Inaugural issue on “Digital Material/ism”

The inaugural issue of Digital Culture & Society on “Digital Material/ism” has just been published (October 2015): It presents case studies as well as methodological reflections and theoretical insights into digital materiality and materialisDigiCultS_Materialismm. The issue contains articles by Tim Barker and Conor McKeown, Till A. Heilmann, Stefan Werning, Laura Forlano, Grant Bollmer, Ashley Scarlett, Yuk Hui, Moritz Hiller, Evelyn Wan and Sabrina Sauer.

Moreover, for the first issue I have interviewed media theorist Jussi Parikka about his book “A Geology of Media” (2015), the relevance of new materialism and the need for critical, digital humanities. My Maastricht University colleague Karin Wenz spoke to sociologist Tim Jordan about his book “Information Politics” (2015), reflecting on issues of power, control and politics in digital culture.

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Call for Papers: “Digital Material/ism”

Digital Material/ism: How Materiality shapes Digital Culture and Social Interaction – First Issue of Digital Culture & Society

Abstract deadline: February 1, 2015

The idea of a society, in which everyday smart objects are equipped with digital logic and sensor technologies, is currently taking shape. Devices connected as learning machines to the “Internet of Things” necessitate further research on issues related to digital media and their materiality. In this context, media, culture and social theories, dealing with the materiality of digital technology, have gained increasing relevance.

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New Journal: Digital Culture and Society

Together with my colleagues Pablo Abend, Mathias Fuchs, Ramon Reichert and Karin Wenz, I recently initiated the publication of a new journal:

Digital Culture & Society is a refereed, international journal, fostering discussion about the ways in which digital technologies, platforms and applications reconfigure daily lives and practices. It offers a forum for critical analysis and inquiries into digital media theory. The newly established journal provides a publication environment for interdisciplinary research approaches, contemporary theory developments and methodological innovation in digital media studies. It invites reflection on how culture unfolds through the use of digital technology, and how it conversely influences the development of digital technology itself.

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