Thanks to the efforts of my associate, Derek Mueller, the website for the conference is now up. Here’s the call.

VR@RL (Virtual Reality in Real Life)
February 24-26, 2006
State University of New York, College at Cortland

Call for participation
200 word proposals
Deadline: November 15, 2005

VR@RL seeks participants interested in investigating the intersection of rhetoric and new media. The conference seeks to provide a forum for scholars working in this emerging area of inquiry, to address common problems in research and teaching, and to uncover fruitful points of connection. Fundamentally, the conference will address new media as it exists now and as it is emerging as an embodied, material concern.

Topics might include:

* new media in technical and professional writing programs
* new media in first-year composition
* the rhetoric of blogging and podcasting
* the impact of technology on theories of writing
* rhetoric and composition’s disciplinary future in new media
* new cultural practices and communities related to new media
* copyright and intellectual property

The conference will include an online portion, during which participants will share their contributions. This will be followed by a face-to-face conference organized as a series of roundtable discussions and workshops drawing on the central issues raised by the participants presentations.

Please send abstracts and/or direct your inquires to Alex Reid, Associate Professor, English and Professional Writing, SUNY-Cortland (reida at Cortland dot edu) or visit our conference website at http://vrrl06.earthwidemoth.com.