The University of Southern California (USC), The Massachusetts Institute
of
Technology (MIT), and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)
are happy to announce:

The 2ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITS ON RACE AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES:
“RACE IN DIGITAL SPACE 2.0”

2002 Organizers:
Tara McPherson, USC (School of Cinema-TV)
Anna Everett, UCSB (Department of Film Studies)
Henry Jenkins, MIT (Comparative Media Studies)
Christiane Robbins, USC (School of Fine Arts)

CALL FOR PAPERS, PERFORMANCES, ART, + EXHIBITS:
PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY

The Race in Digital Space 2.0 (RDS 2.0) organizers are convening a
follow-up
conference to the successful inaugural conference on the theme of race
and new
media technologies held last April on the campus of MIT.  We envision
this year's event as a vital springboard for ongoing dialogues
concerning this crucial aspect of our post-industrial transition to the
new global information economy.

This year we are pleased to open up the discussion to a broader
audience.  Thus, we welcome your participation in a series of panel
discussions, performances, exhibits, and poster sessions on the topic of
“Race in Digital Space.”  The RDS 2.0 Conference and Exhibit will be
held in Los Angeles on the campus of USC during the weekend of October
10-13, 2002.

EVENT OVERVIEW

Since the 1996 advent of a graphical interface for the Internet
technology opened
up the World Wide Web to the global masses, traditional communication
systems within and between nation states have been fundamentally
transformed.
While much of our experiences with these new media technologies are
primarily
characterized in terms of ”the digital divide” and “national security,”
many scholars, individuals, grassroots organizations, and free speech
activists, among
others, have become increasingly concerned about efforts to limit these
new
technologies before their democratizing and liberatory potentials are
fully
realized.

This situation has become especially acute in the wake of the 9-11
terrorist
attacks in the U.S.  Last year’s conference in April 2001 predated the
events of
9-11.  That timing enabled us to focus on celebrating “minority”
communities’
often-unacknowledged technolust and new media mastery, while
simultaneously
addressing the fact of unequal access to new digital technologies.  Our
approach
was in stark contrast to the self-fulfilling prophecies of “the digital
divide’s”
often disabling rhetoric.  This year, however, we find ourselves
confronted by a
new set of urgent digital media problematics, such as the White House’s
recent decision to defund community technology centers, high-tech racial
profiling and cyber-surveillance, decreased corporate philanthropy,
living wage issues in high-tech employment, and high fees for online
connectivity. Consequently, we are seeking papers that extend last
year’s focus, while simultaneously urging us to rethink many of these
vexing issues in light of the 9-11 tragedy.  Given the accelerated pace
of new media technologies’ ability to sway national and global public
opinion on any number of pressing issues, and in lightening speed, we
recognize the need for interventionist commentary and responses by
committed individuals and groups concerned about where and how digital
technologies will contribute to our rapidly changing world.  We
therefore urge you to get involved in this important dialogue by sharing
your research, activism, artistry and business experiences with us.

Currently, we envision plenary talks that address the following
concerns: 1) The
Digital Divide, Post 9-ll; 2) Tracking Bodies and Global Labor; 3)
Entertaining
Race: Representin’ Race in New Media Environments; 4) Remaking Race:
Authenticating “Other” Voices in Digital Spaces; and 5) New Futures:
Digital Theory Meets Digital Practice.

In addition to these themes and ideas, we are seeking papers,
presentations, projects and exhibits that address the following;
however, we encourage other ideas and explorations as well.

SUGGESTED TOPICS AND THEMES:
· Archiving and Preserving “Other” Experiences: The Role of Libraries in
the Digital Age
· Globalism
· Surveillance/Technology/Borders
· Race and New Technologies/ Advertising
· Whiteness
· Success Stories/Best Practices
· Killer Apps For the Classroom And/Or “Minority” Business
· Subcultural Practices
· Access: Anti-trickle down Theories vs. Actual Implementation
· Health Care Issues and Access
· Spirituality and Religion
· Critiques of Colonialism/Techno-colonialism
· Body Tech
· Art and Activism/the Hactivist
· Digital Philanthropy: Profiting as Good Digital Corporate Citizens
· Citizens and Consumers/New World Markets
· WTO-Activism/Globalism/Technology: Lack of Race in WTO
· Dot.Com Bust/ Who’s Busted? A Disaster or Reprieve?
· Workers in New Media: First, Second, and 3rd World Workers; Visa
Issues + New Media
· Employment Needs
· Voices From Washington/Policy Decisions/Public Discourse on Technology

· Digital Citizens vs. Digital Consumers
· Viruses/Understanding How Technology Works/Transparency
· Stealth Marketing/Viral Marketing
· Digital Rights/Digital Piracy
· Media Coverage of New Technology
· Generational Technology Use/Age and Technology/ Youth Cultures
· Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice/Entry Level Technologies:
Digital Video and Do it Yourself (DIY) Appeals
· Turntablism
· Web Art: Streaming Media
· Digital Soundscapes

Please send 250-500 word proposals to [log in to unmask] no later than
June 15, 2002.  Snail mail copies may be sent to RDS 2.0/c/o Tara
McPherson/Critical Studies/School of Cinema-TV/USC/LA CA 90089-2211.
We encourage proposals for papers, art projects, performances and other
modes of creative expression.  The weekend will feature both the
conference and selected exhibitions and performances.

Race in Digital Space Founding Organizers:
Henry Jenkins/Anna Everett/Tara McPherson/Erika Muhammad

PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY!

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