Best,
Jason
>>>>>>
Workshop Theme: Convergence and Divergence
The terms “convergence” and “divergence” are opposite to one another, but they can both be used, sometimes simultaneously, to study information and computing technologies in their social, cultural, and political contexts. For instance, an individual computer may serve as a site of convergence for raw materials sourced around the world. At the same time, the journey of each of those materials from their extraction sites to the manufacturers’ factories may itself be a story of divergence—that is, of how resources and ideas scatter away from their point of origin.
Convergence and divergence also occur beyond the material cultures of computing and information. The technical standards, social conventions, and legal frameworks that shape how people can engage with information technologies can vary wildly across the globe, or even from one local context to the next. People working in different national or local contexts may develop similar frameworks by following entirely different paths and, conversely, ways of conceptualizing, using, and regulating computing and information in a local setting may gain global appeal.
The theme for this year’s SIGCIS meeting is “Convergence and Divergence,” broadly conceived. Possible lines of inquiry include:
As always, we welcome submissions even if they do not align with the workshop theme. Our membership is international and interdisciplinary, and our members examine the history of information technologies and their place within society from a variety of scholarly perspectives including the history of technology, business history, labor history, social history, the history of science, science studies, communications, gender and sexuality studies, computing, and museum studies.