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> --- Please Circulate > > *Human Complexity 2012* > > * > * > > *The First Annual Conference on Complexity and Human Experience* > > * > * > > *Modeling Complexity in the Humanities and Social Sciences* > > * > * > > *May 30th – June 1st, 2012* > > *The University of North Carolina, Charlotte* > > > The recent increase in the number of formal institutes and conferences > dedicated to complexity theory and its application is evidence that > complexity science has arrived and is realizing its potential to cut across > almost every academic discipline. Research projects centered on complex > adaptive systems in the natural (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) and > social sciences (economics, political science, anthropology, sociology, > psychology, etc.), along with novel applications in engineering, computer > science, robotics, and, more recently, the arts and the humanities > (archaeology, art history, history, literature, philosophy, performance > art, religion, etc.), have already earned some recognition in the field of > complexity science. > > > In light of these developments, the Complex Systems Institute ( > http://www.complexity.uncc.edu) and the Center for Advanced Research in > the Humanities at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte (UNC > Charlotte) will inaugurate an annual conference series, beginning in 2012, > dedicated to complexity with particular application to understanding the > intricacies of human experience across all domains. The goal of the series > is to provide a trans-disciplinary venue for scholars from the humanities > and the social sciences, as well as some aspects of the natural sciences > (such as neuroscience, pharmacology, etc.). Since matters of life and death > pertain to human experience in profound and important ways, the conference > hopes to attract representatives from the allied health sciences as well. > > > The conference series will be dedicated to a particular topic each year. > The initial 2012 conference will be based on an Institute for Advanced > Topics in the Digital Humanities (IATDH) sponsored by the National > Endowment for the Humanities and the UNC Charlotte Complex Systems > Institute this past year that was dedicated to computer modeling in the > humanities and social sciences. In keeping with the theme of the IATDH, the > topic for our first conference will be: *Modeling Complexity in the > Humanities and Social Sciences.* > > * > * > > Submissions are invited on any specific topic that falls within the > parameters described above. Sample topics include, but are not limited to, > studies on: > > > - The development and transmission of language > - The propagation of beliefs, ideas and ideologies > - The nature of historical and political change > - The analysis of literary texts and their circulation > - The effect of individual action on global economies > - Social structure among pre-historic peoples > - Archaeological settlement patterns in early cities > - The role of architecture in facilitating public traffic patterns > - The relationship between productivity, creativity, and happiness > - Elements and measures of creativity > - Discovery of early trends and indicators of social and economic > change > - The role of science and technology in enhancing human experience > - Defining and measuring indicators of the quality of human experience > - The relationship between organizational/societal structure and the > flow of energy and information > - Defining utility and efficacy in the context of human experience > - Simulation and modeling tools and paradigms > - Verification and validation of models and simulated systems > - The relationship between healthcare providers, patients, Internet, > and social media > - Defining ontologies in the context of modeling and simulation > - Languages and tools fro promoting trans- and inter-disciplinary > collaboration > - Human-technology interaction > - Data-driven wellness initiatives > > > Submissions should be in the form of 5000-word papers, each of which will > be reviewed by the program committee. The committee is particularly > interested in papers that show novel applications of Complexity Theory to > enhance research in the areas here specified. Thus, preliminary work in > progress or plans for a research program are welcomed and encouraged. > > > Submission details will be posted to the conference website at > https://sites.google.com/site/humancomplexity2012/. > > > This conference is dedicated to the work of Alan Turing (1912-1954) as > part of the 2012 Alan Turing Year (http://www.turingcentenary.eu/), a > series of events to commemorate Turing's life and work. We do so here by > examining computing applications and complexity in the humanities and > social sciences that allow us to discover, create and make connections in > ways that would not be possible were it not for Turing's seminal work. The > conference will begin with a presentation on the life and times of the man > who provided the theory that made the modern computer possible. > > > Human Complexity 2012 is sponsored in part by the International > Association for Computing and Philosophy (http://iacap.org). > > * > * > > *Submission Deadline*: January 2nd, 2012 (Firm) > > * > * > > *Decision Date*: February 1st > > * > * > > *Final Program*: March 1st > > * > * > > *Conference Chairs* (in alphabetical order): > > > - Anthony Beavers (Director, Cognitive Science and the Digital > Humanities Lab, University of Evansville) > - Mirsad Hadzikadic (Director, The Complexity Institute, UNC Charlotte) > - Paul Youngman (Director, Center for Advanced Research in the > Humanities, UNC Charlotte) > > *Organizing Committee*: > > > - Anthony Beavers (Director, Cognitive Science and the Digital > Humanities Lab, University of Evansville) > - Marvin Croy (Chair, Department of Philosophy, UNCC) > - Patrick Grim (Professor of Philosophy, SUNY-Stony Brook) > - Mirsad Hadzikadic (Director, The Complexity Institute, UNC Charlotte) > - Paul Youngman (Director, Center for Advanced Research in the > Humanities, UNC Charlotte) > > *Program Committee *(preliminary): > > > - Anthony Beavers (University of Evansville) > - Aaron Bramson (University of Michigan) > - Ted Carmichael (UNC Charlotte*)* > - Marvin Croy (UNC Charlotte) > - Patrick Grim (SUNY-Stony Brook) > - Mirsad Hadzikadic (UNC Charlotte) > - Sonya Hardin (UNC Charlotte) > - Nicolas Payette (Université du Québec à Montréal) > - Dan Singer (University of Michigan) > - Charles Turnitsa (Old Dominion University) > - Paul Youngman (UNC Charlotte) > > -- > Anthony F. Beavers, Ph.D. > Professor of Philosophy > Director of Cognitive Science and the Digital Humanities Laboratory > The University of Evansville > http://faculty.evansville.edu/tb2/ > > President, International Association for Computing and Philosophy > http://ia-cap.org >