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From: Lynne Roberts <robertsl@psychology.curtin.edu.au>

           CYBERMIND CONFERENCE
 Friday 29th November to Sunday 1 December 1996.
           Hosted by the School of Design
           Curtin University of Technology.
                Perth, Western Australia

             FINAL  CALL FOR PAPERS

Cybermind is the name of a discussion list and
on-line community. It is also starkly descriptive
of an emerging episteme in contemporary Western
and increasingly globalised society.

It is appropriate and timely therefore to bring
together members of this discussion list, with
others interested in computer-mediated
communication, including members of the artistic
and academic communities to discuss virtuality and
community.

The conference is seeking papers, presentations,
installations, and performances which fall under
the categories of "Performance and Communication,"
"Boundaries," "Mediating Reality," and "Politics."
Submissions outside of these categories will be
considered.

Some questions that might be raised include:

Performance and Communication
How real are 'virtual' communities?
Is society itself a form of virtuality?
How virtual are 'real' communities?
How is the virtual manifest_within_ the real?
What are the performative aspects of communication?
Virtual genders/real bodies - gender in cyberspace.

Boundaries
In a boundary-less world, what new boundaries
may form?
How will identity politics of gender, sexuality, and
ethnicity reformulate in virtual associations?
How do uncertain boundaries impact upon existing
theories of subjectivity?

Mediating Reality
Does computer-mediated communication bring
anything new to the study of reality and virtuality?
What makes a virtual community a community?
How does one build a virtual community?
VR may not be as consensual a hallucination as we
think. Is consensus necessary and what challenges
does this pose for its inhabitants?

Politics
The lack of a fixed "self" confounds traditional
institutions of social control, warranting, and
accountability.
What will post-traditional institutions look like?

Presentations will be drawn from a diverse group
of people with an interest in the philosophy and
psychology of cyberspace. Papers will be refereed
for a collection to be published in electronic
format.

Abstracts may be submitted by email in
standard ASCII text or in HTML format to
RobertsL@psychology.curtin.edu.au

Please note: it is not essential to attend the
conference in person to present a paper.
A cybercafe will be established to enable online
participatory sessions to to be scheduled within
the conference programme.

DEADLINE FOR ALL SUBMISSIONS : 30 September 1996.

Further information about the conference is
available at:
http://www.curtin.edu.au/conference/cybermind/



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Lynne Roberts
School of Psychology, Curtin University of Technology
GPO Box U1987, Perth  WA 6001, Australia
Fax 011 6 9 351 2464  Telephone 011 6 9 351 2465
Email: L.Roberts@psychology.curtin.edu.au
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