News Archive

Seminar: A New Theory of Substance - 17 April 2009

Workshop: Toward an Object-Oriented Philosophy - 20 April 2009

CITO, University College Dublin (UCD)

Graham Harman will be speaking at two events at University College Dublin (UCD) in the coming weeks. The first one is a seminar, entitled “A New Theory of Substance” (with Dermot Moran as discussant), which will take place on 17 April 2009. The second one, “Toward an Object-Oriented Philosophy,” is a half-day workshop on 20 April 2009. Please see the CITO (Centre for Innovation, Technology & Organisation) website for further updates regarding the venues and on how to register.


Social Study of IT Open Research Forum (SSIT-ORF)

ISIG, Department of Management, London School of Economics and Political Science

21-22 April 2009

Please note that the deadline for abstracts for this year's SSIT-ORF event at the LSE has been extended to 30 March 2009. Please see the announcement below for further details:

Invitation: SSIT-Open Research Forum

We are pleased to announce details of the Social Study of IT Open Research Forum (SSIT-ORF), on 21st and 22nd of April 2009. This will follow the SSIT Workshop of the LSE IS Group. The Open Research Forum will be an opportunity for IS researchers to present their work and discuss a broad range of themes relating to the SSIT in an informal, constructive setting.

Primarily, the Forum provides an ideal opportunity for PhD and junior IS researchers to present their work and raise questions on issues of their concern-substantive, theoretical, methodological or practical. It is also a useful experience for other researchers wishing to understand what SSIT is like, though their research approach may be different – e.g. from an engineering or business perspective.

In previous years the Forum attracted also experienced SSIT researchers, supervisors and PhD programme directors and we had stimulating discussions about the merits and challenges of SSIT research. We expect that this year the Forum will have a similar mix of PhD, experienced and non-SSIT researchers and that it will accommodate challenging discussions on the nature of SSIT.

Another significant feature of the SSIT-ORF is its informality. So, presenters are suggested to avoid PowerPoint presentations or the use of transparencies. There will be a number of short presentations (about 10 minutes) and panel discussions with plenty of time to focus on emerging questions and issues.

Registrations for the SSIT-ORF are currently taking place. Those who are interested in presenting should send a summary (up to 600 words) of their work to SSITORF@lse.ac.uk. Those who are interested in participating without a presentation should only apply for attendance at the same email address. As space is limited, places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. The closing date for applications is 30 March 2009.


Actor-network theory and the moral economy

University of Cambridge

5-7pm, Monday, 9 March 2009

The next Business and Society Research Group seminar at CRASSH, University of Cambridge, will focus on actor-network theory. It will take place on Monday, 9 March 2009 at 5-7 pm (CRASSH, 17 Mill Lane). The three speakers and their respective topics are:

Peter Erdélyi (PhD Candidate, Department of Management, LSE)
“Actor-Network Theory and the Technological Economy”

Ariane McCabe (PhD, Judge Business School, Cambridge)
“Making TRIPS Global and Local: Using ANT to Explore the Travel of Intellectual Property Rights from Geneva to Mexico and Brazil”

Isam Faik (PhD Candidate, Judge Business School, Cambridge)
“Actor-Network Theory and Modernisation Processes”

Followed by drinks at “The Anchor”.


Call for Papers: Objects - What Matters? Technology, Value and Social Change

University of Manchester

1-4 September 2009

The next annual conference of the ESRC Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change (CRESC) will focus on the relationship between objects and values. The full call for papers is available here. Proposals for papers or panels are due by the end of February 2009.


AMCIS 2009: Socio-Technical Aspects of Information Systems

San Francisco, California

6-9 August 2009

Please see the call for papers for the 15th Americas Conference on Information systems (AMCIS 2009), which includes the mini-track “Socio-Technical Aspects of Information Systems” on the following topics:

  • Social informatics
  • The application of social theory to information systems (eg. Structuration Theory, Actor-Network Theory, StructurANTion Theory)
  • Human and organisational aspects of information Systems
  • Balancing of social and technical factors in ISD and IS
  • Critiques of the socio-technical approach
  • Case studies of socio-technical analysis of IS
  • Comparative studies (ie. between sectors, countries, cultures, etc.) of socio-technical analyses of IS
  • Comparative analyses of socio-technical change and IS
  • Global/local (or ‘glocal’) balance of IS within a socio-technical context

Deadline for papers: 20 February 2009.


