The datafied Web

 Do you remember…

… the beginnings of the internet in the 90s?
… the birth of web counters?’
… those digital pioneers who started to track our online activities?
… the novelty of seeing website visits measured in real-time?
… eye-catching graphics becoming the currency of our online attention?
… the early days of companies like Webtrends, Urchin and DoubleClick?

More than 40 presentations by over 70 researchers from 11 countries shape the program of the RESAW 2025 conference, focusing on early web development and tracing the historical roots of data-driven web tracking. The conference will take place on June 5 & 6 at the Collaborative Research Center 1187 “Media of Cooperation” in Siegen.

→ conference program

About the RESAW conference and community

RESAW is the acronym for A Research Infrastructure for the Study of Archived Web Materials. The RESAW community is dedicated to working with digital cultural heritage and gathers every two years at the eponymous RESAW conference.

RESAW was founded in 2012 with the goal of building a collaborative European research infrastructure for studying and working with web materials while fostering knowledge exchange across Europe. This presents significant challenges for both research and the archiving of web-based information and objects.

RESAW 2025 – The datafied Web at the University of Siegen

Over the last two decades the Web has become an integral part of European society, culture, business, and politics. However, web content disappears rapidly—the average lifetime of a web page is two months. To provide future access to this increasingly important digital cultural heritage, key research infrastructures in the form of national Web archives have been established in several European countries.

A web archive is a collection of web material that was born online. However, for the researcher who wants to study values and lifestyles, views and beliefs, identities and cultures across European borders, these national Web archives become an obstacle since they delimit the borderless flow of information on the internet with national barriers. High-quality research across borders requires free and efficient cross-border researcher access to national Web archives. To meet this need, RESAW will establish and operate a collaborative world-class trans- national European research infrastructure that enables cross-border studies of the archived Web by integrating and opening up existing Web archives.

RESAW mobilises a comprehensive consortium of partners, including the national Web archives of Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK, and the US-based Internet Archive, as well as six research institutions and one specialist consultancy company from six different Member States.

RESAW is in line with the EU’s ambitions expressed in The Digital Agenda for Europe, and it will provide services that do not exist today, putting Europe at the forefront in this field. By facilitating easy access to large amounts of cultural heritage, Big Data, and searching, selecting, and analysing the material, RESAW will make the research process more efficient and enhance the European Research Area. It is thus expected to have a transformative impact on a wide range of researchers who want to use material from national Web archives other than their own.

The sixth RESAW conference is dedicated to tracing the historical roots of the data-driven paradigm in web development. It closely examines trends, trajectories, and genealogies of a datafied and metric-driven web, as well as the rise of platform-based ecosystems. Investigating the historical context, aesthetics, and role of web counters, analytics tools, mobile sensors, and other metrics can contribute to a deeper understanding of online interactions, past publics and audiences, and their (at times problematic) developments.

The theme “The Datafied Web” also raises questions about methods and (web) archives that enable the study of this transformation: What challenges and methodologies arise in archiving a metrified and increasingly mobile web, including its back-end infrastructure? Additionally, the theme invites an exploration of the historical development of data collection and the evolution of web-based data monitoring practices. Related topics include the historical trajectories of tracking mechanisms, cookies, and the emergence of digital footprints, as well as the evolution of metric-dependent businesses and the financialisation of web spaces and their implications.

Taking a historical web analysis perspective, the conference examines mediated environments and asks: How has the datafied web shaped the sensory media environments in which we live today?

Highlights of RESAW 2025

To mark the 10th anniversary of the RESAW conference, a panel discussion organized by Niels Brügger will take place. Be sure to save the date: Friday afternoon, June 6.

A special highlight of this year’s conference are the keynote lectures on Thursday evening and Friday morning, delivered by Nanna Bonde Thylstrup, Associate Professor in Modern and Digital Culture at the University of Copenhagen, and Jonathan Gray, Reader in Critical Infrastructure Studies at the Department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London. Nanna Bonde Thylstrup will speak on “Vanishing Points: Technographies of Data Loss”, approaching the critical study of disappearance through the development of a technographic approach. Jonathan Gray will deliver a keynote on “Public Data Cultures”, historicizing the legal and technical conventions of open data.

