Research Journals

Post-Privacy or the Politics of Labour, Intelligence and Information

Submitted by Armin Medosch on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 15:07

This text argues that the erosion of privacy is not a by-product of information and communication technologies, but a systemic property of informational capitalism. The foundational myths of the information society motivate and legitimise the building of control systems applying probabilistic techniques to control future risks. At the root of this configuration are antagonistic labour relationships which have determined the path of technological development since the Industrial Revolution. Those tendencies have reached a culmination in the recent neo-liberal crisis. The digital commons offers itself as an incomplete and tentative remedy.

Chimerica Persists

Submitted by Brian Holmes on Sat, 12/12/2009 - 12:30
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In 2007 the conservative English historian Niall Ferguson and co-author Moritz Schularick wrote an article entitled 'Chimerica' and the Global Asset Market Boom, in International Finance, 10:3. A new text by Hung Ho-Fung gives a lot more depth to their analysis.

A Logistical Explanation

Submitted by Armin Medosch on Thu, 12/03/2009 - 10:08

This text by Brian Ashton, which appeared on OpenMute http://www.metamute.org/en/Logistics-Factory-Without-Walls, and was forwarded to me by a friend of mine, covers some interesting issues on logistics and Just-In-Time production.

THE BRAVE NEW WORLD OF WORK

Submitted by Armin Medosch on Tue, 12/01/2009 - 13:45

This text is a first draft, trying to identify key topics for an inquiry into the new organisation of labour. It starts with a historic analysis and then explores the notion of Post-Fordism.Specific sections are devoted to cognitive capitalism, the creative industries, informational capitalism and the split between manual and mental labour. It ends with a modest proposal for an alternative path of development.

More Lennon than Lenin: Imaginal Machines by Stevphen Shukaitis

Submitted by Armin Medosch on Tue, 11/24/2009 - 18:50
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It is not often that left-wing politics is associated with attributes such as humour and wit. Stevphen Shukaitis' book Imaginal Machines (2009) is not only abundant with it but shows that certain strands of imaginative revolutionary politics in the 20th century were also endowed with those precious qualities. This journey through the radical imagination of the left, written in a compelling and entertaining style, is definitely worth a read for everybody interested in radical and antagonistic politics.

Technological Determinism in Media Art (republished)

Submitted by Armin Medosch on Tue, 11/24/2009 - 11:28

The most influential discourse on media art up to and around 1995 uncritically based itself on techno-science and the techno-imaginary which it creates. It offers a technologically deterministic interpretation of the relationship between societies and social change. This discourse was successful in institution building and is still very influential today, even though its foundations can shown to be problematic. This is the essence of my 2005 MA thesis on "Technological Determinism in Media Art" which I republish here due to difficulties with my old site.

Paradigm Changes: The Grid and the Fork by Alex Foti

Submitted by Armin Medosch on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 11:39

The researcher and euromayday activist Alex Foti has created a diagram based on a framework of techno-economic paradigm change similar to ours - I must admit debt to Brian who first has made me aware of it. The Grid & the Fork: Critical Dynamics of Advanced Capitalism from the Second to the Third Industrial Revolution (2006) offers itself as a very good starting place for the discussion of different models of technopolitical change and for the creation of own diagram. Both the original and a first attempt at modification are included below.

Interview mit Mouffe und Laclau

Submitted by Clemens Apprich on Sun, 11/08/2009 - 16:23
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Hallo zusammen,

hier ist ein Interview, das ich mit Chantal Mouffe und Ernesto Laclau im Rahmen der Konferenz "Culture, Media: Protest" Anfang September in Luzern geführt habe.

Clemens

Review: Labor and Monopoly Capital. The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century, by Harry Braverman

Submitted by Armin Medosch on Mon, 11/02/2009 - 09:51
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This excellent book by Harry Braverman revolves around the main thesis, that labour in the 20th century has become 'degraded'. The combined effects of mechanization, scientific management and other control techniques allowed management to wrest control from workers and enforce, under ever changing circumstances, alienating practices onto workers across all industries, including office and service jobs.

On Periodisation: Some thoughts on waves of techno-economic and cultural change

Submitted by Armin Medosch on Mon, 09/07/2009 - 17:36
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Following on to Brian's listserv post, I would like to add a few more points on periodisation. Although Kondratieff cycles or long waves do play a role here, the intention is not an in-depth discussion of the long wave theory. The intention is rather to create a foundation for a narrative that describes the second half of the 20th century as an interplay of economic, political, technological and cultural forces, seeking out turning points that allow to identify specific characteristics of techno-economic changes as an explanatory framework for specific cultural or artistic phenomena, such as participatory media and / or media art and technology practices.

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