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SoftWhere: Software Studies Workshop at University of California San Diego, May 21-22

Ξ May 19th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ conferences, events |

San Diego will be the site of the Software Studies Initiative. Among the Critical Code Studies blog participants there will be Rita Raley and myself.

Wednesday, May 21st, from 12:30-5:00pm, the Software Studies Initiative at UC San Diego invites you to attend a public event:

SoftWhere: Software Studies Workshop 2008
Time: Wed. May 21 - Thu. May 22
Place: Calit2, University of California, San Diego
Format: Open public session (Wed May 21, short presentations of research in “Pecha Kucha” format)
Closed workshop session (Thu May 22)
URL: http://workshop.softwarestudies.com/
[Public session seating is limited. RSVP by May 19 to softwarestudies@gmail.com]

Software studies is a research field that examines software and cyberinfrastructure using approaches from humanities, cultural criticism, and social sciences. Following on the first Software Studies Workshop organized by Matthew Fuller (Rotterdam, 2006 http://pzwart.wdka.hro.nl/mdr/Seminars2/softstudworkshop), the SoftWhere @ University of California, San Diego is a foundational event bringing together key figures in this emerging area to inaugurate the field. The event aims to coalesce a high-level conversation about what it means to study software cultures, and the direction and goals of Software Studies as an emerging movement. It will take place at Calit2, a pre-eminant research center for future computing and telecommunication (http://www.calit2.net/), where the Software Studies Initiative @ UCSD is located and currently collaborating with researchers on several exciting projects. SoftWhere has has also been timed to precede (and co-ordinate with) the the HASTAC II conference (http://www.hastac.org/) which will begin in nearby U. California Irvine on Thursday evening.
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Stitch and Switch: Open Source Embroidery

Ξ May 8th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ CCS, events, open source, html |

Jenna Ng sends us the following announcement about an event that considers the threads between the handicraft of needlework and the patchwork of Open Source coding. We look forward to a report from Jenna on the exhibit.

Open Source Embroidery: Craft and Code at HTTP Gallery
An exhibition facilitated by Ele Carpenter

Preview Friday 16th May 6-9pm
17th May 15th June 2008
Open Fridays to Sunday 12-5pm
http://www.http.uk.net/

This exhibition explores the connections between the collaborative characteristics of needlework, craft and Open Source software. This project has brought together embroiderers, patch-workers, knitters, artists and computer programmers, to share their practice and make new work.

The centre-piece of the exhibition at HTTP Gallery is the HTML Patchwork developed in response to the popularity of quilting in Sheffield, the result of a participatory project initiated by Ele Carpenter in partnership with Access Space. The patchwork is built on open principles of collective production and skill-share where each person contributes a part to the whole. The final work is a collectively stitched patchwork quilt of HTML web-safe colours with embroidered codes, and a wiki website, where the makers of each patch identify themselves and write about their sewing process. Each patch is personalised by the sewer, often including embroidered web addresses.
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