Debugging the Silicon Dream: Real Life in a Virtual World
April 24, 2009
19th Annual California Studies Conference
De Anza College
21250 Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino, CA
Campus Center Conference Rooms A&B
Conference Proceedings - Audio, Video, and Photos
The Internet floats in the popular imagination like a disembodied utopia; the mecca of Silicon Valley rises out of nowhere, built by technological genius and entrepreneurial drive. In real life, however, these stories obscure more than they reveal. This conference aims to "ground" public discussion about the Internet, Silicon Valley, and high-tech California. The event will bring together scholars, artists, community leaders, and the broader public to explore both the real-world forces that shape these developments and their consequences for people and place. It will also launch a South Bay Studies Working Group for researchers and practitioners engaged in building a deeper understanding of Silicon Valley in order to address its social problems.
The one-day conference will include practical, contextualizing, and critical workshops to examine the idea and place that we call "Silicon Valley."
Featured speakers will include:
- Chris Block, American Leadership Forum
- Terry Christensen, San Jose State University
- Dayana Salazar, SJSU and CommUniverCity
- Ian Kim, Ella Baker Center
- Sarah Muller, Working Partnerships
- Louise Auerhahn, Working Partnerships
- Jan English-Lueck
- Richard Walker
- Raj Jayadev
- Glenna Matthews
- Mark Linder
- Matt Hammer
9:00-5:00 Panel Sessions - $35 suggested donation
Registration begins at 8:30. Price Includes 1 year membership in the California Studies Association.
Track I: Debugging Silicon Valley
A participatory workshop series on the political and social challenges facing Silicon Valley.
Track II: Fragmented Technopolisis: Culture, Identity, Place
Producing cultures, identities, and sense of place in the shadow of high technology.
Track III: Materiality of the Digital World
The real world causes and consequences of the internet and high tech development.
6:00 California Studies Dinner at the California History Center - $20
For more details, including information about food and lodging, contact Tom Izu at the California History Center - izutom@fhda.edu
Program
| Track I: Debugging Silicon Valley | Track II: Fragmented Technopolis | Track III: Material World in a Digital Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30-9:00 | Registration and Breakfast | ||
| 9:00-9:50 | Welcome: De Anza College President, Brian Murphy Plenary: Richard Walker, UC Berkeley & Nari Rhee, UC Berkeley |
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| 10:00-11:20 | Challenges of Organizing in the "Valley of Non-Joiners"
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Arts, Youth & Civic Engagement
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The Economic Crisis & the Valley
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| 11:30-12:50 | Housing & Homelessness
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The Right to the City
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Emerging Critical Scholars: Defining Landscapes and Workers in the Global Economy
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| 1:00-1:50 | Lunch / Keynote Address: Glenna Matthews, Historian | ||
| 2:00-3:20 | Euphrat Museum of Art Perspectives on the Silicon Valley
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Immigration
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Shaping Nature & Community
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| 3:30-4:50 | Green Economy & Workforce Development
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Satire, Romance & SV in Fiction
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South Bay Studies Working Group
Discussion and launch of group. |
| 5:00-5:30 | Cultural Performance: De Anza College students: Marlo Custudio and David Sosa | ||
| 5:30-6:00 | CSA Business Meeting (open to everyone) at the California History Center, De Anza College | ||
| 6:00-7:30 | Informal Dinner (no host, $20) at the California History Center, De Anza College | ||