About SoftWhere 2008

Following on the first Software Studies Workshop organized by Matthew Fuller (Rotterdam, 2006), SoftWhere 2008 was a foundational event bringing together key U.S. figures in the emerging area of Software Studies. The workshop discussed the meaning of studying software cultures, and the direction and goals of Software Studies as an emerging movement. Our goal is for the workshop to result in publishing a founding statement on the field, as well as initiate a set of interdisciplinary project collaborations. The workshop took place at U. California San Diego in Atkinson Hall, home of Calit2, a preeminent research center for future computing and telecommunication, where the Software Studies Initiative @ UCSD is located and currently collaborating with researchers on several exciting projects. The workshop was also been timed to precede (and coordinate with) the the HASTAC II conference which began in nearby UC Irvine on the evening of Thursday May 22, 2008.

Wedesday afternoon sessions featured a public Pecha Kucha session during which participants each performed a 7-minute speed-presentation on some area of work related to software studies. Thursday sessions involved strategic discussion on field formation issues and future collaborations. The SoftWhere'08 workshop was sponsored by Calit2, CRCA, HASTAC, UCDARNet, and the UCSD Visual Arts Department.

Press

Calit2 Press Release:   [SoftWhere 2008: UC San Diego Researchers Pioneer Emerging Field of 'Software Studies']

San Diego Business Journal:   [Scholars Convene to Study Computers’ Role In Society and Business]

Anne Helmond:   [link]
CRCA:   [link]
GrandTextAuto:   [link]
Writer Response Theory:   [link]
Virtualpolitik:  [link]