Call for Papers SPT 2009: Converging Technologies, Changing Societies

the Society for Philosophy and Technology

University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

8-10 July 2009

Converging technologies and their social and cultural impact are the main themes of the 16th International Conference of the Society for Philosophy and Technology. See the full call for papers here. The deadline for abstracts is 5 January 2009. Update: the deadline has been extended to 31 January 2009.


Call for Papers - The State of Things: Towards a Political Economy of Artifice and Artefacts

Centre for Philosophy and Political Economy (CPPE), University of Leicester

29 April - 1 May 2009

Call for papers, presentations, and interventions on the confluence of modern and classical forms of political economy and actor-network theory approaches to the study of the role of artefacts in economic and political ordering. Themes could include, but are not limited to:

  • Protocols and networked governance
  • Diagrams and control
  • The return of resistentialism and insubordinate objects
  • Army ANTs and the bones left behind
  • ANT and the networks of economies
  • Imaginary futures and technological dis/utopian visions
  • The affective states of machinic interaction
  • Anachronous inquiries and steampunk dreams
  • P2P commons, conflict, and governance
  • Interpretative labor and semantic webs
  • Extended minds and their cognitive scaffolding
  • Posthuman artificing
  • Artefacts, black boxes and governance
  • The art of commodifying the artificed Network
  • Immaterial politics of networking
  • The estrangement of networks
  • Marx’s Laboratory Life vs. Engel’s Scallops

Please send proposals to Tanya Dean (ku.ca.el|1pmetmslu#ku.ca.el|1pmetmslu) of 500 words or less by November 28th, 2008. Notification of acceptance will be provided by February 4th. For more information go to http://www.le.ac.uk/ulsm/research/cppe or e-mail Simon Lilley (ku.ca.el|yellil.s#ku.ca.el|yellil.s).

The full text of the call for papers is also available here.


Networks of Design Conference

University College Falmouth in Cornwall

3-6 September 2008

The 2008 conference of the Design History Society in which actor-network theory in general and the work of Bruno Latour in particular underlie the main theme of Networks of Design. Latour is one of the keynote speakers and the thematic strands are the following:

  • Networks of Texts including images, documents & databases
  • Networks of Ideas including theories, disciplines & concepts (among them ANT)
  • Networks of Technology including mechanical & virtual technologies
  • Networks of Things including material & technological artefacts
  • Networks of People including collectives & individuals

More information at the Networks of Design conference website.


Call for Papers - International Journal of Actor-Network Theory and Technological Innovation

Two calls for papers from the new International Journal of Actor-Network Theory and Technological Innovation (IJANTTI):

  1. for the Special Issue:”Approaches to Technological Innovation,” due 1st August 2008;
  2. for the regular issue: due 1st September 2008.

2008 4S/EASST Conference in Rotterdam

The draft programme [1MB PDF] for the 20-23 August 2008 Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) & European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST) conference is now available.


Reclaiming the World: The Future of Objectivity

Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto

23-24 May 2008
Bahen Centre (Ground Floor), University of Toronto

An interdisciplinary conference on the notion of objectivity. Bruno Latour (Sciences Po Paris) is the keynote speaker and the plenary speakers are:

  • Karen Barad (University of California, Santa Cruz)
  • Adrian Cussins (Universidad Nacional, Bogota)
  • Rebecca Kukla (University of South Florida)
  • Mark Lance (Georgetown University)
  • Geoffrey Nunberg (University of California, Berkeley)
  • Joseph Rouse (Wesleyan University)
  • Lucy Suchman (Lancaster University)
  • Brian Cantwell Smith (University of Toronto)

More information (including programme, abstracts and papers) on the conference website.


Triangular Post-Graduate Conference 2008: Challenges for contemporary research on technology and organisation

The Centre for Innovation, Technology & Organisation (CITO), UCD School of Business

Please see this call for papers from the conference organisers:

Post-Graduate Conference 2008 is the second annual triangular symposium organised jointly by Lancaster University, University of Cambridge and University College Dublin. This forum is co-chaired by Séamas Kelly, Lucas Introna, and Matthew Jones; bringing three schools and research programmes together to debate in an intimate, relaxed and informal setting. This year’s event is hosted by the Centre for Innovation, Technology & Organisation at UCD School of Business. An internationally esteemed group of ten faculty have been invited to participate and engage with doctoral students.