Both keynotes aim to take a fresh look at the concept and practices of data: Web data is cultural material, a medium of participation and a site of transnational coordination.

A total of 22 panels at RESAW 2025 will feature over 70 presentations from researchers based in Siegen and across the international RESAW network—including participants from Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, the United States, Portugal, and Israel. On Thursday, panels will shed light on platforms and social media, monetization and web archiving practices, and dealing with data loss, among other topics. On the second day, the focus will be on the Skybox research programme, the history of platforms and research methods.

The conference promises insightful discussions on current research questions related to the trends, trajectories, and genealogies of a datafied and metric-driven web. It will also foster critical dialogue on the challenges and opportunities posed by the rise of platform-driven ecosystems.

The 2025 RESAW conference is organized by the Collaborative Research Centre 1187 “Media of Cooperation” at the University of Siegen in cooperation with the Centre for for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH) at the University of Luxembourg. The conference is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR).

Knowledge, transfer and partners in research and public engagement

What is the role of Researchers in local, regional and national innovation ecosystems? Our training series discusses new ways and methods to engage with stakeholder and reflect on the impact our research might have. All parts will be lead by city2science.

→ our event site

About the workshop series

Openness, transparency and the ability to communicate with diverse audiences inside and outside academia are key competences in 21st century research and innovation. Transferrable skills in the areas of science communication and public engagement are increasingly relevant for academic and non-academic career paths, as well as for the acquisition of national and international funding. The interdisciplinary and interactive training series invites researchers to gain practical skills in science communication and public engagement. The course will empower researchers via a mix of input, reflections and practical sessions. A major goal of the training will be to enable participants to develop a communication plan related to (their individual) research topics and to communicate their key messages to diverse audiences in a clear and effective way.

Part #1: Start the Dialogue, Open Up Science! – Introduction to Science Communication and Public Engagement

• Current developments in science communication and public engagement

• Key concepts in science communication

• Identification of potential target groups and stakeholder

• Reflecting roles and responsibilities of researchers in science communication

• Clarification of individual needs in science communication

Part #2: Open Science and Open Innovation in Science Communication

Part #3: Communication Strategies and Pathways to Impact

• How to plan strategic communication and engagement activities related to (individual) research topics

• Develop skills and get to know concrete tools for clearly communicating research to target audiences and potential stakeholders

• Introduction to “Challenge- and Impact-Driven” research and communication

• Measures to maximize impact: Communication, dissemination and exploitation strategies

• Using different communication tools with a focus on Social Media, e.g. how to create a research(er’s) profile on Social Media

Part #4: Stakeholder Engagement and Engagement Formats

Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.

Wie gestalten wir den digitalen Euro als neues Medium der Kooperation?

Mit Sebastian Gießmann (Universität Siegen. SFB 1187) und Petra Gehring (TU Darmstadt)

Sebastian Gießmann und Petra Gehring diskutieren am 26. Mai auf der diesjährigen re:publica über den digitalen Euro, seine Zukunft und Kontroversen. Das re:publica Festival widmet sich Themen der digitalen Gesellschaft.

→ zum re:publica Programm

Über den Beitrag

2025 wird ein entscheidendes Jahr für den digitalen Euro. Die Europäische Zentralbank steckt mitten in der Vorbereitungsphase für diese neue Form des Bargelds. Währenddessen stockt der nötige politische Prozess in Brüssel. Dabei ist das Projekt immer noch vielen Bürger:innen unbekannt: Im Juni 2024 wussten 59 Prozent der Deutschen nichts über die digitale Zentralbankwährung. Und wer schon davon gehört hat, vermutet vieles – angefangen bei der (keinesfalls geplanten) Abschaffung von Schein und Münze, befürchteter finanzieller Überwachung bis zur Einführung einer europäischen Kryptowährung.

