Block 1: Time, Media, and Cultural Concepts

Temporalities in Media Cultures: Philosophies and Aesthetics of Time

• Cultural Models of Time:
  Linear, cyclical, mythical, and relational time (Western/non-Western, Indigenous, Afro-diasporic perspectives)

• Early Motion and Perception Experiments:
  Optical toys (praxinoscope, magic lantern, zoetrope)
  Early motion studies and silent film (Muybridge, Marey, early cinema)

• Time Narratives in Oral and Audiovisual Cultures:
  Oral storytelling and rhythmic time structures (e.g., African traditions)
  Early cinematic experiments with time (Vertov, Griffith, Ruttmann)

• Montage and Duration:
  Time through editing: Soviet montage (Eisenstein) vs. long takes (Ozu, Weerasethakul)
  Temporality as an aesthetic device (e.g., real-time, temporal stretching, looping)

• Chronopolitics of Digital Cultures:
  Time as a structuring force in digital life
  Temporal inequalities, platform rhythms, algorithmic timing
  Key concepts: Chrononormativity (Elizabeth Freeman), Power Chronography (Sarah Sharma)

Block 2: Social Temporalities & Contemporary Media

Time as a Political, Social, and Aesthetic Medium

• Temporal Politics & Colonial Image Regimes:
  Ethnographic film, archival time, de-temporalization in colonial visualities
  Postcolonial critiques (Trinh T. Minh-ha, Fatimah Tobing Rony)

• Video Art, Activism & Resistance:
  Feminist media practices (Martha Rosler, Harun Farocki)
  Video activism (Paper Tiger TV, Arab Spring, Hong Kong protests)

• Performance and the Body as Temporal Medium:
  Embodied time in performance (Marina Abramović, Tehching Hsieh, Butoh)
  Livestreaming and real-time performance in platform culture

• Social Time & Platform Temporalities:
  Time structures in social media (TikTok loops, Insta stories, YouTube shorts)
  Platform rhythms, attention economies, algorithmic experience of time
  Conceptual frameworks: Platform Temporality (Tiziana Terranova, Sarah Sharma)

Block 3: Algorithmic Time & Speculative Futures

Technologies, Futures, and Ecologies of Time

• Artificial Intelligence & Automated Time:
  AI-generated images/videos, deepfakes as temporal fiction
  Automated storytelling (chatbots, recommender systems, generative AI)
  Predictive temporality and data-driven futures (Orit Halpern, Wendy Chun)

• Virtual & Immersive Time:
  Temporal experiences in VR/AR (e.g., Laurie Anderson’s immersive projects)
  Time distortions in digital environments (latency, simultaneity, immersion)

• Temporal Ecology & Media Ethics:
  Slowness and "Deep Time" in environmental art and slow cinema (Ben Rivers, Agnès Varda)
  Sustainability in digital media cultures (server time, energy consumption, data waste

Didactic Structure:

• Impulse Lecture & Discussion (45 min): Introduction to the topic through theory and film/media examples.

• Experimental Exercise (30 min): Practical engagement with temporality (e.g., stop-motion, loop experiments, performances) in the form of group work, research, and presentations.

• Reflection & Discussion (15 min): Joint analysis or feedback session.

Course Requirements:

Regular attendance, active participation, and written assignments in the form of protocol exercises (2 per semester; details provided during the kickoff session).