Historians and telecommunications experts from around the country will gather at the University of Colorado at Boulder to examine parallels between the expansion of the American West and the development of the World Wide Web's still-emerging technological frontier.
CU-Boulder's Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program and the Center of the American West are co-sponsoring the March 21 panel discussion, which will feature an appearance by renowned CU-Boulder historian Patty Limerick.
The gathering will take place 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Wolf Law Building on the CU-Boulder campus.
Panelists will examine areas of similarity between the development of the Web and the country's westward expansion, looking for insights and lessons drawn from the comparison. Limerick said the topic raised many questions.
"In the worlds of the 19th century West and in the 21st century Web what - in the way of access to a new infrastructure - separated winners from losers in the scramble for resources and profit?
"In both worlds, does an initial phase of chaos yield to an era of clear and settled definitions of property? And how did the 'pioneers' in both terrains both welcome and resist the arrival of centralized government and regulation?" she asked.
Three panels of experts will address the following topics: the role of infrastructure to economic and social development; the definition of property rights and the role of the rule of law; and the impulse for grassroots democracy.
Limerick, a MacArthur "genius" fellow, is a nationally recognized author and American West historian and former president of the Western History Association. She will participate in all of the event's panels alongside a team of noted Colorado State University historians.
"We in Boulder have the great fortune of Patty Limerick's expertise to learn more about whether the Internet frontier truly resembles the Wild West and what this means for critical policy questions," said Phil Weiser, executive director of Silicon Flatirons.
The event is free and open to the public, but people are strongly encouraged to register to ensure a space at the conference. Continuing legal education credits are available.
For more information about the conference, including a complete schedule, visit Silicon Flatiron's Web site at or send e-mail to sftp@colorado.edu.