CFP, Web_site Histories: Theories, Methods, Analysis

Call for Papers

Conference title: Web_site Histories: Theories, Methods, Analysis

One-day conference, October 14th 2008. The main purpose of Web_site 
Histories is to place the new and emerging field of Web History on 
the research agenda and to map the field of historical website studies.

Organizer: The Centre for Internet Research, University of Aarhus, 
Denmark.

The conference is associated the AoIR 9.0 conference "Rethinking 
Communities, Rethinking Place" in Copenhagen (http://
conferences.aoir.org)

Confirmed keynote speakers:
Kirsten Foot, Associate Professor, University of Washington
Steven Schneider, Professor, State University of New York
Title: Object-Oriented Web Historiography.
Abstract: Foot & Schneider will present a keynote address that 
focuses on their proposal of an “object-oriented” approach to 
researching and writing Web history. They will consider the various 
meanings of object entailed within the notion of object-oriented Web 
historiography in order to advance both the theoretical foundation 
and methodological rigor of developmental analyses of Web artifacts 
in their hyperlinked contexts. Developmental analyses of any aspect 
of the Web, whether engaged in contemporaneously or retrospectively, 
entail dynamics within and between the (co)producers of Web 
artifacts, production practices and techniques, and Web artifacts 
themselves. These dynamics make it difficult but very important for 
scholars to identify and situate their object(s) of analysis 
historically and theoretically. See extended description at http://
www.cfi.au.dk/en/events/conferences/wsh08/keynote.
Kirsten Foot and Steven Schneider are the authors of Web Campaigning 
(MIT Press 2006) as well as a number of articles about Web Sphere 
Analysis.

A panel will round off the conference by discussing the future 
directions of studies of Web History. Besides Kirsten Foot and Steven 
Schneider panel participant will be Niels Brügger, Associate 
Professor, the Centre for Internet Research, University of Aarhus.

The main purpose of Web_site Histories is to place the new and 
emerging field of Web History on the research agenda and to map the 
field of historical website studies. The focus on the Web can be seen 
as a specialization within the larger field of Internet History, but 
with another subset of questions and challenges. The underscore in 
the title reflects the uncertainty and variability of the object of 
study – are we talking about the Web in general, Web Spheres, 
individual websites, or web pages? The conference welcomes papers on 
any of these approaches or any other theme, topic or idea connected 
to the theories, methods or analysis of Web History. Theoretical 
approaches could be discussions of the object of study or reflections 
on doing historical research on this particular subject. 
Methodological approaches may include abstract or more specific 
considerations of the range of applicable methods, both old and new, 
to Web History. Finally, the analytical approach welcomes 
contributions exploring the practical hazards and possibilities of 
this special kind of empirical material, as well as papers on 
concrete empirical studies.

Papers are also welcome on a wide array of historically-grounded 
themes. The topics below are examples of the kinds of issues paper 
presenters are invited to address — but are not intended to limit 
topics suitable for paper submissions:
·      General as well as more specific histories of the development 
of the Web, focusing on, for instance, technology, graphic design, 
culture etc.
·      The history of the Web as a subset of the history of the 
Internet, with emphasis on, for instance, the development of 
hardware, software and protocols
·      The organizational architecture of the Web in a global, 
national, transnational or local perspective
·      Defining moments and events on the Web, either in terms of how

the Web was conceived and built, or in terms of how it is or was 
perceived and used
·      Demographical, social, cultural, or other factors influencing 
Web use and uptake
·      Political, economic, institutional or personal histories of 
the Web
·      The growing popularity of social networking sites in a 
historical perspective
·      Interactivity, genre and media discussions in relation to the
Web
·      The histories of expectations in pre-web time meeting the 
reality of the Web
·      Source availability and validity – the archiving of the Web
·      The history of the Web in the larger framework of media history

Please send abstracts of no more than 300 words by April 15th 2008 
(further instructions at http://www.cfi.au.dk/en/wsh08). After a 
process of double-blind peer review, authors will be notified of 
accepted papers by May 15th. Full papers will be due by August 31st 
2008. Please note that there is a maximum of 30 participants, and 
priority will be given to paper presenters. Paper presentations will 
consist of short presentations with opponents/discussants and 
roundtable-style discussions. Presenters are therefore also expected 
to act as opponents/discussants.

Participation in the conference is free, and coffee and lunch is 
included (yes, there is such a thing as a free lunch). Following the 
conference, papers will be considered for inclusion in an edited 
volume on Web Histories.

The conference takes place at the University of Aarhus, two days 
before the start of the AoIR 9.0 conference in Copenhagen (http://
conferences.aoir.org). Aarhus is situated west of Copenhagen and is 
the second largest city in Denmark with a population of approximately 
300,000. It is accessible by train or by air via the Aarhus or 
Billund airports. Read more about Aarhus and the university: http://
www.au.dk/en/why and http://www.au.dk/en/aarhus.htm.

The Centre for Internet Research is located at the Institute of 
Information and Media Studies, and was established in September 2000 
in order to promote research into the social and cultural 
implications and functions of the internet. Read more about the 
Centre: http://www.cfi.au.dk/en/about/profile

Conference website: http://www.cfi.au.dk/en/wsh08.

The conference is sponsored by:
·      'The Knowledge Society', a joint research priority area at the

Faculty of Humanities, University of Aarhus,
·      the Institute of Information and Media Studies, University of 
Aarhus
·      the Centre for Internet Research, University of Aarhus.

About the organisers:
Niels Brügger (PhD, MA) is Associate Professor at the Institute of 
Information and Media Studies, University of Aarhus, and co-founder 
of the Centre for Internet Research. His primary research interests 
are website history, web archiving, and the internet and media 
theory, and he recently started the research project "The history of 
www.dr.dk, 1996-2006" (read more at http://imv.au.dk/~nb).

Vidar Falkenberg (MSc) is a PhD fellow at the Institute of 
Information and Media Studies, University of Aarhus, and a member of 
the Centre for Internet Research. His research is on the development 
of online newspapers in Denmark (read more at http://
www.internetaviser.dk).

------------------------------------------------------------
NIELS BRÜGGER, Associate Professor, PhD
Institute of Information and Media Studies
University of Aarhus
Helsingforsgade 14
8200 Aarhus N
Denmark

Phone (switchboard)   +45 8942 1111
Phone (direct)               +45 8942 9226
Telefax                           + 45 8942 5950
E-mail                             nb@imv.au.dk

Webpage                       http://imv.au.dk/~nb

Profile at LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nielsbrugger

Profile at Kommunikationsforum [in Danish]: 
www.kommunikationsforum.dk/Niels-Brugger

The research project "The history of dr.dk, 1996-2006"      http://
drdk.dk
The Centre for Internet 
Research                                         
 http://cfi.imv.au.dk
Theories of Media and Communication                                 
http://www.medieteori.dk