By 20th June 2014, Dr Calzada (Future of Cities & COMPAS) and Dr Cobo (OII) from the University of Oxford have held a Workshop titled: #Unplugging > Beyond Hyper-Connected Societies that will take place at The Oxford Research Centre in Humanities in Oxford (UK) from 13:00-16:00. The article #Unplugging > Deconstructing the Smart City by the two authors is forthcoming.

1. #Unplugging >
Beyond Hyper-Connected Societies.
http://www.unplugging.eu
Workshop supported by >
The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities TORCH
University of Oxford (UK)
http://www.torch.ox.ac.uk/unplugging
20
th
June 2014. From 13:00-16:00. Oxford (UK)
Keywords: Unplugging, Digital Humanities, Cross-disciplinary Research, Social Networks,
Social Capital, Smart City, Social Innovation, Networked Individualism, Liquid and Networked
Society, Public Space and Millennials.
• To congregate scholars from Digital Humanities, OII, FoC, InSIS, COMPAS, Oxford
Martin School, Säid Business School, Sustainable Urban Development Programme
Oxford, Transport Unit and Environmental Change Institute, among others,
generating a dialogue between individual academics and communities interested in
critically analyzing the social implications of the hyper-connected society.
• To facilitate networking and face-to-face conversations to stimulate a live exchange
between researchers and individuals with an interest in understanding the side
effects of the internet and other socio-technical factors in everyday life.
Methodology:
The workshop will include presentations and interdisciplinary group discussions: (1) to debate
and exchange relevant research and experiences (2) to go beyond the techno-determinism
views and explore some of the side-effects of an increasingly hyper-connected society (3) to
explore avenues of further research.
Summary:
The workshop will consist of academics from across the disciplines to critically analyse why
the current socio-technical transformations, such as the expansion of social networks and the
smart city, should not necessarily be understood as a proxy of ‘social capital’ for a better
urban governance. Framed in the context of a society heavily influenced by the promises of
Smart Cities, Big Data, smart devices etc., a cross-disciplinary analysis will discuss the side-
effects and tensions between being online 24/7 and the subtle notion of #Unplugging,
conceived as a rare privilege that only a few members of hyper-connected societies can
attain.
Aim:
The goal of this workshop is to provide a framework for deconstructing the on-going
discourse of Smart Cities articulating ten dimensions grounded in a critical social innovation
perspective and exploring new transitions and tensions in this agenda.
Location:
The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (Humanities Division, University of Oxford).
Wednesday, 20th June 2014 from 13:00 to 16:00 (BST) Oxford, United Kingdom
Booking:
Participation is free, but space is limited and registration is required. Please click here to
register. http://unplugged-cities.eventbrite.co.uk
Convenors:
Igor Calzada: PostDoctoral Research Fellow Future of Cities, COMPAS & InSIS - University
of Oxford.
Cristobal Cobo: Research Fellow Oxford Internet Institute - University of Oxford.
By
Dan
Perjovschi