[Conference Closes 17:00]NB. Programme is subject to change (this information already superseding that contained in the registration form).
Olympic Legacies 29-30 March 2008
St Antony's College, Oxford
Sponsored by
St Antony's College, Oxford
La Trobe University, Melbourne
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group
As London prepares to host the 2012 Olympic Games, the conference brings together leading international social scientists and practitioners to reflect on the critical theme of ‘Olympic Legacies'. The conference's purpose is to enrich our understanding of not only the Olympic movement but also the relationship between sport and modern societies.
There is no registration fee for delegates but registration is mandatory.
For registration and further information please contact:
Jennifer Griffiths, Asian Studies Centre, St Antony's College, 62 Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 6JF
tel: (01865) 274559 fax: (01865) 274559 email: jennifer.griffiths@sant.ox.ac.uk
Conference organisers: Boria Majumdar (cristorian@yahoo.com) and Jonathan Manley (jonathan.manley@tandf.co.uk)
By AP/CHARLES HUTZLER(LHASA, China) — China on Wednesday announced the surrender of hundreds of people over anti-government protests among Tibetans and allowed into the regional capital Lhasa the first group of foreign journalists to visit since the violence.http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1725525,00.html#
A couple of weeks ago, an editor at the Evening Standard asked me to write a letter in relation to the Standard's campaign to have Linford Christie removed from the Olympic torch relay nominations. I think he expected a letter in support of their campaign. He didn't get it. Here's what they didn't publish. I didn't hear back from him after sending it:
Dear Josh, I submit the following. It probably isn't what you expected or, perhaps, wanted....Dear Editor,
The campaign to remove Linford Christie from the Olympic torch relay for Beijing in London later this year highlights one of the longstanding inconsistencies within the Olympic Movement. As an aspiring judicial system - with its own Court to boot - it fails miserably as a mechanism of rehabilitation, since no amount of recompense an athlete makes after a doping infraction is enough to allow them entry back into the social world of athletics. While it might appear to be bad PR to bring Linford into the ceremony, this fact invites further questions over why such a decision was taken. In part, the answer lies in recent years when Linford became a mentor for the British Olympic team. At the same time, he was also a witness for a pioneering British inquiry into developing more robust policies to address doping in sport, especially taking into account claims from athletes, like him, who say that they have ingested banned substances by poorly labeled nutritional supplements. When we see Linford with the torch in April, we should not look upon him as a villain who has been celebrated despite his infractions - not as a bad guy who finished first - but as a symbol of rehabilitation, someone from whom greater achievements are possible by learning the hard way. Much better for London to do this than to utilize a clean athlete who has yet to be found guilty of doping. At least with Linford, we all know where we stand. There can be no subsequent betrayal, which could occur if any, supposedly, clean athlete is asked to perform such duties. London should be different and it is right that the IOC does not intervene on these matters. While it might appear to be consistent with the moral outrage that surrounds doping in sport to request Linford's absence, it is thoroughly inconsistent with the aspirations of achieving justice, which are the deeper values at stake when we appeal to fair play as a guiding norm within competitive performance cultures like sport. So, I say let him carry the torch. His permanent exclusion from the BOA as an athlete is mandatory under its policy, not a definitive statement on his present character. Perhaps his presence will encourage a deeper level of debate about what doping means, why it matters and how we should deal with it. However, any such inquiry is lost if we limit our conversations to the simplistic signifier of Linford Christie as doped athlete.
Dr Andy Miah, Author of 'Genetically Modified Athletes' Reader, University of the West of Scotland.
The latest celebrity speaker to grace the European Capital of Culture was the Perver himself Slavoj Zizek. I first saw Zizek speak in 2003 at the Glasgow School of Art. The crowd pressed him on the need for psychoanalysis, but he stood firm to his core and reminded us of old jokes.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVSPw1XrRK0 600 400] Taken at the FACT, Liverpool Sk-interfaces launch, part of its Human Futures programme.
