Analog/Digital Cultures 3

Clemens Apprich
Institute of Fine Arts and Media Art, Media Theory
2026W, Lecture and Discussion (VD), 2.0 ECTS, 2.0 semester hours, course number S05274

Description

What are digital cultures? The answer usually refers to social media platforms, online services, AI-systems, or computers in general. However, despite digital media technologies being ubiquitous in our everyday lives, there is a general lack of understanding of what 'the digital' actually is. This lecture series addresses this seemingly simple yet complex question by examining the 'deep history' of the digital age in relation to analogue cultures. Drawing on key references from media and cultural theory, including critical algorithms and data studies, we will explore the transition from analogue to digital cultures; not simply in terms of linear media change, but as a complex interplay between the two that shapes the way we think, perceive, and act in the world.

This semester, we will explore the relationship between computing and culture within the framework of digital media technologies. Computing involves the cultivation of a specific logic that breaks down complex problems into small steps for automatic processing (e.g. in algorithmic decision-making). We will look at the history of computing, analyse the role of abstraction in this process, and discuss the cultural, social, and political implications of machine learning algorithms in our everyday media lives.

Examination Modalities

Students will take an oral exam at the end of the lecture, for which they can select three references from the lecture material.

Alternatively, they can write a final essay or book review of around 15,000 characters (including spaces, footnotes and quotations, but excluding appendices, references and figures) by the end of the term (deadline: February 28, 2027). The essay or book review should demonstrate critical engagement with at least three references from the lecture.

As this is a course involving continuous assessment, you are required to attend at least 80 per cent of all teaching sessions.

Comments

The lecture will be held in English. Essays/book reviews can be submitted in either English or German. A detailed course outline with assigned readings will be made available online.

Critical learning environment: Despite different motivations and levels of study, I firmly believe that you are all here to learn. This means that I expect you to be both physically and mentally present. While I will not be keeping an attendance list or forbidding the use of laptops, please remember that a productive learning environment requires your willingness to facilitate it.

This lecture is complemented by Jonas Bohatsch's course "Coded Matter: Computational Practices" at the Coding Lab, in which the theoretical concepts discussed here become starting points for hands-on artistic experimentation. This is an additional course and is not mandatory for concluding the lecture.

Key Words

digital cultures, media theory, medientheorie, media history, mediengeschichte, analog computing, cybernetics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, media genealogy

Dates

Tue, 06 October 2026, 10:00–11:30 Seminar Room 20
Tue, 13 October 2026, 10:00–11:30 Seminar Room 21
Tue, 20 October 2026, 10:00–11:30 Seminar Room 21
Tue, 27 October 2026, 10:00–11:30 Seminar Room 21
Tue, 03 November 2026, 10:00–11:30 Seminar Room 21
Tue, 10 November 2026, 10:00–11:30 Seminar Room 21
Tue, 17 November 2026, 10:00–11:30 Seminar Room 21
Tue, 24 November 2026, 10:00–11:30 Seminar Room 21
Tue, 15 December 2026, 10:00–11:30 Seminar Room 21
Tue, 22 December 2026, 10:00–11:30 Seminar Room 21
Tue, 12 January 2027, 10:00–11:30 Seminar Room 20
Mon, 25 January 2027, 09:00–Tue, 26 January 2027, 12:00 Weibel Institute for Digital Cultures (examination)

Course Enrolment

From 31 August 2026, 09:00
Via online registration

Art Education: study subject kkp (Bachelor): Focus: Digital Basic Education (DGB): Academic Practice (DGB) 034/2026UBA-020.20

Art Education: study subject dex (Bachelor): Focus: Digital Basic Education (DGB): Academic Practice (DGB) 037/2026UBA-020.20

Art Education: subject kkp (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 067/2016UBA-003.80

Art Education: subject kkp (Bachelor): Schwerpunkt Digitale Grundbildung (DGB): Wissenschaftliche Praxis 067/2016UBA-020.20

Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 067/2018UEW-003.80

Art Education: subject dex (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 074/2017UBA-003.80

Art Education: subject dex (Bachelor): Schwerpunkt Digitale Grundbildung (DGB): Wissenschaftliche Praxis 074/2017UBA-020.20

Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 074/2018UEW-003.80

Transformation Studies. Art x Science (Bachelor): Understand! Transformation: Analog/Digital Cultures, VD (Angewandte) 162/2025UBA-002.29

Transformation Studies. Art x Science (Bachelor): Focus! Transformation Areas: Digital Transformation 162/2025UBA-040.10

TransArts - Transdisciplinary Arts (Bachelor): Theoretical foundations: Theoretical foundations 180/2025UBA-003.01

Expanded Museum Studies (Master): Electives: Media Theory 537/2021UMA-080.20

Media Arts: Specialisation in Transmedia Arts (1. Section): Wissenschaftlich theoretische und historische Grundlagen: Medientheorie, Mediengeschichte 566/2019U00-108.02

Media Arts: Specialisation in Transmedia Arts (2. Section): Wissenschaft, Theorie und Geschichte : Medientheorie, Mediengeschichte 566/2019U00-208.02

Media Arts: Specialisation in Digital Arts (1. Section): Wissenschaftlich theoretische und historische Grundlagen: Medientheorie, Mediengeschichte 567/2019U00-108.02

Media Arts: Specialisation in Digital Arts (2. Section): Wissenschaft, Theorie, Geschichte: Medientheorie, Mediengeschichte 567/2019U00-208.02

Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften (Master): Electives Area 1: Media Theory 568/2021UMA-005.06

Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften (Master): Electives Area 2: Media Theory 568/2021UMA-006.11

Cross-Disciplinary Strategies (Master): Study Areas 1-3: Study Area 2: Science and Technology 569/2026UMA-020.20

Design: Specialisation in Design and Narrative Media (1. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Fundamentals: Media Theory 576/2024U00-103.06

Design: Specialisation in Design and Narrative Media (2. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Fundamentals: Media Theory and Semiotics 576/2024U00-203.05

Design: Specialisation in Communication Design (2. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Basics: Media Theory and Semiotics 577/2025U00-203.07

Design: Specialisation in Fashion Design (1. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Basics: Free Elective Pool Methodological and Theoretical Basics 584/2019U00-103.80

Fine Arts (2. Section): Scientific and Research Practice: Media Theory,Art&Knowledge Transfer,Th. of Architecture,Th. and Hist. of Design 605/2019U00-202.02

Fine Arts (2. Section): Scientific and Research Practice: Free Electives out of Scientific and Research Practice 605/2019U00-202.80

Design: Specialisation in Applied Photography and Time-based Media (1. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Basics: Media Theory and Communication Theory 626/2021U00-103.05

Design: Specialisation in Applied Photography and Time-based Media (2. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Basics: Humanities 626/2021U00-203.02

Cross-Disciplinary Strategies (Bachelor): Science and Technology: Deepening / Application 700/2026UBA-002.20

Art & Science (Master): Methods and Practices of Transdisciplinary Research: Practice and Theory 776/2026UMA-002.16

Co-registration: possible

Attending individual courses: possible