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01/30/2024

[CFP - International symposium] Technocritique(s). Reflection upon 3.3 million years of human technical externalization

Organised by the cluster of excellence Pasts in the present and the MSH Mondes from 25th to 27th September 2024 (Nanterre and Paris)

Wherever digital solutions and artificial intelligence (AI) have spread, whatever the creative domain or human activity, the impression of having a total, even universal, all-terrain technology has never been so strong. We cannot ignore that the digital revolution, while apparently offering simplicity and ease-of-use is accompanied by a rather remarkable invisibilization of technology’s infrastructure, leaving its users ignorant to the processes and material elements that encompass even the simplest tools. Homo comfort, as the Italian anthropologist Stefano Boni calls it, lives in a hypertechnological world, in which he is ignorant of most of its systems. How can one understand the least-effort infrastructure in which we live when recontextualized within nearly 3.3 million years of technological externalization ? Were 3.3 million years of experimentation necessary to arrive at this point, or rather, did we need to collectively forget our entire history in order to accept our current situation? Has exteriorization always been synonymous with emancipation, optimization (of effort), and inversely, with reduction (of ability)? [...]

> Read the call for papers

Organised by 
the cluster of excellence Pasts in the present and the MSH Mondes 
from 25th to 27th September 2024 (Nanterre and Paris)

 

Wherever digital solutions and artificial intelligence (AI) have spread, whatever the creative domain or human activity, the impression of having a total, even universal, all-terrain technology has never been so strong. We cannot ignore that the digital revolution, while apparently offering simplicity and ease-of-use is accompanied by a rather remarkable invisibilization of technology’s infrastructure, leaving its users ignorant to the processes and material elements that encompass even the simplest tools. Homo comfort, as the Italian anthropologist Stefano Boni calls it, lives in a hypertechnological world, in which he is ignorant of most of its systems. How can one understand the least-effort infrastructure in which we live when recontextualized within nearly 3.3 million years of technological externalization ? Were 3.3 million years of experimentation necessary to arrive at this point, or rather, did we need to collectively forget our entire history in order to accept our current situation? Has exteriorization always been synonymous with emancipation, optimization (of effort), and inversely, with reduction (of ability) ? [...] Full argument

 

You can download the full argument in French and English in pdf format at the bottom of this page, in the Documents section.

 

Organizing committee

 

Lars Anderson, associate professor at University Paris Nanterre, member of TEMPS

Ghislaine Glasson Deschaumes, director, MSH Mondes ; head of Project, cluster of excellence Pasts in the Present

Emmanuel Grimaud, senior fellow researcher at CNRS, member of the LESC, scientific coordinator, cluster of excellence Les passés dans le présent

Julien Schuh, associate professor at University Paris Nanterre, member of CSLF, deputy director, MSH Mondes

 

Scientific committee

 

Frédérique Brunet, fellow researcher at CNRS, member of ArScAn

Guillaume Carnino, associate professor, University de Technology of Compiègne

Ludovic Coupaye, associate professor et director of the Centre for the Anthropology of Technics and Technodiversity, University College, London

Servanne Monjour, associate professor, Sorbonne University, member of Cellf

Agnès Giard, writer and anthropologist

Thierry Hoquet, university professor, University Paris Nanterre, membre de l’IREPH

Marc-Antoine Pencolé, associate professor, associate member of SOPHIAPOL

Alfonso Ramirez Galicia, INRAP, associate member of TEMPS

Peter Stirling, scientific projects support officer, The French National Library (BnF)

John Tresch, Mellon Chair and professor at The Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Studies, University of London

Gwenola Wagon, associate professor HDR, Université Paris 8

Fabienne Wateau, senior fellow researcher at CNRS, member of the LESC

Nathan Schlanger, professor, École nationale des chartes

 

Proposal format: 

 

-         For individual contributions: one-page argument in French or English; with short bio- and bibliography summary, contact details for the follow-up;

-        For workshops (contributions to suggested workshops or new proposal: two-page note of intent (argument, method, equipment requirements, potential participants) in French or English, with short bio- and bibliography summary, contact details for the follow-up.

-        Proposals in the form of demonstrations, experiments or performances: two-page memorandum of intent (argument, method, equipment requirements, potential participants) in French or English, with short bio- and bibliography summary, contact details for the follow-up.

 

All proposals should be sent before April 21 2024 (before midnight Paris time) at the following address: technocritique.s@passes-present.eu

More information is available upon requirement at the same address.