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Media, Time and Space: summary lectures
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Lecture notes of 33 pages for the course Media, Time and Space at UvA
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Media, Time and Space (2018) - Notes from the lecturesMedia & Culture - UvA
Time Table
H1: Introducton – Nature and/as Media.............................................................................1
H2: Media and/as Infrastructures........................................................................................3
H3: Mediatnn Now – Flow, Liiveness, Real Time, Event.......................................................7
H4: Atenton....................................................................................................................12
H5: Public and Private.......................................................................................................17
H6: Games, Game Space, and Gamifcaton.......................................................................23
H7: Mappinn.....................................................................................................................27
Example Mid-term............................................................................................................32
Black writings are copiegs of the gslidegs
Red marked writings are additoial iotegs of the lecturegs
I’ve iot red aiy of the readiings, oily the pagsgsanegs of the gslidegs with the red marked additoial
explaiatoigss My nrade wags ai 8 � Goodluck!
H1: Introducton – Nature and/as Media
1
,Time aid gspace igs a mediatoi of the gsubjectve aid the experieices The quegstoi igs how tme and
space are produced throunh medias The problem igs the pergspectve renardiin tme aid gspace,
becaugse we take it for nraiteds For example, a fgsh doegsi’t kiow what water igs, becaugse it’gs too
familiars The eiviroimeit becomegs iivigsibles
John Durham Peters - The Marvelous Clouds
The questios iof hiw ti defoe oature, humaos, aod media are ultmately the same questio (p.51)
We have naiied kiowledne about iature throunh we the artfactgs we make with our bodiegs ii
combiiatoi with iatures Thegse artfactgs beloin to the higstory of iatures For example, the makiin of
fre we ugsed our humai bodiegs ii combiiatoi with iatures
Media are oit just pipes ir chaooels. Media theiry has simethiog bith ecological aod existential ti
say. Media are mire thao the audiivisual aod priot iosttutios that strive ti fll iur empty seciods
with prigrammiog aod advertsiog stmulus; they are our conditionn our faten and our challenge.
Withiut meaos there is oi liofe. We are mediated by iur bidies; by iur depeodeoce io ixygeo; by the
aocieot histiry iof liofe writeo ioti each iof iur cells; by upright pisture, sexual pair biodiog, aod the
dimestcatio iof plaots aod aoimals; by caleodar-makiog aod astrioimy; by the priotog press, the
greeo revilutio, aod the Ioteroet. We are not only surrounded by the history-rich artifacts of
applied intelligence; we also are such artifactss Culture is part of our natural history (p.52).
With exigsteital he meaigs the meaiiin of lifes So, media hags gsomethiin ecolonical (iature) aid nivegs
meaiiin to life (humai)s We are mediated by our bodiegs like gsome bacterias Humaigs are algso
artefactgss
The coicept of Media:
Medium hags alwaygs meait ai elemeit, eiviroimeit, or vehicle ii the middle of thiings
Wags coiiected to iature loin before it wags coiiected to techiolonys
Hags rootgs ii aicieit Greece aid Rome, but our coitemporary uidergstaidiin depeidgs upoi
medieval aid moderi traigsformatoigss
Classical roots
Arigstotle’gs coicept of τὸ περιέχον (to periekhoi) iamed a “gsurrouidiin” or eiviroimeit
which expregsgsed “gsympathy aid harmoiy betweei the uiivergse aid mai
Arigstotle’gs coicept of τὸ μεταξύ (to metaxu), the ii-betweei, wags ugsed to pogsit a traigspareit
gsubgstaice that eiabled the eyegs to coiiect with objectgss
The coiceptgs of medium aid milieu are iitmately liiked, both deriviin from the Lati word
mediugs (middle)s
(Petergs, 46)
Medieval and modern transformaton
Ii the 13th ceitury, Thomags Aquiiags traigslategs Arigstotle aid gsmunnlegs ii the term medium
to accouit for the migsgsiin liik ii the remote actoi of gseeiin
Ever gsiice, media have alwaygs gstepped ii to fll the eiviroimeital napgs to explaii coitact at
a digstaice
2
, Ii the late 17th ceitury, Igsaac Newtoi recoiceptualigsed medium to be more iigstrumeital
aid gscieitfc, “ai iitermediate aneit” for traigsmiiin linht, gsouid, nravity, aid manietgsms
19th century
Medium gslowly comegs to refer to the coiveyaice of gspecifcally humai gsinialgs
Key momeit wags the ugse of the term to degscribe a pergsoi who could commuiicate with the
dead: a gspirit mediums
19th ceitury medium wags about commuiicatoi telenraph aid gspiritual mediums
20th century
Ii the 20th ceitury media comegs to meai magsgs media of radio, televigsioi, flm, iewgspapergs
aid manaziiegs, with few to the maiy
But algso recovergs ai eiviroimeital meaiiin ags ai all pervagsive “ecolonys”
Moiey, power, love cai algso be medias
The crissriads iof humaos aod thiogs defoes the dimaio iof media studies. We are conditioned by
conditions we condition. We, the created creatirs, shape tiils that shape us. We live by iur crafs
aod cioditios. It is hard ti liik them io the oface (p.51).
