I am very sorry for the short notice, but one of the duties of new members
of the CITASA Section Council is to propose two thematic sessions for the
ASA meetings that take place a year from August (i.e., August 2012), and I
just discovered the proposals are due today!  A. Aneesh, the other new
Section Council member, bears no responsibility for this short notice--he
tried to jump start this process over a month ago and I convinced him that
my misunderstanding of the calendar was accurate.  So that being said,
assuming I do not hear to the contrary from Aneesh, my intention is to
check my email at the end of the day to see what responses I have received
in response to this posting and to do the best I can in pulling together
proposals in time to submit them this evening.  It is possible Aneesh will
follow up with another email offering other suggestions. I thought it best
to get this message out quickly without hearing from him in case he was
not available today.

So that being said, I suggest that we do one proposal on gaming worlds and
one on virtual communities.  Below I have cut and pasted the theme and the
information we need to provide.  I will need help with recommendations for
organizers (including contact information) and participants and would
welcome suggestions for verbiage to include in the description and
rationale.  If Aneesh or someone has an idea for a different topic and is
willing to develop a proposal today, please let me know.  Otherwise I will
forge ahead as best I can and develop these two proposals.  I do know from
previous experience that if the Program Committee likes a proposal, they
work with the organizer to refine it, so the important thing is to submit
something, no matter how preliminary.

Thanks!

The theme is as follows:

MEETING THEME: ?Real Utopias? seems like an oxymoron: Utopia means
?nowhere??a fantasy world of perfect harmony and social justice. To
describe a proposal for social transformation as ?utopian? is to dismiss
it as an impractical dream outside the limits of possibility. Realists
reject such fantasies as a distraction from the serious business of making
practical improvements in existing institutions. The idea of real utopias
embraces this tension between dreams and practice: ?utopia? implies
developing clear-headed visions of alternatives to existing institutions
that embody our deepest aspirations for a world in which all people have
access to the conditions to live flourishing lives; ?real? means taking
seriously the problem of the viability of the institutions that could move
us in the direction of that world. The goal is to elaborate utopian ideals
that are grounded in the real potentials of humanity, utopian destinations
that have accessible way stations, utopian designs of viable institutions
that can inform our practical tasks of navigating a world of imperfect
conditions for social change.

Proposals for Thematic Sessions, Special Sessions, and Regional Spotlight
Sessions should provide:

Type of Session: Thematic

Working Title for the Session:  Virtual Utopias and/or Gaming in Utopia?

Brief description of the substantive focus;

Rationale for inclusion of the topic on the 2012 program;

Recommendation(s) for session organizer, including address, telephone, and
e-mail information

A list of potential participants.

Rebecca G. Adams
Associate Provost for Planning & Assessment
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
P.O. Box 26170
Greensboro, NC  27402-6170

Email:  Rebecca_Adams@uncg.edu
Voice:  336-334-3578
FAX:    336-334-4342

Professor  Adams;

I like the context of an "achievable utopia" theme.  There is much that
can be accomplished to develop and operationalize  tangible communities
through creative practices, critical thinking,  problem solving and risk
taking by applying a holistic or systemic approach that does not allow
for co-opting of the overall vision or sub-optimization by elements at
the expense of the whole.

I wish you good luck.

Regards, David

From: citasa-bounces@list.citasa.org
[mailto:citasa-bounces@list.citasa.org] On Behalf Of Rebecca Adams
R_ADAMS
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 8:44 AM
To: citasa@list.citasa.org
Subject: [CITASA] Need Suggestions TODAY!: Deadline for Submission of
Proposals for 2012 Thematic Sessions on Utopian Communities is TODAY
(Virtual Utopias? Gaming in Utopia?)
Importance: High

I am very sorry for the short notice, but one of the duties of new
members of the CITASA Section Council is to propose two thematic
sessions for the ASA meetings that take place a year from August (i.e.,
August 2012), and I just discovered the proposals are due today!  A.
Aneesh, the other new Section Council member, bears no responsibility
for this short notice--he tried to jump start this process over a month
ago and I convinced him that my misunderstanding of the calendar was
accurate.  So that being said, assuming I do not hear to the contrary
from Aneesh, my intention is to check my email at the end of the day to
see what responses I have received in response to this posting and to do
the best I can in pulling together proposals in time to submit them this
evening.  It is possible Aneesh will follow up with another email
offering other suggestions. I thought it best to get this message out
quickly without hearing from him in case he was not available today.