I'll be speaking here on the 10th May: Programme provisoire Preliminary program Enhancement – aspects éthiques et philosophiques de la médecine d’amélioration
Jeudi 8 mai
19h30 Accueil des participants 19h45 Conférence inaugurale Cocktail dînatoire
Vendredi 9 mai
Session I : Enhancement et Science-Fiction 9h00-9h50 Jérôme Goffette Modifier les humains : anthropotechnie (Maître de Conférence, Université Lyon I) versus médecine 9h50-10h40 Sylvie Allouche Aspects éthiques et philosophiques de (Lectrice, Collège Eötvös de Budapest) la médecine d'amélioration dans la science-fiction 10h40-11h Pause Café
11h00-11h40 Gérard Klein La Science-Fiction, une littérature (Edition Robert Laffont) prothétique
Session II Enhancement and other topics 11h40-12h30 Gilbert Hottois ? (Professeur, Université libre de Bruxelles)
12h30-14h00 Lunch
14h00-14h50 Marie-Geneviève Pinsart ? (Chargé de cours, Université libre de Bruxelles) 14h50-15h40 Bernard Baertschi Devenir un être humain accompli. Idéal (Maître d’enseignement et de recherche, ou cauchemar ? Université de Genève)
15h40-16h00 Pause Café
16h00-16h40 Kermisch Céline Enhancement et perception des risques (Aspirant FNRS, Université libre de Bruxelles) 16h40-17h30 Pascal Nouvel Un aiguillon philosophique à la conquête (Professeur, Université Montpellier III) des records : les amphétamines 17h30-18h20 Jean-Yves Goffi Soigner, augmenter : une frontière floue ? (Professeur, Université Pierre Mendès)
Samedi 10 mai
Session III : Enhancement and sport. Chair : Pierre Daled.
10h-10h50 Alexandre Mauron Homo faber sui: quelques questions (Professeur à l’Université de Genève) d'éthique démiurgique 10h50-11h40 Patrick Laure Ethique des conduites dopantes (Université Paris XI-Orsay) 11h40-12h30 Quéval Isabelle Le corps rationnel du sport de haut (Maître de Conférence, niveau: ambivalences du dépassement de Université René Descartes-Paris V) soi
12h30-14h00 Lunch
14h00-14h50 Claudio Tamburrini What´s wrong with genetic inequality? (Chercheur, Université de Göteborg) 14h50-15h40 Andy Miah Human enhancement in performative (Reader, University of the West of Scotland) cultures
I just received my copy of the new publication from the US President's Council on Bioethics. This volume looks like a great addition to the literature. Human dignity featured heavily in my Genetically Modified Athletes and is a concept I am continually drawn back to when thinking about the range of issues arising from discussions about human enhancement.
Politics: Web 2.0, Royal Holloway, University of London LAST CHANCETO REGISTER
[Apologies for cross-posting. Final Reminder]
Colleagues,
The deadline for registration for this conference is only a few days away: MARCH 10. It features a large and diverse programme with well over 100 papers organised into more than 40 panels. The keynote speakers are:
Robin Mansell, Professor of New Media, LSE: "The Light and the Dark Sides of Web 2.0." Helen Margetts, Professor of Internet and Society, University of Oxford: "Digital-era Governance: Peer production, Co-creation and the Future of Government." Rachel Gibson, Professor of Political Science, University of Manchester: "Trickle-up Politics?: the Impact of Web 2.0 Technologies on Citizen Participation." Micah Sifry, Personal Democracy Forum/TechPresident: "The Revolution Will Be Networked: How Open Source Politics is Emerging in America." Michael Turk, US National Cable & Telecommunications Association and e-campaign manager for Bush-Cheney 04: "Managed Chaos: Bringing Order to User-Generated Activism." Stephen Coleman, Professor of Political Communication, University of Leeds: (title to be confirmed).
Registration for the conference and affordable accommodation is quick and easy via our website, where you may also download the full provisional programme:
http://newpolcom.rhul.ac.uk/politics-web-2-0-conference/
The conference itself takes place April 17-18. Pre- and post-conference accommodation can be booked.
