Summer Fellowship Call for Projects
Vectors: Journal of Culture and Technology in a Dynamic Vernacular
The Institute for Multimedia Literacy (IML) at the University of
Southern CaliforniaŠös Annenberg Center for Communication is pleased to
announce a Fellowship program for summer 2004 to foster innovative
research for its new electronic publishing venture, Vectors: Journal of
Culture and Technology in a Dynamic Vernacular.
Vectors is a new, international electronic journal dedicated to
expanding the potentials of academic publication via emergent and
transitional media. Vectors brings together visionary scholars with
cutting-edge designers and technologists to propose a thorough
rethinking of the dynamic relationship of form to content in academic
research, focusing on the ways technology shapes, transforms and
reconfigures social and cultural relations.
Vectors will adhere to the highest standards of quality in a
strenuously reviewed format. The journal is edited by Tara McPherson
and Steve Anderson and guided by the collective knowledge of a
prestigious international board.
About the Fellowships
á Vectors Fellowships will be awarded to up to six individuals or teams
of collaborators in the early to mid- stages of development of a
scholarly multimedia project related to the themes of Evidence or
Mobility. Completed projects will be included in the first two issues
of the journal beginning in fall 2004. Vectors will feature
next-generation multimedia work, moving far beyond the ?text with
imageŠö format of most online scholarly publications.
Fall 2004: Evidence
á The first issue of the journal will be devoted to a broad
reconsideration of the notion of Evidence and its multiple
transformations in contemporary scholarship and digital culture.
Spring 2004: Mobility
á The second issue will be devoted to exploring the shifting concepts
and practices of Mobility in contemporary culture, creatively limning
the possibilities and limits of such a concept for understanding 21st
century life.
About the Awards
All fellowship recipients will participate in a one-week residency June
21-25, 2004 at the Institute for Multimedia Literacy in Los Angeles,
where they will have access to the IMLŠös state of the art, Mac-based
production facilities. Fellows will have continuing access to work in
collaboration with world-class designers and the IMLŠös technical
support and programming team throughout the projectŠös development.
The residency will include colloquia and working sessions where
participants will have the chance to develop project foundations and
collectively engage relevant issues in scholarly multimedia. Applicants
need not be proficient with new media authoring; however, evidence of
successful collaboration and scholarly innovation is desirable.
Fellowship awards will include an honorarium of $2000 for each
participant or team of collaborators, in addition to travel and
accommodation expenses.
About the Proposals
We are seeking project proposals that creatively address issues related
to the first two themes of Evidence and Mobility. While the format of
the journal is meant to explore innovative forms of multimedia
scholarship, we are not necessarily looking for projects that are about
new media. Rather, we are interested in the various ways that new media
suggest a transformation of scholarship, art and communication
practices and their relevance to everyday life in an unevenly mediated
world.
Applicants are encouraged to think beyond the computer screen to
consider possibilities created by the proliferation of wireless
technology, handheld devices, alternative exhibition venues, etc.
Fellows will also have the possibility to imagine scholarly
applications for newly developing technologies through productive
collaborations with scientists and engineers. Projects may translate
existing scholarly work or be entirely conceived for new media. We are
particularly interested in work that re-imagines the role of the user
and seeks to reach broader publics while creatively exploring the value
of collaboration and interactivity.
Proposals should include the following:
á Title of project and a one-sentence description
á A 3-5 page description of the project concept, goals and outcome
(this description should address questions of audience, innovative uses
of interactivity, address and form, as well the projectŠös contribution
to the field of multimedia scholarship and to contemporary scholarship
more generally)
á Brief biography of each applicant, including relevant qualifications
and experience for this fellowship
á Full CV for each applicant
á Anticipated required resources (design, technical, hardware,
software, exhibition, etc.)
á Projected timeline
á Sample media if available (CD, DVD, VHS (any standard), or NTSC
Mini-DV); for electronic submissions, URLs are preferred but still
images may be sent as e-mail attachments if necessary)
Please submit to:
Vectors Summer Fellowships
Institute for Multimedia Literacy
746 W. Adams Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90089
e-mail: vectors@annenberg.edu
Priority will be given to applications received by March 12, 2004.
Fellowship recipients will be notified in mid-April.