Mirko Tobias Schäfer / Assistant Professor
University of Utrecht Department for Media and Culture Studies
Featured Blog Entries
Date January 2010 / Category News
Upstreams & Downstreams (Piracy, Data Retention & Surveillance) is the first Skip Intro Session, a lecture series on politics and citizenship in the 21-century. The meeting will take place on Wednesday January 20 from 19.30-21.30 in Studio T (Kromme Nieuwegracht 20, 3512 HH Utrecht). Controversial media practises and politics are discussed by the following speakers:
- Jaromil (dyne.org, http://www.rastasoft.org)
- Ilpo Koskinen (University of Arts & Design Helsinki, http://www2.uiah.fi/~ikoskine)
- Joris van Hoboken (Bits of Freedom, https://www.bof.nl/)
Date November 2009 / Category News
Rumour has it that Charles Babbage, a very self confident inventor, exclaimed in 1821 when recognizing many calculation errors in a set of mathematical tables: “I wish to God these calculations had been executed by steam!” Back then, the steam machine has been considered the solution to almost all problems, and its emissions were even praised for improving the beauty of sunsets. With the rise of the machines, the mills, global trade and navigation; growing numbers of workers in factories, inhabitants of cities, consumers and depositors; another aspect became increasingly crucial for the thriving 19th century British Empire: Computability, to calculate the course of a vessel, the mortality rates of workers and office clerks, or the probability of insured events.
More Blog Entries
Date October 2009 / Category News
Date August 2009 / Category News
Date May 2009 / Category Publications
Recommended
Date February 2010
Students at Utrecht University protest against the increasing confinement of academic freedom and quality of research and teaching.
Date January 2010
Ars Technica features an article on the emergence of the Web and the many socio-political debates, the metaphors employed to constitute the utopian connotation of the Internet and the communities involved to fight for a new frontier, alternative reality and better politics. A great look back at the political and cultural battlefield of the emerging web.
Date January 2010
Barry Collins at PC Pro travels through Second Life wondering why he went there in the first place.
Date December 2009
Date December 2009
On its Trailblazing website, the Royal Society celebrates 350 years of modern science by showcasing over sixty most memorable and exceedingly interesting papers published between 1665 and 2010. They provide a well edited 110 pages document with introductions to each paper; it allows a time-lapse ride through the history of modern science, from blood transfusion experiments with dogs, the invention of electric batteries, to the DNA helix and concepts of geoengineering.
Date December 2009
cnet features a very informative interview with Last.fm's head of web development Matthew Ogle
Date November 2009
Neglecting the EU parliament and the European citizens, the EU justice and home affairs ministers are about to grant the USA nearly unlimited access to European banking data. Of course this deal is not mutual. European authorities won't be able to access US banking data. Giving up even more of European citizen's rights is scheduled for Monday 30th November, one day before the EU parliament will receive more power to intervene in such affairs.
Date November 2009
Hosted by the Institute for Network Cultures, the conference Society of the Query critically discusses the role of search engines in digital culture and the consequences for managing and accessing information. An international cast of speakers addresses issues of civil rights and media literacy, Google and alternative search engines, as well as media art. November 13th - 14tn 2009, Trouw Amsterdan.
About
Mirko Tobias Schaefer is a researcher in the field of digital culture.
This website provides information on his research interests and teaching activities.
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Contact
Mirko Tobias Schaefer
Department for Media and Culture Studies
Utrecht University
Kromme Nieuwegr. 20
NL-3512 HH Utrecht