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THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS 56 TH ANNUAL ALFRED KORZYBSKI MEMORIAL LECTURE AND THE SYMPOSIUM CREATING THE FUTURE: CONSCIOUS TIME-BINDING FOR A BETTER TOMORROW FRIDAY 14 THROUGH SUNDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2008 THE PRINCETON CLUB FORDHAM UNIVERSITY LINCOLN CENTER CAMPUS NEW YORK CITY CO-SPONSORED BY THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS THE NEW YORK SOCIETY FOR GENERAL SEMANTICS THE MEDIA ECOLOGY ASSOCIATION THE LIFWYNN FOUNDATION FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH FRIENDS OF THE INSTITUTE OF NOETIC SCIENCES FORDHAM UNIVERSITY’S DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES

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Page 1: AND THE SYMPOSIUM CREATING THE  · PDF fileAND THE SYMPOSIUM CREATING THE FUTURE: ... Donna Flayhan – State University of New York, New Paltz 2:30 ... Hofstra University

THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS 56TH ANNUAL

ALFRED KORZYBSKI MEMORIAL LECTURE

AND THE SYMPOSIUM

CREATING THE FUTURE: CONSCIOUS T IME-BINDING FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

FRIDAY 14 THROUGH SUNDAY 16

NOVEMBER 2008 THE PRINCETON CLUB FORDHAM UNIVERSITY

LINCOLN CENTER CAMPUS

NEW YORK CITY

CO-SPONSORED BY THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

THE NEW YORK SOCIETY FOR GENERAL SEMANTICS THE MEDIA ECOLOGY ASSOCIATION

THE L I FWYNN FOU NDATI ON FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH FRIENDS OF THE INSTITUTE OF NOETIC SCIENCES

FORDHAM U NIVERSITY’ S DEP ARTMENT OF COMMUNICATI ON AND MEDI A STU DIES

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1 THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

CELEBRATING 70 YEARS IN 2008 THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS http://www.generalsemantics.org EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, Lance Strate EDITOR, ETC: A REVIEW OF GENERAL SEMANTICS , Bill Petkanas WEBMASTER, Ben Hauck OFFICE MANAGER, Judith Clarke GRADUATE ASSISTANT, Pamela Miller

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

PRESIDENT, Martin H. Levinson V ICE-PRESIDENT/TREASURER, Jacqueline J. Rudig

SECRETARY, Vanessa Biard-Schaeffer AMBASSADOR AT LARGE, Milton Dawes

Corey Anton George J. Barenholtz

Walter W. Davis Allen Flagg

Thom Gencarelli Irene S. Ross Mayper Gerard I. Nierenberg

Frank Scardilli Lynn E. Schuldt

HONORARY TRUSTEES Sanford Berman Harry Maynard

ORGANIZ ING COMMITTEE Annemarie Colbin, Milton Dawes, Allen Flagg, Lloyd Gilden, Ben Hauck, Martin H. Levinson, Irene S. Ross Mayper, Jacqueline J. Rudig, Lance Strate WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO: James VanOosting, Edward A. Wachtel, Bruce Kodish, Robert Francos, Roberta Palmerio, David Coiro, Gabriella Loutfi, Doug Petrullo, James Page

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FRIDAY NOVEMBER 14 THRU

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 22,

2008

THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS 2

THE ALFRED KORZYBSKI MEMORIAL LECTURE

THE PRINCETON CLUB OF NEW YORK 15 WEST 43RD STREET (BETWEEN 5TH AND 6TH AVENUES) NEW YORK 10036

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2008 6:00 PM DINNER 8:00 PM PROGRAM

Moderator: Lance Strate – Executive Director of the Institute of General Semantics, President of the Media Ecology Association – Fordham University

PRESENTATION OF THE J.TALBOT WINCHELL AWARD

Martin H. Levinson – President of the Institute of General Semantics, Vice-President of the New York Society for General Semantics

Allen Flagg – Trustee of the Institute of General Semantics, President of the New York Society for General Semantics

THE FIFTY-SIXTH ANNUAL ALFRED KORZYBSKI MEMORIAL LECTURE

Playing the Future: Towards a Creative Society Douglas Rushkoff – New York University

At IGS Seminar at NYU, Feb. 1945.

M. Kend ig s tand i ng, Mrs . Mar io n Harp er at re corder .

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3 THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

The Trustees of The Inst i tute o f Genera l Semant ics

Present

THE 2008 J . TALBOT WINCHELL AWARD

to

ALLEN FLAGG

In Recognition of His Lifelong Service, Accomplishments and

Time-binding Efforts

November 14, 2008

New York C i ty

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4 THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

THE ALFRED KORZYBSKI MEMORIAL LECTURERS

1952 William Vogt

M.F. Ashley Montagu

1953 F. J. Roethlisberger

1954 F. S. C. Northrop

1955 R. Buckminster Fuller

1956 Clyde Kluckhohn

1957 Abraham Maslow

1958 Russell Meyers

1959 William J. Fry James A. Van Allen Charles M. Pomerat

1960 Warren S. Mcculloch

1961 Robert R. Blake

1962 Harold G. Cassidy

1963 Henri Laborit

1964 Joost A. M. Meerloo

1965 Henry Lee Smith, Jr.

1966 Alvin M. Weinberg

1967 J. Bronowski

1968 Alastair M. Taylor

1969 Lancelot Law Whyte

1970 Gregory Bateson

1971 Henry Margenau

1972 George Steiner

1973 J. Samuel Bois Elton S. Carter Walter Probert

1974 Kenneth G. Johnson Neil Postman

1975 Harley C. Shands

1976 Roger W. Wescott

1977 Ben Bova

1978 Elwood Murray

1979 Don Fabun

1980 Barbara Morgan

1981 Thomas Sebeok

1982 Robert R. Blake

1983 Allen Walker Read

1984 Karl H. Pribram

1985 Russell Meyers

1986 George F.F. Lombard

1987 Richard W. Paul

1988 Jerome Bruner

1989 William V. Haney

1990 Warren M. Robbins

1991 Albert Ellis

1992 Steve Allen

1993 William Lutz

1994 Lotfi A. Zadeh

1995 Nicholas Johnson

1996 Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

1997 Robert Anton Wilson

1998 Theodore R. Sizer

1999 Ellen J. Langer

2000 Robert P. Pula

2001 Lou Marinoff

2002 J. Allan Hobson

2003 Sanford I. Berman

2005 Robert L. Carneiro

2006 Renee Hobbs

2007 Leonard Shlain

2008 Douglas Rushkoff

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5 THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

