CALL FOR PROPOSALS: PAPERS, ARTIFACTS AND PERFORMANCES
Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cybernetics
March 8-12, 1997
Urbana, Illinois
The American Society for Cybernetics (ASC) will hold its 1997 annual
meeting in Urbana, Illinois, March 8 - March 12, 1997. The University of
Illinois at
Champaign/Urbana once housed the Biological Computer Laboratory (BCL), an
international meeting place for cybernetic research from 1958 till 1976. This
will be a unique opportunity for BCL lecturers and graduates to gather again
for a first time.
Conference organizers invite transdisciplinary proposals about these themes:
-CyberEthics;
-When is cybernetics;
-Conversations about conversations; and
-Current traces of the BCL in cybernetics.
The ASC 97 conference overlaps with a University sponsored event
entitled
Cyberfest97, celebrating the birth date of Hal the computer from the movie
"2001: A
Space Odyssey". For more information about Cyberfest97 check out
www.cyberfest.
uiuc.edu.
Cyberfest97 focuses on computer technology and science fiction. To
involve
this wider audience in the ASC conference, we invite metadisciplinary
proposals for
tutorials, introductions to cybernetics such as:
-The evolution of cybernetics;
-Concepts of cybernetics;
-Current trends; and
-Where research is now.
Sessions will be 50 minutes long, with 20 minutes for presentations and
30
minutes for dialogue. Abstracts are requested for presentations of all sorts
including but not limited to the theatrical and visual arts. We particularly
seek
computer compositions, preferably 10 minutes in length, to be performed
during the
ASC/Cyberfest97 conference.
There will be an exhibit room for artifacts pertaining to the ASC and
BCL. Let us
know by letter if you have items of interest suitable to display in this
space.
Written presentations submitted for this meeting will be made available
via the world wide web. The intent is to create an electronic encyclopedia
about
cybernetics and systems research. We plan to record all presentations on
audio and
video tape.
Dates for Responses:
Nov. 15, 1996 Submit titles and abstracts (2 copies) for presentations of
all
sorts. Maximum abstract length 500 words.
Dec. 2, 1996 Presenters invited to submit computer compostions and papers.
Papers
are not to exceed 8 single-spaced pages. To be sent to
reviewers for
comments. Please state the title, author(s) name(s) and
affiliation(s),
including email address, when applicable.
Jan.15, 1997 Compostions and papers due. For papers send 4 hard copies.
Computer compostions send 3/4 inch video, cd or audio
tapes.
Feb.15, 1997 Comments from reviewers sent to authors. Authors will have the
choice
either of modifying their papers in accord with
reviewers' comments or
adding appending comments to the end of their paper. (An
experiment,
to create conversations. We will publish responses from
the reviewers
as well as the authors.)
March 1, 1997 Final papers due, 10 pages maximum, with comments. Submit via
email or on disk in ASCII or HTML. There will be help
for creating
this format, if needed.
March 8-12 Conference in Champaign/Urbana. Copies of available papers
will
be distributed.
Conference Committee: Herbert Brun, Arun Chandra, Mark S. Enslin, Judy
Lombardi,
Stuart Umpleby.
FYI...The ASC/Cyberfest97 conference will begin at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March
8 with
registration at the hotel, followed by a reception, opening remarks and an
evening
performance at the University Faculty Center. The conference will run for
three full
days -- Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, ending at noon on Wednesday, March 12.
Hotel
accommodations will be at the University Inn in Champaign/ Urbana, IL.
A discount of the conference registration fees is possible for those in
need
who are willing to help with the conference planning. Skills needed include a
graphic
artist, video operators and secretarial.
Please send abstracts, compositions and papers to the conference coordinator:
Dr. Judith Lombardi tel: 410-243-6098
3218 Ellerslie Ave. fax: 410-664-4410
Baltimore, MD 21218-35025 email: cyberjl@aol.com.
PLEASE PASS THIS ANNOUNCEMENT ON....THANKYOU.
________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Francis Heylighen, Systems Researcher fheyligh@vnet3.vub.ac.be
PESP, Free University of Brussels, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
Tel +32-2-6292525; Fax +32-2-6292489; http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html