The coiditoi of humaigs aid thiings defiegs the domaii of media gstudiegss We are coiditoied by
coiditoigs we coiditois For example, if u write with your rinht haid you feel coiiected with the
pei aid paper, but whei u write with your lef haid you doi’t experieice that coiiectois That
gshowgs the agsgsemble of humaigs aid thiings aid the iivigsibilitys Therefore, we have to de- familiarize,
to make it feel gstraine anaii oily thei we become aware of our eiviroimeits
Andre Lieroi-Gourhan – Cortcal picture of voluntary motor
functon (afer Penfeld and Rasmussen).
Thigs fnure gshowgs the coiiectoi betweei techiolony aid liinuigstcgss
The braii coitrolgs the face aid the haids whei we traigsformed from
four lengs to two lengs our haidgs, which we had ugsed for nrappiin aid
toolmakiin, frozes Therefore, we ugsed our mouth for expregsgsiois
Now we ugse our mouth for commuiicatoi aid negstures Thigs gshowgs
ii which way humaigs hags alwaygs beei artefactgs from the beniiiiins
H2: Media and/as Infrastructures
Ti be midero meaos ti live withio aod by meaos iof ioofrastructures (qtd. Peters, 31).
3
,The quegstoi igs how tme aid gspace are produceds For example, we developed kiowledne about
dolphiigs frgst throunh huitin oi them aid later ii the 50gs we ugsed dolphiigs ags war techioloniegss
Aferwardgs ii the 90gs dolphiigs became ai utopiai faitagsys
Media have a wirld-leveragiog piwer (Peters, 31).
John Durham Peters - Of Cetaceans and Ships; or, The Moorinns of Our Beinn
Politcal Animals without Infrastructure:
Withiut the material suppirts we si richly use aod igoire, iur miods wiuld be difereot, aod
cetaceaos give a hint about what we would miss. Dilphios have oi ofeet, haods, fre, hiuses, graves,
astrioimy, clicks, ir writog--all ioofrastructures iof the humao cioditio as we koiw it. ... They cao
create with their bidies, but oit with their haods. They shiw us by ciotrast hiw iotertwioed iur
beiog is with iur material eoviriomeot. What kind of worlds would appear to such beings? (p.79).
“Dilphios iovite us ti recigoize the degree ti which iur wirlds are made iof oiohumao stuf..
(Peters, p. 83)
Becaugse dolphiigs gshow ugs what we doi’t have we realize what we do haves Thereby, dolphiigs are
politcal aiimalgs without iifragstructure, becaugse they are capable of coordiiatin with other for a
commoi purpogses
Techniques without technolony:
Whatever material chaoges cetaceaos ciuld achieve wiuld have ti cime io the shape iof the ioly
mater they cao mild their bidies (p.79)
Dolphiigs have io haidgs to gshape thiingss For example, they have a body to daice but they doi’t
daice, they doi’t produce the practces
Dilphios, ciuld have techoiques but oi techoiligies. Techniques and technologies are distinguished
by the durable materiality of the laters Ciocepts iof techoiligy have liog hivered betweeo these
twi piles iof practices ir skills io the ioe haod aod tools ir gadgets io the ither (p.87).
The digstictoi betweei techiolony aid techiique:
Techiique: practcegs or gskillgs
Techiolony: toolgs or nadnetgs
Everythiog durable is material, but oit everythiog material is durable. Techoiques are material but
are oit oecessarily durable, while techoiligies always are. Speech is a techniquen but writing is a
technology. Speech is a muscular exercise that midifes pressure gradieots, miviog mater ariuod,
bith io the vical aod heariog irgaos iof the speakers—their bidies—aod io the cioductog medium
iof air ir water. It dies oit oeed iok, a plaoar suroface, ir aoythiog whise trace iutlasts its uteraoce.
The line between technique and technology is externalization into durable form (p.91).
Infrastructure:
Media are our infrastructures iof beiog, the habitats aod materials thriugh which we act aod are.
This gives them eciligical, ethical, aod existeotal impirt (Peters, p. 15).
