Digital Occultism

Sophie Publig
Institute of Fine Arts and Media Art, Media Theory
2026W, Academic Seminar (SEW), 2.0 ECTS, 1.0 semester hours, course number S05560

Description

The histories of technology and the occult have long been intertwined, meddling with our political imaginaries and peddling knowledge from beyond. In a post-vibe shift era, esoteric vocabularies have become an unspoken grammar for interpreting a technological present that appears increasingly cryptic. Why do we imagine algorithms as autonomous entities, place our faith in technological prophecies, or believe that memes can manifest political realities? Digital Occultism traces the occult logics of memetic circulation from early internet cultures to contemporary platform environments, investigating how fictions acquire material force, how politics operate as psychological warfare, and how desires are engineered through algorithmic feedback. What happens when the stories we tell about technology begin to shape the realities they describe?

Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari, contemporary media theory, and the entangled histories of esotericism and modern technologies, the course examines how occult knowledge is decoded, mutated, and reassembled within digital culture. Through the lens of meme magick, hyperstition, network spirituality, and schizoposting, we investigate how belief and fiction become constitutive forces within technoculture, shaping collective imaginaries and opening up new political horizons. Readings, discussions, and practical exercises invite students to critically engage with the occult epistemologies operative within contemporary media environments and to consider their implications for artistic practice and the production of reality. The course will feature guest lectures by Karin Valis and Günseli Yalcinkaya.

Examination Modalities

Attendance, active participation and submission of final written task.

Comments

NOTE: This is a co-taught seminar conducted by Sophie Publig & Mikkel Rørbo. Registration for both Digital Occultism seminars is required otherwise acceptance cannot be confirmed.

The class is taught in English. Participation, reading and written task is expected to also be in English.

Key Words

occultism, digital culture, memes, philosophy, media theory, contemporary politics

Dates

Tue, 13 October 2026, 12:00–15:00 Seminar Room 21 , ""When It Stares Back: Reality-Production, Haunted Media and the Esoteric Resurgence" "
Tue, 27 October 2026, 12:00–15:00 Seminar Room 21 , "(guest lecture: Günseli Yalcinkaya) "
Tue, 10 November 2026, 12:00–15:00 Seminar Room 21 , ""Psyops & Psyberwars: Conspirituality, Belief and Big Tech Mythmaking" "
Tue, 17 November 2026, 12:00–15:00 Seminar Room 21 , "(guest lecture: Karin Valis) "
Tue, 15 December 2026, 12:00–15:00 Seminar Room 21 , ""Meme Magick: Sigils as Memes, Intentionality and Cults" "
Tue, 12 January 2027, 12:00–15:00 Seminar Room 20 , ""Reality or Not (final session including feedback)" "

Course Enrolment

From 31 August 2026, 09:00 to 14 October 2026, 12:00
Via online registration

Art Education: study subject kkp (Bachelor): Academic Practice: GO: Seminar, SEw 034/2026UBA-003.10

Art Education: study subject kkp (Bachelor): Academic Practice: FOR: Seminar, SEw 034/2026UBA-003.30

Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Academic Practice: GO: Seminar, SEw 034/2026UEW-003.10

Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Academic Practice: FOR: Seminar, SEw 034/2026UEW-003.30

Art Education: study subject dex (Bachelor): Academic Practice: GO: Seminar, SEw 037/2026UBA-003.10

Art Education: study subject dex (Bachelor): Academic Practice: FOR: Seminar, SEw 037/2026UBA-003.30

Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Academic Practice: GO: Seminar, SEw 037/2026UEW-003.10

Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Academic Practice: FOR: Seminar, SEw 037/2026UEW-003.30

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

Art Education: subject kkp (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 067/2016UMA-003.80

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

Art Education: subject tex (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 071/2016UMA-003.80

Art Education: subject dae (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 072/2016UMA-003.80

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

Art Education: subject dex (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 074/2017UMA-003.80

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): 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 (2. Section): Wissenschaft, Theorie und Geschichte : Medientheorie, Mediengeschichte 566/2019U00-208.02

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 (2. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Fundamentals: Humanities 576/2024U00-203.02

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 (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