHC officers. The colloquium will discuss dissertation proposals, relevant literatures and research strategies, and employment opportunities in business history. This colloquium is intended for doctoral candidates in the early stages of their dissertation projects. If you are interested in being considered for this colloquium, please submit to Roger Horowitz by 15 November 2013 to <mailto:BHC2014@Hagley.org> BHC2014(a)Hagley.org a statement of interest, a CV, a preliminary or final dissertation prospectus of 10-15 pages, and a letter of support from your dissertation supervisor (or prospective supervisor). Questions about the colloquium should be sent to its director, Pamela Laird, <mailto:Pamela.Laird@ucdenver.edu> Pamela.Laird(a)ucdenver.edu. All participants receive a stipend that will partially cover the costs of their attendance at the annual meeting. The colloquium committee will notify all applicants of its decisions by 15 December 2013.

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FW: SHOT Roundtable on Education (SHOT-Portland-ME)
by Thomas Haigh 29 Aug '13

29 Aug '13

Message below from Atsushi, which fell victim to our intermittent DNS-related email issue. Hes being very gracious. And obviously its a good thing for SHOT that there are multiple choices on Sunday, so please flit back and forward as needed. Tom From: Akera, Atsushi [mailto:akeraa@rpi.edu] Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 10:22 PM To: thaigh(a)computer.org; members(a)sigcis.org Subject: RE: [SIGCIS-Members] SHOT Roundtable on Education (SHOT-Portland-ME) Hi Everyone, Actually, I encourage everyone to attend the SIG-CIS event unless youre especially interested in questions of teaching & pedagogy. I just sent the announcement to the entire set of SIG chairs, and Tom was kind enough to forward it (after much equivocating!), given that SIG-CIS organized a full day event, as SIG-CIS members, Id recommend that you prioritize the SIG-CIS workshop! Thanks, Tom!! - Atsushi _________________________________________________________ Atsushi Akera Associate Professor, Department of Science and Technology Studies Rensselaer Polytechnic institute 110 8th Street Troy, NY 12180 USA cel: 518.300.0613/fx:518.276-2659/e:akeraa@rpi.edu /w: http://www.rpi.edu/~akeraa From: members-bounces(a)sigcis.org [mailto:members-bounces@sigcis.org] On Behalf Of Thomas Haigh Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2013 9:55 PM To: members(a)sigcis.org Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] SHOT Roundtable on Education (SHOT-Portland-ME) Hello SIGCIS members, Heres an odd request: you might want to consider not coming to the latest SIGCIS workshop on the Sunday of the SHOT meeting this year in Portland Maine. Specifically, Atsushi Akera (himself a former acting leader of our group and winner of our book prize) has asked me to forward the announcement below. SIGCIS is having a full day workshop. Now, what Atsushi wants you to know and I thus feel honor bound to tell you, is that he has organized an entirely separate Sunday morning event for the Prometheans SIG on the theme of How Should We Teach the History of Technology? The other organizers, Ann Johnson and Jonathan Coppersmith, are also active SIGCIS members. They are hoping that you come to it. Their lineup of panelists looks very interesting, though hopefully not so interesting as to drag everyone away from our cutting edge workshop on Old Ideas. So this gives you another good reason to stay in Portland on Sunday, and of course you would be free in the afternoon to attend the second half our workshop even if you opt to consider pedagogical matters in the morning. (Our own workshop page is www.sigcis.org/workshop13 although the provisional program is not up yet. Im travelling with my family this week, but should get it posted soon). Tom The Prometheans SHOTs Engineering SIG Atsushi Akera (Rensselaer), Chair Ann Johnson (University of South Carolina), Chair Elect Jonathan Coopersmith (Texas A&M), Outreach Coordinator A Prometheans (Engineering) SIG Sponsored Session Sunday, 13 October 2013 9am 12 noon @ The SHOT Annual Meeting Portland, Maine How Should We Teach the History of Technology? A Roundtable on Education Final Program 9am Welcome & Opening Remarks Atsushi Akera (Rensselaer) Roundtable Organizer & Prometheans SIG Chair 915am Roundtable Discussion I Voids, Opportunities, Audience Opening Statements Starting Points and Trajectories of STS/History of Technology and What It Excludes Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga (MIT) Selling the History of Technology to History Majors Arwen Mohun (University of Delaware) Graduate Seminars that Reach Out to Science and Engineering Students Matthew Wisnioski (Virginia Tech) Preparing Students for the Emerging Innovation Economy Lars Heide (Copenhagen Business School) The History of Innovations and Transitions Inspiring New Engineering Practices: Why History Matters Ulrik Jørgensen (Aalborg University) Perspectives on Environmental Ethics & Sustainability Sara Pritchard (Cornell University) 1030am (break) 1045am Panel Discussion II Pedagogic Challenges Opening Statements Technology and the History of Technology in General Education (Gen Ed) Programs Heidi Voskuhl (Harvard University) Inspiring Students at a Small Liberal Arts College William Storey (Millsaps College) Rigor in the Humanities at an Engineering School Atsushi Akera (Rensselaer) Student Engagement with Normativity Ann Johnson (University of South Carolina) Challenges and Rewards of Integrating History of Technology with Technical Projects Robert Martello (Olin College)

