The VR@RL conference is going on now. There are a number of interesting pieces to check out at http://vrrl06.earthwidemoth.com.

VR@RL: Virtual Reality in Real Life 2006
Online Conference: July 24-28th
Proposal Deadline: 200 words by May 5th

VR@RL seeks participants interested in investigating the intersection of rhetoric and new media. The conference seeks to provide a forum for scholars working in this emerging area of inquiry, to address common problems in research and teaching, and to uncover fruitful points of connection. Fundamentally, the conference will address new media as it exists now and as it is emerging as an embodied, material concern.

Topics might include:

* new media in technical and professional writing programs

The SUNY-Cortland English department is looking to hire three tenure-track faculty to support its major in English Education. The position below may be of interest to folks on this site, but it is somewhat confusing as it has been written. One of the positions we are looking to fill would be someone who could teach students looking to become high school English teachers how to integrate technology into their teaching. We have specific courses in our curriculum to cover this material, which I have been teaching for the last three years. However, there are more technology demands in our department than one person can handle. In addition to those courses at the undergraduate and graduate level, this person might also teach courses in composition theory for the same audience of students. I've pasted the ad below.

Those who don't follow the C-Theory list may be interested in this recent post regarding the Critical Arts Ensemble.

Dr. Steven Kurtz, professor of art at SUNY Buffalo and members of the Critical Arts Ensemble are facing indictment at a grand jury trial in Buffalo, NY, June 15. The FBI is bringing bioterrorism charges against the group for possession of a biotechnology lab found at Kurtz's home. Thus, the group will incur gigantic legal fees and face imprisonment.

Dr. Kurtz and CAE are internationally recognized lecturers in the areas of biotechnology, information technology and media studies. Their work has always been anti-terrorist, that is, against fear as a cultural detriment to discussion. For more information and support, see:

In this, my first year as director of the Central New York Conference on Language and Literature, I am striving to make the conference better reflect the breadth of English Studies, and perhaps some of its closest interdisciplinary partners. To this end I am establishing six new panels on postdisciplinary rhetoric, cyberpunk literature, digital cinema, new media pedagogy, rhetoric of new media, and video games and interactive fiction. There are also a growing number of panels on writing (professional, technical, creative, rhet/comp., etc.).

If you are interested, this page contains more information on participating in one of these panels, chairing a panel, or proposing a related panel.

While you're putting together your proposals for CCCC, consider proposing a paper or panel for the Central New York Conference on Language and Literature held October 29-31 in Cortland, NY. Here's the general call for participation.

Haunted by the Future: the Academy's Coming Community
Keynote Speaker: Victor Vitanza, Professor, University of Texas-Arlington
www.cnycll.com