James Hodges Presentation

James Hodges will give the talk, "Humanist Concepts in Digital Objects: A Materialist Cultural History of Computing."

Abstract: Contemporary computer interfaces are frequently designed using multiple modes of communication and interaction, including images, audio, touch, and animation. These communicative modalities were conceptualized, implemented, and popularized within an interdisciplinary network of collaboration which included many humanistic concepts and personnel formerly associated with the 1960s American counterculture, operating at the edges of previously existing institutions. In this talk, James Hodges will examine the material and cultural construction of such multimedia computing techniques, presenting archival research and technical analysis concerning a series of exemplary artifacts and projects pulled from within the growing multimedia and digital computing communities between 1950 and 2000. By identifying common beliefs, references, and approaches shared among interdisciplinary groups of collaborators, this presentation will offer a critical reexamination of many foundational assumptions underlying contemporary knowledge work and information technologies.

James Andrew Hodges is an interdisciplinary information studies scholar who examines the relationships between historical phenomena and the digital artifacts that crystallize them into material form. His published research appears in journals spanning the fields of archival studies, history of technology, and media studies, addressing the preservation, analysis, and evidentiary value of digital texts. He is currently a PhD candidate in the Rutgers University School of Communication and Information.

Questions? Contact Lori Kelso