The call for papers invites scholars from IS and organizational studies to present preliminary research findings and/or challenging theoretical and methodological issues concerning their research. Acceptance will be competitive and numbers limited. We welcome theoretically diverse papers encompassing Institutional Theory, Ethnomethodology, Phenomenology, Theories of Practice, Actor-Network Theory, and others. Research areas will cover a spectrum of settings and organisational challenges – for example, IS in developing countries, health care, business ethics, environmental issues, software development, IS implementation and adoption, and E-government.

Key Dates

April 18th, 2008 - Abstract submission deadline (up to 500 words excluding refs)
April 28th, 2008 - Notification of acceptance
May 23rd, 2008 - Final paper submission deadline (≥5,000 words excluding refs)
Wednesday June 4th - Friday June 6th - Conference Programme (to be announced)

Download the full announcement with further instructions on how to apply from here.


Doctoral Consortium “Networks and Open Innovation” - Call for Submissions

Leiden University, Netherlands

29-31 May 2008

The doctoral consortium on “Networks and Open Innovation” aims to bring together PhD candidates and faculty, in order to facilitate focused and in-depth discussions. The consortium will encompass the following areas:

  • Managing innovation in networks and clusters;
  • The relationship between ICT development and user centric innovation;
  • IS innovation processes (i.e. processes of ICT-enabled social/organisational change);
  • Communities of practice and architectures for participation;
  • ICT and new modes of organising (e.g. CSCW, virtual/ distributed forms of organising);
  • Business networks and inter-organisational systems.

Submissions by PhD candidates are sought, which should include:

  • A research proposal (4000-5000 words): motivation, research question, relevant literature, research design/ methodology, expected outcomes;
  • A statement by the Supervisor or PhD programme Director about the status of the PhD candidate, and a recommendation that he/she will benefit from the consortium.

The deadline for submissions is 30 April 2008.

Download the full Call for Submissions here (PDF). Further information on the NITIM website.


From Bodies to Black-Scholes: A Two-day Workshop on Performativity and the Social Studies of Finance

Columbia Business School
New York, 28-29 April 2008

The Social Studies of Finance (SSF) is one of the fastest-growing and most intriguing new fields in the social sciences today. Born from the intersection of sociology of science, economic sociology, management and critical accounting, SSF offers a new vantage point for the analysis of financial markets and their dynamics.

This intensive two-day workshop is convened by Daniel Beunza from Columbia Business School and Yuval Millo from the London School of Economics. It is aimed at presenting the field to newcomers, and is directed at research students and early-career researchers in accounting, finance, management, political science and sociology.

To allow effective discussion, the group size is limited to 12 participants. The workshop's fee is US$ 200.00. To apply for the workshop, please send a CV and a one-page description of your research and how it relates to SSF to ku.ca.esl|ollim.y#olliM lavuY

For more details see: SSF Workshop


Invitation to the 4th Social Study of IT Open Research Forum at LSE

Please see this invitation from the SSIT-ORF organisers:

We are pleased to announce details of the Social Study of IT Open Research Forum (SSIT-ORF), on 23rd and 24th of April 2008. This will follow the SSIT Workshop of the LSE IS Group. The Open Research Forum will be an opportunity for IS researchers to present their work and discuss a broad range of themes relating to the SSIT in an informal, constructive setting.

Primarily, the Forum provides an ideal opportunity for PhD and junior IS researchers to present their work and raise questions on issues of their concern-substantive, theoretical, methodological or practical. It is also a useful experience for other researchers wishing to understand what SSIT is like, though their research approach may be different – e.g. from an engineering or business perspective.

In previous years the Forum attracted also experienced SSIT researchers, supervisors and PhD programme directors and we had stimulating discussions about the merits and challenges of SSIT research. We expect that this year the Forum will have a similar mix of PhD, experienced and non-SSIT researchers and that it will accommodate challenging discussions on the nature of SSIT.

Another significant feature of the SSIT-ORF is its informality. So, presenters are suggested to avoid PowerPoint presentations or the use of transparencies. There will be a number of short presentations (about 10 minutes) and panel discussions with plenty of time to focus on emerging questions and issues.