ANNOUNCING

THE INAUGURATION OF THE

INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

SAMUEL I . HAYAKAWA BOOK PRIZE

Competition for the Hayakawa Book Prize is open to any book published in 2004 or later on topics and themes of direct relevance to the discipline of general semantics, including time-binding, abstraction, language, symbols, meaning, communication, media, perception, consciousness, epistemology, scientific method, etc. To enter, send a letter of nomination and four copies of the book to Executive Director, Institute of General Semantics, 2260 College Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76110 by March 1, 2009. For more information, contact Lance Strate, Executive Director of the Institute of General Semantics, via e-mail [email protected], or by telephone at 718.817.4864.

THE WINNER WILL RECEIVE A CASH AWARD OF

$1,000

http :/ /www .genera lsemant i cs .org

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6 THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

SYMPOSIUM

CREATING THE FUTURE: CONSCIOUS T IME-BINDING FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY, LINCOLN CENTER CAMPUS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2008 8:30 AM BREAKFAST AND REGISTRATION

Fordham Law Building, West 62nd Street and Columbus Avenue

MORNING SESSION IN MCNALLY AUDITORIUM

Moderators: Lance Strate – Fordham University Jacqueline Rudig – Institute of General Semantics Martin H. Levinson – Institute of General Semantics

9-9:30 AM Beyond iCelebrities: Social Networking and Social Activism on the Internet Kathleen Sweeney – The New School 9:30-10 AM Rhetorical Overload David Berreby – Institute of General Semantics 10-10:30 AM Mediation and Fusion: The Case of Barack Obama Tom de Zengotita – New York University, The Dalton School 10:30-11 AM Why We Hate Us: American Discontent in the New Millennium Dick Meyer – National Public Radio 11-11:30 AM What Every Thinking Person Should Know About Law, Lawyers and the Tyranny of Illusion Frank Scardilli – Institute of General Semantics 11:30 AM-12 Glut: Mastering Information through the Ages Alex Wright – The New York Times 12-12:30 PM What is a Sphere?: Metapatterns and Scale-Transcending Functional Principles Tyler Volk – New York University 12:30-1 PM What Did Alfred Want? A Biographer's Notes on Korzybski's Life and Work Bruce Kodish – Institute of General Semantics

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7 THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2008 1-2:30 PM LUNCH BREAK

AFTERNOON SESSIONS HELD SIMULTANEOUSLY IN MCNALLY AUDITORIUM AND MCMAHON HALL LOUNGE McMahon Hall is located at 155 West 60th Street, between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues 2:30 – ACTIVISM AS CONSCIOUS TIME-BINDING 3:45 PM Moderator: David Linton – Marymount Manhattan College

McNally Consciousness Without Activism is Ceding the Future Jeanne Posner – Western Connecticut State University

Social Networking and the Campaign Against Astroturfing Paull Young – Converseon

Empowerment of Women in Africa: The Role of Media Technology Bosco Ebere Amakwe – HFSN, Seton Hall University

Post 9/11 Health Crisis: Reactions of the Whole Organism, Delayed Reaction of the Culture Donna Flayhan – State University of New York, New Paltz 2:30 – ON THE LOGIC AND ILLOGIC OF SYMBOLS 3:45 PM Moderator: Margot Hardenbergh – Fordham University

McMahon Visual Propositions Gerald Erion – Medaille College

Deleting “I,” Updating “We” Philip Ardery – Louisville (KY) Sustainability Forum

Language, Dao, Etc Zhenbin Sun – Fairleigh Dickinson University

Practical Fairy Tales for Everyday Living Martin H. Levinson – Institute of General Semantics

4:00 – DISPATCHES FROM THE GLOBAL VILLAGE 5:15 PM Moderator: Robert Albrecht – New Jersey City University

McNally A New French President, Nicolas Sarkozy Vanessa Biard-Schaeffer – Institute of General Semantics

General Semantics in India Prafulla Kar – Director, Centre for Contemporary Theory and General Semantics, Baroda, India

The Epistemoscope: From Time-Binding to Space-Minding Devkumar Trivedi – Centre for Contemporary Theory and General Semantics, Baroda, India

In Praise of Delayed Reactions: Israel and the Culture of Talkbacks Eva Berger – School of Media Studies, The College of Management, Israel

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8 THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2008 4:00 – THE CONTENTS AND DISCONTENTS OF THE NEW MEDIA ENVIRONMENT 5:15 PM Moderator: Paul Lippert – East Stroudsburg University

McMahon Why We Need Cyberspace: A Response to Neil Postman’s Essay “Cyberspace, Shmyberspace” Mary Ann Allison – Hofstra University

Navigating Life in the Age of Google and Garmin: Answers and Directions vs. Wonder and Mystery Robert Berkman – The New School

Crazy Talk, Stupid Talk: Revisiting Postman and the Relational Dynamics in the Emergent Semantic Environment of 21st Century Digital Media Stephanie Bennett – Palm Beach Atlantic University

Creating a Civil Culture: The Need to Resist Trash Talk in Contemporary Media Janet Sternberg – Fordham University

EVENING SESSION IN MCNALLY AUDITORIUM

Moderators: Allen Flagg – Institute of General Semantics Janet Sternberg – Fordham University

5:30-6 PM The Green Flaneur

Paul Guzzardo – The Geddes Institute for Urban Research David Walczyk – The Pratt Institute Alicia Gibb – NYC Resistors and Bug Labs

6-6:30 PM How to Live in the 21st Century Without Multi-Tasking Andrew Postman – Media Ecology Association 6:30-7 PM General Semantics Writ Large Terence P. Moran – New York University 7-7:30 PM Tools for Creating Better Futures Milton Dawes – Institute of General Semantics

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THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS 9

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2008 ALL SESSIONS IN MCMAHON HALL LOUNGE 8:30 AM BREAKFAST AND REGISTRATION 9:00 – MEDIA FUTURES 10:15 AM Moderator: Brian Cogan – Molloy College

