scholarly journals Critical Phenomenology: Borderline Between Grey, Opaque and Non-Transparent Zones – Permanent Transitional Times

2017 ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Miško Šuvaković
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Critical Response ◽  
Local Practices ◽  
Art And Culture ◽  
Critical Phenomenology ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
Transitional Times

In what follows, I will point to theorisations of diagramatic modular models of the human, social and cultural practices that relate to antagonistic and certainly turbulent processing of production and reproduction, political economy, real life, and forms of life in the field of contemporary non-transparent or gray sociality. My main thesis is that the transition has not been completed and that we are now in the midst of transition changes throughout the world – that contemporary media and art fictionalizes or defictionalizes our human condition. My intent in this article is to point to the modular complexity of contemporary phenomena in relation to the criteria of the politics of time (dialectic historicisation) and politics of space (geographic difference). In relation to every contemporaneity that has occurred or is occurring at different times and in different places, contemporary art and culture required different conceptualisations of ‘modernisation’ and different conceptualisations of a critical response to the transition of global/local practices from the margins of society to its hegemonic centre, both internationally and locally. In an epistemological/methodological sense I intend to develop critical phenomenology. Critical phenomenology is a project of the politicization/radicalization of conservative phenomenological thinking. Article received: June 5, 2017; Article accepted: June 12, 2017; Published online: October 15, 2017; Original scholarly paperHow to cite this article: Šuvaković, Miško. "Critical Phenomenology: Borderline Between Grey, Opaque and Non-Transparent Zones – Permanent Transitional Times." AM Journal of Art and Media Studies 14 (2017): 13-31. doi: 10.25038/am.v0i14.203

scholarly journals Broken promises of Internet and democracy: Internet art in Serbia, 1996–2014

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 889-900
Author(s):  
Nina Mihaljinac ◽  
Vera Mevorah
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Internet Technology ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Internet Art ◽  
Art And Culture ◽  
Mixed Feelings ◽  
Phases Of Development ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
Internet Revolution

The article uses case studies of artistic and cultural practices on Internet in Serbia (1996–2014) to provide a deeper analysis of possible uses of internet technology and internet art for social and political change as well as showcasing changing attitudes toward the internet in a transitional semi-periphery state. Through analyzing these questions, the article defines several phases of development of internet and art projects in Serbia including (a) the phase of techno-utopia when internet technology was used for staging and supporting student protests and the so-called first ‘internet revolution’ in Serbia (1996–1999); (b) the phase of ambivalence or ‘mixed feelings’ toward the Internet, triggered of by Kosovo War and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-led bombing of 1999–2000; (c) the phase of optimism and hope about the Internet after the ‘October 5th’ revolution (2000–cc. 2005); and (d) the phase of disillusionment with both the Internet and democracy (2010–2014). This study re-evaluates early achievements and democratic principles of networked society and illuminates core issues and accomplishments of cyberculture from the 1990s until present times through the point of view of multiple actors present within Serbian art and culture.

scholarly journals A (premature) eulogy of broadcasting: the sense of the ending of television

Matrizes ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Milly Buonanno
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
Broadcast Television ◽  
The World ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
The Way

The vanishing centrality of broadcast television has turned into a key issue within contemporary media studies, thus making the end of television a familiar trope in scholarly discourses and opening the way to a redefinition of the present-day phase in terms of post-broadcast era. Besides recognizing that there are plenty of places in the world where the broadcast era is still alive, this article makes the claim that the discoursive formation of the passing of television as we knew it may offer media scholar-ship the opportunity to assume the viewpoint of the end as the privileged perspective from which the broadcast era can be looked at anew, eventually acknowledging the reasons why it is liable to be praised rather than buried.

