Date:         Thu, 17 May 2001 18:29:19 +0100 From:         Helen Kennedy <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:      cyborg lives? conference
To:           [log in to unmask]


apologies for cross posting

cyborg lives? women=92s technobiographies
one day conference 15 june 2001
university of east london, docklands campus, london

about the conference
The conference seeks to promote the concept and use of
=91technobiography=92=
 as
a tool for  understanding more about the place of technology in everyday
life. For the past four years, a  group of women academics in the
Department=

of Innovation Studies at the University of East  London have been exploring
the use of autobiography to understand gender-technology  relationships by
writing our own =91technobiographies=92. Cyborg Lives? Women=92s
Technobiographies, edited by Flis Henwood, Helen Kennedy and Nod Miller
(Raw=

Nerve  Press, forthcoming, May 2001) is the result of this endeavour. The
book adopts Donna  Haraway=92s now well-known cyborg metaphor to explore
the=

centrality of technology in  everyday life. Cyborg Lives? is a playful and
experimental attempt to examine the potentials  and problems of seeking to
employ the cyborg metaphor when trying to make sense of  women=92s diverse,
complex and often very contradictory relationships to technological
artifacts and processes.

The conference aims to explore the potential of technobiography as
methodology for those  concerned with the social and cultural significance
of technology. It will be of interest to those  working in this area in the
social sciences, in technology studies, in cultural studies and in
women=92=
s
studies in particular. It should also appeal to those familiar with
autobiography as  methodology in the social sciences but who have not
considered the role of technology in  everyday life.

Papers presented at the conference are intended to stimulate discussion
about to the potential  of technobiography as methodology and to examine
the=

implications of technobiographical  research for feminist theories of
gender=

and technology.

Speakers include:
Roshini Kempadoo (University of East London): 'Autographing culture lines'
Gill Kirkup (Open University): 'Becoming a cyborg teacher: do I pass the
Turing test?'
Maureen McNeil (Lancaster University): 'Auto and Techno: telling tales'
Uma Patel (City University) title to be confirmed
Nina Wakeford (University of Surrey): 'Researching the queer technological
self'.

The cost of the conference includes a copy of Cyborg Lives? Women=92s
Technobiographies.

For further information about the conference, contact Gillian Perkins
([log in to unmask]).

time and place
The conference takes place on Friday 15th June 2001, at the University of
East London=92s  new, purpose-built Docklands campus in East London.
Information about how to get to  UEL's Docklands campus can be found on the
following webpage:  http://www.uel.ac.uk/docklands/index.htm.

Coffee will be served from 10.30am and the proceedings will start at
11.00am. The  conference will conclude at 17.00 and will be followed at
17.30 by the launch of Cyborg  Lives? Women=92s Technobiographies, at the
sa=
me
venue.

how to register
The cost of the conference is =A330 waged or =A320 students/unwaged. This
pr=
ice
includes coffee  and lunch and a copy of Cyborg Lives? Women's
Technobiographies. To register for the  conference, please make your cheque
payable to The University of East London and send it  to the following
address:

Gillian Perkins
Department of Innovation Studies
Docklands Campus
University of East London
4-6 University Way
London E16 2RD

Please print out and fill in the registration form below and send it along
with your cheque.

Numbers are limited, so early booking is advised.



cyborg lives? women=92s technobiographies
one day conference registration form

First name and surname:



Institutional affiliation:



Address:



Phone number :



Email address:



Waged or unwaged rate:



Any special dietary requirements:



Any other requirements:

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