September 2023 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Kleiman: the women behind ENIAC
by Jonathan Coopersmith 30 Dec '24

30 Dec '24

FYI: https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-women-behind-eniac Stay sane, Jonathan Jonathan Coopersmith Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science Professor Emeritus Department of History Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-4236 979.739.4708 (cell) "Technological obsolescence, <https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2023/05/technological-obsolescence>" National Academy of Engineering *Perspectives* May 23, 2023 It's taking longer to vote - especially if you are Black or Hispanic <https://theconversation.com/its-taking-more-time-to-cast-a-ballot-in-us-ele…> , theconversation.com Preserving space archives: https://www.toboldlypreserve.space/ *FAXED. The Rise and Fall of the Fax Machine* (Johns Hopkins University Press)

3 5

CFP Journal of Cinema & Media Studies: "But is it media?"
by Liz Ellcessor 30 Dec '24

30 Dec '24

Hello all, Excited to share this call for the inaugural special issue of JCMS: The Journal of Cinema and Media Studies. Work on media technologies, computing, digital systems, and so on is absolutely welcome! Abstracts (500 words) due: September 6, 2023 Full article drafts (8,000 - 10,000 words) due: January 15, 2024 Anticipated publication: fall 2025, volume 65, issue 1 To submit, email the JCMS managing editor: editors(a)jcmsjournal.org<mailto:editors@jcmsjournal.org> With questions, email the JCMS co-editors-in-chief: liz(a)jcmsjournal.org<mailto:liz@jcmsjournal.org> and bo(a)jcmsjournal.org<mailto:bo@jcmsjournal.org> About the topic: “But Is it Media?” The topic of the special issue is “But Is It Media?” As the field of media studies continues to expand, many scholars who operate under the media studies banner are shifting to studying objects, practices, and histories that look unlike traditional objects of media studies analysis. Such work pushes the boundaries of media studies, productively challenging our conceptualization of what constitutes media and what value media studies analysis brings to our understanding of the world. While this work often generates enthusiasm, it is also frequently met with skepticism. Scholars who conduct and present this work commonly find themselves asked, whether in Q&As or job interviews, “Sure, this is interesting, but is it really media?” This special issue takes up that question–“But is it media?”–as a provocation to embrace the elements of media studies that enhance, shift, or destabilize the very notion of media itself. In particular, we are interested in work that models how media studies scholars can approach seemingly “non-media” objects, bringing out their aesthetic and cultural qualities as media. In conceptualizing this issue, we draw inspiration from the many scholarly works, some recent and some already foundational, that raise eyebrows and push boundaries. Is a shoe a work of media? Is a filing cabinet? What about a seaweed forest, or a color, or a sex toy? These may seem like odd examples, yet existing scholarship has revealed their deep ties to media cultures, histories, reception, and/or production. Our goal with this issue is not to seek some new, more definitive definition of media–that is, to relitigate what defines media–but rather to inspire a more capacious view of what media already is and the immense value of studying the lived world around us through the lens of media. To read the full CFP, click here<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001rqnKV65sC5VxftUQfawEVcvgU0kVX4uTWNsJXKWdwIj…>. We look forward to receiving your submission! Best, Liz -- Elizabeth Ellcessor Associate Professor & Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Media Studies Director, Disability Studies Initiative Senior Faculty Fellow, Miller Center for Public Affairs University of Virginia lizellcessor(a)virginia.edu<mailto:lizellcessor@virginia.edu> Co-editor, Journal of Cinema and Media Studies<https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/> In Case of Emergency: How Technologies Mediate Crisis and Normalize Inequality<https://nyupress.org/9781479811632/in-case-of-emergency/> (NYU Press, 2022) Disability Media Studies<https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Media-Studies-Elizabeth-Ellcessor/dp/1479…>, with Bill Kirkpatrick, eds. (NYU Press, 2017) Restricted Access: Media, Disability, and the Politics of Participation<https://www.amazon.com/Restricted-Access-Disability-Participation-Postmille…> (NYU Press, 2016)

