8th Annual International Gatherings in Biosemiotics

This is the Call for Papers for the Eighth Annual International Gatherings in Biosemiotics, to be held on June 23-28, 2008 at the University of the Aegean (Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering) on the island of Syros in Greece.

Biosemiotics is an interdisciplinary research agenda investigating the myriad forms of communication and signification found in and between living systems. It is thus the study of representation, meaning, sense, and the biological significance of codes and sign processes, from genetic code sequences to intercellular signaling processes to animal display behavior to human semiotic artifacts.

Such sign processes appear ubiquitously in the literature on biological systems. Up until very recently, however, it had been implicitly assumed that the use of such terms as “message” “signal” “code” and “sign” was ultimately metaphoric, and that such terms could someday effectively be reduced to the mere chemical and physical interactions underlying such processes. As the prospects for such a reduction become increasingly untenable, even in theory, the interdisciplinary research project of biosemiotics is attempting to re- open the dialogue across the life sciences (including the humanities) regarding what, exactly, such a things as “meaning” or “significance” might refer to in the context of living, complex adaptive systems.

The Scientific Advisory Committee of the Eighth Annual Gatherings in Biosemiotics welcomes paper proposals from researchers in any academic discipline who are investigating the real-world use of sign processes among or within living organisms.

Architecture and Authorship Symposium

7-8 February 2008 KTH Stockholm

The symposium Architecture and Authorship, to be held in Stockholm on Feb 7-8th in 2008, is a follow-up event to the book published in June 2007 by Black Dog Publishing. It explores issues of authorship, attribution and intellectual property in architecture, and examines how individual architects and movements, from the fifteenth century onwards, have endeavoured to maintain their status by defending what they see as their own unique territory, the origins and intentions of their work, and their signature style. The event is organised by the editors of the book. The symposium will be structured in accordance with the sections of the book - mapping a 'force field' in which issues of authorship in architecture are played out.

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This event is organized by the KTH School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, through Katja Grillner, Tim Anstey, and Rolf Hughes
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Contact and registration: Katja Grillner, info@auctor.se
Venue: KTH Main Library, Osquars backe 31, Stockholm.
Program info: www.auctor.se
Please register before January 15!

Research into Practice 2008 conference

This a reminder that the first call for papers for the Research into Practice 2008 conference has been issued. The conference will be held on 31 October 2008 at the Royal Society of Arts, London, and will explore the problem of interpretation in research in the visual and performing arts. Selected papers will be published after the conference in the international peer-reviewed journal "Working Papers in Art and Design". This is an open-access e-journal at http://sitem.herts.ac.uk/artdes_research/papers/wpades/index.html

To contribute to the conference please send a 1000-word abstract which clearly address the theme of the conference. The deadline for submission is 1 May. Details of the theme may be found online at http://www.herts.ac.uk/artdes1/research/res2prac/theme1.html

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT THE MAIN CONFERENCE WEBSITE AT
http://www.herts.ac.uk/artdes1/research/res2prac/confhome.html

Research into Practice is the leading international forum for scholarship on so-called practice-based research in the visual and performing arts, hosted by the University of Hertfordshire, UK.