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| Semester | spring semester 2023 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Maria Eriksson (maria.eriksson@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This seminar explores the hidden human labor that makes media infrastructures appear as autonomous. Throughout history, media infrastructures have often been portrayed as automatic systems that erase challenges of time and space and remove the need for manual human work. However, media infrastructures are rarely fully automatic and frequently require extensive manual labor to function. Just like messenger boys were covertly employed to transport handwritten messages within the electrical telegraph system in the late 19th century, today’s social media platforms are maintained by hidden human content moderators who monitor and keep online platforms “clean.” What cultural, political, and economic logics characterize historic and contemporary infrastructural “ghostwork”? How has the concealment/erasure of certain types of human labor shaped conceptions of media infrastructures and technologies? By studying how fantasies of automation are maintained by the erasure/concealment of manual work, the seminar will provide opportunities to discuss the politics of media infrastructures in relation to topics such as class, gender, and ethnicity. |
| Course application | Anmeldung über MOnA notwendig (services.unibas.ch). |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Monday | 14.15-16.00 | Holbeinstrasse 12, Projektraum 1.OG |
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 20.02.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | Holbeinstrasse 12, Projektraum 1.OG |
| Monday 27.02.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | Fasnachstferien |
| Monday 06.03.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | Holbeinstrasse 12, Projektraum 1.OG |
| Monday 13.03.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | Holbeinstrasse 12, Projektraum 1.OG |
| Monday 20.03.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | Holbeinstrasse 12, Projektraum 1.OG |
| Monday 27.03.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | Holbeinstrasse 12, Projektraum 1.OG |
| Monday 03.04.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | Holbeinstrasse 12, Projektraum 1.OG |
| Monday 10.04.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | Ostern |
| Monday 17.04.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | Holbeinstrasse 12, Projektraum 1.OG |
| Monday 24.04.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | fällt aus |
| Monday 01.05.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | Tag der Arbeit |
| Monday 08.05.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | Holbeinstrasse 12, Projektraum 1.OG |
| Monday 15.05.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | Holbeinstrasse 12, Projektraum 1.OG |
| Monday 22.05.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | Holbeinstrasse 12, Projektraum 1.OG |
| Monday 29.05.2023 | 14.15-16.00 | Pfingstmontag |
| Modules |
Modul: Aufbaustudium Mediale Infrastrukturen (Bachelor's degree subject: Media Studies) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Medienwissenschaft |