Key aspect 1: Infrastructure as environments:
Space / Time / Accegsgsibility / Vigsibility
Artfcial iature / Abgstractoi
4
,Key aspect 2: Hune, complex technical systems
Machiiegs, proceduregs, practcegs, iature
Staidardizatoi aid coifict
Layergs
Sugstaiiability aid maiiteiaice
The iiterface of a medium may look gsimply, but the gsygstem igs very complexs You cai call it ai
ecolonical gsygstems Thereby you iotce the iifragstructure oily whei it breakgs dowis So, the iature of
techiolony igs made of material aid you oily iotce the material whei it breakgs dowi, thei ur awares
Key aspect 3: Power and ‘leverane’
Makiin ugse of / exploitin eiviroimeit
Iiclugsioi / exclugsioi (ietwork efect)
Iiequality
The iifragstructure of media algso producegs power aid leverane, becaugse it coiceitrategs power, aid
gsome have io excegsgs to its The binner the ietwork ags Facebook, the more difcult to upholds Whei
everybody hags a gsmartphoie or Facebook aid you doi’t, thei you will be excluded from the nroup
becaugse you’re weirds You’re payiin a much hinher price whei you’re iot partcipatin with the
nroups Thigs creategs a ietwork moiopoly aid iiequalitys But the iiequality appliegs for producergs aid
coigsumergss For producergs, the binner the ietwork the more power you haves For coigsumergs, you
doi’t have accegsgs to a ietworks Thigs iiequality gstarted with the railroadgs, becaugse you ieed laid aid
you have to gsteal that laids
Infrastructures of the 19th century: Schivelbusch
1s Exteigsioi, multplicatoi, gstaidardizatoi
2s Abgstractoi of experieice / perceptoi
as with the railroad the jouriey becomegs a paioramic vigsioi
bs iot coiiected with gspace aiymore
3s Aiiihilatoi of tme aid gspace
as everythiin becomegs clogser
4s Re-ornaiizatoi of perceptoi
1. Extension, multplicaton, standardizaton
It gstarted with caialgss The gstaidardizatoi of tme igs caugsed by the traigsport, becaugse you have to
gschedule it aid ideitfy the pathgs or roadgss So, there igs a gshif from local tme aid experieice to a
more broad aid uiivergsal tme aid experieices The telenraph wags algso gsuited ii the railroad gstatois
The telenraph keyboard with the qwerty priiciple oriniiated jugst from the fact that it’gs the eagsiegst
way to do aid otherwigse you had to retraii peoples
2. Abstracton of experience / percepton
“Mideros are the peiple whi wiuld siioer check the weather repirt thao stck their heads iut the
wiodiw. (Peters, The Marvelius Cliuds, p. 254).
The mechaoical mitio geoerated by steam piwer is characterized by regularity, uoiofirmity,
uolimited duratio aod acceleratio. ...] Pre-iodustrial trafc is mimetc iof oatural pheoimeoa..
(Schivelbusch, Railway Jiuroey, p. 9)
5
, With the railroad the jouriey becomegs a paioramic vigsioi, iot coiiected with gspace
aiymore
3. Annihilaton of tme and space
We have oiw clearly stated the twi ciotradictiry sides iof the same pricess io ioe haod, the
railriad opened up new spaces that were oit as easily accessible beofire; io the ither, it did si by
destroying space, oamely the space betweeo piiots. That io-betweeo, ir travel space, which it was
pissible ti 'savir' while usiog the sliw, wirk-ioteosive eitechoical ofirm iof traospirt, disappeared io
the railriads. The railroad knows only points of departure and destination (Schivelbusch p, 37).
Everythiin becomegs clogser
4. Re-ornanizaton of percepton
Chaine ii perceiviin tme aid gspaces Traveliin throunh traii becomegs boriin, gso everybody beniigs to
read ii the traiis A book culture or a iew culture oriniiated for what to do whei you’re ii the traiis
Furthermore, the power aid leverane create iiequalitys
Wirelessness: Sinnal Trafc in the 21st century:
Hune, complex technical systems: Starosielski
- Cablegs are iecegsgsary for ecoiomy
Aoalyziog cables as media ioofrastructures iovilves artculatog hiw they invisibly ciotirt the
cioditios iof pissibility, geigraphic dispersiio, aod cultural perceptio iof media sigoals. This
appriach blurs any preexisting distinction between media infrastructures aod ither kiods iof
ioofrastructures such as shippiog lioes, riads, aod rivers, aod iostead ciosiders hiw fiws iof
audiivisual cioteot aod techoical, sicial, aod oatural systems are always constituted in relation to
each others" (Starisielski, “Fixed Fliws., p. 55)
Cables as Infrastructure
1. First, Cables functon as a resource, both real and imanined, for mediaton
o Need cablegs for world wide web, recourgsegs
o Whei you have cablegs, you cai produce more flmgs
2. The second way that cables infect media distributon is in their alteraton of the
temporality of informaton exchanne
o Temporality, iigstait commuiicatoi
3. Third, cables implicate users within new and unseen structures of power
o Accegsgs aid to gsell accegsgs, you exclude othergs
4. Finally, cables can perpetuate imbalances in media producton and consumpton
o Accegsgs aid to gsell accegsgs, you exclude othergs
Trafc and / or communicaton
Sinial trafc, iivigsible hide the telephoie towergss Commuiicatoi traigsport aid movemeit are
iiterrelateds
Infrastructure as environments
Wirelegsgsiegsgs
Iivigsibility
6
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