2 1

New Resource: The Archival Internet Video Index
by Avery Dame-Griff 30 Dec '24

30 Dec '24

All, (Apologies for cross-posting!) I just wanted to share a new resource I've been working on that might be of interest to folks for research or teaching: The Archival Internet Video Index <https://apdame.github.io/vidindex/>. While the name is a bit of a misnomer, the AIVI indexes archival footage of early digital communications and information services in use, ranging from videotex to the early years of the web. I've focused on video in particular because it allows folks, especially students, to see these technologies in use. They're also great for illustrating public understandings of technology, as well as contemporaneous corporate rhetoric (the CompuServe/Mickey Mouse Club theme mashup might be my favorite find so far). Please feel free to reach out if you have questions, suggestions, or any updated information for an entry - in almost all cases, I've based what I've indexed on what the poster shared, so some of the dates for when these videos were produced are very fuzzy. Best, Avery Dame-Griff -- Avery Dame-Griff (he/him/his) Lecturer, Women's and Gender Studies (Gonzaga University) Author, *The Two Revolutions: A History of the Transgender Internet* (NYU Press, August 2023) Curator, Queer Digital History Project <http://queerdigital.com/> averydame.net

2 1

Announcing SIGCIS 2023 Conference Schedule (Sep 21-23, 2023) - Online Edition 2.0
by Babintseva, Ekaterina 30 Dec '24

30 Dec '24

Dear SIGCIS, On behalf of the SIGCIS organizing committee -- Morgan Ames, Steph Dick, Xiaochang Li, Laine Nooney, Colette Perold, Gili Vidan, and myself -- I am happy to announce that the program for the 14th Annual Meeting of SIGCIS is now live and can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/yc4xssv2 Our keynote for the event is Tung Hui-Hu (University of Michigan), the author of Digital Lethargy: Dispatchers from an Age of Disconnection (2022) and A Prehistory of the Cloud (2015). This year, the conference will take place on Zoom on Sep 21-23, 2023. For registration, please use Eventbrite: https://tinyurl.com/ycxz384s In order to maximize access to all members of the SIGCIS community, the conference fees are donation-based this year. We offer suggested rates for academic and non-academic participants here<https://meetings.sigcis.org/registration.html> and trust that you will select the fee that makes sense for your context, especially for scholars with limited research funds. Please note that Eventbrite does not permit $0 donations. If you would like to register without having to pay, please email the SIGCIS Meetings Organizing Committee at sigcis2023(a)morganya.org and we will register you for no cost. We hope to see many of you there! All best, Katya Babintseva Ekaterina Babintseva [bahb-int-seva]<https://www.cla.purdue.edu/directory/profiles/ekaterina-babintseva.html> www.ekaterina-babintseva.com<https://www.ekaterina-babintseva.com/> Assistant Professor in the History of Technology Purdue University Department of History, University Hall 120 672 Oval Drive West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 ebabints(a)purdue.edu

2 1

Permanent academic post in Educational, Historical, and Philosophical Foundations of Computing
by Troy Astarte 30 Dec '24

