CfP: Technology and Language
Technology and Language/ is a new peer-reviewed, open-access,
professionally produced online journal. It invites interdisciplinary explorations at the interface of technology and language. The launch issue will appear in December 2020 with programmatic contributions from philosophy of technology, linguistics, engineering, cultural and museum studies, history of technology, art history, literature and theatre studies: <https://soctech.spbstu.ru>
This is a call for papers for the special themes of the 2021-issues. Contributed papers in English or Russian on any topic within the scope of the journal are also welcome.
In the Beginning was the Word - The Word as a Technical Artefact
(Deadline: January 10th, 2021):
The word is a technical object in a variety of ways, most famously perhaps as the „redeeming word“ known from fairy-tales, transformative spells, and magical thinking. Its current incarnation is the password or encryption key which opens doors to secret places and new worlds. Another prominent field of inquiry is naming as a technological activity especially where this involves formal ontologies, but also in the design process and the creation of new machine/user interfaces. And to be sure, it is said that in the beginning was the word as an original act of creation, and it is the final word that seals a deal from the position of power. The second issue of T&L invites sustained analyses and playful explorations of these and other aspects of the theme. (Editors: Daria Bylieva and Alfred Nordmann)
Forensic Examinations - Terms and Techniques (Deadline: March 21st, 2021):
The topic of the special issue is forensic science which, historically, is deeply associated with linguistic technologies. Forensics involves the reading and interpretation of traces, and many early success-stories
of forensic expertise concern the identification of forgeries. In today‘s forensic science, procedures and protocols establish the terms of technical practice. Accordingly, innovations in forensic science can
be linguistic innovations, calling for the observation and analysis of trends in the development of the language and practice of forensic science. (Guest editors: Dmitriy Mokhorov and Anna Mokhorova)
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//Technology and the Media Environment of the Information Society (Deadline: June 21st, 2021):/
Social networks and communication systems, new modes of reading and writing, the hybridization of symbolic codes stand for the disruptive effects of digital and cyber-technologies on practices of communication and expression not only in the internet but also in traditional media. We invite contributions to interdisciplinary investigations of human and social prospects, the past and future of language, in this technological condition. Possible topics include 1) nudging, disinformation, and
technologies for the manipulation of behavior and consciousness in digital environments, 2) the digital language of intelligent environments, 3) information technologies in social engine eering environments and technocracies, 4) cognitive technology and sociolinguistic practice. (Guest editor: Olga Shipunova)
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//Technology as Language - Understanding Action in a Technical Condition (Deadline: September 21st, 2021):/
The philosophy of technology and language meets theories of action. Actions are understood in reference to reasons and causes which are formed in a social setting. The hermeneutics of action takes on a further dimension, however, when technical agency and technological activity are brought into play. Of particular interest are the symbols and tools of labor as knowledge is translated into action. Another focus is on technology and semiosis or the technical generation of the signs and sign systems that structure and constrain action – especially interesting and problematic in the age of self-learning technical systems. (Guest editor: Alexander Nesterow)
Queries, suggestions, and submissions can be addressed at any time to <soctech@spbstu.ru> or to Daria Bylieva and Alfred Nordmann.