1998 PSi4 "Theaters of Death"

City University of New York

Sold-out conference (110 people in attendance).

Peggy Phelan: This was "the shortest conference we've had (it ended Saturday at 6 I believe) and we dedicated Sunday to a working meeting. this is when all the committees were formed, chairs named and so on."

Heike Roms: Planning meeting held at which the organizational structure and its membership structure was determined. Also at this meeting the big 'I' became a little 'i'. At this meeting, ideas were offered for internationalizing the organization, including foreign exchange programs, e-mail working groups, multi-lingual web site, and providing travel funds for conferences.

Also at this conference, Heike reports, "the term "international" was seen by some participants to be entrapped in old, geographically articulated power relations based on a core/periphery divide. Instead, it was proposed to replace it with the term ‘global.’ This term in turn was rejected by others as being too closely associated with the global functioning of capitalism. Other suggestions proposed to use ‘international’ with small letters, in inverted commas or in parenthesis, i.e. PSi, PS‘i’ or PS(i)." Heike further notes that "the very first PSi brochure we produced offered other possible readings of the small i - intercultural, innovative, irreverent, interracial, interdisciplinary, interrogative, ironic, interlingual, interesting, intercontinental." And that "The need to further problematize the issue and to continue the debate was emphasized."

PSi’s international sub-committee was founded, headed by Diana Taylor, NYU.