30 Dec '24

Dear list, I am happy to announce a new opening for a Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in Educational, Historical, and Philosophical Foundations of Computer Science at Swansea University. Submissions close on 3rd September 2023. See here for more information: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/jobs-at-swansea/current-vacancies/details/?nPosti…<https://www.swansea.ac.uk/jobs-at-swansea/current-vacancies/details/?nPosti…> We are looking for a candidate with a strong research background in one or more of these research fields to contribute to our research theme. An ideal candidate has some technical understanding and ability but focuses their research interests strongly on the role of computing in society—perfect for someone from the SIGCIS community. Our ambition is to make Swansea University the best computer science department in the UK for this kind of critical and reflective study of computing. The Department of Computer Science already benefits from resources like · History of Computing Collection<https://collections.swansea.ac.uk/s/history-of-computing-collection/page/we…> · Technocamps<https://www.technocamps.com/>, That support our research and education outreach to schools, teachers and the citizens. We also have a diverse group of academics working across all kinds of computer science open to interdisciplinary research opportunities and a very strong School of Culture and Communication elsewhere in the university with a great deal of expertise in the digital media space. Our department has the opportunity to develop and teach material related to the context and impact of computing. We would be grateful for suggestions for people who might be interested in this opportunity or if you could simply pass this on to people you know who might be interested in applying. Please feel free to get in touch with one of us if you would like any further information about our programme or have any questions. Sent on behalf of the Search Committee: John Tucker j.v.tucker(a)swansea.ac.uk<mailto:j.v.tucker@swansea.ac.uk> Faron Moller f.g.moller(a)swansea.ac.uk<mailto:f.g.moller@swansea.ac.uk> Troy Astarte t.k.astarte(a)swansea.ac.uk<mailto:t.k.astarte@swansea.ac.uk> Best, Dr. Troy Kaighin Astarte (they/them / nhw) Lecturer, Computer Science / Darlithydd, Cyfrifiadureg Swansea University / Prifysgol Abertawe For students: my office hours are on the Intranet<https://fse-intranet.swan.ac.uk/intranet/staff_officehours?selected_staff_i…>. I fyfyrwyr: mae fy oriau swyddfa ar y fewnrwyd. Zoom office: https://swanseauniversity.zoom.us/my/t.k.astarte Supervision booking: https://doodle.com/bp/troyastarte/supervision Every email has a cost to the climate. Please think before sending short emails. Mae gan bob e-bost gost i’r hinsawdd. Meddyliwch cyn i chi anfon e-byst byr. Due to RSI sometimes I’ll need to dictate messages and they might come out a bit weird. Thanks for your patience.

2 1

Internet Histories, Volume 7, Issue 3 (2023) is now available online
by Asger Harlung 30 Dec '24

30 Dec '24

To whom it may concern The editors of Internet Histories are pleased to announce that Internet Histories, Volume 7, Issue 3, December 2023 is complete, and available online. Two articles are open access. Internet Histories, Volume 7, Issue 3, December 2023 https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rint20/7/3 Contents: Articles Internet freedom, free culture, and free information: Aaron Swartz and cyberlibertarianism’s neoliberal turn Michael Buozis Shaping the digital world: views on the internet in India in Prime Ministerial speeches (1998–2019) Lasya Tandon A history of features for online tie breaking, 1997-2021 | Open Access Nicholas John & Dekel Katz Cryptoeconomics as governance: an intellectual history from “Crypto Anarchy” to “Cryptoeconomics” | Open Access Kelsie Nabben Genealogy of an archive. The birth, construction, and development of the World Wide Web collection at CERN | Open Access Martin Fomasi, Deborah Barcella, Eleonora Benecchi & Gabriele Balbi Kind regards on behalf of the Internet Histories editorial team, Asger Harlung, Editorial Assistant, Internet Histories

2 1

2 PhD positions on microcomputers and social transformation in Europe (University of Lucerne, Switzerland)
by Albert Gleb J. 30 Dec '24

30 Dec '24

Dear list members After having received a Swiss National Science Foundation grant for a research project on the role of microcomputers in the social, cultural and ecenomic transformations in Western and Eastern Europe in the 1980s and 1990s, I am advertising two fully funded PhD positions in history at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland: Sub-project 1, "Microcomputer Narratives of Transformation": https://www.unilu.ch/en/university/personnel/human-resources-department/vac… Sub-project 2, "The Microcomputer as a Medium of Political Communication": https://www.unilu.ch/en/university/personnel/human-resources-department/vac… Here is a link that combines both adverts, in both German and English: https://www.hsozkult.de/job/id/job-138226 Application deadline is 30 September. Please feel free to share the information and pass it on to interested potential candidates. Thank you! Best wishes, Gleb -- Ass.-Prof. Dr. Gleb J. Albert SNSF Starting Grant Assistant Professor for General and Eastern European Contemporary History Department of History, University of Lucerne Universität Luzern Historisches Seminar Frohburgstrasse 3 Postfach 4466 CH-6002 Luzern Switzerland Room 3.A29 Tel. +41-41-2295527