The End of Intellectual Property Thom Gencarelli – Manhattan College

Things Come in Fours Robert Blechman – St. George's University

The Umbilical Cord: Corrections, Connections and the Role of Media in America's Prisons Jessica K. Crowell – Fordham University 10:30 – SCIENCE FICTION: SEQUELS AND ADAPTATIONS 12:00 PM Moderator: Meir Ribalow – Fordham University

Null – A Continuum John C. Wright – Tor Books

Science Fiction Tells Us Why the Obama Family is a Sequel to The Cosby Show Marleen Barr – Fordham University

From the Page to the Screen Paul Levinson – Fordham University

12-1:30 PM LUNCH BREAK 1:30 – MULTIMEDIA PERFORMANCE 2:45 PM Moderator: Jacqueline Rudig – Institute of General Semantics

Thus Spoke the Spectacle Eric Goodman – Institute of General Semantics

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10 THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2008 3:00 – TEACHING GENERAL SEMANTICS 4:15 PM Moderator: Margaret Cassidy – Adelphi University

Frank Gastner – Institute of General Semantics Renée Cherow-O'Leary – Teachers College, Columbia University William Petkanas – Western Connecticut State University

4:30 – THE FUTURE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS 5:45 PM Moderator: Vanessa Biard Schaeffer – Institute of General Semantics

A Better Tomorrow for General Semantics Ben Hauck – Institute of General Semantics

Development of the Ability to Experience Greater Integration with the Environment Lloyd Gilden – Lifwynn Foundation for Social Research

Time-binding, Yes! But Time-bound, No! Change is Universal, But So Is Stability Hillel Schiller – Institute of General Semantics

Con II: The Future of Consciousness Allen Flagg – Institute of General Semantics

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THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS 11

ABOUT THE PARTIC IPANTS Robert A lbrecht is the author of numerous articles on the relationship of media and culture in both Latin America and here in the United States. Albrecht is the recipient of an Organization of American States Fellowship for study in Brazil as well as the Carlos Vigil Prize for his publications in Latin American popular culture. While a doctoral student in the Media Ecology program at New York University, he served as Arts Editor to ETC. He worked for several years as a music and drama workshop leader with children in Jersey City public schools. Albrecht currently serves on the editorial board of several communication journals and teaches theory and media history courses in the Media Arts Department at New Jersey City University in Jersey City. His book, Mediating the Muse (Hampton Press, 2004) was the winner of the Dorothy Lee Award for outstanding scholarship in the area of cultural ecology. Mary Ann A l l ison is an interdisciplinary scholar at Hofstra University who uses media theory, sociology, and complex systems theory to study the ways in which individuals, communities, and institutions are changing. In addition to teaching Media Studies in the School of Communication, she conducts research for the Hofstra University National Center for Suburban Studies and the Urban Communication Foundation. Her study of social evolution won the Media Ecology Association's 2005 Harold A. Innis Award for Outstanding Dissertation in the field of Media Ecology. S ister Dr. Bosco Ebere Amakwe, HFSN finished a PhD program in Communication (affiliating to the Department of Social Sciences) in June, 2006 from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Her dissertation, of which excerpts were published, is "The Factors Influencing the Mobility of Women to Leadership and Management Positions in Media Industries in Nigeria." She specialized in gender studies and interpersonal communication. Sister Dr. Amakwe is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Seton Hall University, New Jersey. Phi l Ardery joined the Institute of General Semantics in 1974, after reading Science and Sanity one-and-a-half times and attending a summer seminar-workshop whose instructional staff included Charlotte Read and Robert Pula. The New York Society for General Semantics elected Phil to its Board of Directors in 2007. In Kentucky, aside from exercising his trade as a specialist in Electronic Data Interchange, Phil helps steer the Louisville Sustainability Forum and has co-founded a local chapter of the Green Party USA (www.greenparty.org). Phil holds degrees from Harvard College and New York University. Mar leen S. Barr is known for her pioneering work in feminist science fiction theory and teaches in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University. She has won the Science Fiction Research Association Pilgrim Award for lifetime achievement in science fiction criticism. Barr is the author of Alien to Femininity: Speculative Fiction and Feminist Theory, Lost in Space: Probing Feminist Science Fiction and Beyond, Feminist Fabulation: Space/Postmodern Fiction, and Genre Fission: A New Discouse Practice for Cultural Studies. She has edited many anthologies, authored the novel Oy Pioneer!, and co-edited the special science fiction issue of PMLA.

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12 THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

ABOUT THE PARTIC IPANTS Stephanie Bennett is Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, Florida, where she enjoys teaching and continuing research in the area of media ecology, philosophy of communication, and the church and culture. Dr. Bennett has been interacting on Internet discussion lists since the early 1990's, enjoys Facebook in small doses, and invites dialogue at [email protected]. She and her husband, Earl, make their home in Palm Springs, Florida. Dr. Eva Berger is the Dean of the School of Media Studies of the College of Management - Academic Studies Division - in Israel. She is also consultant to public and private organizations, and has written various programs for the study of Communication in Israel's elementary and high school systems. Eva served as a member of the Israel Film Council for six years, is an advisor to Israel's Educational Television and Commentator on media matters for Israel's various daily newspapers, radio and television stations. She holds a BA in Film and Television from Tel Aviv University, and an MA and PhD in Media Ecology from New York University. Robert Berkman is an Associate Professor in the Media Studies program at the New School where he has taught since 1996. He is also the editor of The Information Advisor, a monthly journal he founded in 1988 for professional researchers. He has authored several books on research, technology, the media, and ethics. Robert Berkman lives in Rochester New York. Dav id Berreby's book, Us and Them: The Science of Identity won the 2006 Erving Goffman Award for Outstanding Scholarship from the Media Ecology Association. A paperback edition was published in October, 2008 by the University of Chicago Press. Berreby, an independent writer and researcher, has written for The New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, Smithsonian, The New Republic, Slate, Lingua Franca and many other publications. His website can be found at <http://www.davidberreby.com>. Vanessa B iard-Schaef fer is a French-American, third generation General Semanticist. Graduated in Linguistics (Paris 10), Management (Solvay School), and Coaching (Paris 8), Vanessa represents the Institute of General Semantics in Paris, France. She has been working in politics, at local and European levels, and is currently running her own company. Robert B lechman, an experienced information technology executive, is currently Associate Director in the Office of Information Technology at St. George's University. He has held senior technology positions at Columbia University Medical Center, the New York City Board of Education, PricewaterhouseCoopers, HarperCollins Publishers and CBS. As an adjunct professor at Fordham University, he taught courses in communication theory, mass media and society and media industries. He has a PhD in Media Ecology and a Finance MBA, both from New York University. His doctoral research concerned the impact of television advertising on our culture, and he discusses media ecological musings and speculations in his blog, "A Model Media Ecologist" which can be found at www.robertkblechman.blogspot.com.

