Social transformations and the digital age

Montreal will soon bustle with the mental energy of thousands of renowned international researchers who will descend on the city from October 13 to 15 for the World Social Science Forum (WSSF). Their focus: how digital technologies are being developed and used, from video games to cyber espionage.

Concordia political science professor Guy Lachapelle sees this event as a rare opportunity for scholars to connect with each other and share new ideas. As the president of the forum’s organizational committee, Lachapelle is uniquely positioned to explain what this conference means for Concordia, Montreal and the future of the social sciences worldwide.

CD: What is the WSSF all about?

GL: Every three years, academic associations, research councils and intellectuals gather for the WSSF to engage in a larger discussion facing the evolution of the humanities and social sciences. The forum provides a platform for interdisciplinary researchers, practitioners and policymakers to network, debate and discuss important global issues in the social sciences.

Individual papers, panels and keynote speakers are at the heart of the conference, which will feature more than 700 presentations by scholars from 60 different countries. It’s a great opportunity to let the world know more about the challenges that our universities and research councils will face in the years to come.

Sounds great! How can I participate? 

Everyone is welcome to attend the WSSF, even if it’s just to come for a day or a specific event. Librarians, academics and administrators of our universities will certainly find the forum quite stimulating, since it offers new perspectives on the access of knowledge in the digital age. For details, check out the website: wssf2013.org.

Who else from Concordia is taking part?

More than 20 professors and students from Concordia are involved in the WSSF as keynote speakers or participants. To name just two: Mia Consalvo, Canada Research Chair in Game Studies and Design, will deliver a featured lecture on Discourses of Digital Games; and Erin Gee, who is pursuing an MFA in studio arts, will take part in the agora to present her work on emotions.

What are some other highlights?

All three days of the forum offer great events, including fascinating keynotes. Highlights include:

• The CBC’s Paul Kennedy on Digital Technologies in the Production and Distribution of Knowledge
• Sally Wyatt from the e-Humanities Group of the Royal Netherlands Academy for Arts and Sciences on Participatory Dynamics for Change
• Harvard’s Robert Darnton on Digital Technologies on the Production and Distribution of Knowledge
• The Digging into Data project, presented in partnership with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, is a daylong event that challenges the research community to help create the new research infrastructure for 21st-century scholarship.

What does the WSSF mean for Montreal?

This will be a great opportunity for Montreal’s academic community to discuss the evolution and transformation of the way we get access to knowledge and how we communicate with our students. Fifty years after the Rapport Parent in Quebec, it is time to reflect on the place of education in our society... We went through the Quiet Revolution and are now experiencing the digital revolution.