IGS Co-Hosts the 56th AKML and a Two-Day Symposium On November 14, 2008, IGS hosted the 56th Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture at the Princeton Club in NYC. Douglas Rushkoff gave the AKML.

On November 15-16, 2008, IGS followed with a two-day symposium at Fordham University titled "Creating the Future: Conscious Time-Binding for a Better Tomorrow."

To read the program for the event, click here.

Freelance photographer Robert Francos took photos of many of the speakers at the weekend's events. Check back here after November 24th to see photos from the event; we hope to have them up by that time.

UPDATES (as of 11/20/2008)

Listen to Douglas Rushkoff's lecture by downloading the .mp3 file here. (Download an alternate version here.) You can also stream his lecture here.

Read press and blogs from the event at the following locations:

Douglas Rushkoff's account of "the biggest honor [he's] had as a public speaker" - Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies
New York Press's Brian Heater's account of the AKML - New York Press
IGS Executive Director Lance Strate's account of the weekend - Lance Strate's Blog Time Passing (Entry 1)
IGS Executive Director Lance Strate's corrigenda from the AKML - Lance Strate's Blog Time Passing (Entry 2)
Photographer Robert Barry Francos's account of the weekend and accounts of Neil Postman - FFanzeen: Rock 'n' Roll With Integrity

IGS Announces Inauguration of the Samuel I. Hayakawa Book Prize Competition for the Hayakawa Book Prize is open to any book published in 2004 or later on topics and themes of direct relevance to the discipline of general semantics, including time-binding, abstraction, language, symbols, meaning, communication, media, perception, consciousness, epistemology, scientific method, etc.

To enter, send a letter of nomination and four copies of the book to Executive Director, Institute of General Semantics, 2260 College Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76110 by March 1, 2009.

For more information, contact Lance Strate, Executive Director of the Institute of General Semantics, via e-mail executivedirector (at) generalsemantics.org, or by telephone at (718) 817-4864.

The winner will receive a cash award of $1,000.

IGS Featured on Connecticut Public Radio On November 11, 2008, Executive Director Lance Strate, ETC Editor-in-Chief Bill Petkanas, and Douglas Rushkoff were guests on the radio show Where We Live on WNPR.

To listen to an archived version of the hour-long show, plus to read the teaser for the episode, please visit:

http://www.cpbn.org/program/where-we-live/episode/general-semantics

Bill Petkanas Appointed As ETC Editor The Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the appointment of Bill Petkanas BA, PhD to the position of Editor of ETC: A Review of General Semantics, effective July 15, 2008.

Bill Petkanas is Professor and Chair of Communication, and Director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Connecticut. His interest in general semantics started as an undergraduate when he took a course in GS and continued through graduate school. He studied with Neil Postman at NYU, and received a PhD in Media Ecology. He teaches a course in GS at WCSU called "Language & Communication" where he hopes to help others discover the study of symbols and meaning making and the practical benefits of understanding how we use language and how language uses us. He contributes to spreading the word about GS at academic conferences and writing about language and meaning making, including "Art, Life. and Reality: General Semantics and Definitions" in the September, 2001 issue of ETC.

Lance Strate Appointed As Executive Director The Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the appointment of Lance Strate BA, MA, PhD to the position of Executive Director of the Institute of General Semantics, effective March 15, 2008.

Dr. Strate, Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University in New York City, is internationally recognized for his intellectual leadership in the discipline of communication. He is one of the founders, and the current President of the Media Ecology Association, and also Past President of the New York State Communication Association. Lance has also been involved with the IGS as writer and lecturer, as well as long-time member of the IGS.

Dr. Strate has published and edited many books and numerous articles on the study of Media Ecology, the idea that technology and techniques, modes of information and codes of communication, play a leading role in human affairs and sociocultural phenomenon. His research in media environments includes the study of new technologies and digital media, including online communications and telephony, and the ensuing impact on language and symbolic communication.

Dr. Strate will continue his work at Fordham University while helping to further the mission of the Institute of General Semantics through his participation in a wide range of leadership duties, including program and membership development, fiscal administration, and the oversight of day-to-day operations of the Institute. In the spirit of time-binding, please join us in a warm welcome as Lance begins the work of IGS Executive Director.

IGS in India Thanks to underwriting from IGS member Mr. B.K. Parekh, Chairman of Pidilite Industries Ltd, two seasoned General Semantics instructors, Andrea Johnson and Steve Stockdale, recently returned from an 18-day trip to India to introduce General Semantics. They gave seminars and workshops at seven different venues in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Anand, and Vadodara, to a total audience of about 350 individuals.

Read an English translation of an original Gujarati language news article from November 6, 2007

Read an account of one presentation as printed in the daily newspaper DNA (Daily News & Analysis), the November 20, 2007, edition

For photos from the visit, click here.