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THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS 13

ABOUT THE PARTIC IPANTS Margaret Cass idy is an Associate Professor at Adelphi University, where she has been Chair of the Communications Department for seven years. Her research focuses primarily on issues related to media, children, and K-12 education. She is the author of Bookends: The Changing Media Environment of American Classrooms. Dr. Renee Cherow-O'Leary is a Professor of English Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is a member of the Media Commission of the National Council of Teachers of English and is President of Education for the 21st Century, a New York consulting group that develops educational materials and curriculum in multiple platforms for children's, school and family media. Renee recently was a Visiting Scholar at Harvard where she studied arts and technologies in education, literary theory and entrepreneurship and education reform. She was formerly a Director of Research at the Children's Television Workshop, National Coordinator of Creating Critical Viewers, a media literacy program for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Renee presents at many educational conferences on literacy, language and 21st century literacies. Dr. Br ian Cogan is an Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Molloy College in Long Island, New York. He is the author, co-author and co-editor of numerous books, articles and anthologies on popular culture, music and the media. His specific areas of research interest are punk rock, comic books, media ecology and the intersection of politics and popular culture. He is the author of The Punk Rock Encyclopedia (Sterling 2008), co-author with Tony Kelso of The Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, Media and Politics (Greenwood Press 2008) as well as co-editor with Tony Kelso on an anthology from Lexington Press, Mosh the Polls: Youth Voters, Popular Culture, and Democratic Engagement (Lexington 2008), about youth culture and political involvement. Dr. Cogan is also the co-author, along with William Phillips, of the Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music and Culture (Greenwood Press 2009). He has also written about these topics for publications such as the New York Post, Chunklet, Go Metric, Punknews.org and Muze.com. He is currently working on a new project, a history of punk in film over the last thirty years. Jessica Crowel l is a New York-based writer, policy analyst, and former graduate assistant for the Donald McGannon Communication Research Center at Fordham University.

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THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS 14

ABOUT THE PARTIC IPANTS Mil ton Dawes is a Trustee and Ambassador-At-Large of the Institute of General Semantics, having been a "student","teacher", and "practitioner" of general semantics for over forty years. He was awarded the Institute's two highest honours the "Irving J. Lee Award for "Excellence in Teaching General Semantics" (1995), and the "Talbot Winchell Award" for "Significant Contribution to the Spread of General Semantics (2000)". He has presented papers on general semantics (including Bernard Lonergan's Transcendental Method and ideas) at 5 Institute's International Conferences. His many articles published in ETC. were designed to help 'students' translate general semantics principles to practice. He gives seminar-workshops (based on general semantics principles) on Organizational Behaviour. He was The Key Note Speaker for The United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Services "Area Planning and Development Conference" held in Reno Nevada 1978. He gave a workshop on "Creativity" to civil servants attending The United States Civil Service Commission, Middle Management Training Institute, held in Washington D.C. 1977. He was a member of the Jamaica National Dance Theatre Company and performed at Expo 67 in Montreal Canada. He was a member of the Jamaica Pistol Team competing at The Pan American Games held in Winnipeg 1967. He gives drumming workshops in Montreal and was one of the seven individuals, who in 1978 started the "Tam-tam on the Mountain" in Montreal, Canada (now a tourist attraction). His seminar-workshops are based on insights and ideas gained from his experiences in these diverse areas of activities. For more information about Dawes and his work, visit <http://www.miltondawes.com> Thomas de Zengot ita is a contributing editor at Harper's magazine. He teaches at at the Draper Graduate Program at New York University. He holds a PhD in Anthropology from Columbia University. Recent essays include "The Romance of Empire" and "Attack of the Superzeroes" in Harper's. Recent fiction includes "Hannah's Birthday" in Fiction, and "The Other Side" in Logos. His book Mediated won the 2006 Marshall McLuhan Award for outstanding work on the media from the Media Ecology Association. Gerald J . Er ion is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Medaille College in Buffalo. His work covers topics in ontology, philosophy of mind, and moral philosophy; he also writes on philosophy and popular culture, and is currently working on a project on visual argumentation. A l l en Flagg is a Trustee of the Institute of General Semantics, the President of the New York Society for General Semantics, and the Vice-President of the Friends of the Institute of Noetic Sciences. He has taught 130 GS courses, at Fairfield University Graduate School, New School for Social Research, Queens College, I.B.M., Great Neck Public Schools, Huntington Public Schools, and NYSGS. He was on the staff of IGS and NYSGS summer seminars. His articles have been published in General Semantics Bulletin: "Non-Artistotelian Epistemology Applied to the Resolution of Paradoxes," and "Actualizing Our Potentialities; Multiordinality for Self-Actualization and Health." He was Arrangements Chairman of the 1963 International G S Conference at New York University. Allen is the 2008 recipient of the Institute of General Semantics' J. Talbot Winchell award for outstanding service in the field general semantics.

