X-Message-Number: 23602
From: "George Dvorsky" <>
Subject: TransVision 2004 Call for Proposals
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2004 22:54:08 -0500
This is a reminder to get going on your proposals if you hope to speak or
present at TV04 in August. Check out the Website for more information:
http://www.transhumanism.org/tv/2004/
Confirmed keynote speakers to date: Howard Bloom & Steve Mann. We've also
got Aubrey de Grey, Tsubasa, Natasha, Nick Bostrom, John Smart, James
Hughes, and hopefully Stelarc (I'm currently in discussions with him, but it
looks good).
*****
Call for Proposals
Timeline
* Submission deadline: June 1, 2004.
* Notification of acceptance: July 1, 2004.
* Preregistration deadline: July 10, 2004.
What to include
Include all of the following information in a two-page proposal for your
presentation:
* Title of presentation.
* Type of presentation (i.e. talk, performance, exhibit, video, etc.).
* Program track to which topic relates:
o Transhuman Art and Culture
o Transhuman Science and Technology
o Transhuman Ethics, Law, and Politics
o Other (see list of suggested topics below)
* Objective(s) of the presentation.
* Description of the content and format (300 words or less).
* Abstract (25 to 50 words) for inclusion in the conference program.
* Presentation space requirements, media to be used and audiovisual
equipment needed (if any).
* Designated contact person (only one per proposal).
* Complete name, title, organization, address, phone and fax numbers,
and email address for each presenter.
* Brief biographical sketch (50 to 100 words) of each presenter.
Submission
Please submit your proposals electronically to World Transhumanist
Association Secretary James Hughes, PhD, at If
necessary, you may submit your conference proposal to Dr. Hughes by mailing
it to him at this address:
Trinity College
71 Vernon St.
Hartford CT
06106
You may also fax it to Dr. Hughes at 860-297-4079.
Please send the paper the presentation is based on if it is already written.
Notification
After notification of acceptance of your paper, all presenters (at least one
per presentation) will be required to preregister for the conference.
Presenters not registered by June 1, 2004 will not be included in the
program.
For more information, contact the conference chair, George Dvorsky, at
Proposal selection criteria
Proposals will be selected based on the following criteria:
* A clear and concise description of the proposed presentation.
* Relevance to conference goals and objectives.
* Evidence of presenter experience with topic.
* Completion of all information requested.
Publication of proceedings
If your presentation is accepted, you are strongly encouraged to submit it
as an electronic text by June 1, 2004. Electronic contributions will be
considered for one of the following publication venues:
* Academic papers will be considered for publication in the Journal of
Evolution and Technology.
* Non-academic essays and talks will be considered for publication in
the online magazine Transhumanity.
* Some of the audio, graphic and film material will appear in the WTA's
online gallery of transhumanist art.
* Session abstracts and information about the presenters also will be
included on the site.
Taping of the proceedings
Conference panels and presentations will be audiotaped, and in some cases
videotaped, and made available on the Web.
Suggested topics
Transhuman Art and Culture
* Transhuman expressions: speculative fiction, film, music, performance
art, body modification and enhancement, fashion and cosmetics, computer
imaging and graphic art.
* Defining transhuman and posthuman art.
* Promoting transhuman art and culture.
* Life extension in speculative fiction.
* Transhumanist undercurrents in science fiction.
* The future of sexuality, gender and the family under the impact of
transhuman technologies.
* Minding the generation gap: cultural implications for a deeply
multi-generational society.
* Exploring alternative institutions and societies.
* Automation, income security and the future of capitalism.
* The rise of virtual communities and the digital self.
* The death of privacy: living in a transparent society.
* Event horizon: looking beyond the Singularity.
* The postmodern posthuman: Debating the limits to knowledge.
* Biosemiotics and the future of communication.
* Maintaining cultural health through memetic engineering.
Transhuman Science and Technology
* I, cyborg: Enhancement technologies in the age of the cyborg.
* To wear or not to wear: debating the use of implants and wearables.
* The rise of the cyborg citizen..
* Understanding and dealing with the anti-Borg bias.
* Our sexy posthuman future: the possibilities of cyber, virtual and
remote sex.
* Nanobot: nanomedicine and the cyborg.
* Imagining the cyborg in art and fiction.
* From disabled to superman: The effects of transhuman technologies on
the disabled.
* Neural interfaces and the diminishing distinction between flesh and
machine.
* Defining AI: changing conceptions of intelligence, consciousness and
the self.
* Combating aging: The emergence of biogerontology.
* Crossing species boundaries and the future of transgenics.
* Working to prevent a runaway artificial superintelligence.
Transhuman Ethics, Law and Politics
* The future of personhood ethics: what is a "human" and does it matter?
* Can humans and posthumans coexist?
* Ethical and policy issues in germline engineering.
* The evolving struggle for reproductive rights.
* Responding to Carl Elliot's American Medicine Meets the American
Dream.
* Rethinking the doctor-patient relationship in the age of robotics, AI
and nanomedicine.
* Managing societies and economies in the age of automation.
* The privacy risks of biometric and bioinformatic technologies.
* Regulating death: what will the cryonics industry be like in 25 years?
* Possible futures: utopian or dystopian?
_________________________________________________________________
STOP MORE SPAM with the MSN Premium and get 2 months FREE*
http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-ca&page=byoa/prem&xAPID=1994&DI=1034&SU=http://hotmail.com/enca&HL=Market_MSNIS_Taglines
Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=23602