About

What is Feminist IT?

Feminist IT is shorthand for ‘Feminist Infrastructures and Technocultures: Cross-Disciplinary Legacies and Futures,’ an assembly which will be held at University of California, San Diego from the evening of April 18 through the morning of April 20, 2013. This event is hosted by UCFemTechNet, a UC-wide interdisciplinary working group supported by the UC Humanities Research Institute. There is no fee to attend the assembly.

Why the Feminist IT Assembly now?

This assembly is prompted by the recognition of the need for a balance of action, tools, and environments for critical practice, networking, and collaboration across fields. Rarely have feminist practitioners and scholars of technology and media had the opportunity to come together from around the state to address common concerns and differences in method, theory, and practice. That technology is not simply an object of concern but also a far-ranging array of modes is everywhere at issue in the work of UCFemTechNet members and participants. This assembly invites attention to infrastructural design for such work and promotes experimentation for future networks and collaboration in scholarly and media-based activism across the campuses.

When and where is Feminist IT?

The event will begin on the evening of April 18, on April 19 from 8:00am-5:30pm, and the afternoon of April 20 with a graduate student event. The majority of the assembly will take place at the Cymer Conference Center at the Structural and Materials Engineering (SME) building at UC San Diego.

Who will be assembling?

Many of the confirmed guest speakers are participants in the UCFemTechNet working group’s 60+ membership. Working group members’ approaches to feminism and technology crosscut STS (science and technology studies), film and media studies, sci-art, digital humanities, informatics, and critical media practice. The UC working group is affiliated with and includes scholars from FemTechNet, a broader network devoted to scholarship and projects around feminism and technology.

Who can attend?

Anyone interested is invited to attend! We require that all attendees fill out a registration form prior to Friday, April 12, 2013 to confirm participation. Graduate students should indicate interest in the graduate student event on Saturday, April 20 as soon as possible. Get details on directions, where to stay, and the assembly program to plan your trip to UC San Diego.

Will this event be screened, live-streamed or broadcast?

We’ll be livestreaming the events of Friday and Saturday, check back for details!

How to get involved?

Anyone can join the UCFemTechNet listserv.  We welcome you to contact us with further questions and comments.

Who is helping make this event possible?  

UCFemTechNet is grateful for the support of the University of California Humanities Research Institute, the University of California, Santa Barbara Center for Information Technology and Society, and at UCSD the Visual Arts Department, which is hosting the event in their departmental space at SME, the Science Studies program,the Department of Communication, the Critical Gender Studies program, Sixth College, the LGBT Resource Center, and the Women’s Center.

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