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The eighth annual What is…? conference-experience, What is Universe? examines communication, complexity/simplicity, coherence/incoherence and how they may or may not contribute to “a pluralistic universe”—networks of relationships. It addresses some of the most pressing issues of our time, including how do societies move forward when there is less shared agreement about the nature of our world, the problems confronting it, and/or the solutions necessary to improve it?
Scholars, practitioners, and other participants will explore universes—from reality bubbles, immersive virtual environments, and alternate histories, to agential realism, media genealogy and archaeology, to bio-inspired, urban and ecological design, to universal rights, disabilities studies, multicultural communities and cosmologies.
With definitions of “universe” continuing to multiply, important questions abound. We will address a sweeping range of issues next April in Portland, Oregon. |
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The eighth annual What is…? Conference-Experience, What is Universe? examines communication, complexity, simplicity, coherence, incoherence and how they may or may not contribute to “a pluralistic universe”—networks of relationships. It expands the University of Oregon’s commitment to transdisciplinary research and its impact—by cultivating communication at the heart of science, technology, and their environments.
This year’s event will continue to catalyze and accelerate the impact of transdisciplinary inquiry across communication universes with over 100 international, national, and regional researchers, participating in six plenary sessions and over 20 panels. These include a wide range of “universes,” not limited to: systems, ecologies, social worlds, native pragmatism, politics, news, solutions journalism, documentary, entertainment, games, comics, immersive virtual realities, digital identity and embodied practice, advertising, effects, globalization, posthumanism and agential realism, IoT, maker culture, urban ecodesign, multicultural communities and cosmologies.
With definitions of “universe” continuing to expand, this year marks the third collaboration with scholars from the natural sciences, social sciences, and the arts. |