The Mediatization of Space through navigational interfaces, or: the digital map as a symptom of (almost) everything that has happened with media
After a phase of “spatial forgetfulness,” media and communication studies have revisited the intersection of media, space, and place, challenging earlier views of media inherently transcending geographical constrains leading to spatial annihilation and the disappearance of distance. This new focus has coalesced into the evolving field of “geomedia studies,” which goes beyond its original focus on geographical visualizations to explore all intermediaries that influence the complex relationships among space, place, people, and objects.
This talk will introduce key areas of contemporary geomedia studies, including the geography of media infrastructures, the representation of space and place in media, the spatiality of media networks and platforms, and the use of location-based and situated media. Following this cursory overview of the development and questions in geomedia research within media studies, the talk challenges the notion of geomedia as a distinct genre of media. Contrary to the notion that media studies have been historically “spatially forgetful,” the talk asserts that the concept of media as environments or ecological systems has been fundamental to media studies from its inception.
According to a media-ecological understanding, geomedia are assemblages that constantly create new relations between users and their environment. Using the transformation of digital maps as a case study, the talk will demonstrate that our current understanding of media—including the rise of Web 2.0 and the subsequent platform economy—can be traced back to evolving conceptions of geomedia.
Pablo Abend is a professor of design theory at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle, Germany. Before that, he worked as a scientific coordinator of the interdisciplinary research school "Locating Media" at University of Siegen that had a strong focus on researching location- and situation-specific media processes by means of location- and situation-specific methods.
24 Oktober 2023
15.00-16.30
Eva Eriksson-salen (21A342)
Mingel från 16.30