2 1

Recently Published Books
by STEPHEN KAISLER 30 Dec '24

30 Dec '24

Folks: I have seen several members announce books that they have published, so I decided to announce mine as well. I have published nine (9) books in my Historical Computing Machines Series so far: - Birthing the Computer: From Relays to Vacuum Tubes - Birthing the Computer: From Drums to cores - First Generation Mainframes: The IBM 700 series - Second Generation Mainframes: The IBM 7000 Series - Mainframe Computer Systems: The General Electric Corporation - The Univac Corporation: In From the Beginning - The Burroughs Corporation and Its Innovative Architecture - Control Data Corporation: Early Computer Systems - Control Data Corporation: The Supercomputer Era In process are two volumes on English Computer Systems (sans ICL, a later book) These can be seen at Cambridge Scholars Publishing website: https://www.cambridgescholars.com/pages/physical-sciences and ordered through that website. Steve Kaisler

2 1

AIT publishes comprehensive digital report on Human Computer Interaction
by Tom Abram 30 Dec '24

30 Dec '24

>From Punch Cards to Brain Computer Interfaces: 75 Years of Human Computer Interaction and its Impact on Society (https://archivesit.org.uk/75-years-of-human-computer-interaction/) was commissioned by Archives of IT (AIT) to develop the story of HCI by leveraging the charity’s unique knowledge base, reviewing our archive of interviews produced since 2015 and conducting six new interviews between late 2022 and early 2023. Together they now tell a more comprehensive, up-to-date and personal account of this life-changing aspect of social and industrial history. Dr Elisabetta Mori has led the project with a particular emphasis on the UK’s distinctive contribution to the subject. In her report she takes the reader on a journey through HCI’s evolution from the early years of computing from 1948 – when the subject was dominated by the first mainframes – to today’s world where we take for granted Graphical User Interfaces and an ever-growing number of interactive technologies. AIT’s Director, Tom Abram, said: “Reading about the past made those of us who have been working closely with Dr Mori think about the future. We have been struck, once again, by how the lessons of history are so often relevant going forward: HCI has a key part to play in building a future that’s more democratic, based on the total human experience and caters for all genders, backgrounds, and abilities – but only if we do it right.” AIT is very grateful to the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists for funding this work in line with its aim of providing leadership for the IT industry. The report is free to use, downloadable, has links to the AIT website of the personal histories of the people interviewed and is split into decades to make it easier to navigate. HCI through the decades • 1940s-1960s Mainframe Computers: Bulky Installations Operated by Specialists. These included British tea shop company Lyons who pioneered the use of computers in business with its LEO Computers. • 1970s-1980s The Computer Becomes Personal – from minicomputers to microprocessors and the Graphical User Interface. • 1970s-1980s Mapping Early HCI Communities in Britain including the Man-Machine Interaction Group at the National Physical Laboratory and the Human Sciences and Advanced Technology Research Group. • 1980s-1990s The Alvey Programme and the Establishment of a HCI Community in the UK. The Alvey Programme helped to raise the level of UK user interface design and improve the use of advanced speech recognition and image synthesis techniques. • 1990s-2000s The World Wide Web: A New Paradigm of Information Sharing. The focus shifts and the browser is born as interfaces suddenly need to accommodate not only expert users, but also individuals with varying abilities. • 2000s-onwards The Computer Becomes Ubiquitous and smartphones popularise capacitive touchscreens and multi-touch gestures with the iPhone in particular allowing users to navigate the home screen with their finger, which was a revelation at the time. Resources include New interviews • Linda Macaulay (interviewed by AIT in November 2022), now Professor Emirita of Information Design at the University of Manchester, was working in the computer department at Huddersfield Polytechnic in the early 1990s where she could pursue her interests in researching HCI and gives an insight on how it featured in the initial impact of the internet. • Professor Alan Newell OBE, Emeritus Professor at Dundee University, who has spent more than 40 years conducting research in Human Computer Interaction, primarily into supporting elderly and disabled people, talks about the digital divide in his interview with AIT in January 2023. • Looking at the impact of British research in the field of HCI, Dianne Murray (interviewed by AIT in February 2023), a Usability and Interface Design Consultant and one of the earliest researchers in HCI in the UK at the National Physical Laboratory since the early 1980s, says there are various specialties that HCI has managed to help foster. • Ernest Edmonds, who, (interviewed by AIT in March 2023) as part of the HCI project, gave a talk at the British Computer Society in 1970, which he says was an important aspect in the journey toward human computer interaction, and talks about forming an alliance with Brian Shackel and his Human Sciences and Advanced Technology (HUSAT) research group. • Professor Alan Dix, Director of the Computational Foundry at Swansea University specialising in HCI (interviewed by AIT in March 2023), points out the deep interaction we have with computation, which has resulted in this major shift in the pervasiveness of computers in society. • Professor Harold Thimbleby, interviewed in January 2023, See Change Digital Health Fellow at Swansea University, founded the University College London Interaction Centre in 2001 and talks about technology such as the iPhone being a success because its user interface was an immediate hit with the general public. He says HCI is both psychology and computer science. YouTube Playlist Watch our playlist of 25 clips taken from some of the pioneers and personalities featured in the report. --- For more information or any questions please contact: Adrian Murphy Email: pr(a)archivesit.org.uk Mobile: 07446154904

