The ‘Digital Culture(s)’ course is a collaborative learning experience designed to engage participants in a critical exploration, analysis and storytelling of the interrelationships between society (identities and interactions), culture (beliefs and behaviors) and digital technologies (tools and systems) contextualized in the current state of climate emergency.
Given the complexity of the subject, this course follows a non-linear narrative approach introducing a broad range of transdisciplinary perspectives coming from fields as arts, science, design, philosophy and journalism on the interrelationships between concepts with different levels of abstraction (i.e. time, plurality and AI systems or energy, materiality and data) rooted in the importance of plurality and relationality, which refer to “connectedness, a view of the world that underlines how no person or thing exists in isolation”[1].
The course approach combines a curated set of inputs through lectures, in-class screenings, debates and group readings, distributed six sessions, alongside a critical design lab track that enables participants to work collaboratively in small groups in a creative research experiment to digest, process and share their learnings through an archaeology of the now.
– Develop skills to work effectively as a member of groups and networks of people with different levels of expertise, cultural and professional backgrounds.
– Empower students to align their individual and collective learning experience with the cultural, ecological and societal transformations shaping this decade.
– Develop a critical understanding of the socio-economic, socio-technical, and eco-sociological aspects of digital technologies, alongside the ethical, social, environmental and cultural implications emerging from their use at scale.
In an era of accelerating change, digital cultures weave together a mosaic of materiality, temporality, and social impact, redefining the very essence of culture itself. The interplay between these dimensions raises compelling questions about the way we live, create, and envision futures. From solutionism in the face of a polycrisis to the extractivist underpinnings of … Read more
Kaleidoscope for plural perspectives, 2024The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles – 2024Studio Olafur Eliasson The Digital Cultures course offered a transformative exploration of the intricate relationships between society, culture, and digital technologies, especially within the pressing context of the climate emergency. The course challenged conventional thinking and emphasized the principle of relationality—underscoring that nothing … Read more
In order to overcome the current climate emergency and polycrisis a critical approach needs to be explored. This implies analyzing the impacts and trends of the contemporary (inter)relationships between society, culture and digital technologies. However, the nature of those phenomena is multiclausal. There is not a single factor who produces it. Although capitalism and its … Read more
In a world marked by interconnected crises and technological change, understanding Digital Cultures helps us navigate how we engage with technology and address pressing global challenges. This exploration underscores the critical role of narratives, metaphors, and values in shaping our responses to an uncertain future. The Context of Polycrisis Our journey began by examining the … Read more
This blog post is a reflection of the course and lectures given by Andres Colmenares. The course is an intersection of data/digital driven world and realization of the impacts due to it. It gives you an environment, social and cultural consciousness of using the data which emphasizes on knowing the power and importance of the … Read more
Personal Experience When I stepped into this course, I didn’t know what to expect, but what I found was a spark. From the very first class, it felt like stepping into a think tank on technology, a space where nothing was too obvious to question. In an age where we live and breathe technology, this … Read more
The course of Digital Cultures, tutored by Andres Colmenares, took an investigative approach on the relations between the present and the future through the lens of art, journalism, urbanism, technology, human networks and global market. Course was structured in a “non-linear” way, what makes our tutor’s pride, yet consistent in terms of narrating through scale … Read more
“Digital technologies do not exist in isolation; they are deeply embedded within the complex web of social, cultural, and political systems that shape and are shaped by them. By understanding these interconnections, we can begin to reimagine a future where technology serves not only efficiency and growth but also social justice, sustainability, and cultural transformation.” … Read more
The course “Digital Cultures” emphasized a critical perspective on technology and associated dynamics by focusing on humanity and tech-related consciousness rather than technology itself. This post-technological approach reorients the discussion to the interrelationships between society, digital technologies, and culture(s), stressing relationality—an understanding that nothing exists in isolation. This essay addresses key aspects of these themes … Read more
In this term’s Digital Cultures course, we studied the interrelationships between society, culture, and digital technologies, exploring their nexus today and in the futures. The beginning of the course set the context on designing in a polycrisis. From a western perspective, polycrises are difficult to understand as they require people to go beyond a national … Read more
This course examined the interplay of ecological, cultural, and digital transformations amidst a climate emergency, emphasizing the need to prioritize cultural over economic value. It explored how language shapes perceptions of technology, the hidden environmental costs of digital infrastructures, and the biases embedded in AI systems. Addressing the prevalence of misinformation, it highlighted the role … Read more
How we interact with the digital world and with the digital tools that we have today? That is the question I asked myself at the beginning of this course. Digital cultures came to me as an experience to question the use of technology in the design and development of cities and societies, in the time … Read more
Accumulation: A Mirage of Progress Imagine a minimalist workspace—a pristine desk, a single laptop, a small plant to complete the tableau. It’s serene, efficient, and modern. Yet, behind this simplicity lies a sprawling network of data centers consuming vast amounts of energy, hidden from view. This duality invites a deeper reflection: is our pursuit of … Read more
In a world of interconnected crises and rapid technological change, Digital Cultures provides a lens to explore how we interact with technology and respond to global challenges. The Digital Cultures class invited us to reflect on these dynamics, highlighting the importance of rethinking the narratives, metaphors, and values shaping our present and future. Central to … Read more
