cellphone CFP

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CALL FOR PAPERS FOR EDITED BOOK

THE CELL PHONE:
HISTORY, TECHNOLOGY, CULTURE

Edited by Anandam P. Kavoori and Noah Arceneaux
Dept of Telecommunications 
Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication
The University of Georgia, Athens, Ga 30602

The Cell phone presents itself at the periphery of 
contemporary discourse about media and culture.  TV cops use 
it as they rush to crime scenes, teenagers use it to connect 
with their peers, terrorists are traced through calls made on 
their cell phones, extra-marital affairs draw sustenance from 
them.  Such images, however, do not do justice to the central 
role that cell phones have begun to play in contemporary 
society. Cell phones lack the hype of the Internet but are 
fast approaching the cultural impact of a mass medium. They 
have begun to shape how we communicate; their use has created 
new forms of media-centered relations; and in the marketplace 
they have begun  to influence patterns of media ownership and 
acquisition. In the developing world-the cell phone is often 
the first phone for the urban poor.  In their intersection 
with other technologies-text messaging, the World Wide Web 
and digital photography/video-Cell phones have changed how we 
look at an omnipresent cultural technology-the "telephone." 

This edited book seeks papers that examines three overarching 
issues-History, Technology and Culture-- as they relate to 
the Cell Phone. Papers from all theoretical (social 
scientific, cultural, critical, ethnographic, historical) 
perspectives are welcome.  Of special interest are papers 
dealing with the impact of the Cell Phone in the developing 
world and with issues of identity politics-race, gender, 
ethnicity  and sexuality.

Papers  may address one or more of these questions. These are 
suggested research questions, not a complete template. You 
may wish to add to these. 



History: 
When did Cell Phones develop into a mass medium? What are the 
economic, political and institutional factors that have had a 
major impact on the Cell phone industry? What has been the 
relation between the history of the Internet and the Cell 
Phone? What is the future of the Cell Phone as compared to 
the history of other media technologies? What has been the 
trajectory of Cell Phone use in the developing world as 
compared to the West? 

Technology: 
What is the technology of the Cell Phone? How did it evolve 
and intersect with other media technologies (Internet, Phone, 
Web, Texting)? How have the design and architecture of Cell 
phones (size, texture, features, color) influenced their 
growth? What are the current technological limits and 
possibilities of the Cell Phone? How might Cell Phone 
technologies grow and change in the next decade? How has it 
impacted minority cultures and the developing world?

Culture: 
What are the shifts in cultural sensibility that the Cell 
phone represents? What kinds of normative and interactive 
models for communication does the Cell phone represent? What 
forms of mass mediated relationships and Identity politics 
does the Cell Phone configure? How do the aesthetics of Cell 
phones impact behavior--especially youth and business 
culture? How have Cell phones changed the structuring of 
daily life? How do cell phones intersect with issues with 
issues of identity-politics, especially those of race, gender 
and sexuality. What future impact can the Cell phone have as 
it merges with web and other technologies? What is the impact 
of the cell phone in developing countries? With changing Geo-
politics? 

The deadline for paper abstracts is September 1, 2004.

Please send your queries via email to the corresponding 
editor, Noah Arceneaux at noahax@xxxxxxx or via mail to Dr. 
Anandam P. Kavoori, Associate Professor, Dept of 
Telecommunications, Grady College of Journalism and Mass 
Communication, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602.