<nettime> network archaeology

[cris cheek <cheekc@muohio.edu>]

The conference occurs April 19th-21st and includes keynotes from
Adrian Johns, Jussi Parikka, Lisa Gitelman, Richard R. Johns and Alan
Liu.


The Network Archaeology conference at Miami University, co-convened
by cris cheek and Nicole Starosielski, will bring together scholars
and practitioners to explore the resonances between digital networks
and â??olderâ?? (perhaps still emergent) systems of circulation; from
roads to cables, from letter-writing networks to digital ink. Drawing
on recent research in media archaeology, we see network archaeology
as a method for re-orienting the temporality and spatiality of
network studies. Network archaeology might pay attention to the
history of distribution technologies, location and control of
geographical resources, the emergence of circulatory models, proximity
and morphology, network politics and power, and the transmission
properties of media. What can we learn about contemporary cultural
production and circulation from the examination of network histories?
How can we conceptualize the polychronic developments of networks,
including their growth, adaptation, and resistances? How might the
concept of network archaeology help to re-envision and forge new paths
of interdisciplinary research, collaboration, and scholarship?

The conference will trace continuities and disjunctures between
a variety of networks, including telecommunication networks,
distribution systems for both digital and non-digital texts,
transportation routes, media storage (libraries, databases,
e-archiving), electrical grids, radio and television broadcast
networks, the internet, and surveillance networks. We seek to address
not only the technological, institutional, and geopolitical histories
of networks, but also their cultural and experiential dimensions,
extending to encompass the histories of network poetics and practice.
The proceeds of the conference will form the basis for a substantial
publication on Network Archaeology.

This conference is organized by the Miami University Humanities
Center. It is the final event in a year-long series entitled
â??Networked Environments: Interrogating the Democratization of
Mediaâ?? and is a companion to our Fall 2011 symposium, â??Networks
and Power,â?? which featured panels, interventions, and keynote
presentations by Wendy Chun (Brown University) and Lisa Parks (UC
Santa Barbara).


Full details:  www.networkarchaeology.com

cris

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