Tematem wiodącym 42. dorocznej konferencji Międzynarodowego Komitetu Historii Techniki ICOHTEC to “History of High-Technologies and Their Socio-Cultural Contexts.” Konferencję, współorganizowaną z sekcją historyczną amerykańskiego Instytutu Inżynierów Elektryków i Elektroników (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – IEEE) będzie gościć Uniwersytet w Tel Avivie w dniach 16-21 sierpnia 2015 roku. Termin przesyłania zgłoszeń upływa 2 lutego. Konferencja w języku angielskim.

Dalsze informacje poniżej lub na stronie internetowej. Chętnie służę praktycznymi radami (np. co daje udział w takiej konferencji, jak przygotować zgłoszenie, jak ubiegać się o travel grant).
dr hab. Sławomir Łotysz, prof. PAN, Sekretarz Generalny ICOHTEC

The 42nd ICOHTEC Symposium will be held together with IEEE HISTELCON in Tel Aviv from 16 to 21 August 2015. The main theme of the meeting will be the History of High-Technologies and their Socio-Cultural Contexts. The aim is to analyse the social, cultural, political, economic, scientific as well as military impact of high-technologies, ranging from recent and contemporary developments in computer technology through to innovations that were state-of-the-art in their own time, such as the telegraph, radar, and the jet engine. The conference will explore this complex process from national as well as international perspectives. It will trace both developers and users of high-technologies and their appropriation strategies. It addresses scholars from various backgrounds such as historians, sociologists, practicing engineers, and scientists.

The symposium covers all periods and areas of the globe. We invite submissions of new, original and unpublished work that offers fresh perspectives for the history of technology as well as exploring sources and methods.

The programme committee suggests the following non-exhaustive subthemes for the consideration of session organisers and contributors of individual papers, and posters:

1. High Technology as a Time- and Place-Bound Concept

2. Relationships between High-Technologies, Science, Economics, Consumption, Politics, and Environment

3. Cross-Country Transfer of High Technology

4. From “Start-Up” Companies to Big Business? The History of Telecommunication, Information Technology, and Biotechnology

5. Inner Momentum of Technological and Scientific Developments vs. the Impact of Social and Cultural Forces

6. Age, Gender, and Ethnicity: their Historical Roles in Developing and Using High-Technologies

7. Contributions of Users and their Relationship to Developers of High-Technologies

8. Cultural and Social Effects of High-Technologies and the Development of High-Tech Communities

9. Resistance to the Development and Use of High-Technologies: Ethical, Cultural, Economic and Social Aspects

10. “Failure” and “Success” of Particular Technologies and Companies

11. The Impact of Political, Scientific, Economic, and Technological Framework Conditions on High-Technologies

12. Influence of High-Tech on Arts such as Music and Video

13. The Role of High-Tech Products and their Social and Cultural Impact in East-West-Relations during the Cold War and in the Post-Cold War Era

14. High-Tech and Utopia such as “the Atomic Age”, “the Electrical Age”, and “the Steam Age”

15. High-Tech in Science Fiction

ICOHTEC welcomes proposals for individual papers and posters, but preference will be given to organised sessions of three or more papers. The Programme Committee will also consider submissions not directly related to the symposium theme providing that they relate to the history of technology broadly defined.

All proposals should be submitted electronically by 2 February 2015 via our website http://icohtec-histelcon.tau.ac.il/

In addition to the scientific programme, the symposium will include plenary sessions, business meetings, special sessions for the prize winning book and article, the general assembly of ICOHTEC as well as social events such as excursions, receptions, and a banquet. The campus of Tel Aviv University and the surrounding areas, with their intensive high-tech activities, offer an excellent venue for this meeting.

ICOHTEC will co-organize the Tel Aviv Conference with a branch of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and, please, notice that the IEEE HISTELCON announces its own call for papers. The two organizations will assess and accept paper proposals independently. Those we wish to apply to the IEEE HISTELCON should abide to its instructions, which will be posted in due course. Authors interested in presenting their work at the meeting should choose one of the organizations; applications to both are not allowed. The programme committees may suggest that authors present their talks in sessions of the other organization.

For suggestions about preparing your submission and the conference presentation, please consult the guidelines on www.icohtec.org/proposal-guidelines.html

If you have any questions related to the scientific programme, paper, poster or session proposals, please, do not hesitate to contact Christopher Neumaier, the chair of the programme committee, at neumaier@zzf-pdm.de

Those wishing for more information about the HISTELCON program should contact Michael Geselowitz at m.geselowitz@ieee.org