2 1

New Book: Digital Independence. India's Way Into the Computer Age – an International History
by Michael Homberg 30 Dec '24

30 Dec '24

Dear SIGCIS, please excuse the "self-promotion": I am excited to announce the publication of my new book: "Digital Independence. India's Way Into the Computer Age – an International History" ("Digitale Unabhängigkeit. Indiens Weg ins Computerzeitalter – eine Internationale Geschichte"). It has been published this week by Wallstein, and is largely based upon my habilitation thesis which I finished at the University of Potsdam, Germany, in 2021. The book is in German language only, but an English translation is already planned. I've shared the translated German blurb below. Many thanks for all the inspirations I received from the SIGCIS community, and I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Best regards from Berlin, Michael *** Digitale Unabhängigkeit. Indiens Weg ins Computerzeitalter – eine Internationale Geschichte, Göttingen: Wallstein 2022 (Geschichte der Gegenwart, Bd. 32). URL: https://www.wallstein-verlag.de/9783835352674-digitale-unabhaengigkeit.html. Blurb: The first electronic computers arrived in India in the 1950s. Today, Indian programmers embody our globalized world. This book examines the long and chequered history of India's journey into the digital age. It shows how the emergence of digital expertise in India was the result of both national efforts and international cooperations. From early on, the computer thus became a symbol of Indian nation-building at the end of the colonial era, a tool of technocratic planning in the high modern age, and an instrument of power politics, cultural controversies and economic interests. The book interweaves a national history perspective on the Indian republic, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, with an analysis of the country's global relations, analyzing the different speeds and intensities of the computerization of the living and working worlds in the Global North and the Global South. Thus, it reconstructs the highly international networks of computer specialists, technicians, managers and politicians, development experts and activists in India. Since the early days of the Indian republic, industrialized nations such as the USA and the USSR, but also the Federal Republic of Germany and Great Britain promoted the expansion of computer technology and education in India. This study explores the roots of these international technical assistance programs in the Cold War era and the development of its global geopolitics of expertise, the growing desire in the Indian computer industry for “digital independence” in the global IT market since the 1970s and the triumph of elite programmers in Silicon Valley in the early 21st century. It analyzes the preconditions, dynamics, and consequences of global exchange processes in India after 1947, and thus “decenters” the primarily Western perspective of computer history and its master narratives. Drawing on broad (archival) research in India, the USA, and Europe, the study's sources include governmental records, university archival collections, academic literary estates, parliamentary minutes, and contemporary media. _______________________________ PD Dr. Michael Homberg Senior Scientist/Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam Leibniz-Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung Potsdam (ZZF) e.V. Am Neuen Markt 1 14467 Potsdam

3 3