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J.A.N. Lee's 1995 book Computer Pioneers is available again
by Dave Walden 28 Aug '13

28 Aug '13

The History Committee of the IEEE Computer Society, with agreement from J.A.N. Lee, has posted the content of his Computer Pioneers book on the Web; see http://www.computer.org/computer-pioneers/<http://www.computer.org/computer-pioneers/index.html> On that web page, the "introduction to the web version" explains how this digital reprint of the book came about. Happy (re-)reading!

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Fwd: UCLA Center for Study of Women: Thinking Gender '14 Conference CFP
by Marie Hicks 25 Aug '13

25 Aug '13

See below--thought there might be some overlap between SIGCIS members' interests and this conference call. The conference is specifically for grad students' work. Best, Marie ______________________ Marie Hicks, Ph.D. Asst. Professor, History of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL USA mhicks1(a)iit.edu | mariehicks.net | @histoftech ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Hope Leman, H-SCI-MED-TECH <smtedit(a)mail.h-net.msu.edu> Date: Sun, Aug 25, 2013 at 2:06 PM Subject: UCLA Center for Study of Women: Thinking Gender '14 Conference CFP To: H-SCI-MED-TECH(a)h-net.msu.edu Subject: UCLA Center for Study of Women: Thinking Gender '14 Conference CFP From: "Center for Study of Women Thinking Gender" <thinkinggender(a)women.ucla.edu> Date: Sat, August 24, 2013 11:24 pm UCLA CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF WOMEN announces THINKING GENDER 2014 24th Annual Graduate Student Research Conference Call for papers Thinking Gender is a public conference highlighting graduate student research on women, gender and/or sexuality across all disciplines and historical periods, including future ones. We invite submissions for individual papers or pre-constituted panels on any topic pertaining to women, gender, and/or sexuality. This year, we especially welcome feminist research on: privacy, diversity, and/or demographics in the age of big data; appetites (pleasure, food, electronics); gender, sexuality, and the new brain sciences (cognitive sciences, psychobiology); the perils of “post-feminism” (feminism backlash, hypo/hypersexualities, redefining feminist activism); gender, sex, and criminality; pleasure and ethics (media and advertising, sexuality); gendered spaces (spatial theories, urban planning, domesticity); and self-staging in public discourse (reality TV, user forums, “selfies”/self-narration and “autographies”). CSW accepts submissions for both individual papers and pre-constituted panels from all active graduate students. In order to give everyone an opportunity to present, we do not accept submissions from people who presented at Thinking Gender in the previous year. Also no previously published material is eligible. Students proposing individual papers are to submit a cover page (provided on our website), an abstract (250 words), a CV (2 pages maximum), and a brief bibliography (3-5 sources), for consideration. All components are to be delivered in one document and labeled according to the submission guidelines found on the CSW website. For panels, a 250-word description of the panel topic is required, in addition to the materials that must be provided for individual paper submissions. Please visit our website for submission guidelines: http://www.csw.ucla.edu/conferences/thinking-gender/thinking-gender-2014 Send submissions to: thinkinggender(a)women.ucla.edu Deadline for submissions: Monday, October 14th, 2013 by 12 noon. Conference is to be held on Friday, February 7, 2014, at the UCLA Faculty Center. Event is free and open to the public, but please be aware that there will be a $35 registration fee for presenters, which will cover the cost of conference materials and lunch at the Faculty Center. UCLA Center for the Study of Women 1500 Public Affairs Building/Box 957222 Los Angeles, CA 90095-7222 310 825 0590 www.csw.ucla.edu Email: thinkinggender(a)women.ucla.edu -- H-SCI-MED-TECH The H-Net list for the History of Science, Medicine and Technology Email address for postings: h-sci-med-tech(a)h-net.msu.edu Homepage: http://www.h-net.org/~smt/ To unsubscribe or change your subscription options, please use the Web Interface: http://www.h-net.org/lists/manage.cgi --

