CFP: “Networks: The Creation and Circulation of Knowledge from Franklin to Facebook” - June 6-7, 2019
The American Philosophical Society Library invites scholars in all fields to submit paper proposals for an interdisciplinary symposium that will explore the ways that social, scientific, and intellectual networks have influenced the pursuit of “useful knowledge” from the eighteenth century until the twenty-first century. The symposium is inspired by the American Philosophical Society’s recent digitization of Benjamin Franklin’s postal records and by its involvement in “The Cybernetics Thought Collective: A History of Science and Technology Portal Project.”
The program committee is currently accepting proposals for the symposium. Potential topics include (but are not limited to):
- The role of networks in producing and disseminating knowledge
- The structure of networks over time
- Studies of the institutions and individuals who have promoted, established, and sustained networks
- The different kinds of knowledge and exchanges facilitated by social, scientific, and intellectual networks
- The impact of different technologies (maps, communication infrastructures, etc.) in creating and maintaining networks
- The ways in which social, political, and technological changes affected the construction and use of networks over time
- The influence that ideas about networks as systems had on the development of new scientific concepts and practices, especially in the past century
- The use of digital tools for enabling the formation of networks today and for recreating and visualizing networks of the past
Applicants should submit a title and a 250-word proposal along with a C.V. by November 16, 2018 via Interfolio: http://apply.interfolio.com/55529. Decisions will be made by January 2019. All presenters will receive travel subsidies and hotel accommodations. Accepted papers will be due a month before the conference and pre-circulated to registered attendees. Papers should be no longer than 15-double spaced pages. Presenters may also have the opportunity to publish revised papers in the APS’s Proceedings, one of the longest running scholarly journals in America.
For more information, visit https://www.amphilsoc.org/, or contact Adrianna Link, Head of Scholarly Programs, at [email protected].