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<p class="MsoNormal">Final Call for Submissions<br>
<br>
LESS REMOTE: The Futures of Space Exploration<br>
An Arts & Humanities Symposium at the International<br>
Astronautical Congress, Glasgow 2008<br>
<br>
30 September - 1 October 2008<br>
2008 International Astronautical Congress, SEC, Glasgow, Scotland<br>
<br>
Abstract Submission Deadline: 11 March 2008<br>
(approx. 300 words and short bio)<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.lessremote.org">http://www.lessremote.org</a><br>
<br>
This symposium will offer a forum in which specialists from many
disciplines
are invited to consider the future of space exploration in the context
of our
current understanding of social, economic and technological
imperatives. The
symposium runs in parallel with the International Astronautical
Congress 2008,
one of the largest space exploration meetings in the world, taking
place this
year in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:City>.
Entrance to the symposium (free to presenters of selected papers) also
includes
entrance to keynote lectures of the IAC and to its exhibition (for more
information on the 2008 IAC, please visit <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.iac2008.ac.uk">http://www.iac2008.ac.uk</a>).<br>
<br>
One of the aims of this symposium is to foster a dialogue and exchange
between
the cultural and space communities. Practitioners, scholars and
postgraduates
in any relevant discipline – including the arts, cultural studies,
history,
philosophy, anthropology, religion, law, sociology, communications as
well as
science and engineering -- are invited to submit abstracts that explore
the
following strands:<br>
<br>
Cultures and Space<br>
<br>
This strand will address the interrelationship between intercultural,
as well
as interdisciplinary, ideas of the cosmos and the nature of space
exploration.
It invites contributions that highlight the multiplicity of
cosmologies,
worldviews and utopias surrounding the idea and practice of (human)
space
travel today and in history. Speakers in this strand are invited to
present
their visions for a culturally distributed discussion of the diversity
and
range of opportunities for the future of space exploration.<br>
<br>
The Introspective Urge<br>
<br>
This strand will focus on humanity's self-image as a determining
constituent in
the cultural and social constructions of space science. It will explore
the
relationship between the changing sense of self that has driven the
arts and
the sciences for the past four centuries, relative to the engagement
with space
exploration. It will consider the impact of changes to human self image
- for
example as a consequence of ubiquitous global communications, the
collapse of
disciplinary boundaries, surveillance, robotics and remote sensing, etc
-- on
the future of space science.<br>
<br>
Leaving a Trace<br>
<br>
Human space exploration has already left archaeological traces of our
curiosity
in the local solar system. Residues of radio noise and scientific
fallout: are
these to be regarded as statements of ownership, technological
necessity or
plain irresponsibility? At the same time, artistic objects, sounds,
light
compositions -- as imprints of humanity's creative activity - expand
the orbits
of outreach and communication. How we regard these traces will impact
on the
future of space exploration. In this strand, we invite ethical and
technical
debates in relation to technology and the arts, as well as speculative
conclusions on the impact of our views on the possible future of space
science.<br>
<br>
Living in Space<br>
<br>
In this strand we invite considerations of the continuity between the
needs of
humans on earth and the possible demands of future 'spacefarers' in
remote and
often hostile environments. We will debate the impact of the
technological necessities
for the colonisation of space on the human spacefarer as cultural and
social
being. This strand will open key questions by examining, in
particular,
the relationship between the effect of the arts and the nature of the
technological and human needs of space exploration both as a scientific
project
and a popular concern.<br>
<br>
Organised by Flis Holland and The Arts Catalyst, in association with
Leonardo
and OLATS. Co-sponsored by IAA Commission VI.<br>
<br>
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES<br>
<br>
An abstract (300 words max) and a short bio (200 words max) must be
submitted
by 11 March 2008, via email to <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:abstracts@lessremote.org">abstracts@lessremote.org</a><br>
<br>
A poster session will also take place during the symposium. Please
indicate on
your application if a poster presentation is acceptable.<br>
<br>
Submissions accepted and presented at the conference will be published
in the
IAC conference proceedings.<br>
<br>
Conference website: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.lessremote.org">http://www.lessremote.org</a></p>
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