In this talk Sarah Kember will speak to her formulation of mediation as a vital process, as outlined in her recent book Life After New Media (MIT Press, 2012 – with Joanna Zylinska). In this book Kember argues that we should move beyond our fascination with objects–computers, smart phones, iPods, Kindles–to an examination of the interlocking technical, social, and biological processes of mediation. Doing so reveals that life itself can be understood as mediated–subject to the same processes of reproduction, transformation, flattening, and patenting undergone by other media forms. Drawing on the work of Bergson and Derrida, Kember suggest that the dispersal of media and technology into our biological and social lives intensifies our entanglement with nonhuman entities. Mediation – all-encompassing and indivisible – becomes a key trope for understanding our being in the technological world. This event is a collaboration between the Ruskin School of Art and the OII.
Research Associate
Isis is a cultural sociologist focusing on emerging practices related to networked technologies. She is currently researching microwork and virtual production networks in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia with multiple colleagues at the OII.
Goldsmiths, University of London
Ruskin School of Art