So that being said, I suggest that we do one proposal on gaming worlds
and one on virtual communities.  Below I have cut and pasted the theme
and the information we need to provide.  I will need help with
recommendations for organizers (including contact information) and
participants and would welcome suggestions for verbiage to include in
the description and rationale.  If Aneesh or someone has an idea for a
different topic and is willing to develop a proposal today, please let
me know.  Otherwise I will forge ahead as best I can and develop these
two proposals.  I do know from previous experience that if the Program
Committee likes a proposal, they work with the organizer to refine it,
so the important thing is to submit something, no matter how
preliminary.

Thanks!

The theme is as follows:

MEETING THEME: "Real Utopias" seems like an oxymoron: Utopia means
"nowhere"-a fantasy world of perfect harmony and social justice. To
describe a proposal for social transformation as "utopian" is to dismiss
it as an impractical dream outside the limits of possibility. Realists
reject such fantasies as a distraction from the serious business of
making practical improvements in existing institutions. The idea of real
utopias embraces this tension between dreams and practice: "utopia"
implies developing clear-headed visions of alternatives to existing
institutions that embody our deepest aspirations for a world in which
all people have access to the conditions to live flourishing lives;
"real" means taking seriously the problem of the viability of the
institutions that could move us in the direction of that world. The goal
is to elaborate utopian ideals that are grounded in the real potentials
of humanity, utopian destinations that have accessible way stations,
utopian designs of viable institutions that can inform our practical
tasks of navigating a world of imperfect conditions for social change.

Proposals for Thematic Sessions, Special Sessions, and Regional
Spotlight Sessions should provide:

Type of Session: Thematic

Working Title for the Session:  Virtual Utopias and/or Gaming in Utopia?

Brief description of the substantive focus;

Rationale for inclusion of the topic on the 2012 program;

Recommendation(s) for session organizer, including address, telephone,
and e-mail information

A list of potential participants.

Rebecca G. Adams
Associate Provost for Planning & Assessment
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
P.O. Box 26170
Greensboro, NC  27402-6170

Email:  Rebecca_Adams@uncg.edu
Voice:  336-334-3578
FAX:    336-334-4342

I agree with both Noelle and Ron. I think this would be a great fit with the theme and with moving our discipline forward.

Shelia Cotten

From: citasa-bounces@list.citasa.org [mailto:citasa-bounces@list.citasa.org] On Behalf Of Ron Anderson
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 11:02 AM
To: citasa@list.citasa.org
Subject: [CITASA] Proposals for 2012 Thematic Sessions on Utopian Communities

I very much support Noelle's suggestion for shifting the focus of proposed, thematic sessions.
It seems to me about time to evaluate "the web as good societies?" Sociological thinking about utopias should be applied to the reality and the potential of the web and specific types of web sites. Such analysis or evaluation should encompass topics such as social solidarity, close ties, caring and uncaring actions, cyber-bullying, discrimination, digital gaps, social control, and any other element of ideal societies. An alternate title might be "Contributions of the Web to Ideal Societies."
Ron Anderson

At 09:06 AM 11/12/2010, Noelle Chesley wrote:

Dear Rebecca -

I think gaming worlds is too narrow a topic for one of our thematic sessions. I would propose something more inclusive, along the lines of "Technology-Based Utopias?" This could include gaming, but could also include the use of technology in specific social domains (e.g. family life, social movements, employment).  The question mark allows for utopian visions, but also for critique of the prospect of technology in the creation of utopia.

Like Aneesh, I am involved in activities with a job candidate today, but can try to help more with the development of this session.

Best,
Noelle Chesley

On 11/12/2010 8:06 AM, david.louden@l-3com.commailto:david.louden@l-3com.com wrote:

Professor  Adams;

I like the context of an "achievable utopia" theme.  There is much that can be accomplished to develop and operationalize  tangible communities through creative practices, critical thinking,  problem solving and risk taking by applying a holistic or systemic approach that does not allow for co-opting of the overall vision or sub-optimization by elements at the expense of the whole.

I wish you good luck.

