Media archaeology is a way to study and understand new media cultures, the present and the future by examining the old new media and the past. The basis of the research has been in forgotten and weird devices, inventions and practices. Media archaeology borrows theoretical background from various fields such as film studies and media art. (Parikka 2012, What is Media Archaeology?)
Media archaeology and planned obsolescence are intertwined. Planned obsolescence is a practice used to limit the life, functionality and durability of a product or a service. The product either breaks down or in other ways is disposed from use before its actual death. Planned obsolescence increases consumption. Obsolescence can sometimes have positive effects when new innovations improve human life. (Cooper 2010, The Significance of Product Longevity; Slade 2006, Made to Break.)
Planned obsolescence increases the research material for media archaeology when new devices and inventions replace old ones. Old media technologies do not disappear from use entirely but can live zombie lives (Hertz & Parikka 2012, Zombie Media) and become fossilized (Pantzar & Shove 2006, Kulutuskäytäntöjen ja -objektien fossilisoituminen). New meanings and uses can develop. For instance, the overhead projector is still existing and functional technology but is rather used in performative ways than in its original meaning. The obsolescence of media and devices creates generation gaps when users do not know how the devices work. Old media technologies are also re-used in art as a protest for environmental problems and over-consumption caused by planned obsolescence.
Tekniikan Waiheita invites interested authors to join the 2019 special issue. Articles can deal, but are not limited to, the following themes:
- the relationship between old and new media
- weird media, zombie media, fossilized media
- the recurring of media and the changes in uses
- theoretical approaches and their applicability
- the life span of a single media form
- the use of media in art
- the effects and meanings of planned obsolescence in media technologies
Proposals of no more than 400 words are to be sent to the visiting editor, Petri Saarikoski (petri.saarikoski@utu.fi) by 13th of December 2018. Authors are informed about their accepted article proposals before Christmas. Accepted articles will go through a double blind peer review according to Federation of Finnish Learned Societies guidelines. Maximum length for articles is 10 000 words. Drafts are due by 31st of March 2019 and the special issue will be published in autumn 2019. For further information, please contact the visiting editor.
Tekniikan Waiheita is the sole peer reviewed history of technology quarterly in the Nordic Countries. It is ranked level 1 on the Finnish academic Publication Forum. The journal is published by the Finnish Society for the History of Technology.
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