IR 3.0: Net / Work / Theory
MECC conference & exhibition centre
Maastricht, the Netherlands

October 13, 2002: pre-conference workshops
October 14-16, 2002: conference
Conference chair: monica.murero@infonomics.nl

The Internet has become an integral, ubiquitous part of everyday life in many social domains and international contexts. Yet, most of the public attention on cyberspace remains fueled by utopian or dystopian visions, rather than being informed by the growing body of research on the Internet as a complex fact of modern life.

Internet Research (IR) 3.0, an international and interdisciplinary conference of the Association of Internet Researchers (A.o.I.R.), will feature a variety of perspectives on internet research, in order to develop a better theoretical and pragmatic understanding of the internet. Building on the previous well-attended international conferences, the IR 3.0 will bring together prominent scholars, researchers, and practitioners from many disciplines, fields and countries for a program of presentations, panel discussions, and informal exchanges.

This year's theme is Net/Work/Theory. Contributors are called to reflect on how to theorize what we know about the internet and on how to apply what we know theoretically in practice. The conference will be held for the first time in Europe, whose intellectual environments have traditionally been a source of social and cultural theory.

IR 3.0 will be hosted by the International Institute of Infonomics in the beautiful city of Maastricht in the Netherlands. As the city in which one of the key treaties of the European Union was signed, Maastricht also symbolises a changing Europe in a changing international setting. The conference will provide opportunities to network, learn from other researchers, hear from leading players in internet development, and enjoy the "art of fine living" of Maastricht, in the south of the Netherlands.