INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Language in the (New) Media:
Technologies and Ideologies
Thursday, 03 September - Sunday, 06 September 2009
University of Washington
Seattle, WA, USA
Twitter
If you would like to follow other conference Twitter users we recommend using the hashtag #lim09 with your Tweets.
Keynote speakers
Overview
Delegates from
Australia, Brazil, Britain, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong
Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, New
Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey and from around the USA will be gathering in Seattle this September for the third in a series of conferences organized around the role of the media in relation to the representation, construction and/or production of language. The first two conferences were held at Leeds University, England: in 2005, Language in the Media: Representations, Identities, Ideologies, and, in 2007, Language Ideologies and Media Discourse: Texts, Practices, Policies.
Papers at this next conference will be exploring the representation, construction and/or production of language through the technologies and ideologies of new media - the digital discourse of blogs, wikis, texting, instant messaging, internet art, video games, virtual worlds, websites, emails, podcasting, hypertext fiction, graphical user interfaces, and so on. A number of papers are also focusing on the ways that new media language is metalinguistically represented, constructed and/or produced in print and broadcast media such as newspapers and television.
On this page you will now find important information about:
- programme and abstracts
- local transportation
- arrival instructions
- information desk and phone
- technology support
- disability accommodations
- UW fitness center
- conference dinner
- dietary requirements
- book display
- attendance certificates
- AILA Network business meeting
- Sunday tours and other activities
Programme and abstracts
Please click here to download the latest version of the programme which shows the presentation schedule as well as lunches, dinners, etc. We have also put together this provisional list of paper abstracts for you to review before arriving. (Please let us know if there is a mistake with the details of your paper.)
Local transportation
The main airport serving Seattle is Sea-Tac run the Seattle Port Authority. We recommend their website for all long-distance travel and especially ground transportation information. On the website you will find up-to-date information about taxi services and the more affordable Shuttle Express – right now, this would be our recommendation for getting to the university. Sound Transit’s brand new light rail service can take you directly into downtown Seattle from the Tukwila Station which is a short shuttle bus away from the airport; from downtown Seattle (Westlake Station) you can taxi or bus your way to the University of Washington campus.
Arrival instructions
If you have opted to stay in university accommodation you will be housed in Haggett Hall. You will need the street address in order to complete the visa entry requirements (possibly the green Visa Waiver form handed out on the plane and the online ESTER form which has to be completed before leaving your country of origin). The address for Haggett Hall is:
Haggett Hall
354450 Whitman Court
Seattle, WA 98195, USA
To access your room at Haggett Hall you will sign in at McMahon Reception (all part of the same building). Your conference delegate pack will be waiting for you which means you will not need to attend registration at 13:00 on Thursday 3rd. In your bag you will find, amongst other things, your name badge, a copy of the final programme (with abstracts) and a campus map.
Haggett Hall is very close to the Communications Building where the main conference activities will be based. Please find a seat in COM 120 for the welcome and opening plenary by Theo van Leeuwen – this is a lecture theatre on the first floor.
Information desk and phone
For the duration of the conference we will have an Information Desk set up in COM 126 – the initial registration room and just along the corridor from the plenary lecture theatre. Someone will always be available to help answer any questions and address any concerns you might have. We will also be giving out a primary contact number for the conference organizers; in the meantime, feel free to use Crispin’s office number: +1-206-543 2747.
Technology support
During your visit to the University of Washington you will be given temporary WiFi access to the internet for which you will need to bring your own laptop. We will have a computer and, for emergencies, a printer at the Information Desk but please plan to bring your own copies of any handouts, etc. with you.
The plenary lecture theatre and each of the three break-out rooms will be equipped with a projector and computer (PC only) to use for your presentations. You will need to have any PowerPoint presentation ready on a flash drive. We strongly recommend that you check out the technology before your scheduled presentation. Please send us a quick email before arriving in Seattle if you plan to use any audio recording (or video with sound).
Disability accommodations
To request disability accommodations, please contact the Disability Services Office at least 10 days in advance at: 206-543-6450 (voice), 206-543-6452 (TTY), 206-685-7246 (fax) or via email at dso@uw.edu . Please also feel free to let the organizers know directly if there is anything they can do.
UW fitness center
We have made arrangements for delegates to access the university’s well-equipped fitness center and swimming pool – all housed at the Intramural Activities (IMA) building – a fifteen-minute walk down the hill from Haggett Hall and the Communications Building. See the IMA website for opening hours. In order to access these facilities, you will need to show your conference name badge and pay the guest fee of $7.67 – a single-entry fee per day. The IMA provides towels, lockers, showers, etc.
Conference dinner
It would be very helpful if you could please let us know immediately if, for any reason, you do not plan on joining us for the conference dinner which will close the conference on Saturday 5th September. (This is automatically covered by your registration fee.) This will help us with our set-up and catering arrangements. Just send an email to lim2009@uw.edu. Thanks.
Dietary requirements
We will be working with the university catering company to support any major dietary requirements. Please let us know by Thursday 20th August at the latest if you have any such requirements. Click here to complete a one-question survey.
Book display
As we indicated previously, we are arranging a display of keynote speakers’ and other delegates’ books. This will be set up in COM 126 for the duration of the conference. Publishers were asked to make available discounted order forms. Please check with your editor/publisher that they have made the necessary arrangements. Copies of books should be sent by Thursday 20th August to:
Professor Crispin Thurlow
Language in the New Media Conference
Department of Communication
Box 353740
University of Washington
Seattle WA 98195 USA
Attendance certificates
Many home institutions and other funding bodies require that delegates return with some sort of proof of attendance. We will prepare certificates for everyone; these may be collected from COM 126 during “free time” after the closing plenary on Saturday 5th September.
