News
TiM Seminar 2022-2023
Transmission in Motion Seminar (2022-2023):
“Imaginary-Imagination”
Imaginary means existing in the mind, not real. Yet as a noun, the imaginary refers to sets of ideas that inform our view of the world as a whole, and thus our conception of what is real. Imaginaries manifest themselves in values, institutions, laws and symbols that shape our sense of self and of the world, and also our future. Sociotechnical imaginaries are future-oriented visions of connected social and technological orders. As infrastructures of imagining and planning, imaginaries are directive while they are also changeable, flexible and loose around the edges. This year’s TiM seminar looks at this tension from the perspective of a third term, namely imagination. Taking our lead from Alfred North Whitehead and Jean-François Lyotard, we will look at imagination as a source of critical knowledge and creative insights that can both help to critically asses (aspects of) imaginaries and contribute to transforming them. Whitehead argued for this potential of imagination in response to the first business school appearing on the academic scene. Lyotard responded to the arrival of institutes of technology. Today, we are faced with a combination of both corporatization and technologization beyond Whitehead’s and Lyotard’s imagination. What are today’s sociotechnical imaginaries and how do they manifest themselves? What potential do we see for creative imagination to change and transform them?
The Transmission in Motion Seminar is a more-or-less monthly gathering of researchers and students from across disciplines. Please note the following irregularity in the schedule: we will have two (instead of one) meetings in November and none in March.
Most of this year’s seminar will take place in the Grote Zaal of the department of Media & Culture of Utrecht University (Muntstraat 2a, Utrecht). However, there are two exceptions: the sessions on 23 November (in De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam) and 15 February (in the Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven) take place at other locations.
[panel type = “info” heading = “TiM Seminar Programme (2022-2023)”]
- Wednesday 26 October 2022 (15:00-17:oo)
“Media Imaginaries / Imaginary Media / Imaginations of Media”
Frank Kessler and Imar de Vries (UU) - Wednesday 16 November 2022 (15:00-17:oo)
“Collaboration and Dissensus in the Experimental Arts and Innovation Policy”
Michael Century (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) - Wednesday 23 November 2022 (15:00-17:oo)
“Robotic Imaginaries”
Acting Like a Robot Research Project
**This session takes place in De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam** - [ONLINE] Wednesday 14 December 2022 (15:00-17:oo)
“Social imaginaries of ethics and AI”
Sonja Rebecca Rattay and Irina Shklovski (Copenhagen University) and Marco Rozendaal (TuDelft) - Wednesday 18 January 2023 (15:00-17:oo)
“Janelle Monáe’s Black Utopias and the Afrofuturist Imagination”
Dan Hassler Forest (UU) - Wednesday 15 February 2023 (14:30-17:oo)
“Notes on the Political Imaginary and Exhibitions”
Nick Aikens (van Abbemuseum/ University of Gothenburg) and Ohad Ben Shimon (UU/ The Hague University of Applied Sciences)
**This session takes place at the Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven** - Wednesday 26 April 2023 (15:00-17:00)
“Cultural Dreams of Datafied Bodies in Contemporary Performance”
Laura Karreman (UU) - Wednesday 24 May 2023 (15:00-17:00)
“The Medium is a Medium — Intersecting Technology and Spirituality in a More-than-human World”
Evelyn Wan (UU) - Wednesday 21 June 2023 (15:00-17:00)
“Imagining Futures Based on Feminist Economics”
Inte Gloerich (HVA/UU) and Ania Molenda (Amateur Cities)
[/panel]
To participate, please send an email to tim@uu.nl to receive additional information and readings. RMA Students can acquire 4 EC for their attendance at the sessions and writing blogs posts. Please register at tim@uu.nl. For more information, contact Maaike Bleeker at m.a.bleeker@uu.nl.
Stay updated with our seminar series by subscribing to our newsletter!