Data Extraction, Materiality and Agency

Our so-called networked society has failed so far to transpose the logic of interconnectedness into our lives.
Citizens are becoming increasingly machine-like and dependent on data, threatening the connection between humans and their natural habitats. Although most of our daily transactions are carried out through electronic devices, we know very little of the apparatus that facilitates such interactions, or in other words, about the factory that lies beyond the interface.
In this seminar, we will perform an in-depth exploration of the interface as a well-engineered capitalist machine that disconnects users from the material complexities of global chains of commodity and data production—and also social reproduction—with the aim of increasing economic profit. Thus, it is necessary to trace the connections that exist between things—as well as the workload involved in the basic maintenance of those connections—if the user is to fully understand the systems they operate in, in order to balance and repair the profoundly asymmetrical distribution of agency, energy, labor, time, care and resources within these planetary networks.

The goal of this seminar is not only to foster an understanding of these systems, but also to empower students with the knowledge and tools to re-balance and repair the existing disparities.

Office hours:

Thursdays, 10:00 – 13:00 h either at Atelier Netze or at the office.