Conference “2000 Revisited – A look back to the future”

On 6 and 7 May 2017 young researchers from the humanities and social sciences meet up at ITAS to examine the turn of the millennium as an efficacious reference point for future visions of all kinds. Registrations are still possible until 23 April 2017.

For several decades, the year 2000 served as an imaginary stopover for a “socio-technical to-do list” and sometimes as a synonym for the future itself. From the 1960s onwards not only science fiction, but also a variety of print and TV publications dealt with the social, cultural, medical and spatial changes technical innovations and scientific breakthroughs might bring up to the Millenium. This discourse was later extended by environmental issues such as climate change, pollution and energy crises, which aroused doubts about a completely positive path to the future.

The year 2000 as a futuristic reference point will be the focus of the conference “2000 Revisited – A look back to the future”, which will take place on 6 and 7 May 2017 in the foyer of ITAS (Karlstrasse 11, 76133 Karlsruhe).

The focus is on the major developments in science and technology, which were foreseen for the year 2000 and the 21st century, and on the technology paths which seemed promising. Among other things, discussions are to be held on whether modern fields of research in science and technology undergo comparable expectations and how “sociotechnical deadlines” such as the year 2000 shape the communication of science and technology.

The conference is sponsored by the Hans Böckler Foundation and organized by ITAS together with the Institute for History at KIT. Cooperating partners are the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Institute of German Studies at KIT, as well as the Interdisciplinary Network for Studies Investigating Science and Technology (INSIST). (22.03.2017)