Ashantis in Warsaw: Notions of “Blackness” in Polish Society at the Turn of the 20th Century – A Preparatory Contribution to Polish Colonial History

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agata Łuksza
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
Polish Society ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 19Th Century

The author recognizes Włodzimierz Perzyński’s comedy Aszantka as a meaningful remnant of „blackness” in the history of Polish theatre, and therefore she uses it as a point of entrance into a broader inquiry about the entanglement of Polish society into European colonial project, and the ideas, values, and cultural practices it entailed. That is why in the article the author attempts to reconstruct possible concepts and images of “blackness” which Warsaw dwellers might have shared at the end of the 19th century by analysing the reception of the performances of alleged representatives of Ashanti people in the Warsaw circus in 1888. From “Ashanti” performances on, the popularity of this type of entertainment – so called ethnographic shows or human zoos – grew in the colonized capital of the Kingdom of Poland. The author points to “savageness” and “nakedness” as constitutive traits of “blackness” which she understands as a specific human condition, experienced both by overseas colonized societies as well as subaltern social groups (to which “Aszantka” from Perzyński’s comedy belonged) in European societies.

The Second Life of Judaism: A History of Religious Community and Practice in Virtual Spaces

2019 ◽  
pp. 235-260
Author(s):  
Julian Voloj ◽  
Anthony Bak Buccitelli
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Religious Community ◽  
Digital World ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Religious Cultures

This chapter talks about San Francisco-based company Linden Lab who launched Second Life (SL), which is described as an online digital world that is built, shaped, and owned by its participants. It discloses how SL was seen as the next big internet phenomenon and was the focus of attention by investors and media alike for a short period of time. It also explains SL's complex relationship with 'real life', which is defined both by the encoded parameters of the virtual space and by the social and cultural practices of the people who use the platform. The chapter discusses SL as a broad platform that encompassed many cultural constructions and developed a rich and diverse set of religious cultures. It recounts how dozens of Jewish sites across the grid emerged and were created both by individual users and by offline institutions that established SL presences.

Transmediality and the End of Disembodied Semiotics

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A Bateman
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Embodied Experience ◽  
Semiotic System ◽  
Communicative Practices ◽  
Major Topic ◽  
Current Article ◽  
Contemporary Media

The phenomena of mixing, blending, and referencing media is a major topic in contemporary media studies. Finding a sufficient semiotic foundation to characterize such phenomena remains challenging. The current article argues that combining a notion of ‘semiotic mode' developed within the field of multimodality with a Peircean foundation contributes to a solution in which communicative practices always receive both an abstract ‘discourse'-oriented level of description and, at the same time, a biophysically embodied level of description as well. The former level supports complex communication, the latter anchors communication into the embodied experience. More broadly, it is suggested that no semiotic system relevant for human activities can be adequately characterized without paying equal attention to these dual facets of semiosis.

scholarly journals Hmong Textiles, Symmetries, Perception and Culture

Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1829
Author(s):  
Simeon S. Magliveras
Keyword(s):  
Vietnam War ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Gestalt Theory ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Art And Culture ◽  
Hmong Culture ◽  
Hmong People ◽  
Ethnographic Analysis

As part of this Special Issue, this paper attempts to add to a reflexive discussion and confront the simplistic understanding of why humans construct symmetries. This paper examines Hmong textiles called paj ntaub. The Hmong became a transnational people due to happenstance and the Vietnam War. Despite great trials and tribulations, the Hmong people and their art and culture survived. They express themselves and their identity through oral traditions and cultural practices, one of which is their textiles. The old textile styles, known as paj ntaub, are non-representational symmetric designs. The research for this paper was done in Laos. Grounded research, textual analysis and participant observation were the methods used. Though their textiles are a salient part of Hmong culture, little work has been done on the ontology of paj ntaub. This paper proposes a novel perspective to examining the paj ntaub by using anthropological symmetry, the gestalt theory on perception, and ethnographic analysis of the culture, meanings, and choices in design embedded in the textiles, as well as the process of making of the paj ntaub. This work proposes that the paj ntaub is not merely an expression of identity but a holistic expression in Hmong culture and reflects their relationship to their world.

scholarly journals The Turn to Affect and Emotion in Media Studies

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margreth Lünenborg ◽  
Tanja Maier
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Affect Theory ◽  
Affect Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Central Interest ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
Media And Communication

This editorial delivers an introduction to the thematic <em>Media and Communication </em>issue on “The Turn to Affect and Emotion in Media Studies”. The social and cultural formation of affect and emotion has been of central interest to social science-based emotion research as well as to affect studies, which are mainly grounded in cultural studies. Media and communication scholars, in turn, have especially focused on how emotion and affect are produced by media, the way they are communicated through media, and the forms of emotion audiences develop during the use of media. Distinguishing theoretical lines of emotion theory in social sciences and diverse traditions of affect theory, we reflect on the need to engage more deeply with affect and emotion as driving forces in contemporary media and society. This thematic issue aims to add to ongoing affect studies research and to existing emotion research within media studies. A special emphasis will be placed on exploring structures of difference and power produced in and by media in relation to affect and emotion.