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THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS 15

ABOUT THE PARTIC IPANTS Donna Flayhan is an Associate Professor of Communication and Media at the State University of New York at New Paltz. In 2004 Flayhan founded and began directing The Lower Manhattan Public Health Project to work on the public health needs and consequences of the toxic aftermath of 9/11. In that public health work, Flayhan has presented her work in a variety of forums including the Council of Europe's workshop training in Warsaw Poland in 2007, as the expert on toxic synergy and acceleration of disease states in the A&E Documentary (9/11's Toxic Dust), and has received awards for her public health work in organizing two symposia (SUNY New Paltz, 2006; Fordham University 2007), and partially funding a film on the Toxic Aftermath of 9/11. Flayhan's areas of expertise are in both cultural studies and public health. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of New Hampshire in 1990 with a double major in Communication Studies and Political Science, Flayhan's graduate studies began that same year at the University of Iowa. Flayhan earned an MA in 1994 and a PhD 1997 from University of Iowa, where she studied in the areas of cultural studies (media ecology, media studies) and researched in the area of public health (toxins and toxic synergy). Frank Gastner grew up bilingual (Polish then English) in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural mill town. This experience, plus the depression, wartime rationing, scrap drives, a Boy Scout troop in a middle class neighborhood, all provided a fertile field for future General Semantics study. He graduated from Drexel University in 1953 with a degree in Commerce and Engineering, followed up with studies in metallurgy at Temple. While at Drexel he took a class from Harry Weinberg, and found himself utilizing the General Semantic principals in his business. Drexel had a requirement that all engineering students work in industry six months a year, so he had an opportunity to apprentice as a toolmaker and work on a factory floor as a machine operator for one six month period. After graduation, Gastner performed the obligatory two years in the service, primarily as an instructor of artillery fire direction. As a member of the American Ordnance Association, Gastner participated in Department of Defense seminars on quality improvement and cost reduction. In addition, over the years, he taught religious education to both adults and children. At a time when soccer was just catching on in suburbia and experienced coaches were scarce, Gastner was the exception, having played at Drexel and in the Philadelphia Adult League. To prepare for coaching, he attended clinics and schools, and received coaching publications from England. He passed on what he knew to young players and their dad "coaches" while running a program for over 100 youngsters, 6 to 10 years old. He also coached winning teams at different age levels up to senior high school. As a change of pace, Gastner went back to school and became a referee for adult and school teams. About 30 years ago, Gastner rekindled his formal interest in General Semantics. He joined both the Institute of General Semantics and the International Society for General Semantics. This included attending lectures, workshops, a weeklong training session, and a General Semantics teacher training class. His own experience with children convinced him that youngsters could learn General Semantic principles, a belief which has led to his present efforts.

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THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS 16

ABOUT THE PARTIC IPANTS Thom Gencare l l i is the Chair of the Communication Department at Manhattan College—a department he was hired to build from the ground up in 2007, after spending 14 years at Montclair State University in New Jersey, and beginning his full-time academic career at Iona College from 1989 to 1993. Thom also spent seven years as a member of the faculty of the New School's MA in Media Studies program, and has taught as a member of the adjunct faculty of Fordham University's Department of Communication and Media Studies. Thom is the current Vice President of the Media Ecology Association, a Past President of both the New York State Communication Association and the New Jersey Communication Association (the latter of which he has twice served as President), and is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for General Semantics. He writes about popular culture, and in particular popular music, media education and media literacy, and new media, and is currently at work on a book with the tentative title Jean Piaget as Reluctant Communication Theorist: Cognitive Development and Language Acquisition. In addition, Thom's musical CD with his band, blue race, is slated for release in early 2009. A l ic ia G ibb is a researcher and rapid prototyper. When she is not doing research on the crossroads of technology and art, she is prototyping hardware that blinks, twitches, and might even be tasty to eat. She has a master's degree in information science and soon art history. As Bug Lab's chief laboratory technician, she considers the instant innovation available with modular technology. In her spare time she is known as the cake hacker at NYC Resistor and creates eatable cakes full of electronics. L loyd G i lden is an Associate Professor Emeritus in Psychology at Queens College, CUNY, apracticing clinical psychologist, the President of the Lifwynn Foundation for Social Research, and a member of the board of the New York Society for General Semantics. Er ic Goodman studied digital music composition and film scoring at Cornell University and the New York City Center for the Media Arts. For over ten years Eric has produced and performed Thus Spoke The Spectacle , <www.thespectacle.net>, a music video lecture presentation fusing original compositions, video clips, and scholarship on issues of media, technology, and society. Thus Spoke The Spectacle was recently awarded the Media Ecology Association's 2008 John Culkin Award for outstanding praxis in the field of media ecology. Paul Guzzardo is a lawyer and media activist/artist affiliated with the Geddes Institute for Urban Research of the University of Dundee. His new media praxis probes the effect of emerging digital information archives on the design and occupation of public space. His work examines the relationship between this current wave of digital information technology and the street. Margot Hardenbergh teaches in Fordham University's Department of Communication and Media Studies, has a background in television documentary, and has published articles and book chapters on community media, the role of women in media and the history of technology.

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THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS 17

ABOUT THE PARTIC IPANTS Ben Hauck is Webmaster for both the Institute of General Semantics and the New York Society for General Semantics, has published essays in the journal ETC: A Review of General Semantics, and taught a three-part introduction to general semantics for the New York Society for General Semantics. In a forthcoming essay, he provides a simple definition of "general semantics" that can help people in the field easily and quickly explain GS to someone who has never heard of it. A New York City-based actor, Ben performs and teaches improvisation, and is currently writing a book on the subject. Find him online at <http://www.benhauck.com>. Prafu l la C. Kar is the Director of the Center for Contemporary Theory and General Semantics in Baroda, India, and is a Convener of the Forum on Contemporary Theory, an interdisciplinary organization in Baroda devoted to promotion of interdisciplinary studies. He is also one of the founding editors of the Journal of Contemporary Thought published by the Forum on Contemporary Theory. He was formerly Professor and Chair of the Department of English at M. S. University of Baroda. He also taught at Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India and was Deputy Director and Academic Fellow at the American Studies Research Center, Hyderabad, India. He has a PhD in American Literature from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City on the thesis Saul Bellow and the Defense of the Self. He was a Fulbright post-doctoral fellow at the Universities of Texas at Austin, Chicago, and California at Berkeley, and a Fellow of School of Criticism and Theory at Dartmouth College. His areas of scholarly interest are: American Studies, new literatures in English, literary theory and criticism, and cultural studies. He has published widely in these areas. Bruce Kod ish at various times and places, has worked as a census taker, a factory worker, and a fish farmer, among other things. For the last 27 years he has held various positions as a physical therapist in hospitals, outpatient clinics and nursing homes and in home care. He currently has a private practice in physical therapy and the Alexander Technique of posture-movement education in Pasadena, California. He has studied general semantics since 1965. His association with the Institute of General Semantics began with his first two-week seminar-workshop in 1979. Since that time, he has served the Institute as a writer, editor, teacher, and seminar administrator, among other things. He is a former member of the IGS Board of Trustees. With his wife, Susan Presby Kodish he wrote, Drive Yourself Sane, an acclaimed modern introduction to general semantics which the Institute first published in 1993, and whose second revised edition came out in 2001. In 1996, he received a PhD in Applied Epistemology/General Semantics from The Union Institute Graduate School in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1998, Bruce and Susan received the IGS's esteemed J. Talbot Winchell Award "for their contributions severally and together to the wider understanding of general semantics as authors, editors, teachers, leaders." Bruce has also written two other general-semantics related books, Back Pain Solutions and Dare To Inquire. He is now completing his biography of Alfred Korzybski—the first book-length treatment ever done—which he began working on in mid-2004. Mart in H. Lev inson is the president of the Institute of General Semantics, the vice president of the New York Society for General Semantics, the book editor of ETC: A Review of General Semantics, and the author of three general semantics related books. His PhD dissertation, done at NYU under the capable guidance Professor Neil Postman, involved using general semantics to reduce student alienation. He is currently working on a volume of satires titled When Good Things Happen to Bad People.

