DTMD 2017 had a focus on Information, narrative and rhetoric: exploring meaning in a digitalised society. It was held on 12 June 2017, as part of the IS4SI 2017: Digitalisation for a Sustainable Society summit, which took place on 12-16 June 2017 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The summit website contains a call for papers and schedule. The workshop proceedings were published in Proceedings, Volume 1, IS4SI 2017:Summit DIGITALISATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY
Workshop descriptionMeaning is embedded within, and defined by, stories. This workshop exploreed the use of the language of information in the stories of the digitalised society in order to enhance understanding, both of society and of information. In our increasingly digitalised society, certain narratives have emerged depicting possible futures of an information society. ‘Smart cities’, ‘big data’ and ‘the internet of things’ constitute perhaps the most obvious examples of such stories, offering somewhat utopian views of a society enhanced through their application. On the other hand digital technologies such as websites and social media are implicated in the spread of fake news and the rise of post-truth politics. Discussions of these developments engage with information and a shared, tacit understanding of its nature in order to generate meaning, rhetoric and the narratives themselves; reflexively, there is also a need to consider the role of rhetoric and narrative in the shift to a digitalised or informational conception of society. The exploration of information and its use, and their intersection with rhetorical considerations gives rise to alternative viewpoints and prompts a range of questions, thereby providing the basis for a valuable critique of emerging ideas and narratives. In this workshop, the Difference that Makes a Difference (DTMD) group continued its interdisciplinary / transdisciplinary exploration at the intersection of information and other phenomena by exploring its relationship to narrative and rhetoric. These conversations between – and across – disciplines encourage new perspectives and foster insight into the meanings and values we apply to our lives and way of living.
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