Wenn wir ein neues Geld der europäischen Öffentlichkeit bis 2028 realisieren wollen, braucht es deshalb vor allem: mehr zivilgesellschaftliche Aufmerksamkeit für die digitale Zentralbankwährung, mehr und genaueres Wissen, mehr Deliberation und zivilisierten Streit, mehr Kooperation, kollektives Vorstellungsvermögen und politischen Willen. Die Philosophin Petra Gehring und der Medientheoretiker Sebastian Gießmann debattieren mit Euch, wie wir den digitalen Euro unter den aktuellen Bedingungen für alle Generationen gestalten können, und müssen.

Sebastian Gießmann und Petra Gehring diskutieren über den digitalen Euro, seine Zukunft, seine Kontroversen, seine politische Philosophie, Medientheorie und Ökonomie. Alle Generationen brauchen digital cash. Aber wie gestalten wir als europäische Zivilgesellschaft ein neues Medium der Kooperation?

Die Session „Das neue Geld der europäischen Öffentlichkeit: Wie gestalten wir den digitalen Euro?“ findet am 26. Mai von 13.45-14.15 Uhr statt. Weitere Details hier →

Über die re:publica

Die re:publica ist ein Festival für die digitale Gesellschaft und die größte Konferenz ihrer Art in Europa. Die Teilnehmer*innen der re:publica bilden einen Querschnitt der (digitalen) Gesellschaft. Zu ihnen gehören Vertreter*innen aus Wissenschaft, Politik, Unternehmen, Hackerkulturen, NGOs, Medien und Marketing sowie Blogger*innen, Aktivist*innen, Künstler*innen und Social Media-Expert*innen. Die re:publica 25 fand vom 26.-28. Mai 2025 in Berlin statt. Sie steht unter dem Motto “Generation XYZ “.

Die aktive Beteiligung der Community – initiiert durch den dem Festival vorausgehenden “Call for Participation” – macht die re:publica zu diesem einzigartigen Event. Jede*r Interessierte reicht spannende Themen, Ideen oder Projekte ein, die damit selbst Teil des Programms werden können. Unter anderem dadurch erreicht die re:publica eine hohe Themendiversität und außergewöhnliche Vernetzungsmöglichkeiten. Über 50 Prozent der re:publica-Sprecher*innen sind weiblich. Damit ist die re:publica seit langem Vorreiter und wegweisend in der Debatte rund um die Themen “Gender Balance” und “Diversity” im Allgemeinen.

Im Jahr 2007 von Tanja Haeusler, Andreas Gebhard, Markus Beckedahl und Johnny Haeusler gegründet, engagieren sich die Gesellschafter*innen der republica GmbH seit über einem Jahrzehnt in den Bereichen Netzpolitik, Digitalkultur und digitale Gesellschaft.

Über die Forschenden

Petra Gehring ist Professorin für Philosophie an der TU Darmstadt. Sie arbeitet zu einem breiten Spektrum von Themen, von der Geschichte der Metaphysik bis hin zur Technikforschung und zu den Methoden der Digital Humanities. Sie war u. a. Fellow am Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin und ist derzeit Vorsitzende des Rats für Informationsstrukturen der gemeinsamen Wissenschaftskonferenz von Bund und Ländern sowie Direktorin des Zentrums verantwortungsbewusste Digitalisierung.

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How to deconstruct and transform digital infrastructures through practices of hacking, queering, countering, and resisting

We are excited to invite you to this summer’s Lecture Series on “Unstitching Datafication”. Inspired by the seam ripper figure and historical forms of technological resistance, we invited eight guest speakers from the arts, activism and academia to explore how digital technologies can be un- and re-stitched by working on their seams.

→ Website of the Lecture Series

About the lecture series

“Unstitching Datafication” means deconstructing and transforming digital technologies by working on their ‘seams’. This means examining the social and economic relations and how they have been and can be reconfigured by technology. We invited eight speakers from arts, activism, and academia to explore the limits of digital technology and discuss what it means to intentionally create seams, ruptures, and breakdowns within digital technologies and infrastructures. Even partial unstitching generates holes in the digital fabric that expose the inner workings of opaque digital systems. These holes create openings and opportunities to intervene in structures and algorithmic logic, allowing us to envision utopian futures and alternative digitalities.

