*Call for abstracts: Designing objects that act. The contribution of
interaction design to the theories of the agency of objects*
6th STS Italia Conference “Sociotechnical Environments”
November 24 - 26, 2016 - Department of Sociology and Social Research,
University of Trento (Italy)
The track aims to explore the effects of interactive, smart and
technological objects on human behaviour and social relationships. Its
goal is to put in dialogue, by both theoretical and practical works,
interaction design and theories on the 'agency' of objects, that is
objects' ability to actively affect human behaviour (Alfred Gell, Bruno
Latour, Daniel Miller, Elizabeth Shove) .
Thanks to their ability to think, talk, learn, and interact, objects
have become active agents, capable of actively building and affecting
the networks of relationships in our daily life. However, scholars are
still debating if such ability belongs to objects themselves, or if
designers and users are consciously or unconsciously involved in such
process, and how. This track aims to discuss the issue of the agency of
technological, smart and interactive objects, starting from the
following questions:
- How do interactive objects and environments affect people’s behaviors,
and the relationships among people? Do such influences stem from a
precise design activity, where the designer consciously hands his own
agency over to the object? Or are these influences independent and
unpredictable?
- How much "designed" and controlled should these influences be? What
are the ethical issues related to smart objects affecting human
behaviour? Should such artefacts be constraining and persuasive, or
should they only suggest and encourage behavioural changes? Can they be
not only smart, but also wise in affecting human behaviour?
The track welcomes contributes from the field of interaction design,
sociology and anthropology, with the aim of creating an arena for
dialogue and exchange of knowledge on a multi-disciplinary level, in
order to deepen the issue of the agency of smart objects.
Abstracts will be peer reviewed and all accepted abstracts will be
presented at the conference.
Full papers will be peer reviewed to be included in the conference
proceedings.
We intend to invite authors of a number of selected full papers to write
an extended version of their work for a book chapter or for a special
issue on a design journal.
*Abstracts should be submitted by May 30, 2016*. Submissions should include:
1. Author’s name and surname, institution and email address
2. Title
3. Abstract’s text (no more than 300 words, all included)
Submissions should be *sent by email* [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>*and *to the track conveners:
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> *or
*[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
*IMPORTANT DATES*
*May 30, 2016:* Deadline for abstract submission
*June 30, 2016:* Authors notified of abstract acceptance or rejection
*September 15, 2016:* Closing date for registrations (mandatory to be
included in the programme)
*October 30, 2016:* Deadline for paper submission (to be included in the
proceedings)
*November 1, 2016:* Publication of final conference program
*
*
*Conference website:*
http://www.stsitalia.org/conferences/ocs/index.php/STSIC/STE
*Text of the track:*
http://www.stsitalia.org/conferences/STSITALIA_2016/tracks/17.pdf
<http://www.stsitalia.org/conferences/ocs/index.php/STSIC/STE>
--
Prof. Paolo Volonté
Sociologia dei processi culturali
Dipartimento di Design
Politecnico di Milano
http://paolovolonte.wordpress.com
Vice-coordinator of the PhD Programme in Design
Co-editor of the International Journal of Fashion Studies
http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=230/
https://www.facebook.com/fashionstudies
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