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THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS 18

ABOUT THE PARTIC IPANTS Paul Lev inson's The Silk Code won the 2000 Locus Award for Best First Novel. He has since published Borrowed Tides (2001), The Consciousness Plague (2002), The Pixel Eye (2003), and The Plot to Save Socrates (2006). His science fiction and mystery short stories have been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, Edgar, and Sturgeon Awards. His eight nonfiction books, including The Soft Edge (1997), Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003), and Cellphone (2004), have been the subject of major articles in the New York Times, Wired, the Christian Science Monitor, and have been translated into ten languages. His next book, New New Media will be published in 2009. Paul Levinson appears on "The O'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News," the "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" (PBS), "Nightline" (ABC), and numerous national and international TV and radio programs. He reviews the best of television in his InfiniteRegress.tv blog. Paul Levinson is Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University. Dav id L inton is Professor of Communication Arts at Marymount Manhattan College. His published research includes articles and book chapters covering a wide variety of communication topics: Shakespeare as a media theorist, the reading behavior of the Virgin Mary, the history and representation of the Luddite movement, the impact and role of the metacanonical texts, media themes in popular music, the impact of new media on Austrialian Aboriginal relations, the history of menstrual product advertising. Presently he is writing a book about the cultural construction of menstruation. Paul L ippert is Professor of Communication Studies at East Stroudsburg University, and was Managing Editor of ETC under Neil Postman for close to a decade. He teaches courses on film, media, and communication, and is currently researching the rise and fall of modernity. D ick Meyer is editorial director for digital media for NPR (National Public Radio), and author of Why We Hate Us: American Discontent in the New Milllennium. He is on the board of the Online News Association, the leading organization for online journalists. He regularly writes on politics, culture and media for various Web and print outlets, including The Washington Post. Prior to joining NPR, Meyer was editorial director of CBSNews.com, where he wrote the popular "Against the Grain" column for many years. Before that, he was a producer for The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, in Washington (1993-99), where he focused on political and investigative reporting and produced the broadcast's "Reality Check" segments with correspondent Eric Engberg. Meyer also served as Rather's anchor producer for three election-night broadcasts and other major political events.

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ABOUT THE PARTIC IPANTS Terence P . Moran is Professor of Media Ecology in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University where he has been a faculty member since 1967. He is the co-editor (with Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner) of Language in America (1969) and the co-author of Selling War to America: From the Spanish-American War to the Global War on Terror (2007). Currently he is writing a textbook for Peter Lang Publishers, An Introduction to the History of Communication: Evolution and Revolution. He has taught courses and written articles on communication and media, language, and propaganda for academic and popular publications. After four years of active service in the United States Marine Corps, he enrolled in New York University in 1960, received his bachelor's degree in 1964, his master's degree in 1965, and his Ph.D. degree in 1971. With Neil Postman, he co-founded the MA and PhD programs in Media Ecology in 1970 and served as the program director for over thirty years. In 1985, he was principle founder of the undergraduate program in Communication Studies. For ten years, (1976-1986) he served as an associate editor of ETC. From 1974 through 1975, he wrote a regular column in College English on Public Doublespeak, part of his service on the Committee on Public Doublespeak of the National Council of Teachers of English. Among his awards are: a Good Conduct Medal from the U.S. Marine Corps (1955-58), A Research Award from the New York Society for General Semantics (1971), A New York State Communication Association Award (2005), the Louis Forsdale Award for Outstanding Educator in the Field of Media Ecology from the Media Ecology Association (2006), and a Teaching Excellence Award from the Steinhardt School of New York University (2005-6). A producer and writer of video documentaries, he received a 1987 New York Area Emmy Award for Outstanding Arts/Cultural/Historical Programming for McSorley's New York, a history of the oldest continuing operating saloon in Manhattan. In dedicating the play Dirty Story, John Patrick Shanley, his former student and longtime friend, provided these words that Moran would like for his epitaph: "This play is dedicated to Prof. Terence Patrick Moran, A tremendous enemy of bullshit." B i l l Petkanas is Professor and Chair of Communication at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Connecticut, and Editor of ETC: A Review of General Semantics. His interest in general semantics started as an undergraduate when he took a course in general semantics and continued through graduate school. He studied with Neil Postman at New York University, and received a PhD in Media Ecology. He teaches a course in general semantics at WCSU called Language and Communication where he hopes to help others discover the study of symbols and meaning making and the practical benefits of understanding how we use language and how language uses us. He contributes to spreading the word about general semantics at academic conferences and writing about language and meaning making. Jeanne Posner has taught media and culture courses at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Connecticut since 1979. She also teaches courses on Language and Communication and the impact of new technologies on all social environments that impact our lives. She earned her PhD from New York University's Media Ecology Program, writing her dissertation on teachers' language and students' attitudes toward school: an application of General Semantics Principles to the "real world." Dr. Posner served as education editor of ETC. She lives in Manchester, CT. Andrew Postman is the author or co-author of nine books, on an odd variety of subjects, including children's health, sports, computers, mortality, and the novel Now I Know Everything. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post and numerous national magazines.