The lecture series uses the figure of the seam ripper, or unstitcher, as a textile metaphor to permeate the digital realm, drawing inspiration from previous research: Mark Weiser’s notion of ubiquitous computing famously rests on the ideal of seamless data transfer, devices inform net-work connections, and the World Wide Web remains the most expansive digital fabric. The connection between weaving and computing runs deep. Ellen Harlizius-Klück called automatic weaving a “binary art”, which paved the way for one of the first machines to be operated by punched cards: the Jacquard loom in the early 19th century.

Using the figure of the unstitcher, we understand glitches and noise, the unintended yet often revealing features of digital systems, as options for productive resistance, disconnection, and subversion. Media theory, human geography, gender studies, and critical theory understand these moments as “glitch epistemologies” (Leszczynski & Elwood), “glitch politics” (Alvarez Léon), “queer counter conduct” (Lingel) or even “anti-fascist approach to artificial intelligence” (McQuillan). The often unassuming actions of resistance or obfuscation that lead to the unstitching and, ultimately, to the unravelling of digital processes expose the inherent fragility of digital systems and create spaces for creative interventions and counteraction.

Yet, instead of emphasizing the ‘textility’ of our digital world, the eight lectures focus on how to disrupt the digital world and the seams and frictions of datafication, where knowledge emerges, and resistance takes shape. Building on ‘unstitching datafication’, the series examines the flaws and breakdowns in the supposedly seamless connectivity of today’s technologies.

Lectures & Speakers

We invited eight guest speakers from the arts, activism and academia. They come from the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, Germany and Great Britain.  In their lectures, they will focus on practices that can challenge, disrupt, and reconfigure existing norms and structures within digital environments where the sensing and sense-making of people, media, and sensors become intertwined.  Thus, our speakers will move beyond the destructive aspect inherent to unstitching seams and networks and instead ask how digital technologies can be unstitched through hacking, queering, countering, and resisting datafication and ‘data colonialism’ – be it through technical manipulations, artistic interventions, or activist action.

Event Details

• Dates: April 16 – July 16, 2025
• Location: University of Siegen, Herrengarten 3, Room: AH-A 217/18
• Streaming: via Webex
• Time: Wednesdays, 2:15 AM – 3:45 PM CET

How to Register

All events take place in hybrid form (on-site and via Webex). No registration is required if you would like to attend on-site. To attend the lecture online via Webex, please register here →

For more information about the program and detailed schedule, visit the lecture series’ website.

Contact

info[æt]sfb1187.uni-siegen.de

Follow us

Follow us on social media for more updates →

 #CRC2025 #Unstitching #glitch #DataColonialism #luddism

Thank you, and we hope to see you there!

Literature

Alvarez Léon, L. F. (2022). “From glitch epistemologies to glitch politics.” Dialogues in Human Geography 12(3), 384-388, DOI: 10.1177/20438206221102951.

Harlizius-Klück, E. (2017). “Weaving as Binary Art and the Algebra of Patterns.” TEXTILE 15(2), 176–197, DOI: 10.1080/14759756.2017.1298239.

Leszczynski, A., & Elwood, S. (2022). “Glitch epistemologies for computational cities.” Dialogues in Human Geography 12(3), 361-378, DOI: 10.1177/20438206221075714.

Lingel, J. (2020). “Dazzle camouflage as queer counter conduct.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 24(5), 1107-1124, DOI: 10.1177/1367549420902805.

McQuillan, D. (2022). Resisting AI: An Anti- Fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence. Bristol: Bristol University Press.

The datafied Web – 6^th RESAW 2025 conference

June 4 – 6, 2025, at the University of Siegen

Registration for the 6^th RESAW conference (June 4-6) is now open. You can register on our conference website until May 15^th.

