This strand encourages student proposals that explore how technological progress or innovations in technology can be harnessed to create sustainable public or private economic growth, jobs, educational opportunities, or a higher quality of living. How has politics affected the decisions of businesses or new technology attempting to endure business cycle fluctuations, domestic and international competition, depletion of resources, and international trade wars? How will new banking and trading technologies or artificial intelligence affect capital investment, socioeconomic mobility, and the wealth gap? We seek your creativity in these technical fields and look forward to reviewing your creative solutions to our theme: “Ahead of Our Time – Reconciling Technology, Progress, and the Future."

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Reviewed by Mike Tasto (Southern New Hampshire University)

The Education strand invites proposals that focus on one of our most important social institutions – our schools. Innovations in technology can have transformative effects on the way we educate citizens. Education also plays a significant role in producing and harnessing technological innovations. There are many possibilities for important and creative analysis within this strand: proposals might focus on curriculum, teaching practices, student activism, or cultural representations of teachers, students, and schools—among other possibilities. What role will education play in harnessing new technologies such as AI? How might we address problems of access to technology in the education system? And perhaps most importantly, what education will best prepare young citizens and future innovators for the challenges ahead?

Reviewed by AnnMarie DelliPizzi (Dominican University) and Gwen Kay (SUNY—Oswego)

Thomas Jefferson once proclaimed, “Freedom, the first-born of science.” Thus, he implicitly saw the interdependency of American democracy and the pursuit of scientific and technological advancement. The new American Republic would be a nation of artisans, inventors, and entrepreneurs whose creativity and determination to succeed would further define America’s independence from not only Great Britain, but the Old World itself. “Yankee ingenuity” would become synonymous with the relentless innovation of a restless nation eager to establish itself in the modern world.

This strand invites presentations about how the Jeffersonian formulation of the bonds between democracy and science/technology evolved over time. How, for instance, did the growing adoption of and dependence upon technology influence the development of social and political structures that hitherto had relied upon more personal, informal, and localized networks? In what ways did the Industrial Age lay the foundations for the Atomic Age, the Space Age, and the Information Age? Do the benefits of technological advancement outweigh the foreseen and unintended consequences? Can technology save humanity from its worst impulses, eradicate disease and poverty, and guarantee diversity, inclusion, and equity or will it make our self-destruction inevitable? As the lines between humanity and “artificial” or “synthetic” continue to blur, how can individuals and institutions adapt to an emerging reality that even someone of Jefferson’s genius could never have imagined?

Reviewed by Marcella McCoy-Deh (Thomas Jefferson University), and Darryl L. Peterkin (Macaulay Honors College at CUNY)

Honors is a unique community of students, faculty, and staff who have insatiable curiosities, hunger for knowledge, and a passion for lifelong learning. The Honors Education and Practices strand welcomes proposals that provide examples of the many ways that honors education and practices encourage academic excellence, build strong communities, and create the leaders of tomorrow. Honors can be the leader in higher education by crafting meaningful, engaging, and creative experiences for students, faculty, and staff alike. Through innovative courses, honors contracts, research and creative projects, and community connections, Honors is often at the forefront of the intersection of thought and technology. We welcome presentations that discuss the unique successes of the honors programs and colleges of this region as well as proposals that discuss technological history and/or advancement. This strand is designed to celebrate collaboration and sharing of strategies to ultimately improve our Honors community as a whole.

Reviewed by Chris Brittain (Ocean County College) and Amy McMillan (SUNY—Buffalo State)

Science fiction is just one of many textual spaces where we can consider the potential effects of technological innovation on human institutions, the planet, and our ways of thinking. The Language, Literature, and Philosophy strand invites proposals that engage this year’s conference theme “Ahead of Our Time – Reconciling Technology, Progress, and the Future." How might our study of language, the literary arts, popular culture and philosophy help us to negotiate the cultural upheaval created by technological innovation and envision a human future that is more just and more sustainable?  

Reviewed by Tanya Radford (Dominican University New York) and Jessica McCort (Lake Park University)

Media and the arts have a unique ability to subvert and challenge our notions of technological progress. In many ways, the purpose of media studies and the arts is to challenge an audience by making them face uncomfortable truths about themselves and their pre-conceived notions of fact and reality. In their representation of technological advancement as it relates to political unrest, climate change, personal grief, mental illness, or other challenges, media and the arts can ask their audience to examine how technology affects them and their place in the world. Thus, these works and the study of them can represent difficult truths while also being cathartic. How can art, whether in music, dance, theatre, photography, written art forms (novels, poetry, prose, etc.), sculpture, drawing, and so on, represent the effects of technology on individuals and society? Can enjoyment and analysis of these works bring us together? Can these works and our analysis of them both express positives and negatives borne of technological advancement? The Media Studies and the Arts strand welcomes proposals that examine the role of media and the arts in the development and demonstration of technological progress.

Reviewed by Zachary Aidala (Bloomfield College of Montclair State University) and Chris Brittain (Ocean County College)

The disciplines encompassed by science and mathematics are the drivers of technological advancement. Each Age is marked by breakthroughs in technology that have driven society into previously unknown territory and sparked intense debates that impact every other academic field. The STEM fields continue to drive technological advances, which can serve to improve society and build our sense of humanity – who we are, what we know, and how we can work together to solve our problems. Without these advances, our efforts to address societal problems also stagnate. Technology has also exacerbated some of the existential crises of our times, including climate change and global pollution; problems society continues to try to solve. We welcome proposals that share your discoveries in the fields of the natural sciences, mathematics, and allied health.

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Reviewed by Gwen Kay (SUNY—Oswego) and Amy McMillan (SUNY—Buffalo State)