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Anthropology of Science, Tech, and Computers
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Date: Mon, 5 May 1997 14:41:07 -0400
From: Joseph Dumit
To anthropologists of science, technology, and computing:
I am posting the preliminary schedule for the summer meeting on June 28 and 29 at Rensselaer. You'll also find a registration form and information on accommodations. Please contact me with additional questions.
David Hess hessd@rpi.edu 518-276-8509.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Summer CASTAC Conference The Committee on the Anthropology of Science, Technology, and Computing Summer Meeting 1997 (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY)
FRIDAY, JUNE 27 (Dinner in Troy: Contact Hess if you will be here and wish to attend)
SATURDAY, JUNE 28 Coffee, bagels, etc. (Alumni House: 8:30am-9:00am)
I. General Issues in Anthropology and STS (Alumni House, 9:00am-10:00am) Linda Layne (Rensselaer) "Studying Up, Down, Around, and Through: Reflections on the Anthropology of STS" Chris Toumey (Kentucky) "Eclecticism and Synthesis in the Anthropology of Science" Discusssion: 10 minutes
II. Science, Technology, and Intervention I (Alumni House, 10am-11am) Gary Downey (Virginia Tech) "The Dominant Image: Making Visible What Gets Hidden" Ron Eglash (Ohio State University) "Participant Simulation: A Pathway for Appropriated Technology" Discussion: 10 minutes
Brunch (Rensselaer Union, 11am-12:30am)
III. Science, Technology and Intervention II (Alumni House, 1pm-2:30pm) Chris Furlow (Florida) "Realizing Science, Realizing Anthropology" Matthew Weinstein (Macalester College), "Towards a Critical Anthropology of Science Education" David J. Hess (Rensselaer) "Science Studies and Research Cultures: Cancer, Alternative Medicine, and the Question of Intervention" Discussion: 15 minutes
Break (Alumni House, 2:30pm-3:00pm)
IV. Biomedical Studies I (Alumni House, 3:00pm-5:00pm) Cristiana Bastos (Instituto de Ciencias Sociais, Universidade de Lisboa) "Two Approaches to the Study of Medical Knowledge" Joseph Dumit (Harvard Medical School) "When Explanations Rest: 'Good-enough' Brain Science and the New Biomental Disorders" Gail Landsman (SUNY Albany) "Medical Technologies and Mothers of Infants with Disabilities" Stefan Timmermans (Brandeis) "Living with Sudden Death: Resuscitative efforts as Rituals of Liminality" Discussion: 20 minutes
Dinner (Rensselaer Union, 5:00pm-6:30pm)
V. Biomedical Studies II (Alumni House, 6:45-8:15pm) Jen Croissant (University of Arizona) "The Bodybuilder's Pharmacy" Deborah Blizzard (Rensselaer) Research Report: "The Socio-Cultural Construction of a Fetoscopy Network" Margaret Woodell (Rensselaer) Research Report: "Shaping the Body Politic: The Case of Breast Cancer Activists" Discussion: 15 minutes
Reception (Alumni House, 8:15pm-10:30pm)
SUNDAY, JUNE 29
Coffee and Bagels (Alumni House, 9am-9:15am)
I. Comparative Perspectives in the Anthropology of Technology and the Environment (Alumni House, 9:15-10:35 am) Scott Franklin (University of Southern California) "Technology in Anthropology Before the Anthropology of Technology: Historical Context and the Cyborg Threshold" Eric Higgs (U of Alberta) "Ecological Restoration and the Politics of Hope" Laurie Giandomenico (Cornell) Research Report: "Ancient Technology, Modern Minds: Is There Progress in Re-Instituting the Agricultural Practices of Past Andean Cultures?" Discussion: 10 minutes
II. Computing, Nation, and Community I (Alumni House, 10:35-11:05am) David Hakken (SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome), "Nation, Culture, and the Shaping of Technology: Analyzing Computing Comparatively" Discussion: 10 minutes
Brunch (Rensselaer Union, 11:10am-12:30pm)
III. Computing, Nation, and Community II: Research Reports (Alumni House, 12:45pm-2:30pm) John Monberg (Rensselaer) Research Report: "Screening the Social Landscape: A Multi-Sited Ethnography of Emergent Information Technology-based Publics" Lorna Heaton (Universite de Montreal) Research Report: "Surfaces of Emergence in CSCW Design" Lynn Cherny (AT&T Labs), Research Report: "Subtexts for Online Community as a Market" David Millen (AT&T Labs) Research Report: "Information Technology and the Shoe Leather Reporter" John Backman (SUNY Utica) Research Report: "Constructing Participatory Cyber-Ethnographies" Discussion: 15 minutes
