October 2019 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Proposal Deadline for the Charles Babbage Institute's "Just Code" Symposium a week away (Oct. 15th)
by Jeffrey Yost 07 Oct '19

07 Oct '19

Dear Colleagues, Wanted to send a reminder that the deadline for paper proposals (300 to 450 word abstract and 2pp. CV) to CBI's Symposium "Just Code: Power, Inequality, and the Political Economy of IT" is only 8 days away, October 15th (midnight CST). The event itself is May 8-9, 2020. The CFP is in the CBI Newsletter at the following link (and it also is pasted below at the bottom of this message). http://www.cbi.umn.edu/newsletter/article6.html My co-leader on this effort UC-Davis' Gerardo Con Diaz ("Con") and I have been thrilled with the interest scholars worldwide (from many disciplines) have expressed in recent months. There has also been tremendous interdisciplinary interest on campus at the University of Minnesota, 14 departments and centers from six colleges (and two college level deans) have signed on with strong financial support as co-sponsors--from the College of Science and Engineering/HSTM (CSE is the lead overall UMN co-sponsor) and University Libraries/Archives and Special Collections to Computer Science and Engineering (lead UMN dept. co-sponsor), Writing Studies (Rhetoric), Anthropology, MN Ctr. for the Philosophy of Sci., The China Center, The Human Rights Ctr., the Institute for Advanced Study, School Social Work, ECE, Hubbard School of Journalism/Communication, Wilkins Ctr. for Human Relations and Social Justice, etc. For this we are extremely grateful and we expect a sizable symposium with participants and attendees from many disciplines. Con and I are greatly looking forward to the event, and subsequently, an impactful "Just Code..." edited volume we will publish with Springer in the History of Computing Series (all papers for the volume must pass editorial and peer review). For those wanting to attend but not presenting, there is a link below to the event registration form (and rooms currently are available for you to book at a discounted rate by telling the Courtyard it is for attending CBI's Just Code). Best, Jeff Jeffrey Yost Director, Charles Babbage Institute Research Professor History of Science, Technology, and Medicine University of Minnesota -------------- Below is a Call for Papers (deadline Oct. 15th 2019) and registration information for a Charles Babbage Institute (CBI) Symposium/Workshop I am co-leading with Univ. of California-Davis' Gerardo Con Diaz (Friday and Saturday, May 8-9, 2020). We hope many of you will consider proposing a paper (or otherwise attending). We encourage (and would appreciate) your forwarding this to anyone you think might be interested. *Just Code: Power, Inequality, and the Global Political Economy of IT* Just Code is a one and a half day CBI symposium/workshop on how code—construed broadly, from software routines to bodies of law and policy—structures and reinforces power relations. It will explore the often invisible ways that individuals and institutions use software, algorithms, and computerized systems to establish, legitimize, and reinforce widespread social, material, commercial, and cultural inequalities and power imbalances. The event will also examine how individuals, unions, political organizations, and other institutions use code to fight for equality and justice. Other major themes include the (pre-)history of code/algorithmic thinking; code as means of concealment or secret communications; codes of conduct in business, governance, and culture related to IT and its institutions (local and global exploitation through imperialism, human rights violations, and environmental degradation); and codes of ethics in information technology. The papers will draw from across the humanities and qualitative social sciences, including disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, science and technology studies, geography, and communications. We anticipate that papers (collectively) will examine a wide range of themes in the global business, cultural, social, legal, and environmental history of the political economy of information technology. Papers will be pre-circulated (among presenters) and we have plans to publish revised papers (after editorial and peer review) as an edited volume in the Springer History of Computing Book Series. Proposals should include a two-page curriculum vitae and a 300 to 450 word abstract (as a single PDF) that highlights the key argument(s), connection of the paper to the symposium's topic/themes, and a description of core methods/sources. This should be sent to cbi(a)umn.edu (please have your last name in the file name and use the subject line "Just Code Symposium Proposal"). Deadline for Paper Proposals is Oct. 15, 2019 (notifications will be made within 30 days) Deadline for Submission of Papers (for those offered and accepting a place on the program) is March 31, 2020 (papers will only be pre-circulated to fellow presenters/panelists on the program, not to all registrants). Those offered and accepting a spot on the program will have to commit to participating in the entire workshop, revising their work based on feedback from peers at the event and the organizers/editors, and submitting it for consideration to the planned edited volume. For those offered and accepting a place on the symposium's program (presenters/panelists), CBI will cover the cost of 2 nights lodging at a nearby hotel (walking distance to CBI), lunch, and an event dinner. Early career presenters on the program (graduate students, postdocs, and junior faculty) can apply for CBI travel grants of $300 to partially offset their travel costs (done as a reimbursement/partial reimbursement). Please indicate if you would like to be considered for one of these travel grants at the bottom of your abstract. The program will commence at 8:30 AM on Friday and conclude at 12:30 PM on Saturday. Registration is automatic for everyone on the program. For those wanting to attend who are not presenting, the symposium's registration is free and open to CBI Friends (and those who become CBI Friends), and to students, academic staff, and faculty of the Univ. of Minnesota. Lunch is provided for all who register. The event dinner is only for those on the program. Information on becoming a CBI Friend is at http://www.cbi.umn.edu/about/friends.html Registration form for those attending but not presenting. The size will be capped, so we encourage registering far in advance. https://forms.gle/KK5n37jhN1Mdnyxp9 The event will be at CBI--Andersen Library at the University of Minnesota ["Just Code" is sponsored in major part by a very generous gift/bequest events endowment to CBI from IT industry veteran Michael J. Samek] Best, Jeff and Con Jeffrey R. Yost, Ph.D., CBI Director & Research Prof. HSTM, Univ. of Minn. Gerardo Con Diaz, Ph.D., Asst. Prof., Science and Technology Studies, Univ. of Cal.-Davis Jeffrey R. Yost, Ph.D. Director, Charles Babbage Institute Research Professor, Program in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine 222 21st Avenue South University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455 612 624 5050 Phone 612 625 8054 Fax

