[Commlist] Call for papers: Steering Innovation in Communication Infrastructures Congress

Call for paper: Steering Innovation in Communication Infrastructures
Congress, Bern, Switzerland, 5–6 February 2020
Homage to the 170 years 
since the founding of Swiss Post (est. 1849)
Organized by the History and Computing Association,
the Museum of 
Communication, and the PTT Archives, Bern, Switzerland

Download the full call for paper in PDF:
https://www.infoclio.ch/sites/default/files/eventdocs/G%26I%202020%20-%20Call%20for%20papers%20EN%2C%20FR%2C%20DE%2C%20IT_small_2.pdf

Argument: The Internet of Objects, Artificial Intelligence, Smart 
Cities, and the 5G mobile communication standard are among the many 
challenges facing today public and private entities in charge of 
communication infrastructures. That technological evolution is 
“disruptive” is, however, nothing new: from the invention of telegraphy 
and railways to Internet and drones, the communications sector’s 
established ways of doing had to be repeatedly reinvented.
The interaction between technological innovation and governance of 
communication infrastructures constitutes the theme of the conference in 
February 2020. We wish to explore how innovation was steered by postal 
and telecommunication companies, as well as by other public and private 
players in the field of communication infrastructures: enterprises, 
governments, professional and state organizations, the users.
Innovation being inherently unforeseeable, it can be regulated and 
steered only with difficulty — which didn’t hold companies and 
governments back from trying to channel technological evolution and make 
it more compliant with their respective motivations. Thus the question 
arises where “innovation” is located for the different players on the 
spectrum ranging from invention and vision to utopia and ideology. The 
conference intends to shed light on how the steering of innovation in 
postal and other communication infrastructures functions.
These questions have often been explored in the fields of business 
history and the history of science and technology. The organizing 
committee is, however, interested in a multidisciplinary approach, which 
would reveal the many factors at play in the steering of innovation, 
such as social, economical, political, cultural, and technological. The 
committee is furthermore seeking contributions on national case studies 
— Switzerland, the conference venue, is a most welcome study case —, to 
be balanced by international and transnational studies.
The conference will also be an opportunity to question the utility of 
historical analysis to contemporary efforts in steering innovation in 
communication infrastructure. To this end a round table will be 
organized, bringing together historians, engineers, managers and 
politicians.

Download the full call for paper in PDF:
https://www.infoclio.ch/sites/default/files/eventdocs/G%26I%202020%20-%20Call%20for%20papers%20EN%2C%20FR%2C%20DE%2C%20IT_small_2.pdf

Manuscript submission: 
Paper proposals should contain a 500 words-long 
abstract and a short CV and be submitted until June 30 to info@ahc-ch. 
Authors will be notified in August about the outcome of the paper 
selection. Contributions are expected in English, French, German, and 
Italian.
Contributions will be published in the journal “Geschichte und 
Informatik / Histoire et Informatique”


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