30 May - 1 Jun 2012
Charlotte NC, U.S.A.
*Human Complexity 2012*
*The First Annual Conference on Complexity and Human Experience*
*Modeling Complexity in the Humanities and Social Sciences*
*May 30th ? June 1st, 2012*
*The University of North Carolina, Charlotte*
The recent increase in the number of formal institutes and conferences
dedicated to complexity theory and its application is evidence that
complexity science has arrived and is realizing its potential to cut
across almost every academic discipline. Research projects centered on
complex adaptive systems in the natural (physics, chemistry, biology,
etc.) and social sciences (economics, political science, anthropology,
sociology, psychology, etc.), along with novel applications in
engineering, computer science, robotics, and, more recently, the arts and
the humanities (archaeology, art history, history, literature, philosophy,
performance art, religion, etc.), have already earned some recognition in
the field of complexity science.
In light of these developments, the Complex Systems Institute (
http://www.complexity.uncc.edu) and the Center for Advanced Research in
the Humanities at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte (UNC
Charlotte) will inaugurate an annual conference series, beginning in 2012,
dedicated to complexity with particular application to understanding the
intricacies of human experience across all domains. The goal of the series
is to provide a trans-disciplinary venue for scholars from the humanities
and the social sciences, as well as some aspects of the natural sciences
(such as neuroscience, pharmacology, etc.). Since matters of life and
death pertain to human experience in profound and important ways, the
conference hopes to attract representatives from the allied health
sciences as well.
The conference series will be dedicated to a particular topic each year.
The initial 2012 conference will be based on an Institute for Advanced
Topics in the Digital Humanities (IATDH) sponsored by the National
Endowment for the Humanities and the UNC Charlotte Complex Systems
Institute this past year that was dedicated to computer modeling in the
humanities and social sciences. In keeping with the theme of the IATDH,
the topic for our first conference will be: *Modeling Complexity in the
Humanities and Social Sciences.*
Submissions are invited on any specific topic that falls within the
parameters described above. Sample topics include, but are not limited to,
studies on:
- The development and transmission of language
- The propagation of beliefs, ideas and ideologies
- The nature of historical and political change
- The analysis of literary texts and their circulation
- The effect of individual action on global economies
- Social structure among pre-historic peoples
- Archaeological settlement patterns in early cities
- The role of architecture in facilitating public traffic patterns
- The relationship between productivity, creativity, and happiness
- Elements and measures of creativity
- Discovery of early trends and indicators of social and economic change
- The role of science and technology in enhancing human experience
- Defining and measuring indicators of the quality of human experience
- The relationship between organizational/societal structure and the flow
of energy and information
- Defining utility and efficacy in the context of human experience
- Simulation and modeling tools and paradigms
- Verification and validation of models and simulated systems
- The relationship between healthcare providers, patients, Internet, and
social media
- Defining ontologies in the context of modeling and simulation
- Languages and tools fro promoting trans- and inter-disciplinary
collaboration
- Human-technology interaction
- Data-driven wellness initiatives
Submissions should be in the form of 5000-word papers, each of which will be
reviewed by the program committee. The committee is particularly interested
in papers that show novel applications of Complexity Theory to enhance
research in the areas here specified. Thus, preliminary work in progress or
plans for a research program are welcomed and encouraged.
Submission details will be posted to the conference website at
https://sites.google.com/site/humancomplexity2012/ in due time.
This conference is dedicated to the work of Alan Turing (1912-1954) as part
of the 2012 Alan Turing Year (http://www.turingcentenary.eu/), a series of
events to commemorate Turing's life and work. We do so here by examining
computing applications and complexity in the humanities and social sciences
that allow us to discover, create and make connections in ways that would
not be possible were it not for Turing's seminal work. The conference will
begin with a presentation on the life and times of the man who provided the
theory that made the modern computer possible.
Human Complexity 2012 is sponsored in part by the International Association
for Computing and Philosophy (http://iacap.org).
*
*
*Submission Deadline*: January 2nd, 2012 (Firm)
*Decision Date*: February 1st
*Final Program*: March 1st
*Conference Chairs* (in alphabetical order):
- Anthony Beavers (Director, Cognitive Science and the Digital Humanities
Lab, University of Evansville)
- Mirsad Hadzikadic (Director, The Complexity Institute, UNC Charlotte)
- Paul Youngman (Director, Center for Advanced Research in the
Humanities, UNC Charlotte)
*Organizing Committee*:
- Anthony Beavers (Director, Cognitive Science and the Digital Humanities
Lab, University of Evansville)
- Marvin Croy (Chair, Department of Philosophy, UNCC)
- Patrick Grim (Professor of Philosophy, SUNY-Stony Brook)
- Mirsad Hadzikadic (Director, The Complexity Institute, UNC Charlotte)
- Paul Youngman (Director, Center for Advanced Research in the
Humanities, UNC Charlotte)
*Program Committee *(preliminary):
- Anthony Beavers (University of Evansville)
- Aaron Bramson (University of Michigan)
- Ted Carmichael (UNC Charlotte*)*
- Marvin Croy (UNC Charlotte)
- Patrick Grim (SUNY-Stony Brook)
- Mirsad Hadzikadic (UNC Charlotte)
- Sonya Hardin (UNC Charlotte)
- Nicolas Payette (Université du Québec à Montréal)
- Dan Singer (University of Michigan)
- Charles Turnitsa (Old Dominion University)
- Paul Youngman (UNC Charlotte)