Break (Alumni House (2:30pm-3:00pm)
IV. Communication and Technology (3:00pm-5:15pm) Charles Bazerman (Georgia Tech) "Texts as Voices in Socially Organized Communicative Systems: Several Edisons Speaking in Several Worlds" John Sherry (U of Arizona) "Performance Spaces: New Technologies and the Problem of Communicative Settings" Patricia Gonzalez (U of Michigan) Research Report: "The Cyborg Within: Comparing Cyborg Visions from Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell" Julian Albert Kilker (Cornell) Research Report: "Meta-mail: An Analysis of Early Online Design Debates About Electronic Mail" Sharon Sue Kleinman (Cornell) Research Report: "Doing Unto Others: A Case Study of Peer-helping in an Online Discussion Group" Discussion: 15 minutes
Dinner (Rensselaer Union, 5:15pm-). Note: Some people may prefer to go out to dinner on Sunday night, so it is better not to prepay your meals for Sunday.
Note: All papers are 20 minutes; all research reports are 15 minutes. It was necessary to make some papers shorter than others in order to keep the conference all in plenary sessions. There will be a five-minute question-and-answer session after each paper and research report, making the total time 25 minutes for papers and 20 minutes for research reports (including the five-minute period for questions and answers). Those who cannot keep their presentation time to the time limit will lose the chance to have questions immediately after the paper. However, there will be an additional discussion period at the end of each session.
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Description of the conference: About 30 researchers will present papers in the anthropology of science and technology. Panels will include biomedical studies, computing, communication and technology, intervention and activism, environment and technology, and general issues in anthropology and STS.
Travel: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is located in Troy, NY (not Rensselaer, NY). Troy is part of the "capital" region, which is formed around the four major cities of Troy, Schenectady, Saratoga, and Albany. The area is a great starting point for a summer vacation in Vermont, the Berkshires, or the Adirondacks. Air travel is to the Albany airport and train travel is to the Albany-Rensselaer station from the south and east, and to the Schenectady station from the north and west. Taxis from the airport and train stations are available to RPI in Troy for about $20 (slightly more from Schenectady) one way. A bus line also connects Schenectady and Troy. The main bus station is in downtown Albany, but there are also stops in Schenectady. Albany is 20 minutes from Troy, Schenectady about a half hour, and Saratoga about 40 minutes.
By road, east-west access to the capital region is on 90, and north-south access is by 87. Once in the capital region, the north-south highway is 787 (along the west side of the Hudson River), and the east-west highway is state 7 (which become Hoosick St. in Troy).
1. From the north, take 87 south to 7 east, which becomes Hoosick St. in Troy, then 15th St. south (turn right), to People's Avenue west (turn right). The Alumni House (a postmodern, red brick structure) is the third building down the hill on the left.
2. From the south, take 87 north to 787 north to 7 east, which becomes Hoosick St. in Troy, then 15th St. south (turn right), to People's Avenue west (turn right). The Alumni House (a postmodern, red brick structure) is the third building down the hill on the left.
3. From the west, take 90 east to 87 north to 7 east, which becomes Hoosick St. in Troy, then 15th St. south (turn right), to People's Avenue west (turn right). The Alumni House (a postmodern, red brick structure) is the third building down the hill on the left.
