[URBANTH-L] Call for Panelists, "Technology, Urbanism, and Social Life (Taipei)

Angela Jancius jancius3022 at comcast.net
Thu Jan 15 15:11:43 EST 2009


From: Anru Lee <alee at jjay.cuny.edu>

Dear Colleagues,

We are looking for panelists for the Conference of the Society for East
Asian Anthropology (SEAA) to be held in Taipei, 2-5 July 2009.  The topic of
our panel is "Technology, Urbanism, and Social Life."  Please see below for 
our tentative panel abstract.  Anyone interested please contact:

Anru Lee (CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice) at <alee at jjay.cuny.edu>
and Janet Ng (CUNY College of Staten Island) at <Dudleyng at rcn.com>

Panel Title: "Technology, Urbanism, and Social Life"

In their pursuit of globalization and urbanization from the late 20th 
Century to the early 21st Century, many cities in East Asia have dedicated 
tremendous public resources in developing and upgrading their mass 
transportation and communication systems. Successful entry to the status 
of a world-class city depends on the availability of highly efficient transit 
and communications infrastructures. For the citizens, access to high 
mobility in turn signifies class and cultural privilege. High speed 
technology thus becomes a definer of urban identity and a measure of 
a polity of cultural sophistication. The efficiency of mass transit and 
logistics and communication systems, and more importantly, the 
activities and deportment of the citizens in, and the relationships 
structured through, the deployment of such technology have all 
become necessary indicators of urbanization.  In this panel, we 
propose to explore the intersection between technology and the 
experiences of urban life. We will examine how technology affects 
the social life of the people and how it captures and inspires particular 
social discourse and imaginations.


Best,
Anru Lee

Anru Lee, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Anthropology
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
CUNY
899 10th Avenue
New York, NY 10019
(TEL) (212) 237-8571

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