Regards, David

From: citasa-bounces@list.citasa.orgmailto:citasa-bounces@list.citasa.org [ mailto:citasa-bounces@list.citasa.org] On Behalf Of Rebecca Adams R_ADAMS
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 8:44 AM
To: citasa@list.citasa.orgmailto:citasa@list.citasa.org
Subject: [CITASA] Need Suggestions TODAY!: Deadline for Submission of Proposals for 2012 Thematic Sessions on Utopian Communities is TODAY (Virtual Utopias? Gaming in Utopia?)
Importance: High

I am very sorry for the short notice, but one of the duties of new members of the CITASA Section Council is to propose two thematic sessions for the ASA meetings that take place a year from August (i.e., August 2012), and I just discovered the proposals are due today!  A. Aneesh, the other new Section Council member, bears no responsibility for this short notice--he tried to jump start this process over a month ago and I convinced him that my misunderstanding of the calendar was accurate.  So that being said, assuming I do not hear to the contrary from Aneesh, my intention is to check my email at the end of the day to see what responses I have received in response to this posting and to do the best I can in pulling together proposals in time to submit them this evening.  It is possible Aneesh will follow up with another email offering other suggestions. I thought it best to get this message out quickly without hearing from him in case he was not available today.

So that being said, I suggest that we do one proposal on gaming worlds and one on virtual communities.  Below I have cut and pasted the theme and the information we need to provide. I will need help with recommendations for organizers (including contact information) and participants and would welcome suggestions for verbiage to include in the description and rationale.  If Aneesh or someone has an idea for a different topic and is willing to develop a proposal today, please let me know.  Otherwise I will forge ahead as best I can and develop these two proposals.  I do know from previous experience that if the Program Committee likes a proposal, they work with the organizer to refine it, so the important thing is to submit something, no matter how preliminary.

Thanks!

The theme is as follows:

MEETING THEME: "Real Utopias" seems like an oxymoron: Utopia means "nowhere"a fantasy world of perfect harmony and social justice. To describe a proposal for social transformation as "utopian" is to dismiss it as an impractical dream outside the limits of possibility. Realists reject such fantasies as a distraction from the serious business of making practical improvements in existing institutions. The idea of real utopias embraces this tension between dreams and practice: "utopia" implies developing clear-headed visions of alternatives to existing institutions that embody our deepest aspirations for a world in which all people have access to the conditions to live flourishing lives; "real" means taking seriously the problem of the viability of the institutions that could move us in the direction of that world. The goal is to elaborate utopian ideals that are grounded in the real potentials of humanity, utopian destinations that have accessible way stations, utopian designs of viable institutions that can inform our practical tasks of navigating a world of imperfect conditions for social change.

Proposals for Thematic Sessions, Special Sessions, and Regional Spotlight Sessions should provide:

Type of Session: Thematic

Working Title for the Session:  Virtual Utopias and/or Gaming in Utopia?

Brief description of the substantive focus;

Rationale for inclusion of the topic on the 2012 program;

Recommendation(s) for session organizer, including address, telephone, and e-mail information

A list of potential participants.

Rebecca G. Adams
Associate Provost for Planning & Assessment
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
P.O. Box 26170
Greensboro, NC  27402-6170

Email:  Rebecca_Adams@uncg.edumailto:Rebecca_Adams@uncg.edu
Voice:  336-334-3578
FAX:    336-334-4342

CITASA mailing list

CITASA@list.citasa.orgmailto:CITASA@list.citasa.org

http://list.citasa.org/mailman/listinfo/citasa_list.citasa.org

http://list.citasa.org/mailman/listinfo/citasa_list.citasa.org

--

Noelle Chesley,

Assistant Professor

Department of Sociology

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Bolton Hall

Milwaukee, WI  53201

414.229.2398

Fax: 414.229.4266

chesley@uwm.edumailto:chesley@uwm.edu

CITASA mailing list
CITASA@list.citasa.org
http://list.citasa.org/mailman/listinfo/citasa_list.citasa.org

Ron Anderson, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota, 952-473-5910
Websites: http://umn.edu/home/rea  and  http://www.CompassionateSocieties.orghttp://www.compassionatesocieties.org/

Keep working. Two is the goal, but there is no limit to what we can
submit.

Rebecca G. Adams
Associate Provost for Planning & Assessment
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
P.O. Box 26170
Greensboro, NC  27402-6170

Email:  Rebecca_Adams@uncg.edu
Voice:  336-334-3578
FAX:    336-334-4342

Andrea Tapia atapia@ist.psu.edu
Sent by: citasa-bounces@list.citasa.org
11/12/2010 02:32 PM

To
chesley@uwm.edu, citasa@list.citasa.org
cc

Subject
Re: [CITASA] Proposals for 2012 Thematic Sessions on UtopianCommunities

Hello CITASA folks.
Are we only allowed to submit one thematic session proposal from CITASA?
I have been working on one following the ?Virtual Utopias? idea from
earlier and wondering if this was still viable or if I should just go back
to grading my students papers (grin).