➞ Register now

About the registration

Registration for the pre-conference is not mandatory but highly appreciated. Spontaneous participation is also welcome. During registration, please indicate whether you will be joining us for dinner. Vegetarian and vegan options will be available. If you have specific dietary requirements, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the organizers. We aim to include precarious scholars—please contact the organizers if you need support or would like to discuss possible options. Email: RESAW25-datafiedweb[æt]uni-siegen.de

About the conference

We look forward to more than 40 presentations by over 70 researchers from 11 countries who shape the amazing program of the 6th RESAW 2025 conference. The conference will take place on June 4-6 at the University of Siegen.

The conference promises insightful discussions on current research questions related to the trends, trajectories, and genealogies of a datafied and metric-driven web. It will also foster critical dialogue on the challenges and opportunities posed by the rise of platform-driven ecosystems.

For more information about the program and detailed schedule, visit the conference website datafiedweb.net.

Follow us on social media for more updates ➞ 

 #CRC2025 #resaw25 #webhistory #webarchives #datafication #archives

The 2025 RESAW conference is organized by the Collaborative Research Centre 1187 “Media of Cooperation” at the University of Siegen in cooperation with the Centre for for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH) at the University of Lux-embourg. The conference is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR).

The new summer program

We welcome our members back to the new semester and summer program.

→ our events

We are excited to announce our upcoming summer program which includes

• several workshops and conferences incl. the RESAW 2025 “The Datafied Web” conference, which doubles as the CRC’s annual conference,
• the lecture series “Unstitching Datafication,”
• three MGK Masterclasses (Workshop [Media] Practice Theory),
• the MGK Writing Retreat and Research Colloquium,
• and a Summer School.

This semester’s edition of the Research Forum will feature an event series dedicated to Science Communication & Public Engagement, including sessions on open science, communication strategies, and stakeholder engagement. 

We look forward to inspiring talks and intriguing discussion. See you in Siegen or online!

Round table “TikTok hacken? Protest und Bildung auf Videoplattformen”

hosted by Julia Bee (Ruhr-Universität Bochum) and Jasmin Degeling (Bauhaus-Universität Weimar)

How can TikTok be a platform for political education and queer-feminist activism? In the round table “Hacking TikTok? Protest and Education on Video Platforms” media scholars and content creators take a critical look at TikTok’s potential as a space for democratic discourse.

➞ Event page

Event info

February 21, 7 pm
Quartiershalle in der KoFrabrik
Stühmeyerstraße 33
44787 Bochum

About the panel discussion

In this panel discussion with Ole Liebl, Caspar Weimann, Judith Ackermann, Jennifer Eickelmann, and Philipp Hohmann, the hosts Julia Bee and Jasmin Degeling discuss the protest and education on TikTok.

Against the backdrop of digital platforms contributing to societal fascization and the particular advantage digital media provide to right-wing political strategies, the participants will discuss which formats and artistic practices on TikTok and similar platforms can promote democracy through political education and queer-feminist activism.

TikTok creators critically address antifeminist and right-wing (online) radicalization, masculinity critique, queer joy, sexuality, and gender on their channels. They position themselves as queer-feminist and antifascist voices and advocate for the queer community.

In this discussion, content creators and media scholars will examine the possibilities of political education and a democratic media culture on TikTok. Join us and be part of the conversation on TikTok as a tool for political education and the role we can play in it.

RESAW 2025 – The datafied Web

More than 40 presentations by over 70 researchers from 11 countries shape the program of the RESAW 2025 conference, which will take place on June 5 & 6 at the Collaborative Research Center 1187 “Media of Cooperation” in Siegen. Registration will be possible from March 2025.

→ See the conference programme

About the RESAW conference and community

RESAW is the acronym for A Research Infrastructure for the Study of Archived Web Materials. The RESAW community is dedicated to working with digital cultural heritage and gathers every two years at the eponymous RESAW conference.

RESAW was founded in 2012 with the goal of building a collaborative European research infrastructure for studying and working with web materials while fostering knowledge exchange across Europe. This presents significant challenges for both research and the archiving of web-based information and objects.

