Models

This past week, a very interesting discussion has been emerging around the role of models, in the course of work on a new programme of the KNAW on computational humanities. The representational role of models tends to be at the forefront of people’s minds in this discussion. This means that models are seen as representations [...]

A case of network realism

This post contains spoilers–please stop reading if you think you want to try this application (and I think you should!)
Go to this site (http://www.tackfilm.se/) and upload a picture of yourself. Then come back and read further!
I encountered this site via Hanna Wyrman’s updates on Facebook on Friday. She kindly informed me that this was an [...]

Constructing the Flickr site (2)

A few days ago, I wrote about some of the conceptual aspects of creating our fields. In today’s post, I reflect on the nitty-gritty of identifying what is relevant, and on the potential conservatism of my approach so far.
Of the four case studies in Network Realism, three are already underway. Sarah de Rijcke has been [...]

Constructing the Flickr site (1)

The project Network Realism embraces four different sites. The sites contrast in the extent to which, at first sight, they are associated with easily discernable institutions. The physical presence of the Tropenmuseum and of the Rijksakademie lend a certain tangibility to those sites, making them seem more amenable to fieldwork. The buildings, the spaces these [...]

Visual Studies for Modelers

In the framework of the conference Modeling Science, I presented a paper entitled ‘The view from nowhere: digital visualizations of science and the God-trick’. The audience was mainly made up of model and simulation builders, working from a very data-driven tradition. Many of them had a physics background, and very little affinity with social theory [...]

Postdoc fellowship at the VKS

The topic/discipline of the fellowship is open! If anyone is interested in applying to do work related to the topics of Network Realism, do get in touch.
Applications are invited for three-month fellowships within the Virtual Knowledge Studio for the Humanities and Social Sciences (VKS) for Spring 2010. The fellowship is designed for junior scholars who [...]

After Visual Methods

Panel
Originally uploaded by Mediacciones Group

Looking back on the conference, we are both really pleased with the keynotes and papers we heard, the many new contacts we made, and with the exposure to the many versions of ‘visual methods’ that the conference afforded. Notably, much work involved ‘giving voice’ strategies (where researchers provide cameras to participants, [...]

How to study a networked image

We are heading off to the 1st International Visual Methods Conference in Leeds, UK!
We will be part on a panel on Internet Research and Visual Methods. Our contribution will address how we have been studying images as networked objects. These (largely methodological) reflections will focus on three aspects of how we have been studying networked [...]

Attending Kom je ook?2

Sarah and I attended a very interesting meeting at the Hermitage yesterday, Kom je ook? 2 (preceded and followed by other Kom je ook? meetings). From the 350 curators, new media designers and artists and cultural sector actors who attended, many already reported on twitter, Facebook and Flickr on the event, which leaves me [...]

Go walking with Funda?

A new application for high end mobile phones called Layar features the real estate database Funda (one of our 4 cases). By panning one’s mobile phone using the built-in camera, this application displays information on objects encountered. For example, by pointing the phone towards a row of houses, any property found in Funda will be [...]