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Request: Hopper interview
by Marie Hicks 22 Aug '13

22 Aug '13

Hi all, In 1982 Grace Hopper was interviewed on 60 minutes. The full video of the interview used to be available on youtube but has since been taken down. Unfortunately I didn't think to save a copy before it was. (Now there are only short clips on the CBS website.) I like to show the interview to my History of Computing class to humanize Hopper. I am hoping someone on the list might have a saved copy of the full interview that they'd be willing to share with me. It was about 13 minutes long or so, I think. Feel free to reply off-list. Thanks! Marie ______________________ Marie Hicks, Ph.D. Asst. Professor, History of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL USA mhicks1(a)iit.edu | mariehicks.net | @histoftech

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SHOT Roundtable on Education (SHOT-Portland-ME)
by Thomas Haigh 22 Aug '13

22 Aug '13

Hello SIGCIS members, Heres an odd request: you might want to consider not coming to the latest SIGCIS workshop on the Sunday of the SHOT meeting this year in Portland Maine. Specifically, Atsushi Akera (himself a former acting leader of our group and winner of our book prize) has asked me to forward the announcement below. SIGCIS is having a full day workshop. Now, what Atsushi wants you to know and I thus feel honor bound to tell you, is that he has organized an entirely separate Sunday morning event for the Prometheans SIG on the theme of How Should We Teach the History of Technology? The other organizers, Ann Johnson and Jonathan Coppersmith, are also active SIGCIS members. They are hoping that you come to it. Their lineup of panelists looks very interesting, though hopefully not so interesting as to drag everyone away from our cutting edge workshop on Old Ideas. So this gives you another good reason to stay in Portland on Sunday, and of course you would be free in the afternoon to attend the second half our workshop even if you opt to consider pedagogical matters in the morning. (Our own workshop page is www.sigcis.org/workshop13 although the provisional program is not up yet. Im travelling with my family this week, but should get it posted soon). Tom The Prometheans SHOTs Engineering SIG Atsushi Akera (Rensselaer), Chair Ann Johnson (University of South Carolina), Chair Elect Jonathan Coopersmith (Texas A&M), Outreach Coordinator A Prometheans (Engineering) SIG Sponsored Session Sunday, 13 October 2013 9am 12 noon @ The SHOT Annual Meeting Portland, Maine How Should We Teach the History of Technology? A Roundtable on Education Final Program 9am Welcome & Opening Remarks Atsushi Akera (Rensselaer) Roundtable Organizer & Prometheans SIG Chair 915am Roundtable Discussion I Voids, Opportunities, Audience Opening Statements Starting Points and Trajectories of STS/History of Technology and What It Excludes Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga (MIT) Selling the History of Technology to History Majors Arwen Mohun (University of Delaware) Graduate Seminars that Reach Out to Science and Engineering Students Matthew Wisnioski (Virginia Tech) Preparing Students for the Emerging Innovation Economy Lars Heide (Copenhagen Business School) The History of Innovations and Transitions Inspiring New Engineering Practices: Why History Matters Ulrik Jørgensen (Aalborg University) Perspectives on Environmental Ethics & Sustainability Sara Pritchard (Cornell University) 1030am (break) 1045am Panel Discussion II Pedagogic Challenges Opening Statements Technology and the History of Technology in General Education (Gen Ed) Programs Heidi Voskuhl (Harvard University) Inspiring Students at a Small Liberal Arts College William Storey (Millsaps College) Rigor in the Humanities at an Engineering School Atsushi Akera (Rensselaer) Student Engagement with Normativity Ann Johnson (University of South Carolina) Challenges and Rewards of Integrating History of Technology with Technical Projects Robert Martello (Olin College)