If you have any queries, please contact Ms Lisa Dacunha, conference administrator at: lisa.dacunha@rhul.ac.uk
With best wishes,
Andy
--------------------------------- Dr Andrew Chadwick, Head of Department (2006-2009), Department of Politics & International Relations, Director, New Political Communication Unit, Royal Holloway, University of London. ------------------------------------------------------ New Political Communication Unit: http://newpolcom.rhul.ac.uk Associate Editor, Journal of Information Technology and Politics: http://www.jitp.net Latest Book Site: http://www.andrewchadwick.com Politics: Web 2.0: An International Conference, April 2008: http://newpolcom.rhul.ac.uk/politics-web-2-0-conference/
A couple of days ago, I interviewed for ABC Radio on the recent discussions about blogging at the Beijing Olympics. Here's the transcript: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/sportsfactor/stories/2008/2179195.htm
Claudio is one of the most remarkable people I know and I've enjoyed his company on many occasions. He's also a really sharp philosopher with original insights and a provocative style of argument that has shaped my own aspirations.
Over the last two months I've become involved with the Human Futures programme at FACT and this week was made a Fellow. The main task over the next few months is to Edit a book as part of the Human Futures programe. It'll be a busier few months ahead than I had anticipated!
New book with my following paper: Miah, A., B. Garcia, et al. (2008). 'We are the Media': Non-Accredited Media & Citizen Journalists at the Olympic Gams. Owning the Olympics: Narratives of the New China. M. E. Price and D. Dayan. Michigan, University of Michigan Press: 320-345.
Owning the Olympics Narratives of the New China Monroe E. Price and Daniel Dayan, Editors
About the Book
"A major contribution to the study of global events in times of global media. Owning the Olympics tests the possibilities and limits of the concept of 'media events' by analyzing the mega-event of the information age: the Beijing Olympics. . . . A good read from cover to cover." ---Guobin Yang, Associate Professor, Asian/Middle Eastern Cultures & Sociology, Barnard College, Columbia University
From the moment they were announced, the Beijing Games were a major media event and the focus of intense scrutiny and speculation. In contrast to earlier such events, however, the Beijing Games are also unfolding in a newly volatile global media environment that is no longer monopolized by broadcast media. The dramatic expansion of media outlets and the growth of mobile communications technology have changed the nature of media events, making it significantly more difficult to regulate them or control their meaning. This volatility is reflected in the multiple, well-publicized controversies characterizing the run-up to Beijing 2008. According to many Western commentators, the People's Republic of China seized the Olympics as an opportunity to reinvent itself as the "New China"---a global leader in economics, technology, and environmental issues, with an improving human-rights record. But China's maneuverings have also been hotly contested by diverse global voices, including prominent human-rights advocates, all seeking to displace the official story of the Games.
Bringing together a distinguished group of scholars from Chinese studies, human rights, media studies, law, and other fields, Owning the Olympics reveals how multiple entities---including the Chinese Communist Party itself---seek to influence and control the narratives through which the Beijing Games will be understood.
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=308803
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36FxOJwNwLE] APR 18/APR 23 Shawn Bailey and Jennifer Willet have dedicated themselves to mastering the techniques of tissue engineering. But they are not scientists. They are artists - and their art is raising profound and controversial questions.
Bailey and Willet are Canada's leading practitioners of "Bio Art," an emerging form that uses the tools of biology to create works of art. The goal is to draw attention to the field of biotechnology and its impact on society.
On its next edition, VisionTV's Gemini Award-nominated current affairs series 360 Vision takes a close look at the meaning and purpose of Bio Art, and the powerful reactions that it evokes.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzJMZayASN8&feature=related 600 400] Vernissage at the FOFA Gallery at Concordia University (gallery director Lynn Beavis). BIOTEKNICA is a not-for-profit artist collective founded by Shawn Bailey and Jennifer Willet in 2000. Its purpose is to investigate critically the ethics, aesthetics, and technological potential for new art forms that lie at the intersection of the arts and the biological sciences
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r0l-FMMn1E&feature=related 600 400]
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yaPVIM-g9U 600 400] Jennifer Willett and Oron Catts interviewed about their exhibit at ISEA2006 / ZeroOne San Jose in August 2006 to create Teratological Prototypes in collaboration with the Tissue Culture & Art Project.
