AIT Forum on the Histories of the Internet: Call for Papers
Archives of IT (AIT) is organising a one-day academic-practitioner forum on the Histories of the Internet in January 2024. The forum is designed to:
- foster more critical, multidisciplinary perspectives on the history of computers, telecommunications, the internet, and related digital media;
- illuminate how people, policies, initiatives and other social factors have shaped and are shaping technological developments; and
- feature talks and panels identifying a variety of competing perspectives on innovations or other key events in the history of information and communication technologies
The forum will run from 10am to 4pm on 9 January 2024 with spaces for up to 50 participants. It will be hosted as a hybrid event at the Livery Hall of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists (WCIT) in Central London, with facilities for presenting or joining an audience online.
Proposed abstracts for talks and panels are now being accepted
Proposed abstracts for talks and papers for presentation are now being accepted for the forum from all disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives.
These papers will convey the insights gained from historical perspectives on internet technologies and applications in education, civil society, business, industry, politics and government.
Through a set of talks and panels the forum aims to provide a variety of historical perspectives on innovations or other key events in the development and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), ranging from the telegraph to the future internet and related digital media. Discussions will focus on what can be learned from these histories and how historical perspectives can support research, policy and practice for a network society.
Who should submit proposals for talks and presentations?
We are particularly interested in hearing from those who have been engaged in historical research on ICTs, whether from their general evolution to specific developments, such as in network infrastructures, services, or collaboration, and in specific areas such as haptic or video communication, social media, or AI. Critical perspectives on conventional wisdom are as welcomed as are descriptive, historical, policy-oriented, or theoretical accounts from multidisciplinary perspectives.
Papers and videos of presentations will be freely available to the public on the AIT website and through outreach activities. Papers chosen for presentation will be posted on SSRN after the conference, and we encourage papers to be submitted post-forum to academic or trade journals, such as Internet Histories, building on the comments received at the forum.
We hope and expect to receive novel and engaging perspectives on the histories of a diverse array of technologies, events, successes, and failures, that have shaped the rise of our networked society – for better or worse.
Funded by Sponsorship and Fees
This forum is supported by AIT with additional support from the WCIT. Those selected to present their work at the forum may attend free, but other participants are asked to contribute £50 for the day, which includes a stand-up lunch and post-event networking.
AIT would welcome any additional sponsorship to provide more free spaces at the forum and support for AIT in communicating the results and organising follow-up interviews and events. Email: PR@archivesit.org.com.
How to submit a proposal
Send your abstracts of 300-600 words for proposed papers or panels. Instructions on submitting a proposal can be found on the AIT website along with instructions on how to register your interest in attending. Once the programme is set, we will provide more information on registration on the website and share on our social media platforms.
See: https://archivesit.org.uk/ait-forum-on-the-histories-of-the-internet-call-for-papers/