On Tuesday January 14th we will have the next GEM jam in Utrecht. Please save the date! We will convene between 1 and 3 at Muntstraat 2A, 1.11. In this second meeting of the Research Group on Geomedia and Urban Interfaces (see below) we will discuss Alexander Galloway’s 2012 book The Interface Effect.
Although it isn’t a particularly lengthy title, some might consider reading Patrick Jagoda’s review in the LARB as a good entry point into the book. If you are unfamiliar with Galloway’s work in general, his other two major books are Protocol (2004), a Deleuzian take on the machinations of control and Gaming (2006), a reading of algorithmic culture. The Interface Effect is the third and final title in his ‘Allegories of Control’ trilogy.
GEM meetings are open to anyone interested in the specific topic of the meeting and/or the activities of the research group. Please pass on this invitation, and let us know if you want to be put on the GEM email list!
Happy Holidays from the GEM team!
Nanna Verhoeff (Utrecht University)
Sybille Lammes (Warwick University)
Chris Perkins (Manchester University)
Alex Gekker (Utrecht)
Sam Hind (Warwick)
Clancy Wilmott (Manchester)
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Introducing GEM: research group on geomedia and urban interfaces
GEM will regularly assemble at Utrecht University to discuss topics at the intersection of media studies and critical geography, with a specific focus on screens as navigational interfaces. Tied to the
Charting the Digital European Research Council project and in co-operation with the Universities of Warwick and Manchester, we aim to provide an inclusive platform to discuss interdisciplinary topics pertaining to this focus.
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Whether or not we wish to speak of a spatial or spatiotemporal turn, spatiality has become a central theoretical concept in media studies as well in critical geography. New urban interfaces, and in particular digital maps, have prompted challenging questions about how spatialities can be epistemologically and ontologically understood and which theories, tools and methodologies are needed to understand our contemporary mediatized and mobile daily lives to their full extent. GEM aims to shed light on such questions by exploring the intersections of the different notions of space in different disciplines and traditions of thought, combined with the analysis of and reflection on how we approach and do geo-media and urban interfaces and explore the essentials we need as researchers to engage with these research topics.
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Open to PhD candidates and other junior and senior researches, as well as interested artists or practitioners, we will occasionally incorporate guest lectures, workshops and master classes. Those who join are more than welcome to suggest their own workshops, reading material, research questions and/or methodologies.
Sam Hind 