Registrations for the SSIT-ORF are currently taking place. Those who are interested in presenting should send a summary (up to 600 words) of their work to ku.ca.esl|FROTISS#ku.ca.esl|FROTISS. Those who are interested in participating without a presentation should only apply for attendance at the same email address. As space is limited, places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. The closing date for applications is by the end of March 30th 2008.

Looking forward to meeting you in April.

SSIT-ORF Committee


PowerPoint in Public: Digital Technologies and the New Morphology of Demonstrations

Goldsmiths College, University of London

Room 308, Richard Hoggart Building
New Cross, London SE14 6NW
Wednesday March 5th 2008 - 16:00pm

David Stark, Arthur Lehman Professor of Sociology and International Affairs at Columbia University, presents a paper that analyzes PowerPoint presentations, the most ubiquitous form of digital demonstrations.

The first set of demonstrations are the PowerPoint presentations made in December 2002 by the seven finalist architectural teams in the Innovative Design competition for rebuilding the World Trade Center. The second case presented occurred some blocks away, several months later, with Colin Powell’s PowerPoint demonstration at the United Nations.

The authors argue that Edward Tufte’s denunciation of PowerPoint does not capture the cognitive style made possible by the affordances of this pervasive new technology. On the basis of the case materials, the distinctive morphology of PowerPoint is demonstrated . It is argued that its digital character provides affordances that allow heterogeneous materials to be seamlessly re-presented in a single format and can morph easily from live demonstration to circulating digital documents that can be utilized in counter-demonstrations. In order to understand public discourse in democratic society today, a careful examination of this widely used technology is critical.

For further information please contact ku.ca.dlog|namron.d#namroN neeroD at the Department of Sociology, telephone 020 79197707


Transparency and Discretion

London School of Economics and Political Science

Centre for the Analysis of Risk and Regulation
Seminar Room H615, 26 February 2008 - 13:00 to 14:30

Dr Andrew Barry of the Oxford University Centre for the Environment discusses the notion of transparency that has been heavily promoted as a solution to the problem of the 'resource curse': the apparent paradox that countries with high levels of natural resources often have low levels of economic growth. In this argument it is suggested that transparency reduces the problems of secrecy, corruption, and a lack of public accountability which blight the development of resource-rich economies.

The paper presented by Barry interrogates the relation between transparency and secrecy both conceptually and empirically. Barry argues that transparency both promotes new forms of secrecy and makes discretion of critical importance by making it imperative that matters about which there would be a need to be made transparentare are not known. Moreover, the production of information which is demanded if the principle of transparency is followed creates further unintended consequences, fostering conflict about the process of information production itself and focusing attention on specific issues at the expense of others.

Andrew Barry has written widely on the politics of technology, social theory and political and economic geography and is the author of Political Machines: Governing a Technological Society (2001) and co-editor of the Technological Economy (2005). Dr Barry's paper draws on a recent ESRC funded study of the politics of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. He is currently researching the politics of the debates about 'peak oil' and the 'resource curse'.


The Harman Review: Bruno Latour’s Empirical Metaphysics

London School of Economics and Political Science
Tuesday 5 February 2008 - 9:30 to 15:00

Symposium to discuss the implications of Bruno Latour’s work for both philosophy and the social sciences on the basis of Graham Harman’s manuscript entitled “Prince of Networks: Bruno Latour and Metaphysics”.

In the morning session of the symposium Graham Harman will present his argument and Bruno Latour will deliver his response. In the afternoon session the issues raised will be further debated by a panel consisting of Graham Harman, Lucas Introna, Bruno Latour, and Noortje Marres, chaired by Edgar Whitley. Both sessions will provide opportunities for the participants in the audience to comment and ask questions.

The event is the initiative of the ANTHEM group of research students and is hosted by the Information Systems and Innovation Group of the Department of Management at the London School of Economics and Political Science.


Bruno Latour’s public lecture at the LSE, 4 February 2008

London School of Economics and Political Science
Old Theatre, Old Building
Monday 4 February 2008 - 18:30 to 20:00

Bruno Latour will give a public lecture at the European Institute at the LSE. The lecture is entitled “Another European Tradition: traceability of the social and the vindication of Gabriel Tarde” and is part of the 2008 Franco-British Europe Dialogue series.



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