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THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS 20

ABOUT THE PARTIC IPANTS Mei r R ibalow has had 24 of his plays receive some 180 productions worldwide, including at Dublin's Abbey Theatre and numerous times in London and New York. They have won awards in London, New York, and regionally, and his work is published and anthologized. He has won national awards for fiction, his widely published poetry, and musical lyrics; co-written ten children's books; and published articles on sports, music, theatre, literature, film, travel, and chess. He is co-author of three books on sports, and is director of an award-winning sports website. Several of his screenplays have been optioned; he was film columnist for The Sciences magazine, and has appeared as a film historian on The Discovery Channel and on several DVD releases of classic films including High Noon and Sergeant York. He is Artistic Director of New River Dramatists, which in seven summers has developed 315 new plays and screenplays, 140 of which have already been produced or optioned; and he has directed plays in London and New York with Blythe Danner, Eli Wallach, Zero Mostel, and Christopher Walken, among many others. He was Joseph Papp's Production Associate at the New York Shakespeare Festival for several years, and founded The American Repertory Company of London . He was Vice-President of The Creative Coalition with President Alec Baldwin as well as International Arts Coordinator of The Global Forum, where he worked with Robert Redford, Mikhail Gorbachev and The Dalai Lama. He is currently full-time Artist-in-Residence at Fordham University. Jacquel ine J . Rud ig currently serves as Vice-President and Treasurer of the Institute of General Semantics She has worked as a real estate investor, teacher, writer, and community activist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for over 25 years. Rudig holds advanced degrees from the University of Wisconsin and Marquette University. Her current focus is developing and directing mentoring programs that help inner-city high school seniors transition more successfully to higher education. Doug las Rushko f f is an author, teacher, and documentarian. His ten best-selling books on new media and popular culture have been translated to over thirty languages. They include Cyberia, Media Virus, Coercion, and Screenagers. Rushkoff also wrote the acclaimed novels Ecstasy Club, and Exit Strategy, the graphic novel Club Zero-G, and the monthly Vertigo comic book Testament. He has written and hosted two award-winning Frontline documentaries, The Merchants of Cool, and The Persuaders, and is Advisor to the United Nations Commission on World Culture, on the Board of Directors of the Media Ecology Association, The Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics, and was a founding member of Technorealism. Rushkoff has been awarded Senior Fellowships by the Markle Foundation, the Center for Global Communications, and the International University of Japan.

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21 THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

ABOUT THE PARTIC IPANTS Frank Scard i l l i has 50-plus years at the Bar with extensive experience as legal practitioner, law professor and Chief Mediator Emeritus of the U.S. Court of Appeals where for the last 30-plus years he has professionally negotiated/mediated thousands of cases of all types some involving stakes as high as billions of dollars. He has won his prestigious court's highest honor, "The 2nd Circuit Merit Award" which "signifies the esteem the 2nd Circuit holds for his mastery of the art of negotiation and ability to solve difficult legal problems." He has also served as adjunct professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law for 15 years where he taught "Negotiation and Conflict Resolution"—a course consistently ranked by students among the best in the school. He has also been honored by the establishment of a Chair in his name at the law school. He has trained judges across the nation in negotiation and mediation, has lectured at the United Nations, to Bar associations, and over a dozen colleges and universities. He has also been a full-time visiting professor for one year at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration where he was honored by being asked to continue on the faculty. A 1949 graduate of Yale Law School, he was a Fulbright Scholar in international and comparative law at the University of Rome, studied at Cambridge University on a full tuition and board scholarship, and holds a Master of Laws degree from New York University. He was also a weekly TV guest lecturer on Law for Non-Lawyers in Washington, D.C. A member of the New York, New Jersey and Washington, DC Bars, he has practiced extensively in both the public and private sectors and is listed in "Who's Who in American Law." Hi l le l A . Sch i l le r is an independent scholar who has previously taught at Bernard Baruch College. He has an MA in Linguistics from the University of Chicago. Zhenb in Sun received his PhD from the media ecology program at New York University and pursued his postdoctoral research at Harvard. He teaches communications at Fairleigh Dickinson University and is mainly interested Chinese and Western theories of language and comparative philosophy. Kath leen Sweeney , writer, media artist and educator, recently published Maiden USA: Girl Icons Come of Age (Peter Lang Publishing, 2008). She has been an artist-in-residence at DIA: Beacon and Reel Grrls, Seattle, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. She is currently an Adjunct Professor of Media Studies and Film at The New School.

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22 THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

ABOUT THE PARTIC IPANTS Janet Sternberg first learned about general semantics from Neil Postman while earning her doctorate in the Media Ecology Program at New York University. Since then, she has gone on to write about Postman's legacy in the general semantics journal ETC, and to become a member of the Board of Directors of the New York Society for General Semantics. (And whenever possible, she uses E-Prime.) Janet also counts herself among the Media Ecology Association's most active members, serving as one of its Directors as well as its Executive Secretary. At Fordham University, Janet enjoys teaching and advising in her position as Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies. A native New Yorker and former Fulbright scholar who grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Janet speaks and writes in several languages, and has published and presented on topics as diverse as linguistic theory, the history of technology, misbehavior and legal dilemmas in cyberspace, and mediated interpersonal communication. Inspired by her studies with Postman, Janet's current research involves the relationships among communication technologies and issues such as information overload, rampant consumerism, social fragmentation and alienation, and declining levels of civility, for a book project entitled Mediating Ourselves to Death. She draws on this research for her symposium presentation, entitled "Creating a Civil Culture: The Need to Resist Trash Talk in Contemporary Media." Lance Strate is Executive Director of the Institute of General Semantics, President of Media Ecology Association (which he helped to found), and Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University. He is the author of Echoes and Reflections: On Media Ecology as a Field of Study, and is currently writing a companion volume, Understanding Media Ecology. Moreover, he has published numerous articles and book chapters, co-edited several anthologies, including The Legacy of McLuhan, and Communication and Cyberspace: Social Interaction in an Electronic Environment, and is the Supervisory Editor of the Hampton Press book series in media ecology. He is also a Past President of the New York State Communication Association. A former editor of the Speech Communication Annual, and Explorations in Media Ecology, he currently co-edits the "Poetry Ring" feature for ETC, and maintains a poetry blog, <http://blog.myspace.com/lancestrate>, as well as a blog about media, technology, language, symbols, etc., < http://lancestrate.blogspot.com>. Devkumar Tr iv ed i is a former Secretary to the Government of Delhi. Widely travelled, he handled public service at the highest level in making policies and has vast experience heading Home, Finance, Education, Health, Forest, Development, and several other departments. Academically, a student and teacher of philosophy, he is a poet, writer, musician, free-thinker, and communicator in management and human resource development and relations. Associated with management of Universities, colleges and schools, he is essentially an educationist, and on the roving faculty of general semantics with the Center for Contemporary Theory and General Semantics, India. At 70, after sustained scholastic studies, is convinced that he is an oceanic encyclopedia of unplumbed ignorance. Ty le r Vo lk is science director of environmental studies and a professor of biology at New York University. In his work and writing, he examines reasons for phenomena across a number of different scales, and is the author of a number of books, including Metapatterns Across Space, Time, and Mind, and the newly released CO2 Rising: The World's Greatest Environmental Challenge.