Andrea H. Tapia, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Technology
Affiliate Associate Professor of (1) Labor and Industrial Relations, (2)
Sociology and (3) Science and Technology Studies
Penn State University

Check out my pages!
http://andreatapia.net
http://cohort.ist.psu.edu
http://evosta.ist.psu.edu
http://emerse.ist.psu.edu
http://ist.psu.edu

On 11/12/10 3:27 PM, "Noelle Chesley" chesley@uwm.edu wrote:

Hello all :

I had about twenty minutes between meetings to throw this together. Ron,
I stole some of your words from your previous email--hope you don't mind
and good to (virtually) meet you. Note that I included Sheila, Ron, and
Cassidy as potential participants in the session (simply based on their
list serve comments). Note also that I tried to keep our conception of
technology broad--Ron, you mentioned the web, but I don't want to exclude
mobile communications here, either, so I have substituted the ubiquitous
ICT terminology in the description. Here is my quick shot at this:

Working Title:  Technologically-Facilitated Utopias?

Brief description of the substantive focus:

Sociological thinking about utopias should be applied to the reality and
the potential of contemporary applications of technology. Sociologists
disagree both about the ways in which information and communication
technologies are being shaped by, and shaping, social life and its
institutions, as well as whether those changes we agree upon reflect a
utopian or disutopian social vision. Analyses for this session can be
broadly construed and may encompass topics such as social solidarity,
close ties, caring and uncaring actions, divisions in paid and unpaid
labor, time use, cyber-bullying, discrimination, digital gaps, social
control, and any other element of ideal societies.  In addition, these
broad social processes can be critically examined across a variety of
social contexts. Projects might consider, for example, how technology
facilitates or discourages close ties across generations,
races/ethnicities, or gender or how technological applications can
reinforce or dismantle broad processes, like social stratification, that
influence our ability to build utopian societies.

Session Organizer:

Noelle Chesley,

Assistant Professor

Department of Sociology

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Bolton Hall

Milwaukee, WI  53201

414.229.2398

Fax: 414.229.4266

chesley@uwm.edu mailto:chesley@uwm.edu

Potential Participants: Noelle Chesley (University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee); Shelia Cotton (University of Alabama at Birmingham);
Ron Anderson (University?); Cassidy Puckett (Northwestern); Gustavo Mensch
(??? I have not asked him--Gustavo you want your name on here?);

On 11/12/2010 11:08 AM, Shelia Cotten wrote:

I agree with both Noelle and Ron. I think this would be a great fit with
the theme and with moving our discipline forward.

Shelia Cotten

From: citasa-bounces@list.citasa.org [
mailto:citasa-bounces@list.citasa.org] On Behalf Of Ron Anderson
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 11:02 AM
To: citasa@list.citasa.org
Subject: [CITASA] Proposals for 2012 Thematic Sessions on Utopian
Communities

I very much support Noelle's suggestion for shifting the focus of
proposed, thematic sessions.
It seems to me about time to evaluate "the web as good societies?"
Sociological thinking about utopias should be applied to the reality and
the potential of the web and specific types of web sites. Such analysis or
evaluation should encompass topics such as social solidarity, close ties,
caring and uncaring actions, cyber-bullying, discrimination, digital gaps,
social control, and any other element of ideal societies. An alternate
title might be "Contributions of the Web to Ideal Societies."
Ron Anderson

At 09:06 AM 11/12/2010, Noelle Chesley wrote:

Dear Rebecca -

I think gaming worlds is too narrow a topic for one of our thematic
sessions. I would propose something more inclusive, along the lines of
"Technology-Based Utopias?" This could include gaming, but could also
include the use of technology in specific social domains (e.g. family
life, social movements, employment).  The question mark allows for utopian
visions, but also for critique of the prospect of technology in the
creation of utopia.

Like Aneesh, I am involved in activities with a job candidate today, but
can try to help more with the development of this session.

Best,
Noelle Chesley

On 11/12/2010 8:06 AM, david.louden@l-3com.com wrote:

Professor  Adams;

I like the context of an ?achievable utopia? theme.  There is much that
can be accomplished to develop and operationalize  tangible communities
through creative practices, critical thinking,  problem solving and risk
taking by applying a holistic or systemic approach that does not allow for
co-opting of the overall vision or sub-optimization by elements at the
expense of the whole.