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SIGSALY photos?
by Bernard Geoghegan 07 Oct '19

07 Oct '19

Dear Colleagues, Can anyone recommend sources to get images of the SIGSALY cryptography machine, preferably from the 1940s (as opposed to a re-staging years later)? I’ve tried contacting the Crypto Museum, no answer, and there are images on Wikipedia of imperfectly documented provenance. However, I also think I’ve seen a few figures around over the years that aren’t circulating online—I can’t quite remember where, though. I’d like to find hi-res images that I can get good and solid clearance to republish. Tips? Best, b -- Bernard Dionysius Geoghegan Senior Lecturer in the History and Theory of Digital Media Chair of the UG Assessment Board, Digital Culture www.bernardg.com Department of Digital Humanities King's College London The Strand Building Room S3.08 WC2R 2LS Office: +44 (0)20 7848 4750

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Fwd: Interview Request for Command Line Heroes re: the GE 225
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 02 Oct '19

02 Oct '19

Colleagues If anyone is willing to help could you please contact Tara directly. Best wishes Bernardo Bangor University (Wales) > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Tara Brockwell <tara.brockwell(a)pacific-content.com> > Subject: Interview Request for Command Line Heroes re: the GE 225 > Date: 2 October 2019 at 00:01:50 BST > To: b.batiz-lazo(a)bangor.ac.uk, bbatiz64(a)gmail.com > > Hello, > > my name is Tara Brockwell, I help produce the award-winning podcast series Command Line Heroes <https://www.redhat.com/en/command-line-heroes> with Saron Yitbarek, brought to you by Red Hat available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Spotify, etc. We've reached over a million listeners to date. > > I'm currently in pre-production of Season 4. This season is all about visionary machines in computing history and the individuals and teams behind them. I'm now producing an episode on GE's ERMA and the GE 225 and I'm looking for someone to help tell the stories about how both machines (or one if you're more familiar) were made. > > If you're interested in being interviewed I'd require about 30 minutes of your time within the next few days. (I know that's a tight deadline!) to gather a few clips. Happy to connect over the telephone as soon as possible to discuss logistics/answer any questions. > > All the best, > Tara Brockwell > Producer > https://www.redhat.com/en/command-line-heroes <https://www.redhat.com/en/command-line-heroes> > Cell. 310 569 0353

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[JOB] Critical Making & Media Production Faculty Position
by Adriana de Souza e Silva 01 Oct '19

01 Oct '19

Colleagues, I would like to let you know about a faculty position opening we have at the Department of Communication at NC State University. Assistant or Associate Professor of Critical Making and Media Production Department of Communication North Carolina State University The Department of Communication at North Carolina State University invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor of Critical Making and Media Production. We seek a scholar who is both able to engage critically with media technologies and practices and also build, make, and produce new forms of media. This scholar will bridge multiple approaches to media, including media theory, production, and critical making. The successful candidate will have expertise in areas such as mobile and social media, locative media, games, physical computing, audiovisual production, or media arts. Key to this position is the interaction between the production of media technologies and the theoretical understanding of their social, cultural, political, and economic implications. We are particularly interested in candidates who will produce scholarship and contribute pedagogical expertise that integrates creative skills with theoretical understandings of the changing mechanisms of production, circulation, and uses of media. Candidates should demonstrate a commitment to equity and diversity in their teaching and research. Candidates should be prepared to teach in the Media curriculum of the Department’s B.A. in Communication and to teach and mentor graduate students in the M.S. in Communication and the interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media (CRDM). Applicants should have a Ph.D. in Communication or a related field in the humanities or social sciences. *** Inclusiveness and diversity are academic imperatives and university goals at NC State. We welcome applications from all persons without regard to sexual orientation. In its commitment to diversity and equity, NC State seeks applications from women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. With more than 34,000 students and nearly 8,000 faculty and staff, NC State is a comprehensive university known for its leadership in education and research and globally recognized for its strength in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The Department of Communication is one of the largest departments at NC State, with 600-700 undergraduate majors and nearly 100 M.S. and Ph.D. students. The CRDM program enjoys a growing national and international reputation as a destination for interdisciplinary digital media studies. Faculty and graduate students are actively engaged in research collaborations with colleagues in multiple departments across the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the University as a whole. Key interdisciplinary programs and groups include the Circuit Research Studio, the Graduate Certificate in Digital Humanities, the Mobile Gaming Research Lab, and the NC State Libraries Makerspaces. Faculty and students have access to cutting-edge simulation studios, maker spaces, and gaming research facilities at the University’s award-winning James B. Hunt Library. The position will begin on July 1st, 2020. Interested candidates should submit a letter of application, CV, names of three references, two samples of relevant scholarly publications, and a portfolio. To apply, go to https://jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/123339 <https://jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/123339> . Review of applications will begin November 15, 2019, and will continue until the position is filled. For additional information regarding this position please contact the Search Committee Chair: Adriana de Souza e Silva, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Communication NC State University aasilva(a)ncsu.edu <mailto:aasilva@ncsu.edu> _________________________ Adriana de Souza e Silva University Faculty Scholar Professor Department of Communication NC State University http://www.souzaesilva.com

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