Teaching the Body The editors of Transformations, a peer-reviewed journal, seek articles(5,000 - 10,000 words) and media reviews (books, film, video, performance,art, music, etc. - 3,000 to 5,000 words) that explore the body in a variety of pedagogical contexts and disciplinary perspectives-literature, science,women's and gender studies, anthropology, folklore, history, psychology, sociology, art, photography, geography, religion, cultural studies, working-class studies, ethnic studies, disability studies, age studies, narrative medicine. and others.
Topics might include: the body in global and transnational contexts; the culture of self-help; environmental issues; im/migration and transnational labor; body rituals and body modification (from tattooing and piercing to cosmetic surgery); reproductive rights; transgender, intersex, and queer bodies; bodies and sports; bodies and religion; military bodies; disciplining the bodies; imprisoned bodies; body economics; bodily knowledge; the body in virtual spaces; students as bodies; language of genetics in discussion of bodies; bodies as biological entities; bionic bodies; online communities (icons and avatars).
Send a hard copy in MLA format (6th ed.): Jacqueline Ellis and Edvige Giunta, Editors, Transformations, New Jersey City University, Hepburn Hall Room 309, 2039 Kennedy Boulevard, Jersey City, NJ 07305 OR email submissions and inquiries to: transformations@njcu.edu. Email submissions should be sent as attachments in MS Word or Rich Text format. For submission guidelines go to www.njcu.edu/assoc/transformations.
Deadline: 31 March 2008
Published semi-annually by New Jersey City University
IOC hopes to crack down on 'gene doping' in 2010Updated Sun. Jan. 6 2008 9:01 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
The International Olympic Committee is hoping a test will be available to expose the next generation of athletes who engage in gene doping.
"Gene therapy--molecular based medicine--is advancing very, very quickly and it is quite possible that there could be breakthroughs in the next couple of years that could be applied to sports by 2010," Jim Rupert, assistant professor at the University of British Columbia's School of Human Kinetics told CTV News.
However, the IOC hopes new testing methods will catch those who misuse gene-based medical treatments.
"As we go forward, they are more and more confident that they will have a non-invasive test that will allow us to determine whether or not there has been artificial manipulation," said Dick Pound, IOC member and former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Gene therapy has been around for years, but remains largely untested. It involves inserting new DNA into the body's cells to correct genetic flaws that cause disease.
To increase performance, it is believed that dopers are trying to develop a method for increasing levels of a naturally occurring hormone through genetic manipulation.
"People will be pushing the envelope and looking for an edge, and if you can get a 15 or 30 per cent muscle increase in sports that require explosive strength... it's clearly something that people will think about," said Pound.
To ensure athletes end up on the podium fair and square, WADA awarded Jim Rupert a $325,000 grant to come up with a prototype test that will tell the difference between real hormones and those created by gene therapy. Rupert admits this will be difficult.
"Detecting something that's not supposed to be there is relatively easy. Detecting higher or lower levels of something that's naturally there is somewhat more challenging," he said.
Gene Therapy, RevisitedBy GRETCHEN REYNOLDS Published: December 13, 2007 In decisions followed closely by experts in performance-enhancing drugs, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health both ruled in the past two weeks that the death of an Illinois woman receiving gene therapy to treat her rheumatoid arthritis was not related to the therapy itself. The woman had developed a life-threatening infection that the regulators decided was due to other drugs she was taking.
As PLAY reported in June, gene doping -- or the attempt to alter athletes' genetic code to make them stronger, faster, bigger, more durable or otherwise inhumanly good -- piggybacks on legitimate gene therapy for ideas. Although there are no known cases of gene doping, many drug experts believe that dopers are squirreled away right now in underground labs, consulting published data about gene therapy to create their own home-brewed versions.
Which is why, in theory, the F.D.A.'s findings about the gene trial in Illinois are heartening. Gene therapy, in this case, didn't kill. Christopher Evans, a professor at Harvard Medical School, who's preparing his own gene therapy trial for osteoarthritis, speculates that dopers would have been less interested in the women's death than the promising early results from the trial. "Everything I've learned about the psychology of high-performance athletes is that they'll try anything to get an edge," he says. Last month, Evans's gene therapy human trial was pushed back by at least a year, to allow for more safety studies in animals. Gene dopers aren't likely to be so scrupulous. "Safety," Evans says dryly, "is not their main concern."
The Illinois gene therapy trial is expected to resume soon.