I wish you good luck.

Regards, David

From: citasa-bounces@list.citasa.org [
mailto:citasa-bounces@list.citasa.org <
mailto:citasa-bounces@list.citasa.org> ] On Behalf Of Rebecca Adams
R_ADAMS
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 8:44 AM
To: citasa@list.citasa.org
Subject: [CITASA] Need Suggestions TODAY!: Deadline for Submission of
Proposals for 2012 Thematic Sessions on Utopian Communities is TODAY
(Virtual Utopias? Gaming in Utopia?)
Importance: High

I am very sorry for the short notice, but one of the duties of new
members of the CITASA Section Council is to propose two thematic sessions
for the ASA meetings that take place a year from August (i.e., August
2012), and I just discovered the proposals are due today!  A. Aneesh, the
other new Section Council member, bears no responsibility for this short
notice--he tried to jump start this process over a month ago and I
convinced him that my misunderstanding of the calendar was accurate.  So
that being said, assuming I do not hear to the contrary from Aneesh, my
intention is to check my email at the end of the day to see what responses
I have received in response to this posting and to do the best I can in
pulling together proposals in time to submit them this evening.  It is
possible Aneesh will follow up with another email offering other
suggestions. I thought it best to get this message out quickly without
hearing from him in case he was not available today.

So that being said, I suggest that we do one proposal on gaming worlds
and one on virtual communities.  Below I have cut and pasted the theme and
the information we need to provide. I will need help with recommendations
for organizers (including contact information) and participants and would
welcome suggestions for verbiage to include in the description and
rationale.  If Aneesh or someone has an idea for a different topic and is
willing to develop a proposal today, please let me know.  Otherwise I will
forge ahead as best I can and develop these two proposals.  I do know from
previous experience that if the Program Committee likes a proposal, they
work with the organizer to refine it, so the important thing is to submit
something, no matter how preliminary.

Thanks!

The theme is as follows:

MEETING THEME: ?Real Utopias? seems like an oxymoron: Utopia means
?nowhere?­a fantasy world of perfect harmony and social justice. To
describe a proposal for social transformation as ?utopian? is to dismiss
it as an impractical dream outside the limits of possibility. Realists
reject such fantasies as a distraction from the serious business of making
practical improvements in existing institutions. The idea of real utopias
embraces this tension between dreams and practice: ?utopia? implies
developing clear-headed visions of alternatives to existing institutions
that embody our deepest aspirations for a world in which all people have
access to the conditions to live flourishing lives; ?real? means taking
seriously the problem of the viability of the institutions that could move
us in the direction of that world. The goal is to elaborate utopian ideals
that are grounded in the real potentials of humanity, utopian destinations
that have accessible way stations, utopian designs of viable institutions
that can inform our practical tasks of navigating a world of imperfect
conditions for social change.

Proposals for Thematic Sessions, Special Sessions, and Regional Spotlight
Sessions should provide:

Type of Session: Thematic

Working Title for the Session:  Virtual Utopias and/or Gaming in Utopia?

Brief description of the substantive focus;

Rationale for inclusion of the topic on the 2012 program;

Recommendation(s) for session organizer, including address, telephone,
and e-mail information

A list of potential participants.

Rebecca G. Adams
Associate Provost for Planning & Assessment
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
P.O. Box 26170
Greensboro, NC  27402-6170

Email:  Rebecca_Adams@uncg.edu
Voice:  336-334-3578
FAX:    336-334-4342

CITASA mailing list

CITASA@list.citasa.org

http://list.citasa.org/mailman/listinfo/citasa_list.citasa.org

http://list.citasa.org/mailman/listinfo/citasa_list.citasa.org

--

Noelle Chesley,

Assistant Professor

Department of Sociology

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Bolton Hall

Milwaukee, WI  53201

414.229.2398

Fax: 414.229.4266

chesley@uwm.edu

CITASA mailing list
CITASA@list.citasa.org
http://list.citasa.org/mailman/listinfo/citasa_list.citasa.org

Ron Anderson, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota, 952-473-5910
Websites: http://umn.edu/home/rea  and
http://www.CompassionateSocieties.org <
http://www.compassionatesocieties.org/>

CITASA mailing list
CITASA@list.citasa.org
http://list.citasa.org/mailman/listinfo/citasa_list.citasa.org

CITASA mailing list
CITASA@list.citasa.org
http://list.citasa.org/mailman/listinfo/citasa_list.citasa.org