RESAW 2025 – The datafied Web at the University of Siegen

Over the last two decades the Web has become an integral part of European society, culture, business, and politics. However, web content disappears rapidly—the average lifetime of a web page is two months. To provide future access to this increasingly important digital cultural heritage, key research infrastructures in the form of national Web archives have been established in several European countries.

A web archive is a collection of web material that was born online. However, for the researcher who wants to study values and lifestyles, views and beliefs, identities and cultures across European borders, these national Web archives become an obstacle since they delimit the borderless flow of information on the internet with national barriers. High-quality research across borders requires free and efficient cross-border researcher access to national Web archives. To meet this need, RESAW will establish and operate a collaborative world-class trans- national European research infrastructure that enables cross-border studies of the archived Web by integrating and opening up existing Web archives.

RESAW mobilises a comprehensive consortium of partners, including the national Web archives of Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK, and the US-based Internet Archive, as well as six research institutions and one specialist consultancy company from six different Member States.

RESAW is in line with the EU’s ambitions expressed in The Digital Agenda for Europe, and it will provide services that do not exist today, putting Europe at the forefront in this field. By facilitating easy access to large amounts of cultural heritage, Big Data, and searching, selecting, and analysing the material, RESAW will make the research process more efficient and enhance the European Research Area. It is thus expected to have a transformative impact on a wide range of researchers who want to use material from national Web archives other than their own.

The sixth RESAW conference is dedicated to tracing the historical roots of the data-driven paradigm in web development. It closely examines trends, trajectories, and genealogies of a datafied and metric-driven web, as well as the rise of platform-based ecosystems. Investigating the historical context, aesthetics, and role of web counters, analytics tools, mobile sensors, and other metrics can contribute to a deeper understanding of online interactions, past publics and audiences, and their (at times problematic) developments.

The theme “The Datafied Web” also raises questions about methods and (web) archives that enable the study of this transformation: What challenges and methodologies arise in archiving a metrified and increasingly mobile web, including its back-end infrastructure? Additionally, the theme invites an exploration of the historical development of data collection and the evolution of web-based data monitoring practices. Related topics include the historical trajectories of tracking mechanisms, cookies, and the emergence of digital footprints, as well as the evolution of metric-dependent businesses and the financialisation of web spaces and their implications.

Taking a historical web analysis perspective, the conference examines mediated environments and asks: How has the datafied web shaped the sensory media environments in which we live today?

Highlights of RESAW 2025

To mark the 10th anniversary of the RESAW conference, a panel discussion organized by Niels Brügger will take place. Be sure to save the date: Friday afternoon, June 6.

A special highlight of this year’s conference are the keynote lectures on Thursday evening and Friday morning, delivered by Nanna Bonde Thylstrup, Associate Professor in Modern and Digital Culture at the University of Copenhagen, and Jonathan Gray, Reader in Critical Infrastructure Studies at the Department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London. Nanna Bonde Thylstrup will speak on “Vanishing Points: Technographies of Data Loss”, approaching the critical study of disappearance through the development of a technographic approach. Jonathan Gray will deliver a keynote on “Public Data Cultures”, historicizing the legal and technical conventions of open data. Drawing on a series of empirical vignettes, he will reconsider data as cultural material, a medium of participation, and a site of transnational coordination.

A total of 22 panels at RESAW 2025 will feature over 70 presentations from researchers based in Siegen and across the international RESAW network—including participants from Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, the United States, Portugal, and Israel. On Thursday, panels will shed light on platforms and social media, monetization and web archiving practices, and dealing with data loss, among other topics. On the second day, the focus will be on the Skybox research programme, the history of platforms and research methods.

The conference promises insightful discussions on current research questions related to the trends, trajectories, and genealogies of a datafied and metric-driven web. It will also foster critical dialogue on the challenges and opportunities posed by the rise of platform-driven ecosystems.

The 2025 RESAW conference is organized by the Collaborative Research Centre 1187 “Media of Cooperation” at the University of Siegen in cooperation with the Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH) at the University of Luxembourg. The conference is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR).