AILA Network business meeting
We are in contact with Sally Johnson about the possibility of a business meeting for members of the AILA Network. More information to follow.
Sunday tours and other activities
The conference coincides with one of Seattle’s high-activity weekends – most notably with the renowned three-day Bumbershoot music festival right in the heart of downtown Seattle. If you are not planning on attending the festival, we would recommend that you try and stay clear of this part of Seattle to avoid the crowds. See our list of alternative tourist activities below.
We have identified two special excursions which we recommend for Sunday 6th September and which we are willing to help arrange if there is sufficient interest. Please just let us know by Thursday 20th August if you want to participate in one of these excursions by completing this ONLINE FORM (click on the link).
Excursion 1: Savor Seattle’s Pike Place Market ($37.44 per person)
Savor Seattle food tours are a unique way to take a unique tour of Seattle, while sampling delicious local foods! Each tour offers a large variety of tastings, while visiting 7-10 different specialty food shops, artisans, and neighborhood restaurants, highlighting the vibrant stories of the people and places that make Seattle one of the greatest culinary and cultural centers of the world. Enough food is served on each tour that most guests consider it a meal. Not only do you taste locally grown foods and drinks, but you can learn about and hear the stories behind them! All tours include food and beverage tastings, 10-15% merchant discounts, and bottled water. Tours run in the morning (10:00am or 10:30am) and last 2 hours. Substitutions can be made for most dietary restrictions.
Excursion 2: Argosy Boat Cruise and Jazz Brunch ($61.05 per person)
Join Argosy Cruises on Sunday 6th September (12:00-2:00pm) for a great Jazz Cruise series with KWJZ featuring Susan Pascal, well known on the Pacific Northwest jazz scene as the unique tone of the instrument she plays: the vibraphone. These cruises feature live music in an intimate atmosphere, a 2-hour cruise of Elliott Bay, champagne greeting and a fantastic brunch buffet all on the Royal Argosy departing from Pier 56 on the Seattle waterfront. Brunch Menu: Tropical Fruit Display, Waldorf Salad, Prawn Cocktail, Northwest Egg Scramble, Country Fried Potatoes, Chicken and Apple Breakfast Sausage, Smoked Salmon Display, Cinnamon Swirl French Toast, Fresh Pastries, Ham Carving Station, Coffee, Tea and champagne greeting.
If you would rather do your own thing, here a few of our other top recommendations – things to do which are easy to reach by bus and which will probably help you avoid the Bumbershoot crowds:
Finally, we also recommend the easy-access activities listed on the conference programme for the “free time” slot on Saturday:
Registration CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE NOW
Official conference registration has now begun, with early registration ending Thursday 07 May. The final deadline for presenter registration will be Thursday 18 June in order to be included in the final program. Registrations after 18 June will be charged an additional late registration fee of $30.00.
| Conference registration |
|
| Early registration – until 7 May |
$350 |
| Early registration (full-time students) |
$300 |
| Registration – until 18 June |
$380 |
| Registration (full-time students) |
$330 |
The Language in the (New) Media conference is planned as a not-for profit event. Your registration fee will cover the main operating expenses as well as all scheduled lunches, all coffee breaks, the conference dinner, a first-night reception, and a BBQ on the second night. Wine and soft drinks are also included for these evening gatherings.
Accommodation CLICK HERE TO BOOK ONLINE NOW
In addition to a number of good local hotels near to campus, the University of Washington offers pleasant, affordable accommodation. (Click here for some general information about campus accommodation.)
| Double room (3 nights, 3-6 Sep, with breakfast) |
$154.31 p/person |
| Single room (3 nights, 3-6 Sep, with breakfast) |
$219.41 p/person |
| Additional night (e.g. 02 or 06 Sep, double room) |
$54.77 p/person |
| Additional night (e.g. 02 or 06 Sep, single room) |
$76.47 p/person |
The conference organizers can also make recommendations for hotels in and around the University District. In particular, we recommend Hotel Decca, the Watertown, the Silver Cloud Inn, the University Inn which are all within easy walking distance to the University of Washington campus (Note: the Silver Cloud Inn would require a fairly steep up-hill walk.)
Publication
Conference co-organizer Crispin Thurlow is planning to edit a volume provisionally titled “Language in the New Media: Technologies and Ideologies” and is in discussion with the editors of the Oxford University Press’ series Oxford Studies in Sociolinguistics. His goal would be to publish this volume in 2011.
To this end, Crispin would like to receive good quality, previously unpublished chapters which may or may not be based on papers presented at the conference. Contributions should be of no more than 7,000 words in length and should conform to APA format, please. More information about the scope of this volume will be made available nearer to the conference; in the meantime, the deadline for submission of fully completed chapters for review will be 31 March 2010.
Organizers
The conference is being hosted by the University of Washington’s Department of Communication with support also coming from the Department of Linguistics, the Language & Rhetoric Program in the Department of English, Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (UW Bothell), and especially the Simpson Center for the Humanities.
The conference organizers are Crispin Thurlow, Kristine Mroczek and Jamie Moshin, Department of Communication, University of Washington, Box 353740, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Please direct any queries to the organizers at lim2009@uw.edu.
