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9/11. Sudenly a symbolic referent to a globally mediated moment of trauma in the Western world, made to ripple throughout. How has this moment, and the unfolding sequence of events since, shaped what we do as artists, theorists, scientists, and humanists? How might we mobilize out collective ability to respond -what is our "response-ability?" Others may even wonder, "should we?" What does it mean to be "researching and developing" in the current climate, as representatives of state systems, national interests, and international communities? How can we begin building bridges for dialogue within and between our own domains of expertise? 9/11-N2N is organized to provide a framework for probing some of these timely questions, with the hope of raising many others. The initial goal was to engage issues related to research and development in the context of the recently funded California Institutes for Science and Innovation and to examine the social, cultural and political implications of a broad spectrum of research agendas. In light of the recent tragic events in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania the focus has shifted. The context for research across disciplines has been profoundly affected by the events of 9/11 and the priorities and goals of researchers in the arts, humanities and sciences must address this change. Now, more than ever, we must ask how artists, humanists and scientists can collaborate productively as we encounter the long-term consequences of these events in the UC system, the state, the nation, and the international community. The conference will have no formal presentations. Instead, a forum for dialogue and debate will be established. Each of the six sessions will focus on a selected topic. Each session topic should be understood as an open framework in which to develop new perspectives. Invited participants will be asked to pose questions for discussion both before the conference begins (through an on-line forum) and in the course of each session. The conference has received various levels of support from the following organizations: the UC Digital Cultures Multicampus Research Group; the UC Santa Cruz Digital Arts/New Media Faculty Research Association; the Center for Research in Computing & the Arts (CRCA) at UCSD; Department of Design | Media Arts, the Office of Instructional Development and SINAPS at UCLA; the UC Irvine School of the Arts; and the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technologies [Cal-IT(2)].
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