::fibreculture:: INTERFACES: METHOD AND CRITIQUE FOR DESIGNED CULTURES

[nathaniel tkacz]

INTERFACES: METHOD AND CRITIQUE FOR DESIGNED CULTURES

June 24-25
The Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies
The University of Warwick, UK

Interfaces mediate any number of social issues and practices, from
financial trading, business performance and ‘smart’ cities, to
collaboration, media literacies, or the mediation of identity. Every
social, economic or political practice that relies on a computer screen or
similar technical device, whether this be a Bloomberg terminal, a
‘performance dashboard’, an organization website or a social media
platform, is expressed through an interface. As the goal of many interfaces
is to be invisible, seamless or intuitive, and since they require specific
forms of expertise and design literacy in order to be studied, they are
often ignored in social science and humanities research. And yet, as
culture becomes ‘datafied’ and screens of all sorts are embedded and
naturalized in urban and domestic settings, the study of interfaces cannot
be left to user experience (UX) or human-computer interaction (HCI)
designers. Indeed, the so-called data revolution means that social science
and humanities research is increasingly interface work. We make interfaces.
Our objects of inquiry are manifested via interfaces. Interfaces, in other
words, are the medium of data.

This two-day event builds on recent intellectual work on interfaces
(Hookway 2014, Halpern 2015, Drucker 2014, Andersen and Pold 2011, Galloway
2012, Chun 2011) to ask: How can we study culture and society through a
focus on interfaces? How can we conduct research with interfaces? That is,
how can we reflect on but also develop interfaces as part of our research?
What historical legacies, of perception, attention, and control, can help
us makes sense of contemporary interfaces? What are the critical
possibilities for interface studies beyond the paradigm of usability?

The event will feature invited presentations from leading experts, training
workshops, a roundtable discussion and a ‘networking’ dinner. The program
is aimed at PhD candidates, but is open to anyone across the social
sciences and humanities whose work engages with interfaces. Attendance is
free, but places in the workshop sessions are limited. Ten travel bursaries
of £200 are available to help with travel and accommodation.

Confirmed participants include:
Orit Halpern (The New School, author of Beautiful Data)
Christian Ulrik Andersen (Aarhus University, editor of Interface Criticism)
Søren Bro Pold (Aarhus University, editor of Interface Criticism)
Olga Goriunova (CIM, University of Warwick)
Noortje Marres (CSISP, Goldsmiths)
Hendrik-Jan Grievink (Art Director and Designer, Next Nature)
Carolin Gerlitz (Digital Methods Initiative, University of Amsterdam)
Michael Dieter (CIM, University of Warwick)
Nathaniel Tkacz (CIM, University of Warwick)

Event Website and Programme: http://cim-interfaces.net/

Register: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/cim/events/interfaces

The event is supported by the Economic and Social Research Council
(Advanced Training and Multidisciplinary Training) and the Centre for
Interdisciplinary Methodologies.



-----------------------
Nathaniel Tkacz - Assistant Professor  |  CIM
<http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/cim/people/academic/nathaniel-tkacz>
  - The University of Warwick
Tw: @__nate__ <https://twitter.com/__nate__>  |  Current Project: Interrogating
the Dashboard <http://blogs.cim.warwick.ac.uk/readingdashboards/>

"They say the critique of openness is so devastating, you can't even open
the book."

– Nicholas Mendoza, Facebook review

Wikipedia and The Politics of Openness
<http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo19085555.html>
(University
of Chicago Press, 2015)

MoneyLab Reader
<http://networkcultures.org/blog/publication/moneylab-reader-an-intervention-in-digital-economy/>
(Institute of Network Culture, 2015)

Digital Light <http://openhumanitiespress.org/digital-light.html> (Fibre
Culture Books, Open Humanities Press, 2015)
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