„Rethinking the „Standard“ in Digital Standards“ (07 Dec 2020)

Monday, December 7, 4-5pm, the CDC Forum Wintersemester 2020 will have its fifth event via video conference at Leuphana University:„Rethinking the „Standard“ in Digital Standards“ (English)with Mara Mills, Jonathan Sterne, Thomas Tajo and Jan Müggenburg.Please register with us via mail: cdcforum@leuphana.de - the zoom details will be sent around separately a couple days before the lecture.

 

Digital cultures are permeated by old and new technological standards such as formats and codecs for audio, text or video compression. In some cases we have found ways to adapt these standards to our needs. One of theses cases is ›time-stretching‹ which is being used to circumvent standard rate-settings in audio or video playback – for example playing podcasts or recorded zoom lectures back at various speeds, sometimes tied to ability. The panelists in this issue of the CDC Forum are therefore convinced that it is time to rethink the "standards" in digital cultures.

Participants:

Mara Mills is associate professor in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University, where she cofounded and codirects the Center for Disability Studies. Together with Jonathan Sterne she is writing a book entitled “Tuning Time: Histories of Sound and Speed.”

Jan Mueggenburg is an Assistant Professor in the Institute for Culture and Aesthetics of Digital Media at Leuphana University and codirects the research project ›Assistive Media‹.

Jonathan Sterne is James McGill Professor of Culture and Technology at McGill University. In 2021 his new book Diminished Faculties: A Political Phenomenology of Impairment will be published by Duke University Press.

Thomas Tajo is a blind independent researcher, disability activist and echo location trainer. He is the founder of the non-profit organization VisionInclusive (www.visioninclusive.org).

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