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history of Cyber Policy
by Ceruzzi, Paul 20 Aug '13

20 Aug '13

This may be of interest to the Listserv: The Historical Office, Office of the Secretary of Defense, has posted a solicitation for proposals on FedBizOps for a contract to research and write a special study on the history of cyber policy within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1977-2001. The contract is for one base year and one option year. The completed study should be approximately 150-200 pages, including extensive endnotes and a bibliography. The contractor may be required to conduct oral history interviews and write additional historical information papers in support of the study. For further information, including points of contact for the solicitation, see <https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/WHS/REF/HQ0193-3141-0437/listing.html>. Do not contact the OSD Historical Office directly regarding this solicitation. Paul E. Ceruzzi Chair, Division of Space History National Air & Space Museum MRC 311; PO Box 37012 Washington, DC 20013-7012 202-633-2414 <http://www.nasm.si.edu/staffDetail.cfm?staffID=24>

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Last day for CHM 2014 nominations!
by Dag Spicer 19 Aug '13

19 Aug '13

Dear SIGCIS Friends, Today is the last day nominations are open for CHM's 2014 Fellows. Do you know of someone who has made incredible contributions to computing and who should be recognized? This is your chance to get their name into the pot! See details and application form here: http://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/nominations/ Thanks for considering! Dag -- Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd Mountain View, CA 94043 650.810.1035 direct 650.810.1055 fax Follow Us: CHM Blog I Facebook I Twitter I YouTube

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The I.T. Girls
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 19 Aug '13

19 Aug '13

Might be of interest: Upcoming @BBCRadio4 programme on women in 1950s-70s computing: "The I.T. Girls" http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038hfkx (Wednesday 21 August, 11 hrs BST) Txs to Andrew Smith (Coventry). I think you can catch it online if outside the UK. -- ================== Twitter @BatizLazo Technological Innovation in Retail Finance: International Historical Perspectives Edited by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo, J. Carles Maixé-Altés, Paul Thomes http://www.taylorandfrancis.com/books/details/9780415880671 Home page: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/business/staff/bernardo_batiz-lazo.en.php Working papers: http://ideas.repec.org/e/pba14.html

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Chairs and Commentators needed for SIGCIS workshop
by Thomas Haigh 14 Aug '13

14 Aug '13

Hello everyone, I'm just putting together a draft schedule for the SIGCIS workshop, details of which can always be found at http://www.sigcis.org/workshop13. (The CFP is still there right now, but will be replaced with the provisional schedule very soon). As always we need chairs and commentators for a number of sessions. For those of you with potential access to travel funds from your institutions this can be a great way to get onto the program and attend SHOT. There is still some time to the SHOT registration deadline and still space in the conference hotel. It's going to be a great workshop, with a mix of well known scholars and exciting new voices. So please let me know if you are interested. As we always want to maximize the number of participants, our general order of priority in filling these slots will be 1) People not currently on the main SHOT or SIGCIS program. 2) People currently on the main SHOT program but not the SIGCIS workshop program. 3) People already on the SIGCIS program. However there are a large number of slots open at present, so if you are willing to help our please let me know even if you are already presenting in another SIGCIS workshop session. Those committed to a morning event with another SIG should mention this, but there would still be a good chance of accommodating you in an afternoon session. For those of you unfamiliar with the rituals of history conferences, a chair just introduces the panelists, polices time, and manages the discussion period. The commentator receives the papers ahead of time and prepares an informal discussion of maybe ten minutes drawing together themes from the papers and offering helpful suggestions to the authors. Chairing is easier than commenting, and with commentators we take care to match the expertise of the commentator to the topic of the panel. Best wishes, Tom

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