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ABOUT THE PARTIC IPANTS Dav id Walczyk is an Assistant Professor of Information Science and Manager of the Cultural Informatics Design Lab at Pratt Institute. Educated in media ecology and interaction design at Columbia University, his research focuses on the sensing and controlling of physical space using computational design, and his pedagogy in the areas of usability, information architecture, physical computing, and human-centered design. A lex Wr ight is a writer and Information Architect at The New York Times and the author of Glut: Mastering Information Through the Ages, hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "a penetrating and highly entertaining meditation on our information age and its historical roots." Alex's writing has appeared in The New York Times, Salon.com, The Christian Science Monitor, The Believer, Harvard Magazine, Utne Reader, Yankee, Think, Interactions, Boxes and Arrows, New Architect, WebTechniques, Boston Business, Design Times and Library Journal, among others. As an information architect, Alex has led projects for Harvard University, IBM, Microsoft, The Long Now Foundation, Internet Archive, and Yahoo!, among others. His work has won numerous industry awards, including a Webby nomination, Cool Site of the Year award, the PRSA Silver Anvil and an American Graphic Design Award. A popular speaker and lecturer, Alex has presented at The Long Now Foundation, Gartner Group, UC-Berkeley, the Institute of Design-Chicago, Seybold, the ASIS&T Information Architecture Summit, CMP Web conferences, Association of Internet Professionals, Creating for the Web, and numerous IBM conferences. Alex holds a B.A. in English and American Literature from Brown University and an M.S. in Library and Information Science from Simmons College. He has also completed graduate coursework in journalism at Harvard, and in usability engineering at UC-Berkeley. John C. Wr ight is a retired attorney, newspaperman and newspaper editor, who was only once on the lam and forced to hide from the police who did not admire his newspaper. In 1984, he graduated from St. John's College in Annapolis, home of the "Great Books" program. In 1987, he graduated from the College and William and Mary's Law School (going from the third oldest to the second oldest school in continuous use in the United States), and was admitted to the practice of law in three jurisdictions (New York, May 1989; Maryland December 1990; DC January 1994). His law practice was unsuccessful enough to drive him into bankruptcy soon thereafter. His stint as a newspaperman for the St. Mary's Today was more rewarding spiritually, but, alas, also a failure financially. He presently works (successfully) as a writer in Virginia, where he lives in fairy-tale-like happiness with his wife, the authoress L. Jagi Lamplighter, and their three children: Orville, Wilbur, and Just Wright. Paul l Young is a Social Media Strategist at social media communications agency Converseon in New York City. A guest and speaker at public relations and social media conferences around the country, Paull is widely known for his insights on both strategy and implementation of social media. His blog, Young PR (http://youngie.prblogs.org) was Australia's first student PR blog, and currently ranks as one of the world's leading blogs on the topic of public relations. Since moving to the US in 2007 Paull has been a part of teams producing campaigns that have been recognized with awards from the Public Relations Society of America, Word of Mouth Marketing Association, Society for New Communications Research and the Webbies.

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24 THE INSTITUTE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

ETC: A Review of General Semantics

et cetera ETC: A Review of General Semantics is a journal founded in 1943 by the International Society for General Semantics. That organization merged with the Institute of General Semantics in 2003 and the institute has published the journal since that time. ETC is devoted to publishing material which contributes to and advances the understanding of language, thought and behavior: time-binding (and its failures), map-territory confusion, word-meaning problems, dating, indexing, two-valued thinking, categorical thinking, non-allness, signal reactions, problems with the abstraction process, self-reflectiveness, and other facets of general semantics. ETC welcomes submissions about the symbolic environments that humans spend their time in. We are interested in approaches to the nature of language, how we make what we call meaning, and how we can be better meaning-makers through an understanding of the relationships among symbols, mind, meaning, language, thought and culture. Submissions fall into four main areas, keeping in mind, of course that these categories are tentative, artificial, and subject to revision. The categories are meant to express the broad range of possible contributions, not limit them and contributors are not required to specify which area a particular piece falls into. 1. Articles about the symbolic environment, emerging or persisting metaphors, current or historical study of symbol use which advance the academic understanding of symbols and human behavior and culture. 2. Cases and observations of language use and misuse in politics, commerce, relationships, and self-talk which contribute to our personal understanding of the relationship of symbols and behavior. 3. Instructional schemata for educators to illustrate general semantics principles: lessons plans, activities, demonstrations, etc. 4. Poems, diagrams, short fiction, artwork or other vehicles for thought which express or explain some idea about symbols and behavior, such as maps and territories, abstractions, non-categorical thinking, extensional thinking, or the principle of etcetera.

Article submissions are accepted electronically at [email protected] The "Guidelines for Submission" are available at

http://www.generalsemantics.org/index.php/browse/pubs/review/writers-guidelines

Submission to the Poetry Ring Editor, Lance Strate: [email protected] Submissions to the Book Review Editor, Martin H. Levinson: [email protected]

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