Damien Stankiewicz

The primary aim of this workshop is to bring together a small group of engaged scholars in order to develop a set of innovative theoretical and methodological interventions for the anthropological study of evolving media practices and technologies. Over the course of two days, invited participants will engage in conversations about the following theoretical topics: the ‘half-lives’ of media technologies and the syncopated rhythms of their uptake by different populations in different geographical contexts; the metaphors of media ‘worlds,’ ‘ecologies,’ and ‘topologies,’ especially as they relate to the multiple, partial and overlapping ways in which people engage with different media; and the comparative advantages and disadvantages of the concepts of mediascapes and assemblages. The workshop will close with discussions of how these theories can be incorporated into the discipline’s existing methodological repertoire, as well as enrich it with fresh possibilities drawn from ethnographic filmmaking and contemporary artistic practice. We intend to publish the results of this encounter in a collaboratively designed edited volume.