Irina Aristarkhova
will be the Guest Editor for LEA's Special Issue: Technology and Difference. The Leonardo Electronic Almanac (ISSN No: 1071-4391) is inviting
papers that address the complex relationship between technology and
difference. Technology is often conceived as an ability to "create",
"innovate", "make"; all that which differentiates: 'man' from
'nature'; human from animal. It is seen as a path to 'God(s)' and
'community', sociality, spirituality, and consciousness.
It plays out sexual difference in its separation of human creative
ability from 'natural reproduction', though this separation has been
radically challenged by the recent reproductive technologies and
legal issues associated with the notion of ownership of biological
matter.
Cultural differences are enacted in differentiations of
'technologically advanced' from 'technologically backward' cultural
traditions, often evidenced in statistics on use and proliferation of
such technologies. There are significant differences how cultures
approach this question of 'technology' both in art and science,
albeit they are rarely presented and poorly understood.
In the past few decades, however, a new optimism has been propagated
of a technology that is said to operate as a de-differentiating
force: it builds bridges, it unites, it globalizes (for better or for
worse), it brings us closer. It goes beyond 'old' differences:
ethnic, sexual, cultural, animal, towards 'new' differences between
human and (intelligent) machine, human and post-human, human and
transgenic or artificial species.
They call for papers that critically address, but are not limited to,
the following topics:
-Technology and sexual difference: concepts, history, aesthetics;
notion of ownership in reproductive bio-technologies, cultural
differences in figurations of gender and technology.
-Technology and animal / species difference: responsibility and
bio-technology; animal Otherness and bio-tech research; transgenic
aesthetics and definitions of human.
- Technology and cultural / ethnic difference: politics of the local;
different cultural approaches to technology; new media art and
cultural / geographical specificity.
LEA encourages international artists / academics / researchers /
students to submit their proposals for consideration. They particularly
encourage authors outside North America and Europe to send proposals
for articles/gallery/artists statements.
Proposals should include:
- 300 word abstract / synopsis
- A brief author biography
- Any related URLs
- Contact details
Deadline for proposals: 31 June 2003
Please send proposals to:
Irina Aristarkhova
uspia@nus.edu.sg
or
Nisar Keshvani
LEA Editor-in-Chief
lea@mitpress.mit.edu
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