The editors of a new collection entitled Digital Contexts: Studies of Online Research and Citation invite proposals for 15-25 page papers that “consider the multiple ways that digital technologies are shaping the practices of research and citation.” Proposal abstracts are due September 15, 2005; accepted manuscripts will be due January 15, 2006. For the complete call, contact Joyce R. Walker.
Review of The New Media Reader
The New Media Reader (MIT Press, 2003), edited by Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Nick Montfort, is reviewed by Ravi Srinivas Krishna in the current issue of Information, Communication and Society (iCS). iCS 8.2 also includes articles by Caroline Haythornthwaite on “Social Networks and Internet Connectivity Effects,” Denise Carter on “Living in Virtual Communities: An Ethnography of Human Relationships in Cyberspace,” and more.
CFP: Interfaces–English Studies and the Computer
This two-day conference at the University of Newcastle will focus on the debate about best practice methods for enabling students and lecturers to gain interest and skills in using learning technology in the classroom, while creating a “snapshot” of what is currently happening with computers in English Studies.
The organizers invite short (15-minute maximum) presentations on good and bad experiences with learning technology in the classroom. Also sought are individuals to lead short discussions on a specific topic related to using technology to teach English Studies. Innovative proposals for discussion formats that avoid the three-paper panel are welcome. The deadline for submission of abstracts is July 31, 2005. For more information, contact Brett Lucas and Stacy Gillis.
The conference will take place November 2-4, 2005. For more information, visit the University of Newcastle English Subject Centre website.
Interview with Sue Thomas on trAce
trAce Online Writing Centre has published Randy Adams’ new interview with Sue Thomas, a longtime director of trAce and now professor of New Media at the De Montfort University School of Media and Cultural Production. Thomas discusses her experiences at trAce, the transition to life at De Montfort, her books, her newest online commuity project, “Writing and the Digital Life,” and more.
Hear Past Banff New Media Institute Summits on Radio90’s “Archive Hour”
Radio90, an internet pirate radio station, has begun broadcasting audio recordings of past Banff New Media Institute Summits on its “Archive Hour”. Visit the Radio90 website for the broadcast schedule.
Yucef Merhi’s “Poetic Engineering” at the Orange County Museum of Art
New media artist Yucef Merhi’s “Poetic Engineering” project is on view at the Orange County Museum of Art’s Orange Lounge through August 28, 2005. Merhi’s digital texts explore the bond between natural languages and machine languages in a range of media, including electronic devices, the web, computer installations, and video game systems.
Interview with Turbulence.org’s Co-Director Helen Thorington
Read Domenico Quaranta’s recent interview with Helen Thorington, a founding organizer and current co-director of Turbulence.org, at Turbulence. Also forthcoming in Cluster #5. Thorington discusses the origin and development of Turbulence, which has produced over 300 projects over the last 15 years and currently has approximately 80 net art projects running.
Interactive Drama Façade Released
After more than six years of work, Michael Mateas and Andrew Stern have released their long-awaited one-act interactive drama Façade for free download. The system features a 3D environment and voice-acted, AI-driven characters, and has been a testbed for research in and development of natural language processing, drama management, and control of character behaviors. Research that went into the system has been documented in more than a dozen academic publications by Michael and Andrew, as well as in Michael’s Carnegie Mellon University Ph.D. dissertation. A pre-release version of Façade made the finals in the 2004 Independent Games Festival, and one was also exhibited at ISEA 2004. The New York Times has called the system “the future of video games.”
More information and discussion about the release can be found at Grand Text Auto. Mateas and Stern’s press release about the system has more information. The initial version runs on Windows computers with processors of at least 1.6 GHz, and is available on CDs (sold at cost) or via BitTorrent download.
Auto Mata: A New Label for Computer Lit, Art, and Games
Auto Mata, an independent label for extraordinary e-lit, digital art, and computer games, has just been launched by the six “drivers” of the blog Grand Text Auto: Mary Flanagan, Michael Mateas, Nick Montfort, Scott Rettberg, Andrew Stern, and Noah Wardrip-Fruin.
Façade, the long-awaited one-act interactive drama by Michael Mateas and Andrew Stern, is the first Auto Mata release. The interactive fiction Book and Volume is in the works now and will be coming from Auto Mata soon.
{fray}
{fray} is an online storytelling community, linking writers of personal stories with talented designers, and encouraging story readers to share their own stories in response to those published on the site. Although fray stories typically make minimal use of electronic enhancements, the site is an excellent example of the power of a collaborative online writing community.