Theories and Metaphors of Cyberspace- Abstracts

Cyberspace, Virtual Reality and The End of History

By Stephen Webb

Abstract:

I've just received details on the forthcoming conference in Vienna on 'Theories and Metaphors of Cyberspace' and would like to propose a provisional title for a paper called "Cyberspace, Virtual Reality and The End of History'. The paper will explore links between the popular aesthetic culture of cyberspace and the technical-instrumental culture of virtual reality research and contextualise this relationship through Francis Fukuyama's thesis on modernity and history.

Myself and Graham McBeath are writing a book for Sage called 'Cyberspace and Social Theory' and a related text for Harvester Wheatsheaf on 'Cyberspace and Popular Culutre'. I've also recently set up a list server through mailbase called 'Cyberspace and Society' which you might be interested in. Please find attached a copy of a paper which Graham and I wrote for the British Sociological Association conference last month on Cities, Subjectivity and Cyberspace