4. From the Mass Pike, take 90 west to 787 north to 7 east, which becomes Hoosick St. in Troy, then 15th St. south (turn right), to People's Avenue west (turn right). The Alumni House (a postmodern, red brick structure) is the third building down the hill on the left.
5. From Vermont, take 7 east, which becomes Hoosick St. in Troy, then 15th St. south (turn left), to People's Avenue west (turn right). The Alumni House (a postmodern, red brick structure) is the third building down the hill on the left.
For those who arrive on Friday evening, there will be a dinner at a restaurant in Troy to be announced later. To find out where the dinner is Friday night, contact Hess at hessd@rpi.edu in mid June.
Registration fee: $20, non-refundable after June 1 $10 (students and unemployed). See attached form
Accommodations: Rensselaer offers summer accommodations in the dormitories and meals. Dormitory rooms are available for $32/night single ($21/night per person double). The rooms are air-conditioned and come with prepared bed and towels. Two bedrooms share a bathroom. Brunch and dinner on the weekend are served cafeteria style for $18.50/day. You can wait and pay for the meals at the time of the conference, but the registration and rooms need to be booked by June 1. Bagels, juice, and coffee will be provided each morning before the conference begins and their cost will be included in the registration fee, as will other snacks and the reception on Saturday night.
There is a Best Western Hotel located off campus in Troy (1800 6th Ave., 518-274-2210), but reviews of it have been mixed. Many prefer the Pinewoods House, a Bed & Breakfast on the edge of Troy with walking trails around it (161 Pinewoods Ave., 518-271-6881). There is a Hampton Inn in suburbam Colonie about 15 minutes from Troy taking 7 west to Route 9 north (981 New Loudon Rd., 785-000). For those who have the funds, there is the more luxurious Desmond Americana (660 Albany-Shaker Road, 869-8100) near the airport, about 20 minutes from Troy. There is also a Hilton in downtown Albany. For more information or help, contact Hess at hessd@rpi.edu.
If you decide to stay on campus, check-in is at the Warren Hall dormitory. When heading south on 15th St., go past Peoples Avenue to Sage Avenue. Sage Avenue marks the beginning of the Rensselaer campus per se; the student union is on the northeast corner. Turn left on Sage Avenue and the take an immediate right around the student union. Proceed ahead; on your right will be the large Alumni Gym. Park in the parking lot on your left. It is surrounded by dormitories. Warren Hall is the dormitory on your left. Someone will be there to get you to your room. If you'd like a map of the Rensselaer campus, please email me at hessd@rpi.edu.
Registration Form (Due June 1)
Conference on the Anthropology of Science and Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
___________ $20.00 Registration fee ($10.00 students and unemployed)
___________ $18.50 Brunch & dinner, Sat. 6/28
___________ $18.50 Brunch & dinner, Sun. 6/29 (It may be better to pay for this separately, after you arrive, because people may decide to go out to dinner on Sunday evening.)
___________ $32.00 Single ($21.00/person dble.) Room Friday 6/27
___________ $32.00 Single ($21.00/person dble.) Room Saturday Night 6/28
___________ $32.00 Single ($21.00/person dble.) Room Sunday Night 6/29
___________ Total (Make check payable to R.P.I.)
Name(s) of people you would like to share a bathroom with (or room, if double):_____________________________
__________________________________________________
For questions, contact David Hess at (518) 276-8509 or hessd@rpi.edu. Note: You may pay for the meals per meal at the time of the conference, in cash, but the registration and rooms should be prepaid by June 1.
Your name _____________________________________________
Your address __________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Your phone ___________________________________________
Your fax _____________________________________________
Your email ____________________________________________
Please send this form with a check made payable to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (or R.P.I.) to David Hess, STS Dept., Sage Building, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY 12180-3590 or hessd@rpi.edu. ```
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