The role of sensor technologies in private and public life

Karina Kirsten (University of Siegen)

This year’s annual conference of the Collaborative Research Centre ‘Media of Cooperation’ focuses on the role of sensor technologies in public and private life. Scholars worldwide will come together at the University of Siegen from 13 to 15 November.

→Further information on the annual conference

About the annual conference

The annual conference of the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1187 ‘Media of Cooperation’ will focus on the topic ‘Scaling Sensing – Sensing Publics: Landscapes, and Borders, Homes and Bodies’. From 13 to 15 November, researchers at the University of Siegen will discuss the role of sensor technologies in public and private life. How do sensors and sensing practices shape different public spaces? What dynamics can be observed between sensing practices and the public sphere?

There is great interest in the topic. More than 60 researchers from media studies, linguistics, computer science, cultural studies, social sciences, engineering, anthropology, educational science and history are participating in the Siegen event. The focus will be on case studies on sensors and media and sensory impressions from various fields of practice.

The Collaborative Research Centre ‘Media of Cooperation’ has been investigating phenomena of the digital society since 2016. The development is rapid: In the first funding phase (2016-2019), the CRC focused on the relevance of social media and platforms, while the second phase (2020-2023) centered on data-intensive media and data practices. In its third and final funding phase (2024-2027), the CRC inquires the interplay between sensor media and artificial intelligence (AI) and, with the annual conference now taking place, turns its attention to the relationship between sensor media, artificial intelligence (AI) and the public.

Sensor media are now part of everyday life. They record movements, design smart homes, collect environmental data and control semi-autonomous driving. They fundamentally change how we perceive, sense and produce knowledge, influence how we recognise environments – from landscapes and cities to private homes – and locate our bodies within them. However, they offer solutions to various social, political, technological, medical and ecological challenges and raise ethical and political concerns. They undermine privacy, threaten our data sovereignty and reinforce social inequalities. Therefore, the critical discussion of sensor technologies and their application contexts is essential for the public.

Four panels at the annual conference will provide space for 17 interdisciplinary presentations by researchers from Siegen and abroad – including Paris, Geneva, Eindhoven, Montreal, Basel, Waltham, US, Luxembourg and Texas. On the first day, Panel 1 ‘Sensing Landscapes’, will examine various perceptual practices in natural environments. On the second day, Panel 2, ‘Sensing Borders’, and Panel 3, ‘Sensing Bodies’, will focus on the socio-political consequences of drawing borders and the social interplay of human and technical perception. On the last day, Panel 4, ‘Sensing Homes’, will discuss our understanding of privacy using the example of smart home technologies.

Particular highlights of this year’s annual conference are the keynotes on Wednesday and Thursday evenings by David Howes, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and Jürgen Streeck, Professor of Communication Studies, Anthropology and German Studies at the University of Texas. David Howes will speak on the ‘Anthropology of the Senses’, highlighting the importance of sensory experiences for understanding community and the public sphere in modern societies. In his keynote speech, Jürgen Streeck will analyse the role of gestures and multimodal interaction in communication between people and between people and technology and show how such interactions shape our perception of social reality.

The conference promises exciting insights into current research questions around sensor technologies and the public sphere and a critical dialogue on the challenges and opportunities associated with the technical recording of our perception and environment.

Contact:
Dr. Karina Kirsten (CRC „Media of Cooperation“, Scientific Coordination)
E-Mail:
Tel.: 0271 740 5252

“Machine–Body–Space: The Entanglement of Human and Non-Human Sensing”

Thursday, 07. November 2024 – Friday, 08. November 2024

This conference aims to investigate the complex co-constitution of human and machinic sensing, examining how sensing, sensoring, and sense-making are intertwined in sensory practices within everyday environments.
The conference is hosted by Lorenza Mondada, Clemens Eisenmann and Philippe Sormani from project P01 and Stephan Habscheid and Tim Hector from project B06 in the Collaborative Research Center 1187 “Media of Cooperation”