scholarly journals Deconstruction and the Archival Revolution: on the Relevance and Reception of Archive Fever in New Media Studies

2021 ◽  
pp. 61-76
Author(s):  
Zvonimir Glavaš
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Academic Field ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
New Media Studies ◽  
The One

The paper focuses on the reception of Derrida’s Archive Fever among (new) media theorists and its relevance for the ongoing discussions in that academic field. Although this Derrida’s text is often described as the one in which he provides a statement on the pervasive revolutionary impact of new media, its reception among media theorists remains scarce. Several media scholars that tackle the text, however, have an ambivalent stance on it: they appreciate some of Derrida’s theses, but regard them largely obsolete. The first part of the paper analyzes these critiques and argues that many of the objections on Derrida’s behalf are caused by the misinterpretation of important features of the deconstructive thought. In its second part, the paper firstly deals with certain weaker points of Derrida’s reflection and then proceeds to examine his insights pertinent to the problems of contemporary media theory that were neglected in earlier reception. Finally, paper reaffirms the claim about the need for a more profound exchange between the deconstruction and media studies, albeit one that would avoid the examined shortcomings.

scholarly journals INDIVIDUATION PROCESS OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN OKKY MADASARI’S BOUND

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanabillah Fatchu Zuhro
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Negative Side ◽  
The People ◽  
Individuation Process ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Attitudes And Behavior

The characters in the novel are a reflection of the human condition in real life. Understanding the personality of a character in a novel means understanding the personality of people too. This provides an opportunity to understand the attitudes and behavior of the people in real life through the personality of characters in literary works. Therefore, the researcher considers to discuss the process of individuation of the main characters in Okky Madasari’s Bound. The present study is literary criticism. This research aims to describe the individuation process of the main characters, Sasana and Jaka. The main characters, want the freedom to express their true identity. Through this novel, Okky Madasari wants to convey that life is a choice. Humans have the freedom to choose what they want to be without the negative side being dominant in a person. Along these lines, we can utilize Analytical Psychology to break down this novel with the idea of the individuation process. It employs the theory of individuation process proposed by Carl Gustav Jung covering several steps to achieve the process of individuation of the main characters. There are four kinds of archetypes in order to acknowledge the individuation process. They are “persona”, “shadow”, “anima and animus”, and “Self”. The results of this study show that the main characters still cannot reach the individuation process well. Sasana and Jaka have not yet reached middle age, so Sasana and Jaka have not reached self-archetype yet, because to achieve self-archetype, the characters must reach middle age first.

The futures of ‘us’: A critical phenomenology of the aporias of ethical community in the Anthropocene

2020 ◽  
pp. 019145372091651
Author(s):  
Rasmus Dyring
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
The World ◽  
Moral Theories ◽  
The Face ◽  
Critical Phenomenology ◽  
Aristotle's Ethics ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
American Nation

In this essay, I undertake a critical phenomenological exposition of the conditions of ethical community as they present themselves in the light of the Anthropocene. I begin by approaching the present human condition by following Arendt in her considerations of what more recently has been termed the Anthropocene. I will take her notion of the process character of action as a lodestar in a so-called anarcheological reading of Aristotle that opens for a thinking of unbounded possibility and unbounded affinity and that shows how Aristotle’s ethics, like so many other ethical and moral theories, is really a project of metaphysical closure in the face of the poignantly sensed, but theoretically marginalized, anarchic apertures of communitary life. To prepare for an ethics capable of perpetually affirming, rather than closing off, these anarchic apertures of the human condition, I bring the insights won in the anarcheological reading of Aristotle into conversation with accounts of the ethical responses presented by the Native American nation of the Crow towards the end of the 19th century, when they – in a sense not-dissimilar to what we now experience in the Anthropocene – faced the end of the world. I conclude by extracting from this some elements for a thinking of ethics at the end of worlds that affirms the unbounded apertures of human community.

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